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South Korea asked to delay defense cost talks with US

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, holds a meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Aug. 9 in Seoul. AP-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungExperts advise South Korea to keep delaying the negotiations on defense cost sharing with the United States, in what critics say is one of the most realistic ways for the South to keep the momentum of denuclearization with North Korea talks alive. The negotiation is the talk of the diplomatic town here with U.S President Donald Trump insisting Seoul should pay more money to the United States, claiming Americans pay too much to cover its ally's defense costs. In a recent tweet, Trump said he already began negotiations with South Korea on increasing the $900 million it now pays the United States to station U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops here. Defense cost sharing between the United States and South Korea was discussed recently during a visit by Washington's defense secretary Mark Esper. South Korea currently pays 1.04 trillion won ($855.8 million) under the 2019 Special Measures Agreement (SMA), up 8.2 percent from the previous year.

Aug 15, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

South Korea asked to delay defense cost talks with US

'Improving human rights in North Korea can lead to unification'

Supporting underprivileged students

Hana Financial Group's Chief Financial Officer Lee Seung-yeol, front row fifth from left, poses with officials of charity organizations and students at an event awarding student scholarships at the bank's headquarters in central Seoul, Thursday. The scholarships are provided for underprivileged students with outstanding grades or talent in art or sports. / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Aug 15, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Chicken, pork skin enjoy heyday

Deep-fried chicken skin at KFC. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Kim Ji-soo, Hong Seo-hyunBefore Koreans en masse favored fried chicken, poultry was mainly boiled or cooked in the “samgyetang” style, in which the chicken is stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, dates and chestnuts. But even then, it is said that elderly Koreans enjoyed the chicken skin, saying it was the best part.?Now that fried chicken is quickly evolving in Korea, it was only a matter of time before fried chicken skin would start trending as well.Take KFC's latest menu item, fried chicken skin, which has gained quite some fame since its release in July: it's original, it's delicious, and it's limited ― the three factors that make consumers crave it.?Each serving comes with spicy salsa sauce, pricing at only 2,800 won.Although originally released exclusively in Indonesia, its release gained popularity on social media amongst Korea's younger generations who keep up to date with the hottest interna

Aug 15, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

'South Korea will hold Japan's hand if it chooses dialogue, cooperation'

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during his Liberation Day address commemorating the 1945 end of Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in said Thursday that South Korea will "gladly hold" Japan's hand if the neighboring nation chooses dialogue and cooperation in an escalating trade row stemming from differences over wartime forced labor.Moon made the remarks in his Liberation Day address commemorating the 1945 end of Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, urging Japan to contemplate its past and vowing to make South Korea an "unshakable nation." "Better late than never: If Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we will gladly join hands," Moon said. "We will strive with Japan to create an East Asia that engages in fair trade and cooperation." His televised statement represented one of the clearest dialogue overtures toward Tokyo since it launched apparent economic retaliation against Seoul in early July over the wartime forced labor issue.

Aug 15, 2019

'South Korea will hold Japan's hand if it chooses dialogue, cooperation'

Abe sends offering to controversial war shrine

VIDEO Civic societies can solve decades-long conflict between Japan and Korea: Japanese activist

Hideki Yano, 69, a Japanese activist who heads a Tokyo-based NGO dedicated to promoting civic groups' joint action for historical settlement of the wartime Korean forced labor issue, talks about his views on the conflict between the two countries during an interview with The Korea Times at the Press Center in central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Jung Da-minVideo by Lee Min-young, Kim-Kang-minSeoul-Tokyo relations seem to be at their lowest since 1965 amid an ongoing trade row. But there is hope that the conflict could be resolved through the solidarity between civic groups of Japan and South Korea, said a Japanese activist. Hideki Yano, 69, who has dedicated 24 years to promoting civic groups' joint action for historical settlement of wartime forced labor issues, said Seoul-Tokyo relations have passed many points of inflection in different fields including not just politics but also economy and culture. His battle to win civic groups' support started in 1995 when he received a request from surviving Zainichi Korean victims of forced labor asking for help to w

Aug 14, 2019

Civic societies can solve decades-long conflict between Japan and Korea: Japanese activist [VIDEO]

Nation commemorates 'comfort women'

Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun-mee embraces Lee Yong-su, a survivor of sex slavery during World War II, during a ceremony to commemorate the victims at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea held a national ceremony Wednesday to commemorate former wartime sex slaves. On the eve of National Liberation Day, the government hosted the event at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul, where some 300 people, including victims, participated. It was the second time the government led the event since it designated the day as a national memorial day last year. It is the same day in 1991 that the late Kim Hak-sun made the first testimony of Japan's wartime sex slavery. The ceremony drew extra attention as diplomatic and trade tensions between Korea and Japan are escalating after Tokyo began to tighten its control on exports to Seoul last month. As a result, anti-Japan sentiment is intensifying here.The Japanese government's decision to impose the restrictions is widely believed to be apparent retaliation to a court ruling in Korea last year ca

