New Catholic church to open near inter-Korean border A new Catholic church will open this week in Camp Bonifas, a few kilometers from the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the inter-Korean border, the Military Ordinariate of Korea said Tuesday.The ordinariate will hold a Mass at the new church in Paju on Wednesday to mark the completion of its construction. It will replace the existing one, which was built in 1958.With a total floor area of about 280 square meters, the building has a 15.3-meter bell tower and a symbol expressing gratitude to the 22 countries that sent troops or provided assistance for South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)Aug 20, 2019
Warning to North Korea? US tests medium-range cruise missile for first time in 32 years This Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019 photo provided by the U.S. Defense Department shows the launch of a conventionally configured ground-launched cruise missile on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California. The Pentagon said Monday the U.S. military has conducted a flight test of a type of missile banned for more than 30 years by a treaty that both the United States and Russia abandoned this month. The test off the coast of California on Sunday marks the resumption of an arms competition that some analysts worry could increase U.S.-Russian tensions. (Scott Howe/U.S. Defense Department via AP)The U.S. military has conducted a flight test of a type of missile banned for more than 30 years by a treaty that both the United States and Russia abandoned this month, the Pentagon said.The test off the coast of California on Sunday marked the resumption of an arms competition that some analysts worry could increase U.S.-Russian tensions. The Trump administration has said it remains interested in useful arms control but questions Moscow's willingness to adhere to its treaty commitments.The PentagonAug 20, 2019
Speculation swirls over possible US-NK meeting this week North Korea test fires a new weapon, in this undated photo released on Aug. 16, 2019, by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. ReutersU.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun's upcoming trip to South Korea is fanning speculation of a possible meeting between him and North Korean officials on the inter-Korean border this week.The timing of his visit ― Tuesday to Thursday ― is conspicuous because it starts on the day military exercises between Seoul and Washington end, the same day the North has said it would be ready to resume talks with the U.S.If a meeting is realized, it would mark the resumption of denuclearization negotiations that have stalled since a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February ended without a deal.A meeting would also bring to fruition an agreement to resume working-level talks reached during Trump and Kim's impromptu encounter at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June.Biegun has used previous visits to Seoul to meet with his North Korean counterparts.In February, the specAug 20, 2019
US extends travel ban on North Korea for another year U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019. APThe United States on Monday extended a ban on American citizens traveling to North Korea for another year.The State Department announced the extension in a notice, saying "there continues to be serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention" in the North.The notice is due to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.The travel ban was imposed in September 2017 in the wake of the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in the North and died shortly after his return to the U.S. in a coma. Exceptions can be granted to journalists and for humanitarian reasons for a single trip.The measure was renewed once in 2018. It will now remain in place until Aug. 31, 2020, unless extended or revoked by the secretary of state.The move follows a separate action by the U.S. this month, under which foreign nationals with a record of traveling to North Korea beginning in March 2011 must Aug 20, 2019
INTERVIEW 'Impact of scrapping GSOMIA will hit Korea harder' Former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo poses at a cafe in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 12, during an interview with The Korea Times. Korea Times photo by Do Je-haeThis is the first in a series of interviews with political experts and experienced analysts assessing the impact of the ongoing South Korea-Japan trade row after Tokyo removed Seoul from its list of trusted trading partners receiving preferential treatment in exports. ― ED. By Do Je-hae Former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo has cautioned against some calls to scrap a military information-sharing pact with Japan as a response to a series of trade restrictions imposed on Seoul since early July. Seoul is expected to announce its position on extending the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) later this week before it expires on Aug. 24. “GSOMIA has a huge symbolic implication,” Shin said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. “It is an important component of the Korea-U.S.-Japan system of crisis management on the Korean Peninsula.” The former top envoy to JapAug 19, 2019By Do Je-hae
