Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
Military embarrassed by anti-tank missile test gone wrong
An anti-tank missile veered off its intended trajectory and landed in a rice field near an army shooting range during a test Thursday, South Korea’s military said. No one was hurt. The test was embarrassing for the military, as a foreign military commander was observing the drill on the scene in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province. He made a stop there as part of his trip here to attend a local defense expo. The military said the test was scheduled in advance and it was not a last-minut
Defense Nov. 19, 2020
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South Korea, US, Japan military chiefs vow peace in Indo-Pacific
At a teleconference Thursday, the top military commanders of South Korea, the US and Japan said they would work for peace in the Indo-Pacific region as they continue addressing security concerns there and expanding their cooperation, Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense said. Gen. Won In-choul, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, highlighted coordination among the three countries on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and establishing permanent peace here. Gen. Mark Mi
Defense Nov. 19, 2020
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S. Korean, US defense chiefs reaffirm ‘exemplary alliance’
Defense Minister Suh Wook and US acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to an “exemplary alliance” during their first phone call, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. Miller ascended to the role after President Donald Trump fired Secretary Mark Esper a week earlier. The two defense chiefs confirmed their ironclad mutual defense commitments against North Korea and vowed close cooperation on a range of issues pendi
Defense Nov. 18, 2020
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S. Korean defense chief, US army chief reaffirm alliance
Defense Minister Suh Wook and US Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville reaffirmed commitment to alliance, while discussing ways to strengthen it and expand cooperation, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday. During a meeting at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul, Suh asked Gen. McConville to continue coordinating with Seoul on its peace drive on the Korean Peninsula on the back of strong defense readiness. McConville responded saying he would help advance the bilateral t
Defense Nov. 17, 2020
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6,000 N. Koreans suspected to have COVID-19: WHO
The number of North Koreans suspected of having contracted the new coronavirus reached 6,173 as of Oct. 29, up by 805 from a week earlier, the World Health Organization said Tuesday in its weekly COVID-19 update. The regime still claims zero cases. The WHO added the North had quarantined 32,182 people and tested 10,272 residents. Meanwhile, Pyongyang again urged people to remain on the highest alert and to obey all precautions to stem the coronavirus outbreak. The state newspaper highlighted p
North Korea Nov. 17, 2020
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Military toughens distancing rules as COVID-19 cases rise
On Monday, South Korea’s military raised the social distancing rules in Greater Seoul to Level 1.5, a notch higher than its least restrictive level now, as coronavirus cases started rising. The military imposed tougher Level 2 rules in neighboring Gangwon Province. Effective Tuesday through Nov. 29, all military personnel are instructed not to visit entertainment facilities and to reduce on-duty travel and meetings. Those living near infection clusters in Seoul and neighboring Gangwon P
Defense Nov. 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] N. Korea unusually quiet after Biden elected president
North Korea has yet to address the outcome of the US election, let alone engage in anti-US rhetoric, more than a week after Joe Biden became president-elect on Nov. 7. Its silence stands in sharp contrast with its quick responses to past US elections. Previously Pyongyang has responded within a week, except in 2000 when it released a statement only after the US Supreme Court handed former President George W. Bush victory over former Vice President Al Gore in a vote recount dispute. Speculation
North Korea Nov. 15, 2020
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‘Squeezing’ N. Korea could backfire: experts
US President-elect Joe Biden’s potential national security advisers may recommend ratcheting up pressure on North Korea, but such moves, if pushed to the extreme, could backfire and a new strategy may be necessary. With the new Biden national security team yet to take shape, experts said prospective advisers understand the importance of sanctions to engage Pyongyang in talks. “These advisers believe Trump squandered the reputational weight of the presidency by meeting Kim Jong-un
North Korea Nov. 10, 2020
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Biden favors step-by-step approach on NK: experts
The incoming Biden administration in the US would seek a bottom-up, step-by-step approach to disarming nuclear North Korea, and the policy could expand into a synergistic alliance with South Korea to bring lasting peace on the peninsula if Seoul adjusts its tune, experts here and abroad said Monday. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump has employed an unconventional, top-down style, dealing directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and often touting a special relationship with Kim th
North Korea Nov. 9, 2020
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S. Korea to mark Korean War anniversary with veterans
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is hosting two days of events in Busan this week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War with UN veterans and dignitaries from their home countries. Twenty-two countries joined the US-led UN coalition and South Korea to counter an invasion from China-backed North Korea in the 1950-53 conflict that ended with an armistice, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war. On Tuesday, an international conference comprising delegates fro
Defense Nov. 9, 2020
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‘Biden fully ready to invest in N. Korea denuclearization’
US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden seems to be fully prepared to engage in North Korean denuclearization, Joseph Yun, former US special representative for North Korea policy, said Thursday. Yun told the local Jeju Forum that he was surprised to see Biden addressing Koreans in the US as well as here, adding that it was evidence that Biden’s agenda included Korean issues. But Yun did not detail what exactly his message was. Earlier, Biden sent a contribution to Yonhap News Agency
North Korea Nov. 6, 2020
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N. Korean captured after crossing into South
A North Korean man was captured and taken into custody by South Korea’s military after he crossed the inter-Korean border on foot along the east coast, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. Late Monday night, military surveillance first picked up the man approaching the northern side of the fortified military demarcation line separating the two Koreas in Goseong County. At around 7:25 p.m. Tuesday, the man triggered the highest alert here, when he was spotted climbing over barb
North Korea Nov. 4, 2020
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N. Korea repeats zero COVID claims: WHO
North Korea has yet to report a single infection case of the noble coronavirus as of Oct. 29, the World Health Organization said in its latest report released Friday. The country has tested 10,462 people, it added. The WHO said in August it had been informed of zero infections in the North. Only about 3,000 North Koreans had been tested until September, according to Edwin Salvador, WHO representative to Pyongyang. All the rest took the test in October alone, but the WHO report did not offer
North Korea Nov. 3, 2020
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S. Korea does not need extra missile defense: ex-US commander
South Korea would need no extra American anti-missile defense against North Korea because the existing ones would work in tandem with other missile networks in place, former US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks told Radio Free Asia on Monday. The retired general referred to the latest simulation test the US Missile Defense Agency conducted on Oct. 1, where a Patriot missile took down incoming fire using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense radars. Seoul maintains a missile defense
Defense Nov. 3, 2020
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[News Focus] Steve Yoo starts 2nd legal battle over entry ban
Korean American singer Steve Seung Jun Yoo, known here as Yoo Seung-jun, is waging yet another legal battle to win his way back into South Korea, his birth country. The Korean-born singer has repeatedly appealed to the Korean government to lift the entry ban imposed on him in 2002 after he obtained US citizenship, an action viewed by officials here as an attempt to dodge mandatory military duty required of all capable Korean men. And things still look gloomy for Yoo. In March this year, th
Defense Nov. 2, 2020
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