Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
S. Korea sanctions N. Korean drone maker
South Korea has rolled out sanctions on North Korea’s company and workers there for developing weapons including drones and using IT staff to bankroll the country’s weapons programs -- the latest ban aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s aggression. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Friday that any exchanges with Ryugyong, the firm, and its five employees -- the chief and four other senior officials -- will result in punishment unless they are approved in advance by authorities. The ba
North Korea Sept. 1, 2023
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S. Korea, Japan, China to hold high-level meeting
South Korea, Japan and China will soon convene a high-level meeting to discuss the resumption of their suspended leader-level talks, ending the four-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as Seoul looks for better ties with Beijing. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday it is looking into dates with its Japanese and Chinese counterparts, in response to reports that the meeting laying ground work for the trilateral summit will take place in late September. The ministry has said pre
Foreign Affairs Aug. 30, 2023
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S. Korea holds drills as North vows nuclear buildup
South Korea, the US and Japan held joint missile defense drills off the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday to counter North Korea’s aggression, as the North vowed to expand its capability to use nuclear weapons at sea. The exercises in international waters off Jeju Island focused on tracking projectiles and sharing information about such potential launches by North Korea. Destroyers equipped with the Aegis system to shoot down missiles were used, South Korea’s Navy said. The aim is to &ldq
North Korea Aug. 29, 2023
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Yoon faces mounting protests as Japan releases Fukushima water
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is under increasing pressure over his neutrality regarding Japan's release of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. Opposition parties participated in rallies in Fukushima Prefecture on Sunday, calling for an end to potential irreversible harm to health and the environment. Rep. Woo Won-shik, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's campaign against the discharge, labeled the release plans as "criminal," highlighting
Politics Aug. 27, 2023
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S. Korea, US, Japan seek sanctions after NK launch
Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US and Japanese counterparts agreed to look into individual sanctions on North Korea, following its failed second attempt Thursday to put a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, during a phone call that took place hours after the launch. The call is a “meaningful follow-up” to last week’s Camp David summit agreement for joint action on North Korea, an isolated country that defies United Nations sanctions prompted by its nuclear and weap
North Korea Aug. 24, 2023
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US envoy affirms value of Camp David pledge, addresses concerns
The commitment to joint action on common security threats that South Korea, the US and Japan signed at a Camp David summit Friday is a political agreement rather than a legally binding pact, US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg said Wednesday. The security pledge, the first of its kind, has sparked concern over deeper security links between Seoul and Tokyo, two American allies that have separate defense treaties with Washington. A potential military alliance with Japan worries South Kore
Foreign Affairs Aug. 23, 2023
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Momentum for talks with Japan, China still high: official
South Korea still sees strong momentum for resuming three-way talks with Japan and China, a meeting Seoul will host this year after a four-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a source said Wednesday amid Beijing’s criticism of Seoul’s trilateral summit Friday with the US and Japan. China says the landmark summit US President Joe Biden held with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat is an attempt to pit Chin
Foreign Affairs Aug. 23, 2023
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Trilateral summit opens new chapter in security, economic partnership
South Korea, the US and Japan agreed to bolster security and economic cooperation at a Camp David summit Friday that sought a stronger coalition on China and North Korea, signing for the first time a pledge to jointly respond to common security threats. The summit US President Joe Biden held with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at his presidential retreat condemned China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in the South China Sea, reaffirming
Politics Aug. 20, 2023
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Court dismisses complaint seeking to block Fukushima water release
The Busan District Court on Thursday dismissed a complaint seeking to block Japan from releasing its wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant, saying the court has no jurisdiction to review the case. In April 2021, a coalition of 166 local environmental groups asked the trial court to stop the discharge by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., citing the London Convention -- a global pact on ocean pollution by preventing the dumping of waste. The release, which could start
Foreign Affairs Aug. 17, 2023
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Joint defense initiatives to be unveiled at Camp David: report
The US, South Korea and Japan will roll out joint initiatives on defense and technology at a Camp David summit in Maryland on Friday, according to a report. Citing senior US officials, Reuters said Wednesday that the gathering US President Joe Biden is hosting at the presidential retreat will lead to a three-way hotline and mutual understanding about regional responsibilities amid North Korea’s aggression and China’s influence. “It’s too much to ask -- it’s a bridge
Foreign Affairs Aug. 16, 2023
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S. Korea expresses regret as Japan honors war criminals
South Korea on Tuesday expressed regret over visits by Japanese lawmakers to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead from 1868 to 1954, including 14 convicted Class A World War II war criminals. Marking its liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, the Korean government issued a statement, urging Japanese leaders to “face up to the country’s past.” “We express deep disappointment and regret that the Japanese leaders in the governm
Foreign Affairs Aug. 15, 2023
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Summit to set protocol for trilateral ties
The US, South Korea and Japan are expected to set up protocols to bolster three-way ties at a Camp David summit in Maryland on Friday, according to a media report. News website Axios said Monday that Biden, South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will unveil the “Camp David Principles,” which will institutionalize progress in relations and make it harder for the two Asian leaders to reverse course amid their recent thaw over historical disputes.
Foreign Affairs Aug. 15, 2023
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Park to meet US, Japan top diplomats virtually
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that it was in talks with the US and Japan to hold a virtual meeting of foreign ministers ahead of their first three-way summit at the US presidential retreat Camp David in Maryland on Friday. A day earlier, the US State Department said the three top diplomats would hold talks on Tuesday, Korean time, which was a misunderstanding according to a source with knowledge of the matter. “The date had been floated as one possibility but it was neve
Foreign Affairs Aug. 14, 2023
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[70th Anniversary] After 70 years, S. Korea mulls ‘grand strategy’
The last 70 years have marked South Korea’s ascent to an economic power able to cope with threats from North Korea, its nuclear-armed neighbor that it has yet to sign a peace treaty with to resolve the 1950-53 Korean War. Seoul’s postwar efforts had relied on working with the US, the South’s biggest ally. In the early 1960s, aid from Washington accounted for 35 percent of Seoul’s budget and 73 percent of its defense spending. The 1965 agreement the South signed with Japan
Politics Aug. 13, 2023
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‘Two-Korea’ unification increasingly favored
The majority of South Koreans favor a unified Korean Peninsula, but half of those prefer a model where the two Koreas remain separate, with each side able to freely cross the border, according to a survey released Friday. In a poll conducted by the National Unification Advisory Council from June 9-11, 52 percent of 1,000 South Korean respondents aged 19 and older considered keeping the two Koreas separate while allowing free travel across the border the best way to reunite the peninsula, which r
Politics Aug. 13, 2023
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