The Korea Times

Blinken signing defense cost deal looms

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. AP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWith South Korea and the United States nearing a deal on sharing the costs for stationing American troops here, speculation is mounting that U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken may himself sign the so-called renewed Special Measures Agreement (SMA) with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong. Diplomatic observers note that this would be a sign highlighting Washington's determination to restore its alliance with Seoul, which was undermined by the protracted defense cost talks during the Donald Trump administration.The conjecture is backed up by reports that Blinken, along with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is likely to visit South Korea for two days from March 17 to 18, after traveling to Japan. Cheong Wa Dae said last week that the two countries are coordinating on their trip. Representatives from the two countries have been holding the ninth round of negotiations in Washington, D.C., since Friday to decide on South Korea's fina

Mar 7, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea

Seoul's leniency on Pyongyang worries some in international community

Unification minister in hot water over interview on lifting North Korea sanctionsBy Kang Seung-wooConcern is rising over the growing discord between South Korea and some in the international community over sanctions on North Korea, following Unification Minister Lee In-young's interview with an overseas media outlet, in which he questioned whether sanctions by the United States and the United Nations (U.N.) on the North were effective. In the recent interview with the Financial Times, Lee said it was time to reassess the efficacy of the sanctions, adding that the punitive actions have resulted in unintended negative effects on the lives of ordinary North Koreans. His remarks were in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's stance of easing or lifting the sanctions on North Korea in order to engage Pyongyang as part of the President's peace initiative.However, some members of the U.S. government and diplomatic observers here say the minister has misread the reason for the humanitarian crisis in North Korea, expressing worries that such a claim could obscure the real causes of the po

Mar 7, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Seoul's leniency on Pyongyang worries some in international community

South Korea, US to stage smaller military exercise next week

Politics

Public fury rising over LH workers' speculation

People are seen at the entrance of the headquarters of the Korea Land and Housing Corp. in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooPublic anger is mounting over allegations that employees at the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) housing cooperation used inside information on a residential area development project for land speculation.The public is also skeptical of the government's planned investigation on the deals made by the officials, given that the property purchases were made while the current land minister was at the helm of the housing corporation. The Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will jointly lead the interagency probe. The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Lawyers for a Democratic Society, an association of progressive lawyers, accused 14 former and incumbent employees at LH of speculative land buying in Gwangmyeong and Shiheung, which had been designated as sites for the country's third new town development plan to increase the supply of new homes in satellite cities.

Mar 4, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Public fury rising over LH workers' speculation

Defense

F-16 pilot named Best Pilot of Year

Air Force Maj. Jeon Young-gi / Courtesy of ROK Air ForceBy Kang Seung-woo Air Force Maj. Jeon Young-gi of the 19th Fighter Wing has been named the “Best Pilot of the Year” for his versatile performance, according to the Air Force, Wednesday. The Air Force said it held an award ceremony, presided over by its Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Seong-yong, at its headquarters in Gyeryongdae, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday.The award is given to an aviator who accumulates the best record in more than 20 duties including flying hours, operation participation and physical fitness in the span of one year. The 38-year-old earned a score of 735 out of a possible 1,000 for the achievement.The Air Force also confers the “Top Gun” award to a pilot who exhibits a solid performance in an annual live-firing contest, but the best pilot award is regarded as the more prestigious and emblematic award as it evaluates overall performance for one year.“I attribute the honor to my fellow pilots and maintenance crew who are working hard to fulfill their obligations,” Jeon said.

Mar 3, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Society

Another string of infections of foreign workers detected in Dongducheon

A citizen gets a COVID-19 test in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, where 84 foreign workers have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo More than 80 immigrant workers living in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, have been infected with COVID-19, putting the health authorities on alert over a recent string of infections among foreign workers. Municipal officials said a total of 3,966 documented foreigners have been tested in the city, north of Seoul, and 84 of them, along with four Koreans, were found to have contracted the coronavirus. The municipal office launched the mass testing Sunday as part of a preventive measure against COVID-19, available to all regardless of whether test recipients have symptoms, as the adjacent areas have been troubled by a chain of infections among foreign workers. For example, Namyangju, 40 kilometers from Seoul, saw infections in 191 people, mostly immigrant workers, at a single plastic manufacturing plant. According to the municipal office, the infected patients are living in Dongducheon, but their workplaces are in differe

Mar 2, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Another string of infections of foreign workers detected in Dongducheon

Society

March starts with heavy snowfall

A snowplow pushes snow to the side of the streets in Inje, Gangwon Province, Monday, after mountainous regions in the province received more than 50 centimeters of snow. With most other parts of the country experiencing rainfall, temperatures across the nation are forecast to drop below zero Tuesday morning. Yonhap

