The Korea Times

Korea, US to restart defense cost-sharing talks

Jeong Eun-bo, right, Korea's chief negotiator for the Special Measures Agreement, will sit down with his U.S. counterpart James DeHart in Los Angeles for negotiation talks on Tuesday and Wednesday. / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooKorea and the United States will resume talks, Tuesday, over how to share the costs of maintaining American troops here, with the two sides still remaining far apart over the issue.The upcoming negotiations, the seventh of their kind since September 2019, carries extra weight for Seoul as it is seeking at least a partial agreement regarding the potential furlough of Korean workers at U.S. military bases across the Korean Peninsula, if not a comprehensive deal. Since 1991, Korea has partially borne the cost of stationing the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) under the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) for Korean civilians hired by the USFK; the construction of military facilities to maintain the allies' readiness; the combined defense improvement project; and other logistical support.Jeong Eun-bo, Korea's chief negotiator for the SMA, flew to Los Angeles, Monday, wh

Mar 16, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Korea, US to restart defense cost-sharing talks

Health

Gov't to designate Daegu, North Gyeongsang as special disaster zone

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, center, visits a traditional market in Daegu, Friday. / YonhapCharter flight to evacuate Koreans from Iran By Kang Seung-wooThe government is looking to designate coronavirus-hit Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province as a special disaster zone, the prime minister said Friday, a move that will expedite the administration's support to the affected areas and their residents.The southeastern city of Daegu and the neighboring province are Korea's COVID-19 hot spots, with their number of confirmed cases reaching 7,075 as of Friday, making up the majority of the country's total of 7,979 infections since its first detection Jan. 20, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).If designated, it will be the first special disaster zone to be made so due to an infectious disease. Previous designations have been mainly made for natural disasters.“Relevant procedures are underway in relation to the declaration of Daegu and the province as special disaster zones,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a meeting of the Central

Mar 13, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Gov't to designate Daegu, North Gyeongsang as special disaster zone

No. of patient recoveries exceeds new cases for 1st time

Politics

Nomination committee head quits

Kim Hyong-o, head of the candidate nomination committee of the main opposition United Future Party, leaves the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday, after announcing he would resign from his post amid controversy over the committee's nominations. Some active lawmakers, who failed to win nominations for the April 15 general election, protested the committee's decisions, some of which were reversed by the party leadership. / Yonhap

Mar 13, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign Affairs

Briefing on Korea's anti-virus measures

Koo Bon-hwan, right, president of the Incheon International Airport Corp., explains the airport's anti-coronavirus measures to diplomatic personnel in Korea during an inspection tour, Friday. Diplomats from 47 countries participated in the tour, during which they learned about the procedures for fever checks and other health examinations for outbound and inbound passengers. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Mar 13, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign Affairs

Foreign diplomats positive of Korea's anti-virus fight

A passenger bound for the United States shows a quarantine certificate that he received after submitting a health questionnaire at the quarantine office of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. / Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooDiplomats stationed in Korea have shown positive reactions to the country's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak here. Although Korea has been plagued by the novel coronavirus, with the number of infections surpassing 7,800 ― the fourth-highest in the world behind China, Italy and Iran ― its quarantine efforts are drawing international praise.“We positively estimate Korea's efforts in fighting COVID-19 and have implemented measures in that direction,” Vasif Aliyev, counsellor and deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Azerbaijan, told The Korea Times.“First, conducting the world's largest-scaled (to population ratio), accurate and immediate diagnosis of the virus to detect patients even with mild symptoms in order to prevent further spread of the virus and lower the possible mortality rate; second, a thorough examination process over several rou

Mar 12, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign diplomats positive of Korea's anti-virus fight

North Korea

Questions mount over 'corona-free North Korea'

