Presidential office hits back at ex-FM Chung over repatriation of NK fishermen Choi Young-bum, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office on Sunday. YonhapThe office of President Yoon Suk-yeol immediately struck back at former Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong on Sunday after he defended the previous administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen against their will.Chung said earlier Sunday the then government of President Moon Jae-in determined the North Koreans' expression of a desire to defect as insincere and decided to deport them, as they had confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members.Chung also said the North Koreans "were rare, grotesque killers.""Some claim that we had to accept them into our society as defectors in accordance with our Constitution," he said in a statement. "However, our domestic law stipulates that nonpolitical criminals, like them, should be deported without being allowed into the country. Nonpolitical serious criminals are also not considered refugees under international law."Just hours later, Choi Young-bum, senior presideJul 17, 2022
Ex-FM Chung says no request from N. Korea for fishermen's repatriation Former Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong speaks during a National Assembly meeting in this March 28 photo. Korea Times fileFormer Foreign Minister and National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong rejected allegations Sunday that South Korea sent two North Korean fishermen back to their homeland in 2019 after North Korea requested their repatriation first.Chung made the remark in a statement issued via Rep. Yoon Kun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), stressing that South Korea first asked the North if it was willing to accept the two fishermen before deporting them.The statement came after a newspaper report alleged that the North informed the then presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, that a fishing boat carrying North Koreans was heading to South Korea and the notification could be seen as an order for the South to capture and repatriate them."No request was received from North Korea that the brutal criminals be repatriated," Chung said in the statement. "But we sounded out North Korea's intentions because we need to check the willingJul 17, 2022
Three questions remain over repatriation of North Korean fishermen A North Korean fisherman waits to be deported at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom, in this Nov. 7, 2019, file photo. Courtesy of Ministry of UnificationBy Jung Min-hoPictures of North Korean fishermen fiercely resisting deportation provide an answer to one important question: They seemed sincere about defecting to South Korea, contrary to the claims of the previous Moon Jae-in administration.The revelation by the Ministry of Unification has left many people shocked here and abroad. Now, calls are mounting to uncover the whole truth behind the 2019 decision to send the fishermen back to the brutal North Korean regime. There are three big questions that remain unanswered.In this Nov. 8, 2019, file photo, South Korea's Navy tows a boat used by two North Korean fishermen before it was handed over to North Korean authorities. Courtesy of Unification MinistryDid they really kill 16 people on boat?According to authorities under the Moon government, the fishermen conspired with a third man to kill their captain and 15 others on the boat before their escape to the South. But the bJul 15, 2022By Jung Min-ho
North Korea says Ukraine has 'no right' to criticize its recognition of separatist regions In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 27. AP-YonhapNorth Korea said Friday that Ukraine has no right to take issue with its recognition of two breakaway regions in the war-torn country earlier this week, calling the measure a "legitimate exercise of sovereignty." On Wednesday, Ukraine announced its decision to sever diplomatic relations with North Korea for formally backing the independence of the pro-Moscow republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In response to a question by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) over the issue, a spokesperson for Pyongyang's foreign ministry defended the move and criticized Ukraine. "Ukraine, which had committed acts quite contrary to impartiality and justice in the state-to-state relations while aligning itself with the U.S. unreasonable and illegal hostile policy toward the DPRK in the past, has no right and qualification to take issue with the DPRK over its legitimate exercise of sovereignty," the spokespersJul 15, 2022
INTERVIEW Teaching and learning from North Korean defectors From left in the front row, Kim Min-jae, Song Hyung-min and Gu Hyo-won, former leaders at the Global High School Union of the Freedom Speakers International (FSI), smile at its office in Seoul, July 10. From left in the second row are FSI co-director Lee Eun-koo, Shim Te-ri, Lee An-su and FSI co-director Casey Lartigue. Lee An-su, 17, from Yongsan International School of Seoul, and Shim, 17, from Seoul Foreign School, will lead the union over the next year as general director and vice general director, respectively. Courtesy of FSI'They are just like us': Teenage volunteers share their experiences at FSIBy Jung Min-hoNuclear weapons, starvation and gross abuses of human rights: North Korea is the country everyone loves to hate. For many of those who used to live there, such negative images are among the many challenges they face when trying to start anew elsewhere.High school students who have volunteered to assist North Korean defectors settle in South Korean society said one of the best things that came from their hands-on experiences ― raising funds and teaching them English ― wasJul 15, 2022By Jung Min-ho
