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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.

Defense minister apologizes again over North Korean boat crossing

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo apologizes Wednesday at the Seoul Government Complex, over the military's security failure of detecting a North Korean small wooden boat to enter into the South by crossing the maritime border of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) about two weeks ago. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonDefense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo apologized again Wednesday for a security lapse that allowed a small wooden North Korean fishing boat to enter into South Korean waters and dock at a local port. In a statement to reporters, he pledged to carry out disciplinary measures against military officials responsible for the defensive operations failure. He also denied that there was any cover-up by his ministry regarding the matter.“According to a joint investigation, there were problems with the military's maritime border monitoring operations. This failure was a severe mistake and cannot be overlooked. The ministry has decided to take punitive action against officials responsible for the matter under the relevant regulations,” Jeong said.“The ministry didn't try to cover up or

Jul 3, 2019By Park Ji-won
Defense minister apologizes again over North Korean boat crossing
  • Opposition lawmakers call for parliamentary probe into North Korean boat incident

Opposition lawmakers call for parliamentary probe into North Korean boat incident

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) floor leader Rep. Lee In-young, center, greet other party members after delivering a speech at the National Assembly's plenary session, Wednesday. YonhapBy Jung Da-min The government's joint investigation group announced the results of a probe into the border security failure that led to the arrival of a North Korean boat at an eastern sea port in mid-June, Wednesday, but voices calling for a parliamentary probe into the case are rising at the National Assembly. Members of the National Defense Committee from the main Liberty Korea Party (LKP) strongly condemned the investigation results saying there was no probe into the National Intelligence Service or Cheong Wa Dae, who they claim to blame for the alleged concealment of the facts of the case. Regarding Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo's apology right before the joint press conference held at the Central Government Complex in Seoul, Rep. Lee Ju-young of the LKP said President Moon Jae-in or Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon should have made it instead of Jeong.Rep. Baek Seung-joo of the LKP also

Jul 3, 2019
Opposition lawmakers call for parliamentary probe into North Korean boat incident
  • Defense minister apologizes again over North Korean boat crossing

US, North Korea consider building communication offices

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, right, speaks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, during their visit to Osan Air Base in South Korea, Sunday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe United States and North Korea are considering establishing a diplomatic communication office amid renewed hopes for resumption of their suspended nuclear talks.The plan came in response to a surprise mini-summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday when the two leaders agreed to end their months-long nuclear stalemate and resume dialogue for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Following the de facto third summit, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said Washington is ready to “make concessions” to the North and be more flexible in their upcoming nuclear talks.“There are things we can do in the meantime to make concessions towards Kim, such as humanitarian aid, expanded people-to-people talks, presence in each other's capitals,” Biegun told White House reporters on board U.S. Secretary of

Jul 3, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
US, North Korea consider building communication offices
  • North Korea's new negotiation team in spotlight

Democratic socialism spreads to South Korean politics

Yang Kyung-kyu faces Rep. Sim Sang-jeung during a TV debate Monday for the leadership of the Justice Party. Yang is the first South Korean politician to declare himself a "democratic socialist." YonhapBy Jung Min-hoFour years after Bernie Sanders made his case for “democratic socialism” in U.S. politics, a South Korean politician has declared himself a “democratic socialist.”Yang Kyung-kyu, 59, who is competing against Rep. Sim Sang-jeung for leadership of the minor opposition Justice Party, has vowed to fight for ordinary people and resolve social inequality issues and injustices.During TV debates on Monday and early Wednesday morning, Yang, former vice chief of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the second-largest umbrella labor group in the nation, said the party failed to bring fundamental changes to the lives of ordinary people with “the same old messages.”“It is important how we identify ourselves as a party,” he said during Monday's debate. “I use the term of democratic socialism to clearly show voters what we try to

Jul 3, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Democratic socialism spreads to South Korean politics

Moon says Trump-Kim meeting ended hostilities

President Moon Jae-in, left, smiles with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa dae, Tuesday.By Do Je-haePresident Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that Sunday's historic de facto “third summit” between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will provide a “clear and new” impetus in terms of advancing the process to completely end hostile relations between Washington and Pyongyang.“Our people and the world watched Sunday as historic moments unfolded at Panmunjeom,” President Moon said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting in the presidential office, according to press pool reports. “North Korea and the U.S. did not sign an agreement, but through actions, they put an end to their hostility and declared an official beginning to a new era of peace.” Moon gave a positive assessment of the talks between Trump and Kim, which lasted for more than 50 minutes, at the inter-Korean border in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the Koreas. In particular, he underlined that the two foes of the 19

Jul 2, 2019By Do Je-hae
Moon says Trump-Kim meeting ended hostilities
  • Trump dispels rumors about Kim Jong-un's health

