The Korea Times

S. Korea, US, Japan hold joint naval drill to counter N. Korea's threats

South Korea, the United States and Japan hold a joint naval drill in international waters between South Korea and Japan, Sunday. Courtesy of South Korean NavyBy Lee Hyo-jin South Korea, the United States and Japan held a joint naval drill, the South Korean Navy said Sunday, in a show of strengthened trilateral military cooperation against North Korea's escalating nuclear threats.The three allies staged a missile defense exercise in international waters between South Korea and Japan, Sunday, mobilizing three Aegis-equipped destroyers ― ROKS Yulgok Yi I, USS John Finn and JS Maya ― to enhance readiness against North Korea's missile provocations.The previous joint drill was held on April 17 and the latest one was the fourth combined exercise to take place during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.Sunday's exercise focused on heightening the preparedness of the three naval forces using a simulated ballistic missile target assuming a North Korean ballistic missile provocation, the navy said in a statement.“Through this exercise, we were able to enhance our military's ballistic missile

Jul 16, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

S. Korea, US, Japan hold joint naval drill to counter N. Korea's threats

North Korea

ANALYSIS N. Korea's threats against US spy plane aimed at boosting internal cohesion: analysts

A U.S. U-2S reconnaissance aircraft flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. YonhapPyongyang refers to Seoul by official name, signaling major shift in inter-Korean policiesBy Lee Hyo-jinA series of verbal threats by North Korea accusing a U.S. spy plane of intruding into its airspace appears to be a part of Pyongyang's efforts to consolidate internal cohesion ahead of a major military parade scheduled for later this month, defense analysts said, Tuesday.Although experts viewed the intrusion claim to be groundless, they said the latest statements issued by the North may signal a major shift in its perception of South Korea, not as the other side of a divided nation, but a foreign country.Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement through Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), accusing a U.S. reconnaissance plane of intruding into its exclusive economic zone the previous day.“The strategic reconnaissance plane of the U.S. Air Force illegally intruded into the ec

Jul 11, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

[ANALYSIS] N. Korea's threats against US spy plane aimed at boosting internal cohesion: analysts

N. Korean accusation of airspace violation unfounded: State Dept.

Foreign Affairs

Gov't urged to seek regular inspections of Fukushima water discharge

Protesters stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday, against the Japanese government's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. AP-YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The Korean government should urge Japan to allow Seoul to conduct regular inspections to monitor the progress of treated wastewater being discharged from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, as Japan finalizes plans to open its storage tanks, experts and diplomatic observers said, Monday.A summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida slated for later this week would be a chance for the Korean government to make some concrete demands to Tokyo concerning its planned release of the treated wastewater, the experts said. Tokyo's plan to discharge the treated but still slightly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean gained momentum after receiving the green light from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week.Amid heightened public anxiety here, Yoon is expected to meet with Kishida on the sideli

Jul 10, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't urged to seek regular inspections of Fukushima water discharge

Defense

INTERVIEW UNC deputy commander stresses transparency in defusing inter-Korean tensions

Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison, deputy commander of the United Nations Command (UNC), poses in front of a monument commemorating the 1950-53 Korean War installed at the UNC headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulUnited Nations Command celebrates 73rd anniversary By Lee Hyo-jin Transparent and accurate investigations into alleged armistice violations between the two Koreas are important in defusing escalating tensions and maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison, the British deputy commander of the United Nations Command (UNC). “I think that transparency and deep investigation are critical to ensuring that we can deescalate a situation by getting the correct facts, which often differ from some of the reporting that might exist across media or social media,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times at UNC headquarters in U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday.As such, the UNC ensures that a scrupulous and deep investigation is conducted ― ov

Jul 7, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

[INTERVIEW] UNC deputy commander stresses transparency in defusing inter-Korean tensions

Defense

Korea to purchase 18 CH-47F Chinook choppers from Boeing

Boeing's CH-47F Chinook helicopter / Courtesy of BoeingBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea has signed a deal with U.S. defense giant Boeing to purchase 18 CH-47F Chinook helicopters, according to the American company, Thursday. Under the Foreign Military Sale deal, Boeing will deliver 18 multi-mission, heavy-lift helicopters by 2026 to Korea to replace some of the Korean Army's CH-47D helicopters.The CH-47F boasts advanced, mission-critical capabilities, including an advanced common avionics glass cockpit system and a modern digital automatic flight control system, according to Boeing. The loading system, incorporated into the modernized machined airframe, further expands the efficiency and effectiveness of the platform through rapid configuration changes. The digitally enhanced systems and modernized structures reduce maintenance and lower sustainment and support costs, and thus bring enhanced safety and improved situational awareness to protect the crew and passengers, it added.“The modern, proven and versatile CH-47F aircraft adds increased capability to the South Korean Warfighter,”

