The Korea Times

Asan Institute chair calls for redeployment of US tactical nukes

Chung Mong-joon, founder and honorary chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, called for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula as a means to counter North Korea's growing nuclear threats. During a lecture held at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul on Friday, Chung stressed that redeploying tactical nuclear weapons is a realistic option and urged serious discussions with the U.S on the matter, according to the Seoul-based think tank. Around 100 people, including students and members of the general public, attended the lecture, titled "North Korea’s Nuclear Threat and Our Response: Tactical Nuclear Redeployment and an Asian Version of NATO as Practical Alternatives." Chung said that in the face of Pyongyang’s escalating nuclear threats, a policy of appeasement is no longer feasible. Instead, he stressed the need for a show of strength. "The more confident North Korea becomes in its nuclear capabilities, the more tempted it will be to provoke South Korea," Chung said. "Also, given that prolonged economic hardships have weakened its conventi

May 16, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Asan Institute chair calls for redeployment of US tactical nukes

Defense

Villagers accuse US military of vandalizing protest banners

Residents of Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, are accusing U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel of damaging and removing banners protesting the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in the area. According to local civic groups, the banners — displayed in late April in the village of Soseong-ri — were taken down just days later by individuals believed to be U.S. military personnel. They condemned the alleged action as a violation of South Korea’s sovereignty and freedom of expression. "The residents are very angry. USFK has no right to infringe upon our sovereign rights and freedom of speech just because we oppose their base," Kang Hyun-wook, a spokesperson for a Soseong-ri residents’ group opposing THAAD, said Friday. According to Kang, the banners, which featured slogans such as "No THAAD, Yes Peace!" were installed between April 25 and 26 in preparation for the group's regular rallies, held twice a week. "But when we went to the site on April 29 to hold our first rally, we noticed that several banners were missing, so we immediately

May 16, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Villagers accuse US military of vandalizing protest banners

Politics

Sniper scare or political show? Liberal candidate dons body armor on campaign trail

Bulletproof vests are not typical attire for politicians on the campaign trail in Korea, where private firearm ownership is allowed only under limited conditions. Despite this, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has been wearing a 3-kilogram bulletproof vest beneath his jacket during campaign rallies. At a rally in the southeastern port city of Ulsan on Tuesday, elite police units conducted a security sweep of the venue using explosive detectors and sniffer dogs. During Lee’s speech, a tightly controlled perimeter was established around the stage to prevent unauthorized access to the 61-year-old candidate. Lee also exercised caution, minimizing physical contact with the crowd. The heightened security comes after the DPK’s claim that a sniper rifle with a 2-kilometer range has been smuggled into the country as part of a suspected assassination plot targeting Lee. The party cited anonymous tip-offs, claiming that several other threats were received. Private gun ownership in Korea is restricted to licensed hunters, competitive athle

May 15, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Sniper scare or political show? Liberal candidate dons body armor on campaign trail

Politics

Conservative candidate’s loyalty to ousted president alienates moderates

People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo's reluctance to sever ties with former President Yoon Suk Yeol is increasingly alienating moderate voters — a group widely seen as critical to securing victory in the June 3 snap election. As the conservative party struggles to rebuild public trust following Yoon's impeachment, how Kim navigates his relationship with Yoon and his tarnished legacy has emerged as a key test of his candidacy. A former labor minister and staunch conservative, Kim has ruled out the possibility of expelling Yoon from the party, despite growing calls from within the PPP for a clean break from the disgraced former president. "I believe the (former) president will make a wise decision. It is right to respect his own judgment," Kim told reporters Wednesday during a visit to Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, when asked about expelling Yoon. Kim's tepid stance followed his first public apology on Monday for Yoon’s declaration of martial law late last year. "I sincerely feel sorry for the people who are suffering from the martial law," he said in a me

May 14, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Conservative candidate’s loyalty to ousted president alienates moderates

Foreign Affairs

Peace vs. strength: Rival presidential hopefuls offer contrasting approaches to NK policy

South Korea's two leading presidential candidates are presenting sharply contrasting approaches to North Korea — one emphasizes diplomacy and dialogue, while the other advocates for a more robust deterrence strategy, including the possible redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea. These weapons were withdrawn in late 1991 under U.S. President George H. W. Bush’s nuclear reduction initiatives. While North Korea policy has not traditionally played a decisive role in presidential elections, lingering uncertainty over how U.S. President Donald Trump might engage with Pyongyang has raised the stakes for the next South Korean government's security strategy. According to his campaign pledge booklet, Tuesday, Lee Jae-myung, the candidate from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), vowed to pursue dialogue with North Korea aimed at achieving denuclearization — following the liberal bloc's traditional playbook of easing military tensions and fostering peace. Lee has laid out an amicable approach to Pyongyang, pledging to "pursue and promote inter-Korean humanitaria

May 13, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Peace vs. strength: Rival
presidential hopefuls offer contrasting approaches to NK policy

Politics

Can young People Power Party leader fix fractured bloc?

