South Korea - The Korea Times

Kang, Abrams to discuss pending security affairs in Korea

By Lee Min-hyungForeign Minister Kang Kyung-whaU.S. Forces Korea commander Robert AbramsForeign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet with United States Forces Korea (USFK) commander Robert Abrams, Friday, at the new USFK headquarters in Camp Humphreys, to discuss pending security affairs here.Kang's visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, located about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is the first since 2017. The visit to the U.S. military base comes at a crucial time when the allies are on the verge of starting their defense cost-sharing negotiations, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).Both sides are in the final stages of designating their delegations before starting the talks on the upkeep of the USFK.The foreign ministry declined to provide details of the discussion between Kang and Abrams on the sidelines of their visit, there. Chances are that she will likely reiterate the South's general position of seeking to sign a “reasonable and fair” deal for the 2020 SMA.The foreign ministry, which handles the defense cost-sharing talks, is facing growing pressure before

Sep 18, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

Kang, Abrams to discuss pending security affairs in Korea

Seoul, Tokyo FMs to meet at UN for GSOMIA issue

This image, released on Sept. 11, 2019, by the North Korean Official News Service (KCNA), shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervising the test-firing of a “super-large multiple rocket launcher.” UPI-YonhapBy Do Je-hae, Kim Yoo-chulThe South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers plan to meet in New York next week, on the sidelines of their participation in this year's United Nations General Assembly, for talks about “issues of mutual interest,” a diplomatic source in Seoul said Wednesday.“Preparatory work is underway for a meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of the General Assembly,” the source told The Korea Times, adding further details will be announced after key agenda items are determined.A ministry official said working-level discussions were underway to decide “relevant issues.” Motegi recently replaced Taro Kono, and the meeting comes amid growing calls from the United States for Seoul to reconsider its recent decision not to renew a mi

Sep 18, 2019By Do Je-hae

Seoul, Tokyo FMs to meet at UN for GSOMIA issue

Korea strips Japan of preferred trade partner status

TV producer aims high to become leading content creator

By Lee Min-hyungOh Won-taek, producer at CJ ENMOh Won-taek, a producer at CJ ENM, advises young aspiring entertainers to figure out the “fundamentals” of what they want to do, rather than limiting themselves to a certain job category.“I am working as a TV producer at a media entertainment company, but producer is nothing more than a job title,” he said in an interview last week. “As long as I can create content, it does not matter whether my job title is TV producer, film director or YouTuber.”He became interested in creating audiovisual contents during his middle school years back in the 1990s when his father bought him a camcorder.Oh described himself as a “country boy” back then, as the school was located in a small rural area in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province.“After figuring out that I enjoyed filming this and that with the camcorder, an ethics teacher told me to shoot a film about my school life and friends,” he said.He engaged in every singular process in making the film, including writing scenarios, video shootin

Sep 18, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

TV producer aims high to become leading content creator

GSOMIA - bargaining chip in NK talks

In this Feb. 28 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyung, Do Je-hae Although Cheong Wa Dae has declined to specify the topics of the upcoming Korea-U.S. summit, it is largely expected Korea's withdrawal from a military intelligence sharing pact with Japan following a bilateral dispute on trade and history could be on the discussion table. Moon is likely to use his summit with Trump during the Sept. 22-26 visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly as an occasion to assuage rising concerns over the Korea-U.S. alliance following Korea's abrupt decision last month to cancel renewal of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). Cheong Wa Dae had said it goes against “national interest” to renew the pact with Japan. The GSOMIA withdrawal has triggered concerns from Washington, which initiated the signing of the pact in 2016 to advance trilateral security cooperation in the

Sep 17, 2019By Do Je-hae

Prof. Lee Geun named to lead KF

By Kim Ji-sooProf. Lee GeunThe government has named Professor Lee Geun of Seoul National University as the new president of the Korea Foundation, an affiliate institute under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will serve a three-year term.Lee, professor of the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University, also served as vice dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University and dean of the Office of International Affairs. He is an outside adviser to the ministry as well. The ministry noted Lee's 20 years of research into Korea's foreign affairs and international exchanges, as well as his advisory role.Lee, 56, graduated with a bachelor's degree in foreign affairs from Seoul National University, and obtained his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Sep 17, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

'Japan doesn't trust South Korea'

