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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

PM to meet Abe at Japanese emperor's enthronement event

President Moon Jae-in, left, salutes the national flag with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Sept. 8. YonhapPM Lee to meet Abe with Moon's messages By Kim Yoo-chulPrime Minister Lee Nak-yon will represent South Korea at the enthronement ceremony of Japanese emperor Naruhito this month, the Prime Minister's office confirmed Sunday.The South Korean government had been contemplating sending Lee or a top-level presidential aide to the Oct. 22 ceremony, in which the new emperor proclaims his enthronement in front of representatives from Japan and about 200 other countries. “The Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Prime Minister Lee will attend Japanese emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony on behalf of President Moon Jae-in,” the office said, adding that the PM's trip was planned for Oct. 22 to 24. A senior presidential aide said Cheong Wa Dae was hoping Lee's visit to Tokyo would provide a “new and fresh impetus” in improving Seoul-Tokyo relations.As Japan's decision to delist South Korea from its list of most preferred

Oct 13, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
PM to meet Abe at Japanese emperor's enthronement event
  • Moon, Abe seeking 'middle ground'
  • Reiwa coronation eyed as impetus for mending ties
  • Korea, Japan discuss exit strategy on trade dispute at WTO
  • Seoul, Tokyo discuss details of Lee-Abe meeting

Reiwa coronation eyed as impetus for mending ties

Japan's Emperor Naruhito, right, takes part of the opening ceremony of an extraordinary diet session in Tokyo on Oct. 4. AFP-YonhapBy Do Je-hae Tokyo is getting ready to celebrate the ascension of Emperor Naruhito, who succeeded his father Akihito in May, with a huge enthronement ceremony on Oct. 22. For the festive occasion marking the opening of the Reiwa era, Tokyo has invited dignitaries from more than 190 countries and international organizations.Under normal circumstances, Koreans would take little interest in the upcoming coronation of the new Japanese emperor. But due to the ongoing bilateral conflict over colonial history, as well as trade and national security, there has been intense media focus on who will represent Korea at Japan's biggest diplomatic event in decades. In particular, there has been keen attention on whether President Moon Jae-in would make a bold decision to visit Japan for the occasion, making an unforeseen move for a future-oriented relationship with Tokyo despite the Japanese government's rigid posture toward Korea since 2018 Supreme Court rulings on wa

Oct 13, 2019By Do Je-hae
Reiwa coronation eyed as impetus for mending ties
  • PM to meet Abe at Japanese emperor's enthronement event

PM to attend Japanese emperor's enthronement event

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon. Korea Times fileSouth Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon is expected to visit Tokyo next week to attend the Japanese emperor's enthronement event in an apparent move to mend soured relations between the two neighbors over trade and shared history, sources said Sunday. Lee will visit Japan from Oct. 22-24 for the ceremony. The prime minister's office is set to announce further details later in the day, according to the sources.Last week, a Cheong Wa Dae official said President Moon Jae-will not attend the event, citing Tokyo's stance on its trade curbs against Seoul over a historical issue.The decision had raised the possibility that Lee will instead attend the ceremony.Japan launched export curbs against South Korea in early July in apparent protest at the Moon Jae-in government's handling of a decades-old dispute over compensating Korean victims of Japan's forced labor during World War II.Seoul hit back with its own export control scheme and a filing to the World Trade Organization over Japan's export regulations. (Yonhap)

Oct 13, 2019
PM to attend Japanese emperor's enthronement event

Rallies held for and against Justice Minister Cho Kuk

Protests with bipolar demands, one for arrest of Justice Minister Cho Kuk and oust of President Moon Jae-in, bottom, the other for overhauling the prosecutors' office to fix its damaged credibility, are simultaneously held, with police fences dividing them in the middle, at Banpo-daero road in Seoul's Seocho District, Saturday. YonhapSupporters of South Korea's embattled justice minister, Cho Kuk, staged another massive candlelight vigil right in front of the prosecution's headquarters in southern Seoul on Saturday, as Cho's wife was grilled again by investigators over her alleged role in the fraud and corruption scandal that has roiled the country for more than two months.Not that far away, a smaller group of anti-Cho protesters also had a rally, putting police on high alert.The streets near the Socho subway station were packed with those carrying candles or related images as well as banners and signs that read "Protect Cho Kuk," "Reform Prosecution," "Reform Media" and "Ultimatum."It reflects their view that state prosecutors are conducting a witch hunt against Cho, a former law pr

Oct 12, 2019
Rallies held for and against Justice Minister Cho Kuk
  • Justice minister's wife summoned 4th time on corruption allegations
  • Moon's approval rating hits new low amid 'Cho Kuk' setback, poll shows

Assembly speaker struggling to bridge rival parties

Four party leaders appear at the JW Marriott Hotel Seoul to attend the first “political negotiations meeting” presided by National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, Friday. From left are Rep. Lee Hae-chan of the Democratic Party of Korea, Sohn Hak-kyu of the Bareunmirae Party, Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party and Rep. Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace. YonhapBy Jung Da-min National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and three other opposition parties held their first “political negotiations meeting” at the JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Friday. But main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) leader Hwang Kyo-ahn did not attend the meeting citing a “busy schedule.” Moon and the four party leaders including Rep. Lee Hae-chan of the DPK, Sohn Hak-kyu of the Bareunmirae Party, Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party and Rep. Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace, agreed on the establishment of a working group to push for reform plans including key judiciary