Foreign diplomats, embassy staff, and their families check in for a flight to Vladivostok, Russia, at Pyongyang International Airport, Monday. / AP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea still remains a self-proclaimed coronavirus-free country, “thanks to its preemptive quarantine efforts.” However, mounting evidence to the contrary is raising suspicions that the country, sandwiched between two COVID-19 hot spots, South Korea and China, may have failed to keep the deadly epidemic at bay.Since the epidemic was first detected last December in Wuhan, China, the Kim Jong-un regime has taken strict measures, including closing off its borders, suspending foreign tourism and quarantining all foreign nationals and people who might have been exposed to visitors from other countries. As a result, it has not reported a single infection, officially. On Monday, the state-run Rodong Sinmun reported that the country has quarantined nearly 10,000 people over virus fears, with 3,800 being released after showing no symptoms. The paper said the quarantine was intended for those who arrived in t

Mar 11, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Questions mount over 'corona-free North Korea'

Foreign Affairs

Check on Korea's coronavirus fight

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris, right, checks a thermal imaging camera at the departure lobby of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Korea started fever checks and other health examinations on U.S.-bound passengers on the same day. Later in the day, Harris said he was impressed by the Korea's robust and comprehensive response to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the embassy. / Yonhap

Mar 11, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Politics

Government's 'self-praise' in virus fight taking flak

From left are President Moon Jae-in, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Health Minister Park Neung-hooBy Kang Seung-wooThe government's hasty self-praise for its fight against the coronavirus outbreak is drawing criticism.Critics say that it is too early for the administration to bask in optimism given that the nation still reports more than 100 cases daily despite the pace slowing.The number of infections in the country stood at 7,513 as of Tuesday, making it the third-largest outbreak behind China and Italy. On Monday, President Moon Jae-in said in a meeting with his senior secretaries that, if successful in slowing down the virus spread, Korea could be seen as a model case for other countries in COVID-19 containment. However, he also said the government needs to avoid too much optimism about the situation as small-scale cluster infections have been reported across the nation.The Moon remark is a throwback to that of Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo, who also said, Sunday, the nation's quarantine systems are working effectively to contain the spread of the new coronavir

Mar 10, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Government's 'self-praise' in virus fight taking flak

COVID-19 patients to vote from home, hospitals

Defense

North Korea fires 3 projectiles again

North Korea fires three rockets into the East Sea, Monday. / Korea Time fileBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea launched three projectiles into the East Sea, using multiple rocket launchers, Monday, the South Korean military said. The launch came a week after Pyongyang test-fired two projectiles from what it called a super-large multiple rocket launcher, and five days after its leader Kim Jong-un sent South Korean President Moon Jae-in a letter expressing condolences over the coronavirus outbreak here.North Korea pundits say its “unfathomable” series of acts are aimed at strengthening its presence in the North Korea-U.S. nuclear negotiations, while trying to pursue a two-way approach of remaining on good terms with the South and advancing its military capability at the same time. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the projectiles were fired from the Sondok area of South Hamgyong Province, where the regime has carried out many of its launches, and they flew up to 200 kilometers, reaching 50 kilometers in altitude. The North Korean leader is believed to have observed th

Mar 9, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign Affairs

Korea responds to Japan's entry restrictions 'politically'

By Kang Seung-wooThe government's quick and loud response to Japan's entry restrictions on Korean citizens and anyone traveling from Korea to Japan, due to the coronavirus epidemic, is raising some eyebrows given that it has not taken any retaliatory action against the more than 100 countries imposing similar or stricter measures. First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young announces a set of 'countermeasures' against Japan's decision to impose new restrictions on visitors from Korea traveling to the country over coronavirus fears, at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap Diplomatic experts say Seoul's tit-for-tat response to Japan was driven less by quarantine needs but more by a political motive ahead of the upcoming April 15 general election.Less than a day after the Shinzo Abe administration unveiled its travel restrictions including halting a visa-free entry program for Korean nationals, Thursday night, the government ― from the presidential national secu

Mar 8, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

Read more

Korea, US to restart defense cost-sharing talks

Gov't to designate Daegu, North Gyeongsang as special disaster zone

Nomination committee head quits

Briefing on Korea's anti-virus measures

Foreign diplomats positive of Korea's anti-virus fight

Questions mount over 'corona-free North Korea'

Check on Korea's coronavirus fight

Government's 'self-praise' in virus fight taking flak

North Korea fires 3 projectiles again

Korea responds to Japan's entry restrictions 'politically'

Top 5 stories