In this series, The Korea Herald sits down with members of the 21st National Assembly to discuss top political events and issues affecting Seoul and beyond from South Korea’s heart of power in Yeouido. -- Ed. The time is ripe for South Korea to join its allies in sending defense aid to Ukraine, according to Army general-turned-lawmaker Rep. Shin Won-sik. In an interview with The Korea Herald, the first-time lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party and the National Assembly national defens

Politics June 14, 2023

The hunger and economic hardships driven by COVID-19 are forcing North Koreans to resort to extreme means of survival, such as cannibalism, recent defectors were quoted as telling South Korean authorities. This is one of the first accounts of the level of hunger in North Korea since COVID-19, given by North Korean family who came to South Korea by boat early last month. The family consisting of a mother and two brothers, their wives and young children were found by South Korean authorities cross

Politics June 13, 2023

South Korea’s main opposition party voted down bills seeking the National Assembly’s consent in issuing arrest warrants for two lawmakers accused in an intraparty bribery scandal. At the plenary session on Monday, the arrest warrant bills for both lawmakers -- Reps. Lee Sung-man and Youn Kwan-suk -- failed to pass the Assembly, whose majority is controlled by the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee and Youn gave up their Democratic Party membership last month after they were accused of ha

Politics June 12, 2023

The Democratic Party of Korea escalated its campaign against Japan on Monday, accusing President Yoon Suk Yeol of being weak on Tokyo and its plan to gradually release treated wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant. Ahead of the plenary session of the National Assembly, Democratic Party lawmakers issued a joint statement vowing to stop Japan from discharging the wastewater into the sea altogether. “Our party will do everything in our power to block Japan from dumping i

Politics June 12, 2023

South Korean main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung has stoked rebuke for backing Chinese ambassador Xing Haiming’s criticism of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s foreign policy last week. At a dinner event with Xing at the ambassador’s residence on Thursday, Lee suggested that the relationship between South Korea and China has soured since Yoon administration came into office. “The latest developments in international politics and econom

Politics June 11, 2023

The South Korean National Assembly on Thursday agreed to launch a special committee and hold hearings on the safety inspection of wastewater from the now-defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant. The special committee will be headed by lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, after a bill on its formation is passed at the plenary session next week. Japan will “communicate closely” with Seoul and “strive to provide the Korean people with sincere explanations based on scientifi

Politics June 8, 2023

Authorities in Vladivostok, a port city in the far eastern region of Russia, have launched an investigation into the disappearance of two North Koreans, Russian news outlets reported Tuesday. The missing North Koreans are believed to be wife and son of an official working at the North Korean consulate general there, according to the Arguments & Facts weekly owned by the Government of Moscow. The two -- 43-year-old Kim Kum-sun and 15-year-old Park Kwon-ju -- were last seen leaving the North K

Politics June 7, 2023

South Korea’s central election body is resisting mounting calls to face investigation even as the allegations of nepotistic hiring practices and negligent cyber security continue to grow. The ruling People Power Party convened an emergency meeting of its leaders on Sunday and slammed the National Election Commission for rejecting the state inspectors’ request to look into the ongoing allegations. At Sunday’s meeting, the ruling party chief Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said the election co

Politics June 4, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unstable and intimidated by deepening trilateral security ties between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, a South Korean National Intelligence Service analysis found. The NIS attributed Kim’s feelings of anxiety and terror to Yoon push to beef up the alliance with key security partners, the US and Japan, according to sources with knowledge of the analysis. The NIS has intelligence from multiple sources that the three count

Politics June 3, 2023

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 김정은 북한 국무위원장이 윤석열 정부의 한미일 안보 협력 강화 움직임에 불안을 겪고 있는 것으로 전해졌다. 2일 코리아헤럴드 취재를 종합하면, 국가정보원은 한미일 대북 공조 강화로 인해 북한 내부 불안이 커지고 있으며 이런 상황이 김 위원장의 건강에도 영향을 미치고 있다는 복수의 첩보를 입수했다. 그 동안 싸늘했던 일본과의 관계가 복원되고, 한미일 3국간 공조가 본격화 되자 김 위원장이 위기감을 느끼고 있는 것으로 국정원은 보고 있다. 국정원은 한미일 관계 발전에 더해 정찰위성 발사 실패가 김 위원장의 정서 불안을 가중시켜, “모험적 군사 행동”과 “공포 통치”를 부추길 수 있다고 판단하고 있다. 국정원은 손상된 체면 회복을 위해 김 위원장이 위성의 2차 발사를 성공시키는데에 총력을 기울일 것으로 전망하고 있다. 위성 재발사 외에도 단거리 탄도미사일, SLBM 및 고체 ICBM 발사와 사이버 공격 등 다방면에서

한국어판 June 2, 2023

The South Korean defense minister said Thursday that the military was conducting a salvage operation for a segment of a North Korean space launch vehicle believed to be from the second stage of propulsion, and was tracing remaining debris from the projectile a day after the launch ended in failure. Speaking before the National Assembly’s national defense committee, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said it is looking into the possibility of retrieving the reconnaissance satellite that North Ko

North Korea June 1, 2023

North Korea's satellite launch failure on Wednesday was likely to have happened because of an unexpected technical error, rather than leader Kim Jong-un’s impatience to improve surveillance capabilities, according to defector-turned-Assemblyman Rep. Tae Yong-ho. Tae, who was a senior diplomat for North Korea before defecting to Seoul in 2016, said in a press release that the spy satellite’s attempted launch was a key military milestone that has been a long time in the making. Fo

Politics May 31, 2023

South Korea’s intelligence authorities suspect North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is suffering from insomnia, and drinking and smoking heavily. Rep. Yoo Sang-bum, the executive secretary for the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, told reporters Wednesday that the National Intelligence Service believes Kim “may be experiencing a serious sleep disorder and engaging in excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption.” He said the spy service found North Korean authorities were “ho

Politics May 31, 2023

A South Korean team of experts said Wednesday they will be conducting an additional review after a visit to the now-defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant that was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami, leading to three nuclear reactor meltdowns, in 2011. Speaking at a briefing, Yoo Guk-hee, the government nuclear safety commission’s chairperson who is leading the review efforts, said his team will be acquiring extra data to look into facilities that treat the radioactive wastewater, dilut

Politics May 31, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday met with leaders of five Pacific island countries in the first such summit hosted in Seoul by the South Korean president to discuss ways to boost regional security and partnership in resource development. The Sunday leg of the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit was attended by President Taneti Maamau of Kiribati, Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni of Tonga, Prime Minister Kausea Natano of Tuvalu, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau of Vanuatu and Prime Minister James Marape o

Politics May 29, 2023