Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
S. Korea, US military discuss bolstering ties
Defense Minister Suh Wook and US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro on Thursday discussed deepening naval ties and expanding alliance, during a meeting held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul. Suh thanked Del Toro for US support in bringing in nearly 400 Afghans in August who worked on South Korean projects in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized power. Seoul amended the law to grant them long-term stays. Del Toro said he expects to see a growing alliance that will allow
Defense Oct. 28, 2021
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Weapons maker accused of neglecting to pay bonuses
Workers at South Korea’s chief weapons developer were offered no incentive pay, despite their efforts that President Moon Jae-in hailed as marking a new milestone in the country’s decadeslong drive to mount a self-reliant defense. The Agency for Defense Development -- which recently tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, making South Korea the first non-nuclear state to do so -- has yet to prepare guidelines on compensating those who build strategic assets like SLBMs, a
Defense Oct. 26, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Military loosens rules on haircut amid discrimination concerns
The military said Monday that it would ease regulations on conscripts’ hair length and introduce the same standards for both officers and troops, amid calls for a change in discriminatory practices. “We were asked to review our rules on haircuts, and to that end, we instructed each branch of the armed forces to draft revisions. We can’t say when the change will take effect, though,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan said, referring to an advisory panel on huma
Defense Oct. 25, 2021
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US, South Korea discuss ways to resume talks
The US will explore possibilities surrounding declaring a formal end to the Korean War with South Korea, with regards to resuming talks on North Korea’s denuclearization, the US nuclear envoy for North Korea said Sunday during talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul. The 1950-53 conflict concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The Moon Jae-in administration backs signing the declaration to lay the groundwork for denuclearization and a treaty to come, while neither Washi
Foreign Affairs Oct. 24, 2021
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[Eye Plus] Digital library makes learning interactive
The National Library of Korea is welcoming visitors looking for a new way of reading books through its digital library, called Silgam Seojae. The digital library aims to bring books, especially old texts, closer to readers with the latest technologies. Visitors can search for books on a touch screen where they receive book suggestions based on the search results, which they can share with other visitors. Old texts are offered digitally for reading, with annotations to help readers who are
Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2021
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Defense minister says S. Korea can thwart North’s ‘rudimentary SLBM’
North Korea is still working on improving missiles, but its latest submarine-launched ballistic missile tested Tuesday is still an early-stage weapon that can be intercepted, Defense Minister Suh Wook told the National Defense Committee on Thursday. “We have to look at not just that single missile launch but a whole system that goes with it,” Suh said during an annual National Assembly audit, referring to North Korea’s capability to build a submarine big enough to fire multipl
Defense Oct. 21, 2021
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N. Korea tests missile amid South’s efforts to resume talks
North Korea test-fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the East Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday, as South Korea, the US and Japan step up efforts to bring Pyongyang back to nuclear talks. “We’re closely monitoring the situation and maintaining our readiness,” the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US intelligence were analyzing the launch, which took place at Sinpo, a port city along the east coast where North Korea runs a major
North Korea Oct. 19, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Military wary of lifting transgender ban despite court ruling
Despite a court ruling in favor of a soldier who was forcibly discharged after she received gender reassignment surgery, the military is still cautious about crafting a transgender policy because it is not ready to deal with the issue, military officials said Tuesday. In January 2020, Byun Hee-soo, who was the country’s first openly transgender soldier, was dismissed from the Army, which found her mentally and physical unfit to serve after she had her male genitals removed. Byun filed a l
Defense Oct. 19, 2021
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Moon asks Japan’s Kishida for diplomacy on disputes
South Korea and Japan should work out their wartime disputes before it is too late, President Moon Jae-in said in his first phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida since he took office last week, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. But the talks, which came amid worsening ties over disagreements on virtually every issue between the two neighbors, did little to close the widening gap. “We should leave open our communication channels and continue to engage each other for a way out of
Politics Oct. 15, 2021
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US allies vow cooperation on cybercrime
The US allies -- about 30 countries including South Korea, Japan, the UK and Canada -- vowed to bolster cooperation to combat the growing threat of ransomware and other cybercrimes, at an online session hosted by the White House National Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The two-day meeting, which ended Thursday, took place as the US seeks to broaden oversight of the cryptocurrency market after ransomware attacks recently destabilized its food and energy supplies.
Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2021
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US says awaiting N. Korea’s return to diplomacy
The US State Department said Thursday that the US is waiting to see if North Korea would respond to its offer to resume nuclear talks. “We do stand prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions. We have made, in fact, specific proposals to the DPRK, and we will await a response,” spokesperson Ned Price said referring to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Price, who did not elaborate on the specific proposals, said the status qu
North Korea Oct. 15, 2021
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[Herald Design Forum 2021] ‘Designing user experience the way forward’
Designers should have a grasp on artificial intelligence to build a system that is fully aware of what users want in advance, said Yong Kim, chief product officer at Woowa Brothers, which runs delivery app Baemin, at this year’s Herald Design Forum on Thursday. “Users shouldn’t have to tell their apps what they want, when they want it. They should be given choices they like and that will be the new human-machine interface,” Kim said. Kim referred to GPT-3, a language-ge
Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2021
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Sex crime victims need better front-line help: military panel
The military should adopt clearer rules to enable victims of sexual violence to find immediate care and avoid being repeatedly forced to deal with their abusers, an advisory panel said Wednesday, ending a monthslong mission to address rights abuses in the military. The panel, launched in June following the alleged cover-up of the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant who had reported a sexual assault, recommended that the military expand outside oversight as well, with a civilian voting membe
Defense Oct. 13, 2021
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Navy cut back on live-fire drills under Moon
The Navy has steadily scaled back exercises using live ammunition since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017, a lawmaker said, amid concerns that Moon’s North Korea policy could affect combat readiness. Live ammunition was used 96 percent of the time in 2016, but the rate has since slowly fallen and hit 87 percent in 2020, according to Rep. Shin Won-sik of the main opposition People Power Party, citing data compiled by the Navy. The data was an average of the rates that live ammuni
Defense Oct. 12, 2021
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S. Korean, US top security advisers to discuss NK
President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser, Suh Hoon, is expected to meet with his US counterpart and make his case for signing a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War armistice as a way to facilitate North Korea’s denuclearization. “This week, a discussion will take place between Suh and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The agenda is denuclearization,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Sunday referring to Suh’s trip, without elaborating, though ma
Politics Oct. 11, 2021
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