Aug 14, 2019By Bahk Eun-ji

1400th weekly 'comfort women' rally draws thousands in Seoul

S. Korea steps up pressure against Japan over radioactive water

Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Germany, speaks at a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. He urged the South Korean government to take action against Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water into the sea. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungSouth Korea is stepping up pressure against Japan over the country's plan to dump contaminated water into the sea, among its ongoing diplomatic efforts to bring Tokyo to the negotiating table to resolve their worsening trade feud.The plan is centered on how Japan will handle and dispose of 1.15 million tons of water contaminated in the wake of a catastrophic meltdown of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.Japan is considering discharging the water into the Pacific Ocean, and this has drawn strong opposition from its neighboring countries and environmental organizations here and abroad. Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to continue fighting the move in collaboration with international environmental bodies, such as Greenpeace and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Even if the foreign ministry is showing ge

Aug 14, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

S. Korea steps up pressure against Japan over radioactive water

Opposition leader asks Moon to change policy direction

Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) gives a speech at the National Assembly, Wednesday, marking the Aug. 15 Liberation Day, the celebration of Korea's freedom from Japanese colonial period in 1945. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonHwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) asked President Moon Jae-in to change his government's main state affairs agenda to keep the country afloat amid rising external uncertainty.“The five-year term administration is putting the country in a national crisis as it tried to change the country's overall system,” Hwang said at the National Assembly, Wednesday, marking the Aug. 15 Liberation Day, the celebration of Korea's freedom from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.Claiming that the Moon administration's signature income-led policy is controversial, he pledged to lead economic reform by annulling what he considers to be the anti-market and government policies such as the minimum wage hike and the reduction of working hours.He stressed that the key is to take the spirit of the Constitution ba

Aug 14, 2019By Park Ji-won

Opposition leader asks Moon to change policy direction

1400th weekly 'comfort women' rally draws thousands in Seoul

Gil Won-ok, one of the survivors of Japanese military's sexual slavery, thanks protestors for participating in the 1400th weekly protest in front of the former Japanese embassy in Seoul, Wednesday, asking them to “fight to the end.” Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Suh-yoon, Hong Seo-hyunThe 1,400th weekly protest against Japan's wartime sex slavery drew thousands of protesters to the “comfort woman” peace statue in Seoul, Wednesday, amid heightened Tokyo-Seoul tensions over trade and wartime forced labor of Koreans during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. Amid scorching heat that rose to 35 degrees Celsius, protesters repeated their calls for the Japanese government to accept full legal responsibility and reparation duties for the crimes it committed against the Korean population during its colonial occupation. President Moon Jae-in, too, too, showed his support for a victim-centered resolution to the sex slavery issue."From the perspective of universal human rights, we will continue sharing the sex slavery issue as a matter of peace and women's right

Aug 14, 2019

1400th weekly 'comfort women' rally draws thousands in Seoul

Over 10% reduction in passengers bound for Japan

A Japanese hot spring town of Yufuin, one of Korean tourists' favorite destinations, remains uncrowded, Wednesday, as many Koreans refuse to visit there as part of the “Boycott Japan” campaign. / YonhapBy Kim Hyun-binThe “Boycott Japan” movement is severely affecting local airlines with their passenger load rate dropping by more than 10 percent, compared to the same period last year.Local airlines have been halting or reducing flights to Japan and increasing flights to Southeast Asian and Chinese destinations instead.In response to the Japanese government's tightened export controls on Korea, Koreans have refused to buy Japanese products or travel to the country. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Wednesday, the passenger load rate from Aug. 4 to 10 stood at 71.5 percent, a drop of 13 percentage points compared to the same period last year.From July 28 to Aug. 3, the load factor stood at 75.7 percent ― a drop of 12 percentage points from last year, which can be interpreted as fewer Koreans visiting the island country.“We hav

Aug 14, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Politics

Politics

South Korea asked to delay defense cost talks with US

Supporting underprivileged students

Chicken, pork skin enjoy heyday

'South Korea will hold Japan's hand if it chooses dialogue, cooperation'

VIDEO Civic societies can solve decades-long conflict between Japan and Korea: Japanese activist

Nation commemorates 'comfort women'

S. Korea steps up pressure against Japan over radioactive water

Opposition leader asks Moon to change policy direction

1400th weekly 'comfort women' rally draws thousands in Seoul

Over 10% reduction in passengers bound for Japan

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