South Korea - The Korea Times

S. Korea preparing for inter-Korean projects 'within framework of sanctions'

By Lee Min-hyungUnification Minister Cho Myoung-gyonSouth Korea is preparing to resume the now-stalled inter-Korean economic projects within the framework of the existing international sanctions against North Korea, the unification ministry said Monday.In a policy briefing to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Unification said it would keep building an environment where the two Koreas can proceed with the joint projects, such as the early resumption of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and tourism to Mount Geumgang.The announcement came amid growing uncertainty in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The inter-Korean economic cooperation cannot be made possible without a lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang, so it is crucial for the regime to sign a deal with the U.S. in their ongoing nuclear negotiations.But with the recent summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ending in failure, North Korea is showing signs of going back to its previous hostile stance by threatening to resume nuclear armament.Despite the lingering security

Mar 18, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

S. Korea preparing for inter-Korean projects 'within framework of sanctions'

US asked to reconsider 'all-or-nothing' approach

This combination of images shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and President Donald Trump during their Feb. 28 meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korea will ask the United States to reconsider its “all-or-nothing” or “big deal” approach toward denuclearizing North Korea, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials, Monday.They said the South will help North Korea and the U.S. find common ground for a “good enough deal.”In Hanoi, U.S. President Donald Trump said he understands “why no deal is better than a bad deal, which I agree in principle,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. “But the all-or-nothing strategy needs to be reconsidered. In order to see meaningful progress in the denuclearization talks, there should be first trust-building measures, which I will call an early harvest.”The official said it is time to pursue “something more manageable” as some workable deals could revive the momentum for stalled denuclearization talks.“Despite the failure of the Hanoi

Mar 18, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul

US asked to reconsider 'all-or-nothing' approach

Shinhan launches first AI finance company

gettyimagesbankBy Kim Bo-eunShinhan Financial Group has launched Shinhan AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based investment consulting company, the group said, Monday.It is the first time for a local financial group to set up an AI-specialized company as a subsidiary.Shinhan AI completed registration as a corporate body in January, and the group is "currently in the process of registering the company as an investment consulting business", according to a group official, Monday.The move is in line with group chairman Cho Yong-byoung's efforts to reinvent the group as a digital leader by utilizing AI as an innovation tool to enhance bank, securities and insurance businesses.The new entity is set to begin services in June, after the registration process is completed, the official said.Shinhan AI aims to offer proposals for investment portfolios. It is set to utilize its AI solution "Neo", a platform incorporating IBM's computer system Watson and specialized for market forecasting and investment consulting.It will seek to perform assisting tasks in private banking as well as offer asset

Mar 18, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Shinhan launches first AI finance company

44.9%: Moon's approval rating falls to new low

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dropped to a record low last week, a poll showed Monday, apparently on the recent collapse of negotiations between the United States and North Korea on ending the North's nuclear ambitions.In the survey conducted by Realmeter, 44.9 percent of those surveyed said they approved of Moon's job as president, down 1.4 percentage points from a week earlier.The reading marked the lowest since Moon took office in May 2017. The latest survey was conducted Monday through Friday on 2,517 adults throughout the nation.The local pollster partly contributed the drop to the reports of the possible resumption of nuclear and missile activities by North Korea."The possible work to repair North Korea's missile launch site following the breakdown of the second North Korea-U.S. summit and the North's announcement of a possible end to the denuclearization negotiations appear to have most affected (the president's) job approval rating," it said.U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit in Hanoi late last month, but the mee

Mar 18, 2019

44.9%: Moon's approval rating falls to new low

UN looks into S. Korea's 'unreported' petroleum shipment to N. Korea

Seen above is the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, North Korea. / Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungThe United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has taken issue with South Korea's failure to notify the council of the country's shipments of petroleum products to North Korea last year for the establishment of the inter-Korean liaison office there.According to an annual report by the United Nations Panel of Experts, Tuesday, all United Nations member countries should report to the UNSC any shipments of refined petroleum products to the North, but the South did not send the notification.This was in contrast to the South Korean government's earlier stance that the case had nothing to do with any violation of international sanctions on the North, as the shipment was aimed at the special purpose of building the office and the U.S. also understood the intention.But the panel expressed different views on the issue, saying that any member states should notify “any transfer of refined petroleum products to the North.”“The panel notes that the specific language of paragraph 5 o

