Korea Times Politics & City Reporter
Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Few expected the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which holds a majority of seats at the National Assembly, to strip its chairman, Lee Jae-myung, of immunity from arrest. But on Thursday, the Assembly passed a motion to allow the potential arrest of Lee, who is embroiled in corruption scandals, after at least 29 DPK lawmakers voted against him.
Dozens of human rights organizations and experts from 17 countries have demanded Beijing release North Korean detainees and grant them refugee status in a joint letter to Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
A North Korean escapee speaks about her experience of living near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site during an event in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapResidents kept in dark about facility and devastating physical effectsBy Jung Min-hoLee Young-ran, a North Korean escapee, had been completely unaware of the nuclear test facility near her hometown in Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, until the regime conducted its third nuclear weapons test there in 2013.When Lee finally realized what was happening less than 30 kilometers from where she lived, she had no idea about the potentially devastating health consequences of such experiments.“After the news, many people celebrated it, with some dancing at the 'jangmadang' (local market) … I had not known about the effects of nuclear tests on health until I came to South Korea,” Lee said during Wednesday's event held in Seoul for the 20th North Korea Freedom Week that is being held from Sunday to Saturday.Now she blames radioactive contamination in groundwater from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site for the death of her son and many other
This Sept. 22, 2020, file photo shows a “jangmadang,” or local market, crowded with people in Hyesan, a North Korean city near its border with China. North Korea's communist system has ironically given rise to a ruthless capitalist model where only the strong survive, according to North Korean escapees, Tuesday. YonhapSecond jobs have become essential for survival after distribution system collapseBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korea's political system that claims to guarantee “equal rights” for everyone has given rise to one of the most oppressive dictatorships in the modern world. The same paradox also pervades its economy: After the collapse of its distribution system for “common ownership,” all but a small number of the powerful elite there have been driven into a ruthless capitalist competition for survival, according to North Korean escapees, Tuesday.After witnessing her grandmother's death from hunger during North Korea's great famine in the mid-1990s, Kim Yoo-a, who was just 13 years old then, woke up to the fact that the state would not feed her.&ldq
A security official stands near a sign promoting the Asian Games at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, China, Sunday. Human rights advocates said on Monday that they are joining international efforts to step up pressure on Beijing to cease the forced repatriations North Korean escapees, ahead of the opening of the event on Sept. 23. YonhapEx-UN rapporteurs, international groups in talks to join campaign to stop deportationsBy Jung Min-hoHuman rights advocates are joining international efforts to step up pressure on Beijing ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou to cease its practice of forcibly repatriating North Korean escapees. They hope to use the sports event as a platform to raise awareness about the issue. Two former U.N. rapporteurs on the situation of North Korea's human rights ― Tomas Ojea Quintana and Marzuki Darusman ― and international groups including Human Rights Watch are among those expected to join the campaign, activists told The Korea Times on Monday.The campaign is taking place as North Korean escapees detained in China ― up to 2,000 according to an estimate b
Former President Moon Jae-in smiles at his bookstore in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in this April 26 file photo. Moon is expected to attend Tuesday's event marking the fifth anniversary of the inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoFormer President Moon Jae-in will give a speech at an event marking the fifth anniversary of the inter-Korean summit, which was held in Pyongyang, the organizing committee said, Sunday..At the ceremony, planned for Tuesday in Seoul, Moon is expected to meet with his former secretaries and Cabinet members, including former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul and former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.This would be his first public appearance in the capital since he left office in May 2022.The announcement comes as inter-Korean relations remain tense, with North Korea stepping up efforts to develop missile and nuclear weapons.The day after the Seoul-Pyongyang summit on Sept. 18, 2018, Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a joint statement, calling for a no-aggression military agreement, civilian exchanges, the gradual de
Rep. Woo Won-shik, second from left, of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and other party representatives attends a meeting with officials of the International Maritime Organization at its London headquarters, Saturday (local time). YonhapSeafood consumption remains stable despite opposition party's 'fear-mongering'By Jung Min-hoBefore Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant last month, Korea's opposition party warned of grave consequences for public health and the seafood industry.Nearly a month has passed since TEPCO started discharging the water gradually into the Pacific. However, none of the Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) warnings have so far been shown to come true. No health issues related to the release have been found and seafood sales remain stable, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.Yet the party is doubling down on its anti-Fukushima campaign, despite growing skepticism.DPK Reps. Woo Won-shik and Yang Yiwonyoung visited the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) i
Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, speaks during a meeting with Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, not pictured, at the Government Complex in Seoul, Monday. Salmon asked Beijing not to forcibly deport North Korean escapees, Tuesday, saying all member states should respect U.N. treaties. YonhapMember states must comply with principle of non-refoulement, Salmon saysBy Jung Min-hoElizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, asked Beijing not to forcibly deport North Korean escapees, Tuesday, saying all member countries should comply with the principle of non-refoulement.At a press conference where she shared the results of a nine-day visit here, Salmon said she was “extremely concerned” about the risk of grave human rights abuses facing some 2,000 North Koreans detained in China.Her request comes at a time when North Korea is easing border restrictions in a clear sign of reopening after three years of extreme pandemic isolation.“I welcome the partial reopening of the borders by the DPRK (North
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 12, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un leaving Pyongyang for a trip to Russia on his special train. YonhapPyongyang, Moscow confirm meeting plan as North Korean train heads to Vladivostok By Jung Min-hoNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to arrive in Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as Tuesday and possibly sign an arms deal.After a train presumably carrying Kim left Pyongyang en route to Vladivostok, Monday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that he will soon “meet and have a talk with” Putin, but did not elaborate on when and where the meeting would take place.The Kremlin also confirmed that the North Korean leader will visit the country “in the coming days” at the invitation of Putin, according to Russia's TASS news agency.Hours before the confirmation, South Korean government officials said that the North Korean leader's heavily armored train appeared to have left Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon. If the summit t
This photo released Friday shows a newly built "tactical nuclear attack submarine" at Sinpo Shipyard in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, Wednesday. YonhapPyongyang unveils new 'tactical nuclear attack submarine'By Jung Min-hoNorth Korea revealed its first submarine designed to launch “tactical nuclear weapons” from underwater, Friday, as the regime is redoubling efforts to perfect its second-strike capability ― an ability to respond to a nuclear attack with nuclear retaliation.The submarine, named after a military hero, Kim Kun-ok, will carry nuclear-strike means for “a preemptive or a retaliatory attack,” its leader Kim Jong-un said during a ceremony, held Wednesday, ahead of North Korea's Sept. 9 founding anniversary, the state media said.This comes amid fears that Pyongyang is seeking Moscow's support in developing a nuclear-powered submarine through an ammunition-for-tech deal at Kim's expected meeting with Vladimir Putin next week. The New York Times reported that the summit would be held in Vladivostok between Sept. 10 and 13, citing U.S. sources.In