Oct 11, 2019
Assembly speaker struggling to bridge rival parties

Army to curtail troops for combat efficiency

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Suh Wook speaks in an opening remark of the National Assembly's annual audit, Friday, at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters in South Chungcheong Province. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Army plans to curtail the number of troops to around 365,000 by the end of 2022 to enhance combat efficiency and deal with the decreasing population, the land force said Friday in the National Assembly's annual audit.This is a 10 percent cut from the current number of around 464,000. The Army explained the decision is also part of the military's efforts to maximize operational efficiency by replacing the decreasing number of soldiers with state-of-the-art combat equipment, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and counter-artillery radar.“The Army is actively pushing ahead with developing and introducing next-generation game changers, including a drone-driven combat system and the Warrior Platform advanced military gear,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Suh Wook said in an opening remark of the audit.Under the ongoing Defense Reform 2.0 drive, the South Korean military is going

Oct 11, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Army to curtail troops for combat efficiency

Delayed US-NK talks not helpful for Pyongyang

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands at Panmunjeom on June 30. YonhapBy Do Je-hae The no-deal U.S.-North Korea talks in Stockholm last week have resulted in another tedious delay in their denuclearization negotiations after a months-long stalemate since the failed Hanoi summit between the leaders of the two countries in February.The timing of the resumption of bilateral talks remains unclear at this point, but prospects are not entirely negative. In particular, the trust established between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who met alongside President Moon Jae-in during a surprise gathering on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjeom in June, will remain a dominant factor in accelerating the nuclear disarmament talks despite the latest setback in the Swedish capital, according to insiders. “There is trust among the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and North Korea. Also, the National Security Councils (NSC) of South Korea and the U.S. are maintaining close communication, and there is no huge di

Oct 10, 2019By Do Je-hae
Delayed US-NK talks not helpful for Pyongyang
  • North Korea threatens to end freeze in long-range missile testing

Prosecution-media ties under fire as row deepens over KBS' interview leak

Rhyu Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun foundation, accuses KBS of leaking a witness interview during an Alileo live YouTube broadcast, Tuesday. Captured from Alileo YouTube videoBy Lee Suh-yoonThere is a growing controversy over whether reporters at public broadcaster KBS gave excerpts of an interview with a key witness in the investigation of Justice Minister Cho Kuk's family to the prosecution. On Tuesday, former liberal politician and writer Rhyu Si-min asserted on his YouTube news channel, Alileo, that KBS passed on parts of the interview to the prosecution without the consent of the witness.Rhyu was quoting Kim Kyung-rok, who has managed the assets of Cho's wife, professor Chung Kyung-shim, for the last five years. Prosecutors accused Kim of “destroying” evidence by removing hard drives from Chung's computers in her office at Dongyang University, though he later turned them over. Kim was questioned by the prosecution Sept. 10, after being interviewed earlier the same day by KBS. He managed to see messaging posts on a prosecutor's computer screen that mentioned par

Oct 10, 2019
Prosecution-media ties under fire as row deepens over KBS' interview leak

Moon takes cautious approach as 'facilitator'

President Moon Jae-in presides over a meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungPresident Moon Jae-in is taking a cautious approach to responding to the working-level denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea in Sweden. Cheong Wa Dae has eyed the resumption of the talks as a strong impetus for accelerating the President's “peace process,” which has been put on hold due to prolonged deadlock in nuclear negotiations between the foes of the Korean War. In a weekly meeting with senior presidential secretaries, Tuesday, Moon refrained from commenting on the one day of negotiations, and instead shifted his focus to the local economy, saying the government was placing “special attention” on revving this up by securing new growth engines.Moon's silence has raised doubts about his role as a “facilitator” in the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Cheong Wa Dae has instead stressed that it was not appropriate for the South to make any rash judgment on the matter that would

Oct 10, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Moon takes cautious approach as 'facilitator'
  • Seoul mulls discussing North Korea development bank at ASEAN summit
  • Korea, US, Japan discuss security coordination after Sweden talks
  • North Korea threatens to end freeze in long-range missile testing

Parties wrangle over Cho at Assembly audit

Seoul National University (SNU) President Oh Se-Jung, left, takes an oath before participating in a government audit of his university held on the SNU campus, Thursday. Yonhap By Park Ji-wonParties clashed over embattled Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter's internship at Seoul National University (SNU) during a government audit Thursday. Members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) questioned the legitimacy of a certificate claiming Cho's daughter completed an internship, claiming there are possibilities the documents were illegitimate.Rep. Jun Hee-kyung of the LKP questioned Cho's daughter's internship record saying “Cho's daughter said she applied for an internship at the university after finding it online. But it is impossible for her to do so as there was no such opening online.”SNU President Oh Se-Jung declined to comment on the matter saying that it is inappropriate for him to weigh in without having knowledge about it.Rep. Kwak Sang-do of the LKP

Oct 10, 2019By Park Ji-won
Parties wrangle over Cho at Assembly audit
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