Biegun in Seoul this week to discuss resumption of nuke talks with North Korea By Lee Min-hyungStephen BiegunUnited States Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will embark on a three-day visit to Seoul from Thursday to discuss the potential resumption of suspended nuclear talks with North Korea.According to the U.S. State Department, Biegun's trip to Seoul is aimed at “further strengthening coordination on the final, fully verified denuclearization” of the North.The nuclear dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang has come to a halt since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit between the leaders of the two countries.Expectations were that both sides would resume working-level talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula sometime last month, as agreed during a surprise meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 30.Citing the joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington, however, Pyongyang declined to hold nuclear talks and instead ramped up military provocations by firing a series of missiles in recent weeks.But an air of anticipation for the potential resumption of the nuclear dAug 18, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea again raps Seoul over joint military exercise This Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, photo provided Saturday, Aug. 17, by the North Korean government, shows test firings of an unspecified new weapon at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Korean Central News Agency via AP-YonhapNorth Korea again blasted South Korea and the United States for their joint military exercise Saturday, one day after it said it has no intention to talk with South Korea again.In a signed commentary, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed the joint military drill was aimed at invading the North."It is a well-known fact that the U.S. and the south Korean authorities grew proficient in the capabilities for fighting a war, steadily modifying and supplementing operational plans of all descriptions that presuppose a sudden preemptive attack on the DPRK for the past decades," the commentary said.DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."As acknowledged by the world people, the purpose of the war exercises targeting the DPRK has not changed," it added.The commentary came one day after the communist staAug 17, 2019
North Korean vice sports minister cancels plan to visit Japan: report North Korean vice sports minister Won Kil-u. YonhapNorth Korea's vice sports minister has canceled his plan to visit Japan this week to attend a 2020 Tokyo Olympics-related meeting, a Japanese news outlet reported Saturday.North Korean vice minister Won Kil-u and two officials had planned to visit Tokyo from Tuesday to Thursday, but withdrew their plan, Kyodo News reported, citing multiple government sources.The North Koreans originally planned to take part in a meeting of countries that will participate in the Tokyo Olympics. The reason for their cancellation is not known, according to Kyodo.Japan has banned entrance of North Korean nationals, in line with its unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang, over the country's nuclear and missile programs. But Tokyo planned to approve a visit by Won's delegation by deeming the sports an exception to the sanctions.North Korea has also decided not to send its athletes to the World Judo Championships to be held in Tokyo starting on Aug. 25, Kyodo reported.The North initially planned to send a 15-member delegation to the championship event, but Aug 17, 2019
'Trump may accept Pyongyang as nuclear-armed state': Ex-US diplomat Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. Screen capture from YouTubeA former senior U.S. diplomat has suggested President Donald Trump could eventually accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, although he has shown no indication of doing so yet.Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, aired the view in a recent interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, posted on the think tank's website this week."One hears persistent rumors and feedback that, on occasion, the president will ask: 'What's wrong with just letting them have ― acknowledging that? He seems like a perfectly reasonable guy. We can live with these guys. So what? We can manage the results,'" Campbell said, apparently referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Discussing the possibility of an agreement under which North Korea would partially dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for recognition as a nuclear weapons state and sanctions relief, he added: "I think there have been enough people tAug 17, 2019
North Korea says it tested 'new weapon' under leader Kim's guidance North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guides the test firing of a new weapon, in this undated photo released on Aug. 16, 2019 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. Korean Central News Agency-Yonhap.North Korea said Saturday that it has tested a "new weapon" under the guidance of its leader, Kim Jong-un, in the launch of two projectiles the previous day.Kim "guided the test-fire of (a) new weapon again on Friday morning," the Korean Central News Agency said. "The national defense scientists showed a perfect result in the test-fire, too, and helped cement bigger confidence in this weapon system.""It is our party's goal of defense building to possess invincible military capabilities no one dare provoke and to keep bolstering them," Kim was quoted as saying. "Everyone should remember that it is the party's core plan and fixed will for defense building to possess such a powerful force strong enough to discourage any forces from daring to provoke us."The KCNA did not provide other details on the weapon, including its name.The report came a day after South Korea's military said that the NoAug 17, 2019
