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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.

North Korea rejects major UN recommendations on human rights

By Lee Min-hyungNorth Korea's ambassador to the U.N. Han Tae-songNorth Korea has declined to accept dozens of human rights-related recommendations from the United Nations, calling them an “insult to the country's dignity and a serious distortion of reality.”The North's reaction came after the U.S. Department of State ramped up criticism of the Kim Jong-un regime for “egregiously” violating human rights by running political prison camps. Some analysts claimed the U.S. may use the human rights issue to step up pressure on the regime in their stalled denuclearization talks.The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted 262 recommendations Tuesda (local time) on the issue during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). All U.N. member states are subject to the review every five years and they must address their human rights conditions during the session.Among the recommendations, however, North Korea said it would “note” 63 of them. In diplomatic circles, the term is an indirect expression of refusal.North Korea's Ambassador to the U.N. Han Tae-song took pa

May 15, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea rejects major UN recommendations on human rights

Minor opposition party picks new floor leader amid internal strife

Rep. Oh Shin-hwan, the new floor leader of minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, speaks after being elected for the post at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. News1Rep. Oh Shin-hwan was elected floor leader of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BP) Wednesday, facing the task of resolving an internal strife over whether to place key reform bills on a fast-track.Oh, a two-term lawmaker, beat Rep. Kim Song-sik in a vote by party members. He will replace Rep. Kim Kwan-young and serve a one-year term.Kim expressed his intent to step down from the post last week, about 40 days before his term was set to end in late June.The minor party has been embroiled in an internal feud that was highlighted by the BP and three parties' recent move to fast-track reform bills amid strong objections from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. In early May, the ruling Democratic Party and the three small parties fast-tracked bills on electoral reform, on the establishment of a special unit to investigate corruption by high-ranking officials and on the enhancement of the police's autho

May 15, 2019
Minor opposition party picks new floor leader amid internal strife

Huawei stamps 'no-spy agreements' amid US pressure on allies over 5G fears

Huawei advertising is displayed on a street in Shanghai on May 10, 2019. AFP-YonhapBy Owen Churchill, Nectar Gan Huawei Technologies is prepared to include provisions in its government contracts not to facilitate “back door” espionage by Beijing, the chairman of the Chinese telecommunications giant said on Tuesday.“We are willing to sign no-spy agreements with governments, including the UK government, to commit ourselves to making our equipment meet the no-spy, no-back-doors standard,” Liang Hua said at a company-sponsored business conference in London.The concession from the smartphone maker comes as the US seeks commitments from its allies to not use Huawei as they build their next-generation 5G telecommunications infrastructure.Washington, which has already banned the use of Huawei devices by its own governmental agencies, claims that the company is a national security risk because it might accede to demands from Beijing to allow access to networks and private users' data.Huawei's founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, has vociferously pushed back against accusatio

May 15, 2019
Huawei stamps 'no-spy agreements' amid US pressure on allies over 5G fears

Moon's confidant heads ruling party think tank for 2020 election

Yang Jung-chul, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's Institute for Democracy think tank, enters the party's headquarters near the National Assembly, Tuesday. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonYang Jung-chul, a confidant of President Moon Jae-in, started work as the head of a think tank associated with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Tuesday, vowing to dedicate himself to victory in next year's general election.Yang, 54, served as a public relations and press secretary for former President Roh Moo-hyun in the early 2000s while Moon was chief of staff. Yang was a key campaigner for Moon during the 2017 presidential race.“I accepted this position to do something for the ruling party to break the political deadlock, and to help it win the general election next year,” Yang told reporters.As chief of the Institute for Democracy, he will form a team that will map out campaign strategies for the 2020 general election. The institute may also play a role in selecting candidates for the elections.His inauguration comes at a critical time, less than one year before the April genera

May 14, 2019By Park Ji-won
Moon's confidant heads ruling party think tank for 2020 election

Moon may meet with Bush

  President Moon Jae-in, left, and former U.S. President George W. Bush. Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-minPresident Moon Jae-in may meet with former U.S. President George W. Bush, who is planning to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun on May 23. Bush will arrive in Seoul on May 21. An official at the presidential office told reporters in Seoul that Cheong Wa Dae is reviewing every possibility for a meeting between Moon and Bush. Bush was in talks with the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation to attend the annual ceremony marking the late president's death at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, the foundation said. Bush served two terms as U.S. president from 2001 to 2009 and had been Roh's counterpart for five years from 2003 to 2008.Moon served as the late president's chief of staff. Moon in 2017 attended the ceremony marking the 8th anniversary of Roh's death and said he would not be attending the ceremonies for his remaining term as president.

