Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
[Newsmaker] N. Korea to set new policies at key party meeting soon
North Korea said Wednesday it will open a party congress in early January where leader Kim Jong-un is expected to set fresh economic and foreign policies. “At a politburo meeting Kim chaired Tuesday, matters that will top the agenda at the congress were discussed,” the Korean Central News Agency said, without revealing exactly what the agenda will be or when the congress will convene. North Korea watchers speculate Kim will launch new economic plans in the face of worsening food
North Korea Dec. 30, 2020
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NK steps up COVID-19 fight, but year away from vaccine
North Korea is stepping up efforts to hold back the coronavirus, but the isolated regime will see its people vaccinated in early 2022 at the earliest, market data firm Fitch Solutions said in its latest report on global vaccine distribution. The report categorized countries in the Asia-Pacific region into three groups. Groups one and two will get vaccinated by June and September next year. Group three, with North Korea and eight other countries including Mongolia and Brunei, will secure vaccine
North Korea Dec. 23, 2020
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S. Korea flies jets over air defense zone to warn Chinese, Russian warplanes
South Korea scrambled fighter jets Tuesday to warn Chinese and Russian warplanes that had entered its air defense zone. But the warplanes did not fly into South Korea’s territorial airspace. The Air Defense Identification Zone, which surrounds the territorial airspace of each country, is recognized so countries may demand foreign aircraft take steps to identify themselves to avoid misunderstandings. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said four Chinese military aircraft flew in the morning near Ie
Defense Dec. 22, 2020
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S. Korea, US unlikely to spar over anti-N. Korea leaflets: report
Former US officials familiar with inter-Korean affairs said Monday that the incoming US administration is not likely to fight hard with South Korea on its ban that criminalizes sending propaganda leaflets into North Korea. A week ago, the parliament passed a bill making cross-border leafleting a felony punishable by up to three years in jail or by a fine as high as $27,000 from early next year. President Moon’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which pushed through the bill, has been
North Korea Dec. 22, 2020
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‘NK leveraging inter-Korean resort to pull concession’
North Korea is exploiting the inter-Korean resort town on the east coast near Kumgangsan to pull more concessions from South Korea, and will step up pressure to gain more compromises in the weeks to come, experts told The Korea Herald. The North said Sunday it will expand the South Korean-built tourism facilities in its own way. A year ago in December, Pyongyang insisted Seoul tear down the resort, only to suspend the decision in January over coronavirus concerns. The tourism zone, which attra
North Korea Dec. 21, 2020
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NK to expand inter-Korean resort ‘its way’
North Korea said Sunday that it will expand the inter-Korean resort town on the east coast near Kumgangsan in its own way, in a move seen as trying to rally its people ahead of the January party congress. The regime is expected to unveil a new economic initiative there. In January this year, Pyongyang put off plans to tear down the South Korean-built resort facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had insisted on their demolition, calling the facilities &ldqu
North Korea Dec. 20, 2020
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UN condemns North Korea’s rights abuses in resolution
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday strongly condemned North Korea’s “systematic, widespread and gross violations” of human rights in a resolution. The North slammed it as being politicized. In the resolution adopted by consensus, the assembly expressed concern over the “absence of due process and the rule of law, arbitrary executions and detention, torture and sexual and gender-based violence,” among other rights violations by Pyongyang. The 193-member world bod
North Korea Dec. 17, 2020
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[Newsmaker] High school dropouts no longer exempt from active duty
High school dropouts will no longer be exempt from mandatory active duty from next year, South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration said Wednesday. All able-bodied men here aged between 18 and 30 must serve active duty for 18 to 21 months. Currently, those who do not graduate from high school must complete alternative service. Unlike soldiers on active duty, participants in the program do not live together or take part in training at military bases. Instead they work as delegates to d
Defense Dec. 16, 2020
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US congressmen air concern over ban on anti-N. Korea leaflets
US congressmen expressed deep concern over South Korea’s contentious legislation that criminalizes sending propaganda leaflets, along with food and medicine, into North Korea across the inter-Korean border. Defectors have long flown the leaflets in balloons or in bottles across the sea border, but the activity essentially ground to a halt in June when Pyongyang demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in protest. Those who continue to engage in leafleting near the border will face up
North Korea Dec. 15, 2020
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Spy agency to lose power to probe cases involving N. Korea
The National Intelligence Service will not be able to investigate activities related to North Korea or gather domestic intelligence from 2024, when a law passed Sunday takes effect. The law also makes it explicit that the NIS must avoid involvement in politics. Police will assume the power to probe cases involving North Korea after the three-year grace period. The change in responsibility marks a major turning point in the agency’s 63-year history. In his election campaign President M
Politics Dec. 14, 2020
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US firm touts attack helicopter to S. Korea
US aerospace manufacturer Bell Textron claimed Wednesday its attack helicopter model would be a highly reliable option for South Korea’s military, which is seeking to create an aviation regiment next year. South Korea’s military is divided on whether to deploy local or foreign attack helicopters from 2026. Bell’s Viper helicopter is the preferred overseas candidate. It performs better than the local competitor but costs more to maintain. The Marine Corp
Defense Dec. 9, 2020
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[Newsmaker] US says willing to help N. Korea fight coronavirus
The United States will seriously consider helping North Korea contain the spread of the coronavirus if it requests such assistance, Robert O’Brien, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said Monday. “They (North Korea) have been reticent to ask for outside help for things in the past but if they did we would certainly look at that very seriously,” O’Brien said in an interview with 19FortyFive, a website on global affairs. He said Pyongyang appears
North Korea Dec. 8, 2020
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‘Seoul unlikely to reclaim wartime role from US during Moon’s tenure’
South Korea is unlikely to reclaim its wartime operational command from the US by May 2022 as President Moon Jae-in has pledged, experts told The Korea Herald. Experts said little time is left in Moon’s tenure and the transfer will be delayed even after Seoul greets a new US military chief, as announced Friday. The new chief will replace Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the United States Forces Korea who said it would be “premature” to set a date for the handover. The two a
Defense Dec. 7, 2020
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[News Analysis] Experts weigh in on aftereffects from N. Korea’s full COVID-19 lockdown
North Korean watchers are weighing in on ramifications of the regime’s extreme response to COVID-19, as it has suspended all travel by land, sea and air and shut down public facilities. Leader Kim Jong-un issued the highest alert for the pandemic on Dec. 2 for the second time since February, when the new coronavirus began spreading globally. Such extreme measures, however, would be a double blow to North Korea, which suffered reduced food production this year due to shrinking outside sup
North Korea Dec. 6, 2020
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Experts rap Seoul for ban on cross-border propaganda leafleting
North Korea experts on Thursday criticized a move by the South Korean parliament to criminalize sending propaganda leaflets, along with food and medicine, into the North across the inter-Korean border. Defectors here have long sent leaflets and other materials across the border, but the activity essentially ground to a halt in June when Pyongyang blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in protest. Roberta Cohen, who served as a US deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights, expresse
North Korea Dec. 4, 2020
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