'Japan's export curbs on South are likely to bring conservatives together for election'

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks on as a journalist raises a hand during a press conference of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday. EPA-YonhapBy Park Ji-wonJapan's actions Monday to impose restrictions on exports to Korean companies of high-tech materials and chemicals is likely a move by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to attract more conservative voters before July 21 upper house elections, according to experts.“The restrictions against South Korean companies will not have a huge impact on the outcome of the elections in Japan, where Abe is expected to win. But the move is likely aimed to bring conservatives together, especially by collecting Abe's supporters and thus shift the focus,” Japan's Keisen University professor Lee Young-chae said during a local radio interview, Tuesday. “It is an important race for Abe to win more seats in this time as he is thinking of a Constitutional revision in the near future.”Citing mounting criticism in Japan over its poor diplomatic achievements at the G20 Summit it hosted, which may negatively influence the electi

Jul 2, 2019By Park Ji-won
'Japan's export curbs on South are likely to bring conservatives together for election'
  • 'Tokyo's export curb to backfire on Japanese firms'
  • S. Korea warns of 'corresponding measures' against Japan's export curbs

'Kim Jong-un could speak at UN in September'

Rep. Park Ji-won. Korea Times fileBy Park Si-soo Opposition heavyweight Rep. Park Ji-won said Tuesday North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would be able to make a historic speech at the United Nations in September if denuclearization talks between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump unfold smoothly to the point where the North decides to give up its nuclear arsenal in return for U.S. sanctions relief. The four-term lawmaker from the People's Party raised the rosy scenario in a radio interview on Tuesday. He said if it happens, chances are high it will lead to a permanent peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula endorsed by leaders of the two Koreas, the U.S. and China. “The summit (between Kim and Trump) at the Demilitarized Zone struck a big deal,” Park said. “Upcoming working-level talks will focus on drawing up a roadmap and timetable, based on which the two parties would move forward on an action-to-action basis.” Park was a key aide to former President Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts on inter-Korean reconciliation. The legislat

Jul 2, 2019

Two vessels suspected of violating UN sanctions released

Seen above is a South Korean oil tanker detained at a port in Busan for allegedly violating United Nations sanctions on North Korea. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided early Tuesday (KST) to release two of the four vessels detained in South Korea for allegedly violating economic sanctions on North Korea.According to the UNSC's committee handling affairs related to the sanctions on North Korea, vessels P. Pioneer and Lighthouse Winmore will be freed from detention, the South's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.The U.N. authority made the decision after they took into consideration the ship owners' promise not to repeat the incident which went against the U.N. sanctions on the North, the ministry said. The owners submitted memoranda including such details to the U.N.According to U.N. resolutions, any vessels, which are detained for violating sanctions on the North, can be released after their owners make official pledges not to engage in such acts again.P. Pioneer, a South Korean oil tanker had been detained in a port in the nation's southern city o

Jul 2, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

Trump dispels rumors about Kim Jong-un's health

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands during their meeting over the military demarcation line at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the inter-Korean border, Sunday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungU.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed speculations that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could be suffering from ill health, saying he “looked very healthy” during their surprise meeting Sunday at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the inter-Korean Joint Security Area.“It was great being with Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea this weekend,” Trump tweeted Monday. “We had a great meeting. He looked really well and very healthy. I look forward to seeing him again soon.”From the moments of the historic Kim-Trump meeting, a White House press pool reporter claimed that he heard the North's leader Kim “wheezing” and added “he was breathing heavily and sweating after walking just a few yards … he's obviously overweight.”Speculations were that Kim's alleged poor health may affect his nuclear diplomacy with

Jul 2, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
  • Moon says Trump-Kim meeting ended hostilities

Moon's facilitation to gain momentum

By Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in is expected to take on a bigger role in facilitating the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks following the historic Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) meeting Sunday between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The third in-person meeting of Trump and Kim Jong-un was mainly the result of the determination of the two leaders to revive nuclear disarmament talks that have been stalled since the collapse of their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February. Moon's undeniable influence, however, can be seen in several aspects of the Trump-Kim summit. In particular, it is noticeable that the Trump-Kim meeting took place while Trump was visiting Seoul for a summit with Moon, political analysts in Seoul said, Monday.The President has previously expressed a wish to utilize the DMZ as the venue for the talks between the leaders of the two countries that fought each other during the Korean War. Also, it is noteworthy that it was the Freedom House, controlled by the South, that served as the venue for the Trump-Kim meeting and press confer

Jul 1, 2019By Do Je-hae
  • Trump smiles with North Korea, threatens Iran
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