A new face has emerged at the helm of the conservative People Power Party (PPP). Kim Yong-tae, 35, was tapped as the PPP's interim leader as the party officially kicked off its 22-day campaign Monday for the June 3 presidential election. His appointment will be confirmed at the party’s national committee meeting on Thursday. Kim succeeds Kwon Young-se, who resigned last week amid internal strife over a proposed merger of presidential candidates. Kim, the youngest lawmaker in the PPP, is poised to become its youngest-ever leader. He was first elected to the National Assembly in the 2024 general election, representing the Pocheon-Gapyeong constituency in Gyeonggi Province. Prior to that, he served on the party’s youth Supreme Council. The young politician now faces the urgent task of uniting a fractured party and leading it to victory in the presidential election, with former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo running as the PPP’s candidate. His appointment comes amid deepening divisions within the party following a failed attempt by its leadership to replace Kim Moon-soo, who won the primar

May 12, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Can young People Power Party leader fix fractured bloc?

Politics

PPP loses public trust after failed gambit to replace presidential candidate

The chaos within the conservative People Power Party (PPP) over a failed attempt to replace its presidential candidate has left the party in disarray just before the official campaign period kicks off. With only about three weeks left until the June 3 presidential election, the conflicts between its elected presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and the party leadership have gravely tarnished its public image. The chances of the PPP forming a so-called "big tent" with candidates of other minor parties against the front-runner Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also seem slimmer. After a week of internal strife and a failed merger bid with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Kim registered as the PPP’s presidential candidate, Sunday. The registration came hours after the PPP's all-member vote narrowly rejected the leadership's decision to replace Kim with Han. "Despite the strong influence from the party’s leadership (pushing for a candidate change), I sincerely thank our party members for standing up for democratic values and overcoming this," Kim said after re

May 11, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

PPP loses public trust after failed gambit to replace presidential candidate

PPP's Kim Moon-soo registers presidential candidacy with election watchdog

Society

Trapped in limbo: American father's 6-year struggle to find son in Korea

U.S. national Jay Sung hasn’t seen or heard from his son Bryan in the nearly six years since his ex-wife, a Korean national, disappeared with the child in 2019. Sung, an orthodontist based in Washington, was born in Korea and raised in Ohio. Both he and his son are American citizens. He and his former spouse, surnamed Cho, divorced in 2019 after nine years of marriage. In June that year, when Bryan was just 3 years old, she took him to Korea for a three-week vacation during the divorce proceedings. Two weeks later, Cho informed Sung of her intention to stay in Korea with Bryan and cut off contact. A U.S. court subsequently ordered the child's immediate return and granted full temporary custody to Sung. Since then, Sung, now 44, has been entangled in a protracted legal battle under the Hague Abduction Convention, an international treaty to prevent the wrongful removal or retention of children across borders by one parent. Korea ratified the treaty in 2012. "There is no word that can describe the pain of losing your child. Neither Bryan or I can get his lost childhood back," Sung said. "W

May 9, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

Trapped in limbo: American father's 6-year struggle to find son in Korea

Politics

PPP presidential nominee, leadership clash head-on over candidacy merger

An internal rift within the conservative People Power Party (PPP) reached its peak Thursday as presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and party leadership traded barbs over a proposed candidacy merger with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, an independent contender. Kim lashed out at what he called a "forced candidacy merger," rejecting the party’s push, while PPP leaders fired back, accusing him of breaking his campaign pledge and calling his refusal a "pathetic move." “I demand that the party leadership step back from any efforts to force the so-called unified candidacy and remove me, the legitimate presidential candidate, from the race,” Kim said during a press conference early in the morning. He called on PPP leaders to cease their attempts to sideline him in favor of Han, saying that as the presidential candidate of the party, he will lead all campaigns and party affairs according to the PPP's internal rules. Kim also proposed that he and Han conduct separate weeklong campaigns, hold a TV debate on May 14 and conduct a public opinion poll on May 15-16 to decide on a single candi

May 8, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

PPP presidential nominee, leadership clash head-on over candidacy merger

Politics

PPP presidential candidate Kim to meet ex-PM Wednesday for talks on candidacy merger

Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), is set to meet former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, a conservative contender running as an independent, on Wednesday evening for talks over a single candidacy, his aides announced on Tuesday night. The one-on-one meeting follows a power struggle between Kim and his party leadership over when and how to unify the candidacy, with just days left before the official candidate registration this weekend. Kim, a former labor minister, was selected as the PPP’s candidate in Saturday’s party primary, just one day after Han announced his presidential bid. Although not a member of the PPP, Han — who was prime minister until his resignation last week and served as acting president during a time of political turmoil following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration and impeachment — has emerged as a strong figure among conservative voters. Throughout the primary, Kim expressed his willingness to merge his candidacy with Han’s, a stance widely believed to have helped him secure victory. In

May 6, 2025By Lee Hyo-jin

PPP presidential candidate Kim to meet ex-PM Wednesday for talks on candidacy merger

PPP candidate suspends campaign amid dispute over candidacy unification

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

Asan Institute chair calls for redeployment of US tactical nukes

Villagers accuse US military of vandalizing protest banners

Sniper scare or political show? Liberal candidate dons body armor on campaign trail

Conservative candidate’s loyalty to ousted president alienates moderates

Peace vs. strength: Rival presidential hopefuls offer contrasting approaches to NK policy

Can young People Power Party leader fix fractured bloc?

PPP loses public trust after failed gambit to replace presidential candidate

Trapped in limbo: American father's 6-year struggle to find son in Korea

PPP presidential nominee, leadership clash head-on over candidacy merger

PPP presidential candidate Kim to meet ex-PM Wednesday for talks on candidacy merger

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