May 14, 2019
Moon may meet with Bush
  • Bush may bring portrait of ex-president Roh

'Chun Doo-hwan ordered 1980 massacre shooting'

Kim Yong-chang, left, a former agent of the U.S. 501st military intelligence brigade, testifies during a civic gathering at the May 18 Memorial Culture Center in Gwangju, Tuesday, on the facts of the Gwangju Democratization Movement which started May 18, 1980. Seated to his right is another witness Heo Jang-hwan, a former investigator with the 505 security unit from that time. YonhapFormer intelligence agent for US military testifies on massacreBy Jung Da-min A former intelligence agent for the U.S. military has testified to the National Assembly and civic groups on what he saw and heard during the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980.Kim Yong-chang, 75, who worked for the U.S. 501st military intelligence brigade, said he decided to break his silence because attempts are still being made to distort the truth about the movement.Based on the intelligence he gathered at the time, he alleged that Chun Doo-hwan, a military general who had seized power in a military coup, ordered troops to shoot protesters, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. Chun was inaugurated as presiden

May 14, 2019
'Chun Doo-hwan ordered 1980 massacre shooting'
  • North Korea's involvement in Gwangju uprising 'fabricated'
  • LKP leader's Gwangju visit may trigger clash

North Korea demands US release detained cargo ship

A view from the top of a two-story building in Fagatogo village overlooking the port of Pago Pago, as the North Korean cargo ship, Wise Honest, docks at the main docking section, Saturday, in Pago Pago, American Samoa. AP-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe United States should release a seized North Korean cargo vessel immediately, the North’s foreign ministry said Tuesday, calling it an “illicit act of robbery.”The Wise Honest bulker arrived at the port of Pago Pago, American Samoa, last week after it had been detained for more than a year in Indonesia since April last year. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice said the U.S. seized the North Korean bulk carrier for violating United Nations Security Council resolutions by illicitly shipping coal from North Korea and delivering heavy machinery to the North.North Korea linked the seizure of the ship to the stalemated nuclear dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.“The latest act is an extension of Washington’s ‘maximum pressure’ calculation method under which the country is trying to force the

May 14, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea demands US release detained cargo ship
  • Unification minister seeks to build consensus on North Korean aid
  • US refuses to address North Korean demand for ship's return
  • Pompeo pushes for North Korean sanctions in talks with Russia
  • North Korea faces drought amid worsening food shortages: charity group

Unification minister seeks to build consensus on North Korean aid

By Lee Min-hyungUnification Minister Kim Yeon-chulUnification Minister Kim Yeon-chul discussed the issue of providing food aid to North Korea with civic groups here, Tuesday, as part of a first step in reviewing the project.Seventeen people from three organizations, including the Korea Conference of Religions for Peace, participated in the discussion.The three groups are favorable toward the government providing humanitarian aid to the North. In a joint statement, they said South Korea should never ignore the devastating food shortage there despite ongoing military and political tension between the two Koreas.“As of now, the unification ministry is focusing on receiving opinions. We will decide on the project's timing, method and scale afterwards,” a ministry official said.Even though an exact timeline has yet to be fixed, observers note that the South will be able to provide food aid before the World Food Programme's (WFP) deadline of September.“The request from the WFP is to finish providing food aid sometime between May and September,” the official said.Min

May 14, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Unification minister seeks to build consensus on North Korean aid
  • North Korea demands US release detained cargo ship
  • US refuses to address North Korean demand for ship's return
  • Pompeo pushes for North Korean sanctions in talks with Russia
  • North Korea faces drought amid worsening food shortages: charity group

PM willing to play role for DPK in 2020 general election

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon speaks at church La Compania de Jesus in Quito, Ecuador, May 7. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonPrime Minister Lee Nak-yon showed his willingness to help the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) reach victory in the general election in 2020, amid rumors he would run in the race.When asked about his role in next year's elections in April, Lee reportedly said on Wednesday “As a member of the government and ruling party, I will play a role if I'm asked to do so.” His remarks were made in Quito in Ecuador during his five-day tour of South America.He added that “It is inappropriate for the incumbent prime minister to define the meaning of the general elections. But what I can say is I share a similar perspective with [the ruling camp]. The election is important.”He made such remarks for the first time since he took the office in 2017. He has been declining to answer questions about his next steps in the political scene citing his position as the prime minister.There have been rumors that he will run in the general election in 2020 or the presidential elec

May 13, 2019By Park Ji-won
PM willing to play role for DPK in 2020 general election

LKP floor leader blasted for using derogatory terms against Moon, women

Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, delivers a speech during her party's nationwide tour to criticize the Moon Jae-in administration in Daegu, Saturday. She came under fire for calling Moon's fans by using insulting remarks such as “Moonppa,” which means Moon's crazed fan, and “Dalchang,” Moon's whore. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonMain opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won is taking flak for using derogatory language to attack President Moon Jae-in and his supporters.Na is notorious for making snide remarks when criticizing the President, but this time even many LKP members believe she went too far.In an outdoor rally in Daegu, Saturday, she called followers of Moon “Moonppa” and “Dalchang,” disparaging terms used in far-right online communities. Moonppa means “lunatics of Moon” and Dalchang refers to “whores” for Moon.She used these words while trying to defend a KBS reporter who Moon's supporters criticized regarding her sharp questions asked during

May 13, 2019By Park Ji-won
LKP floor leader blasted for using derogatory terms against Moon, women
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