Articles by Kim Arin
Kim Arin
arin@heraldcorp.com-
Seoul hits back at Kim Jong-un: ‘Nuclear arms use will mean regime’s end’
South Korea on Monday returned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s fresh threats of a nuclear attack with a warning that an attempt at such a move would result in the end of his regime. Shin Won-sik, the Minister of National Defense in Seoul, said in a written New Year’s message that Pyongyang will be made to face the realization that military threats against the country would mark “the beginning of its own downfall.” Late Sunday, the Defense Ministry responded to the North
Defense Jan. 1, 2024
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Another Trump presidency won’t affect US-South Korea joint nuclear deterrence: defense chief
A change of administration in Washington is unlikely to sway South Korea-US joint deterrence of North Korea's nuclear threats, the national defense chief in Seoul said Thursday. Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik told reporters in a press conference that he doesn’t think the bilateral cooperation on nuclear deterrence will depend on which administration gets elected in the US, “whether it be Biden’s or Trump’s.” Responding to a question on concerns that Donal
Defense Dec. 29, 2023
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Seoul flags Kim Jong-un sympathizers as inside threats
The Ministry of National Defense in Seoul has characterized sympathizers of the North Korean regime threats within South Korea. In its latest version unveiled Tuesday, the Defense Ministry’s moral training program called sympathizers of the North Korean regime and its ideology “threats from inside that imperil the very foundations of liberal democracy.” The ministry said in the program that among South Korea, there existed forces that “sympathize with North Korea’s
Defense Dec. 26, 2023
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[Newsmaker] Hype builds for Yoon’s ‘wingman’ to helm ruling party
Han Dong-hoon, the star prosecutor who was President Yoon Suk Yeol’s first justice minister, is about to make his official debut in politics as the leader of the ruling party. One of the best-known figures in Yoon’s Cabinet, Han surprised Seoul’s political capital Yeouido on Thursday when he accepted an offer to lead the People Power Party, the top seat of which had been left vacant for over a week. Previous party leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon stepped down amid an open power struggl
Politics Dec. 22, 2023
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Cho Tae-yong: Who is the new pick for South Korea’s spy chief?
Cho Tae-yong was tapped again by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this week to head the National Intelligence Service, marking his third presidential nomination under the administration that is less than two years old. Since Yoon took power about a year and a half ago, Cho was made his ambassador to the US and then his national security adviser -- a minister-level role he would be leaving if his appointment as the new leader of the spy agency is finalized. A seasoned diplomat, Cho built a career
Politics Dec. 21, 2023
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South Korea, Japan, US sharing North Korean missile data ‘24/7, all year round’
A trilateral scheme has kicked off for sharing data on North Korean missiles in real time among the defense chiefs of South Korea, Japan and the US. The Ministry of National Defense in Seoul said Tuesday its prelaunch inspections have found the missile data-sharing scheme to be “completely ready for operations” and currently “operating smoothly.” The Defense Ministry said the scheme would allow the three allies to detect North Korea’s missiles and share related info
Defense Dec. 19, 2023
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Yoon orders ‘instant response’ to North Korean provocations after ICBM firing
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday asked his national security team for an “instant and overpowering response to any North Korean provocations” following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by Pyongyang earlier in the day, which raised military tensions on the peninsula. The North’s fifth ICBM launch of the year was fired into the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Monday morning, as previously predicted by a senior Seoul official last week. In a N
Defense Dec. 18, 2023
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Trump factor clouds Biden pledge to bolster South Korean nuclear defense
South Korea and the US held another round of talks on nuclear deterrence in Washington DC on Friday, as part of US President Joe Biden’s commitment to step up protection from North Korea. According to a Seoul official, both sides agreed to complete guidelines on joint nuclear defense strategy by mid-2024 -- a timeline that falls before the US presidential election. South Korea’s principal deputy national security adviser, Kim Tae-hyo, told reporters that Seoul and Washington have dec
Defense Dec. 17, 2023
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Russian governor in Pyongyang for talks on economic ties
North Korea hosted a Russian governor of a far-east border region on Tuesday for talks on boosting economic ties, according to Pyongyang’s official state news agency. The official Korea Central News Agency said in a report Wednesday that North Korea’s foreign economic affairs official Yun Jong-ho met with Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Russia’s Primorsky, to discuss “elevating economic cooperation between regions of the two countries to a higher level.” The state-
North Korea Dec. 13, 2023
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[News Focus] Tusk’s return has South Korea worried over Polish arms deal
The shift in power in Poland is stoking worries in South Korea over its possible toll on an arms export deal to the European country reached last year. Donald Tusk, a former European Union leader, was chosen as Poland’s prime minister for a second time in a parliamentary vote Monday, ending eight years of the nationalist conservative administration’s rule. With the change of the administration, the Polish Parliament’s Speaker Szymon Holwnia has said that agreements signed by th
Politics Dec. 12, 2023
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US F-16 fighter crashes into sea off South Korea during training
A United States Forces Korea F-16 Fighting Falcon on Monday morning crashed near Gunsan, a North Jeolla Province city 178 kilometers south of Seoul, during routine training, according to the air base there. Kunsan Air Base, home to the 8th Fighter Wing, said in a release that the fighter jet crashed into the sea off the west coast of South Korea at around 8:43 a.m. The pilot was rescued by the Republic of Korea Maritime Forces after evacuating the aircraft, the release said. He is in a stable co
Defense Dec. 11, 2023
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In revote, National Assembly strikes down controversial media bills
South Korea’s National Assembly on Friday voted to discard a set of bills aimed at giving the state broadcasting regulator more power in choosing heads of public broadcasters. The bills were vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol and sent back to the Assembly for a revote. They were initially proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which controls the parliamentary majority. The ruling People Power Party protested the bills as having the potential to increase government influe
Politics Dec. 8, 2023
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Missile scientist from North Korea, pediatrician among new ruling party recruits
South Korea’s ruling party on Friday announced a fresh batch of recruits to run in the 2024 general election. Among the five recruits disclosed by the People Power Party’s parliamentary recruitment committee is Park Chung-kwon, a North Korean defector who worked in intercontinental ballistic missile research at the National Defense University in Pyongyang. The 37-year-old has been a researcher at Hyundai Steel since he escaped from North Korea in 2009. The committee said Park was &ld
Politics Dec. 8, 2023
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Moon officials tried to cover up North Korea’s murder of South Korean: state inspectors
The South Korean national inspection service concluded Thursday that the previous Moon Jae-in administration attempted to cover up North Korea’s killing of a South Korean government official in 2020, after failing to make rescue efforts while the official was in North Korean captivity. In its final report, the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea accused the preceding administration of mishandling the events leading to and after the death of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official.
Politics Dec. 7, 2023
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Seoul high court sides with iPhone owners against Apple over ‘batterygate’
The high court in Seoul on Wednesday ruled against Apple in a damages suit filed by consumers here over allegations the US tech giant purposefully degraded the performance of older iPhones in a controversy that came to be known as “batterygate.” The Seoul high court on this day called on Apple to pay 70,000 won ($53) each to seven iPhone owners who were part of the lawsuit that accused the company of slowing down the devices through software updates. The owners then alleged that the
Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2023
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