WFP chief meets S. Korean ministers to discuss N. Korea food situation Foreign Minister Park Jin, second from right, poses for a photo with World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley, second from left, before their talks, Thursday, at the foreign ministry in Seoul. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign AffairsThe head of the World Food Programme (WFP) had discussions with South Korea's foreign and unification ministers Thursday on the North Korean food shortage issue.Talking here with WFP Executive Director David Beasley, Foreign Minister Park Jin and Unification Minister Kwon Young-se shared concerns about the problem especially amid the impoverished North's fight against COVID-19 and lingering uncertainties attributable to the drawn-out Ukraine-Russia war, according to the ministers' offices.Park was quoted as stressing that his government will continue to pursue humanitarian aid to the North regardless of the political circumstances.Beasley also met and voiced concerns over the impact of global climate change and the Ukrainian situation on the food situation in North Korea."With conflict, droughts, flooding, climate shocks, COVID-19 economic detJul 14, 2022
Parties clash over forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen Ruling People Power Party floor leader and acting Chairman Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, left, speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press CorpsOpposition lawmakers accuse Yoon gov't and ruling party of politicizing the incident to demonize their predecessorsBy Nam Hyun-wooThe previous Moon Jae-in administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen back to the North has become a major political fray between the ruling and opposition blocs.While the presidential office and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) are ratcheting up their efforts to attack the previous Moon government for its “inhumane” treatment of the defectors, members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) repeated the claims that the fishermen were criminals and accused the ruling block of trying to politicize the incident. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader and acting chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), said Thursday the party will push for an investigation or introduce an independent counsel to look into thJul 14, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea trade sinks 17.3% in 2021 on sanctions, pandemic This photo shows a general view of the Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, May 16. AP-YonhapNorth Korea's foreign trade dipped 17.3 percent on-year to $713 million in 2021 due to international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program and border closures to stem the spread of COVID-19, a report showed Thursday.The reclusive country's exports fell 8.2 percent to some $82 million last year, and imports plunged 18.4 percent to around $631 million, resulting in a trade deficit of $549.4 million, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).Last year's trade deficit narrowed from the $684.4 million red ink recorded a year earlier.The tumble in trade was blamed on international sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear program coupled with the closure of its border with China, a key ally.Beijing was North Korea's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $681.7 million in 2021, which was down 10.4 percent from the previous year. The amount accounted for 95.6 percent of North Korea's total foreign trade last year, up from 88.2 percent a year earlier.OtheJul 14, 2022
North Korea officially recognizes independence of 2 separatist regions in Ukraine A flag of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) flies outside the DPR embassy in Moscow, July 12. North Korea has formally recognized the independence of two pro-Russian separatist "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine. Reuters-YonhapNorth Korea has formally recognized the independence of two pro-Russian separatist "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine, becoming the world's third nation to do so, according to the North's state media Thursday.The North's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui sent letters to her counterparts in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic the previous day and recognized the entities, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Russia and Syria have already backed their independence."In the letters, she informed them that the DPRK government decided to recognize the independence of the People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Lugansk and expressed the will to develop the state-to-state relations with those countries in the idea of independence, peace and friendship," it said in an English-language aJul 14, 2022
Ukraine severs diplomatic ties with North Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / AP-YonhapUkraine has severed diplomatic ties with North Korea for recognizing the independence of Ukrainian territories seized by Russia, the country's foreign ministry said Wednesday.In a statement posted on its Web site, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said it strongly condemns North Korea's decision to recognize the "so-called "independence" of the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhanks regions of Ukraine.""We consider this decision as an attempt by Pyongyang to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a gross violation of the Constitution of Ukraine, the U.N. Charter and the fundamental norms and principles of the international law," it said.Ukraine's move comes after the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a quasi-state formed in April 2014 by pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region, said it was in discussion with North Korea about Pyongyang's recognition of its independence.Earlier report said the North Korean embassy in Moscow has confirmed the North's recognition of the iJul 14, 2022