Jul 6, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea to purchase 18 CH-47F Chinook choppers from Boeing

Foreign Affairs

Gov't remains ambivalent about Fukushima water release, seafood imports

An official at a local fisheries cooperative checks the radiation level of scallops imported from Japan at Noryangjin Fisheries Market in Seoul, June 15. Korea Times photo by Hong In-kiPresidential office says it respects IAEA report approving Japan's wastewater release plan By Lee Hyo-jin The government seems to be caught in a dilemma over its import ban on seafood from Fukushima after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) granted approval for Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.Seoul's stance of respecting the IAEA's findings appears contradictory as the Korean government is maintaining an import curb on Fukushima seafood products citing concerns over radioactive contamination.President Yoon Suk Yeol's office said, Wednesday, it respects the IAEA's final report issued the previous day. “We respect the announcement of the IAEA, which is the leading United Nations agency in the field of nuclear safety,” a presidential official told The Korea Times.“With the health and

Jul 5, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't remains ambivalent about Fukushima water release, seafood imports

Society

Seoul Paik Hospital founder's descendant strives to prevent hospital closure

Employees of Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital hold pickets outside the hospital urging management to retract a decision to shut down the long-serving public health center, Seoul, June 20. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Paik Jin-kyung, a professor at the multimedia department of Inje University, is striving to save Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital ― an 82-year-old facility founded by the late uncle of her father ― from permanent closure. “We have gathered our intentions to take action to preserve the legacy of Seoul Paik Hospital by transforming it into a global K-medical industry hub,” the professor, along with several of her colleagues, said in a statement earlier this week.Professor Paik is the daughter of Paik Nak-hwan, former chairman of the Inje Education Foundation. The older Paik is the cousin of the late Paik In-je, an early pioneer of modern Korean medicine who founded the Paik Inje Surgical Clinic in 1941, which later became known as Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital.“The closure of the hospital, which is an important heritage of Seoul's history of moderniza

Jul 5, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

Seoul Paik Hospital founder's descendant strives to prevent hospital closure

Foreign Affairs

IAEA gives greenlight to Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

Rafael Grossi, left, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), presents IAEA's comprehensive report on Fukushima Treated Water Release to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Tuesday. AP-YonhapUN nuclear chief to visit Seoul on Friday to discuss water discharge issue By Lee Hyo-jin Japan's plan to discharge treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean got the nod from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tuesday, despite lingering concerns from neighboring countries, including Korea and China.Based on a safety assessment of the plan that took almost two years, the IAEA concluded that Tokyo's plan to release the treated water is consistent with the agency's safety standards. In addition, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said that the discharge of the treated water “would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.”The IAEA stated that its review addressed all key safety elements of the water discharge plan in three ma

Jul 4, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

IAEA gives greenlight to Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

Society

Delivering message of hope to Gangneung

Ukrainian girls' choir Vognyk performs in front of a fire-damaged resort during the 2023 World Choir Games held in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Monday, to deliver a message of hope to the eastern coastal city which was ravaged by a massive wildfire in April. Founded in 2000, the WCG is the world's largest choir competition, taking place on different continents once every two years. Yonhap

Jul 3, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

Foreign Affairs

Symposium on Korea-US alliance

Korea Times Chairman Seung Myung-ho, seventh from left, Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik, eighth from left, and Ban Ki-moon, ninth from left, chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, pose with dignitaries during a symposium on the Korea-U.S. alliance held at Korea University campus in Seoul, Monday. The event, co-hosted by Ban's foundation and Korea University's Convergence Institute for National Unification, was held to mark the 70th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty signed between the two allies in 1953. Courtesy of Convergence Institute for National Unification

Jul 3, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

S. Korea, US, Japan hold joint naval drill to counter N. Korea's threats

ANALYSIS N. Korea's threats against US spy plane aimed at boosting internal cohesion: analysts

Gov't urged to seek regular inspections of Fukushima water discharge

INTERVIEW UNC deputy commander stresses transparency in defusing inter-Korean tensions

Korea to purchase 18 CH-47F Chinook choppers from Boeing

Gov't remains ambivalent about Fukushima water release, seafood imports

Seoul Paik Hospital founder's descendant strives to prevent hospital closure

IAEA gives greenlight to Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

Delivering message of hope to Gangneung

Symposium on Korea-US alliance

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