Mar 1, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign Affairs

Moon's continued two-track approach unlikely to help improve ties with Japan

President Moon Jae-in, first lady Kim Jung-sook and other participants hold up the national flag during the March 1 Independence Movement Day ceremony at Tapgol Park in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in renewed his call for Korea and Japan to move together toward future-oriented bilateral relations, Monday, while also urging Tokyo to contemplate its imperialist past. The reconciliatory gesture comes as chilly relations between the neighboring countries have hindered the necessary cooperation that the new U.S. Joe Biden administration is focusing on. Washington is seeking trilateral cooperation on regional security issues.However, diplomatic observers note that Moon's two-track strategy is a rerun of Seoul's existing “unsuccessful" approach to Tokyo, and do not expect it to help normalize ties strained by historical issues. Relations between Korea and Japan have ebbed to their lowest in years due to the issues of Japan's use of Koreans for sexual and labor slavery before and during World War II. “The only obstacle we have to overcome is that, some

Mar 1, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Moon's continued two-track approach unlikely to help improve ties with Japan

Singer-actress Jun Hyo-seong celebrates Independence Movement Day with hanbok

Foreign Affairs

Active role for US unlikely in Korea-Japan row

By Kang Seung-wooAmid growing voices from the United States on the importance of its trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan over North Korea and China issues, Seoul has offered conciliatory gestures to Tokyo to normalize their broken relationship, only to get a lukewarm response.As a last resort, the South Korean government is now soliciting the U.S. to play a role in mediating their diplomatic dispute, as highlighted by Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, who said on Feb. 18 that South Korea and Japan might seek help from the U.S. if needed to address their protracted historical disputes. His remarks are raising questions over how much the Biden administration will get involved, and furthermore, what Japan's response will be.However, despite its emphasis on the three-way alliance, Washington is less likely to proactively help get the historical issue-strained bilateral relations between its key Asian allies back on track ― even if its pressure would lead Japan to accept South Korea's fence-mending bid. Relations between the neighboring countries have slumped to their worst l

Feb 27, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Active role for US unlikely in Korea-Japan row

Foreign Affairs

Non-Korean victims, scholars, civic groups join protest against Ramseyer's paper on sex slavery

Students of Gyeseong High School denounce Harvard Law School Professor Mark Ramseyer's paper on wartime sex slavery during a rally in Seoul behind statues symbolizing Korean and Chinese sex slaves, Thursday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooCriticism concerning Harvard Law School's Mitsubishi Professor Mark Ramseyer's paper depicting Japan's wartime sex slavery as “voluntary prostitution” is growing beyond Korea.The reason for wider interest is partly because there were victims from countries other than Korea, and many scholars believe the paper did not properly reflect wartime sexual violence and human rights abuses. According to historians, more than 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were forced to provide sex services in frontline brothels for Japanese soldiers from 1932 until the end of World War II, with dozens of the victims testifying that they were either deceived or coerced into sex slavery.Lila Pilipina, an organization of Filipina survivors of wartime sex slavery, issued a statement recently opposing the assertions from Ramseyer's paper, “Contracting for Sex in the Pa

Feb 26, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Non-Korean victims, scholars, civic groups join protest against Ramseyer's paper on sex slavery

North Korea

'US needs to use China in North Korean nuclear issue'

Victor Cha, a senior adviser and the inaugural holder of the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), speaks remotely, Thursday, during an online forum, titled “Free and Unified Korea: Options for the New U.S. Administration,” hosted by the Global Peace Foundation at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul hotel. Courtesy of Global Peace FoundationBy Kang Seung-wooFormer U.S. government officials who dealt with the North Korean nuclear issue for previous presidents have advised the new Biden administration to take advantage of China, the North's key ally and economic patron, in resolving the decades-long problem. U.S. President Joe Biden took office last month and his national security team is reviewing its policy toward Pyongyang, which will likely result in the undoing of many of the Donald Trump administration's foreign policies. “China obviously plays an important role in any negotiation, but given the state of U.S.-China relations, I think we have to approach that particular aspect with a great deal of sobriety, and so I think that means

Feb 25, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

Read more

Blinken signing defense cost deal looms

Seoul's leniency on Pyongyang worries some in international community

Public fury rising over LH workers' speculation

F-16 pilot named Best Pilot of Year

Another string of infections of foreign workers detected in Dongducheon

March starts with heavy snowfall

Moon's continued two-track approach unlikely to help improve ties with Japan

Active role for US unlikely in Korea-Japan row

Non-Korean victims, scholars, civic groups join protest against Ramseyer's paper on sex slavery

'US needs to use China in North Korean nuclear issue'

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