Mar 17, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

UN looks into S. Korea's 'unreported' petroleum shipment to N. Korea

N. Korean leader underlines 'independent growth' after Hanoi summit

By Lee Min-hyungNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-unNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has underlined the need for his country's “independent” economic growth following his failed summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.“There is nothing to be done if you only wait for somebody to give you a hand,” Pyongyang's state-controlled Rodong Sinmun quoted Kim as saying, Saturday.It is a serious political agenda and a matter of life or death for the North to choose between independent growth and dependence on foreign influence, the propaganda newspaper said.The regime also stressed that it would tackle tough economic sanctions from international society by revitalizing the economy through competition among provinces.“Putting provinces into competition with others is a very effective and powerful way to achieve overall prosperity across the regime,” it said.The remark came at a critical time when North Korea is showing signs of returning to the past by threatening to resume its nuclear armament in the wake of the recent breakdown of the second Washington-Pyongyang s

Mar 17, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

N. Korean leader underlines 'independent growth' after Hanoi summit

Moon advised to play role as 'facilitator' in denuke talks

Foreigners skeptical of 3rd finance center plan

The North Jeolla provincial government's blueprint for a third finance center in the city of Jeonju / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunThe government is currently reviewing the viability of a third finance center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, but foreign individuals in the sector here are skeptical.The plan is among President Moon Jae-in's election pledges, to develop and invigorate provincial areas.However, the plan has come under criticism, as the country's first and second finance centers in Seoul and Busan are considered to lack competitiveness.Meanwhile, the North Jeolla provincial government has already started planning for the 250 billion won ($220 million) project, but no businesses have applied to relocate to Jeonju. The provincial government has been contacting businesses, requesting them to make the move. The local government will have to use its own budget to create the center if no businesses end up relocating. The only finance-related state-run institution in Jeonju is the National Pension Service.Regarding the plan to create a third finance center, James Rooney, vice c

Mar 17, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Foreigners skeptical of 3rd finance center plan

Opposition leader urges to discuss nuclear armament

Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), speaks during a party meeting in South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonHwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), showed positive signs on having nuclear weapons in South Korea, reversing his stance on denuclearization while calling for a debate to discuss preparing for the worst case scenario.In a written congratulatory message for the LKP's Shim Jae-cheol's parliamentary seminar on nuclear armament, Hwang said Thursday, “Considering our country's reality in which the worst circumstances cannot be eliminated, having independent nuclear armament can no longer be overlooked.”He added “South Korea's own nuclear armament would not be an easy job but it should be discussed nationally and internationally.”He also criticized the government's cooperative stance on North Korea saying it puts national security at risk, and weakens the South Korea-U.S. alliance.His remarks came after the breakdown of the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jo

Mar 15, 2019By Park Ji-won

Opposition leader urges to discuss nuclear armament

Moon advised to play role as 'facilitator' in denuke talks

U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney attend the extended bilateral meeting in the Metropole hotel with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and his delegation during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam Feb. 28, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chulThough not totally unexpected, the failure of the Hanoi summit was an unwelcome development for the United States-North Korea detente because the talks abruptly ended with lingering differences over sanctions relief and the two countries didn't commit to a third Trump-Kim Jong-un summit.But in the aftermath of the Hanoi summit, it's important to assess how Trump and Kim Jong-un will proceed to avoid a total collapse of the denuclearization process.Political analysts and experts in Seoul said the Hanoi summit wasn't a failure as the summit was a nice opportunity for North Korea and t

Mar 14, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul

Moon advised to play role as 'facilitator' in denuke talks

N. Korean leader underlines 'independent growth' after Hanoi summit

Seoul, Tokyo agree to avoid further conflict

Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, enters the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Thursday. He had two hours of talks with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-kil, director-general for Northeast Asian affairs at the ministry, to resolve a months-long conflict over a ruling by the top court in Seoul on Korean victims of forced labor. / Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungDirectors from South Korea and Japan have held talks to resolve an ongoing dispute on a ruling by Seoul's top court that Japanese firms should compensate Korean victims of forced labor during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Kim Yong-kil, director-general for Northeast Asian affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with his Japanese counterpart, Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the for

Mar 14, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

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