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 11. Reuters-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korea's decision to end a bilateral military information-sharing pact was largely because of Tokyo's deep distrust of Seoul, according to an adviser for foreign and unification affairs to President Moon Jae-in.“The South Korean government believes the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) can't be effective if Japan doesn't trust us. If Japan doesn't trust us, how can we exchange sensitive military intelligence with them?” presidential adviser Moon Chung-in said in a recent interview with China's state-owned publication The Global Times. The GSOMIA allowed for more “seamless intelligence-sharing” among Washington's top two allies in Asia regarding North Korean activities in the region.Once terminated, the agreement will be tough to reconstitute given domestic political obstacles in the past, particularly in South Korea. The adviser to Moon said the South Korean decision jeopardizes the trila

Sep 16, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul

Moon vows to fully support Trump-Kim summit

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap By Park Ji-wonPresident Moon Jae-in pledged Monday that he would fully support a Trump-Kim summit, ahead of a planned meeting with his U.S. counterpart next week.“I will fully support the dialogue between North Korea and the United States through a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump,” Moon said at the start of a weekly meeting of senior presidential aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday, according to press pool reports.“It will be a chance to share mutual understanding and wisdom about advancing the Seoul-Washington future-oriented relationship a step further based on the robust South Korea-U.S. alliance,” Moon told them.His remarks came ahead of a planned summit between Moon and Trump on the sidelines of the United Nation's General Assembly from Sept. 22 to 26. Officials from the two countries are still deciding on when to hold the meeting. North Korea

Sep 16, 2019By Park Ji-won

Moon vows to fully support Trump-Kim summit

Kim Jong-un invited Trump to Pyongyang via letter: FM

Kim Jong-un invited Trump to Pyongyang via letter: FM

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, left, and Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul prepare to give a briefing on current security affairs to lawmakers at the National Assembly, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungForeign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Monday that she had been briefed by the United States about a personal letter sent by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump inviting him for a third summit to be held in Pyongyang.“I was recently told in detail from the U.S. about the existence of the letter,” she told lawmakers during a meeting at the National Assembly.The remarks came ahead of President Moon Jae-in's planned visit to the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York, where he could have a summit with Trump. The U.S. president has been sending favorable gestures and messages to North Korea after Pyongyang hinted at restarting talks on its denuclearization. Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office is also keeping a close eye on Kim Jong-un's recent letters sent to Trump.Despite the failed Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim in February thi

Sep 16, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

Kim Jong-un invited Trump to Pyongyang via letter: FM

Opposition leader to have his head shaved in protest against scandal-hit justice minister

Hwang Kyo-ahn, center, leader of the main opposition Liberty Party Korea, walks with key party members in the corridor of the National Assembly on Monday. YonhapThe chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) will have his head shaved Monday to call for the dismissal of the justice minister, whose family is embroiled in corruption allegations, party officials said.LKP chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn plans to shave his head in front of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae at 5 p.m. to call on President Moon Jae-in to sack Justice Minister Cho Kuk, according to the conservative party.In South Korea, politicians often have their heads shaved publicly in a show of protest for political purposes.The shaving ceremony is aimed at "stopping the Moon administration from violating the Constitution and calling for the dismissal of Cho," the LKP said.Hwang followed suit after Rep. Park In-sook of the LKP had her head shaved Tuesday. Rep. Lee Un-ju, an independent lawmaker, did the same thing last week.The protest came as Moon appointed Cho as the new minister last week despite the prosecution

Sep 16, 2019

Opposition leader to have his head shaved in protest against scandal-hit justice minister

Former President Park hospitalized for shoulder surgery

Former President Park Geun-hye, in a wheelchair, is escorted into Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in southern Seoul on Monday morning. She will undergo a surgery for rotator cuff tear on her left shoulder on Tuesday. YonhapFormer President Park Geun-hye, who has been in a Seoul detention center since March 2017 over a massive corruption case, was admitted to a hospital on Monday for surgery, the Ministry of Justice said.Park was transferred from the Seoul Detention Center to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in southern Seoul on Monday morning to undergo an operation on her left shoulder, ministry officials said, noting her surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.They said Park is unable to use her left arm due to a rotator cuff tear.Park was previously allowed to occasionally visit the general hospital for treatment for her lumbar disc condition and other ailments or to have an oriental medicine doctor examine her in prison during her detention over the past two years and five months.The ministry permitted Park's hospitalization two days after the prosecution last Monday rejected her request for a stay