Latest news with #KangDo-hyung
Korea Herald
29-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea to devise long-term strategy to commercialize autonomous vessel technology
South Korea will set up a long-term strategy this year to commercialize autonomous marine vehicle technology as part of efforts to innovate the shipping industry, the oceans minister said Tuesday. "Autonomous ships utilizing cutting-edge digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will play a significant role in improving maritime safety and reducing carbon emissions of the shipping industry," Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung said in the inaugural meeting of a new policy committee on such technology. The long-term plan will cover a 10-year road map on developing technologies essential to building autonomous vessels, transitioning the maritime shipping system to align with the technology, fostering professional talent in the area and revising related domestic policies, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. South Korea launched the policy committee on autonomous ships in line with the Our Ocean Conference, a global maritime conference being held in the southeastern port city of Busan. Kang said Seoul will also strengthen cooperation with the international community in joint efforts to develop a new global regulatory framework on the design, construction and operation of autonomous ships. The International Maritime Organization is working to develop a maritime autonomous surface ship code by 2032. (Yonhap)
The Print
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
South Korea mulls 'necessary facility' in Yellow Sea after China erects steel structure in disputed waters
Reports from South Korean media indicate that the structure, measuring 50 meters (164 feet) in both height and diameter, is the latest of three Chinese installations in the area. Beijing has asserted that all of the structures are intended for aquaculture. Seoul [South Korea], April 22 (ANI): South Korea is contemplating the establishment of a 'necessary facility' in its overlapping territorial waters with China in the Yellow Sea as a response to Beijing's deployment of a steel structure in the region, as reported by Radio Free Asia (RFA). 'From the standpoint of safeguarding our maritime territory, we take this matter very seriously in terms of a proportional response,' stated South Korea's oceans minister Kang Do-hyung on Monday, adding that the government must first determine 'what type of facility is necessary at which level,' as quoted by RFA. 'We are lodging a strong protest with China through diplomatic means. We regard this issue with the highest seriousness, considering its significance and our commitment to protecting our maritime territory,' Kang remarked, as cited by RFA. Kang made these comments following media reports suggesting that the disputed structure is an old oil rig previously used in the Middle East. The structure, which features a helipad, displays 'Atlantic Amsterdam' on its surface, the name of an oil rig constructed by France in 1982. The overlapping claims of South Korea and China over sections of the Yellow Sea are governed by a provisional measures zone (PMZ) designed to avert conflicts between the two nations. On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated that the structure was intended for aquaculture. 'China has provided relevant information and kept communication lines open with the ROK through channels such as the maritime affairs dialogue and cooperation mechanism. We hope the ROK will consider this matter objectively and rationally,' he commented, as stated in the RFA report. Notwithstanding the existing agreement, China has reportedly constructed several large steel structures, including two in April and May last year, and another this year, which has raised concerns in South Korea regarding potential territorial disputes. (ANI) This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Korea Herald
23-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, China set for maritime talks amid tensions over steel structures in Yellow Sea
South Korea and China were set to hold a working-level maritime dialogue in Seoul on Wednesday, diplomatic sources said, as tensions are building up over a set of steel structures Beijing has installed in their overlapping waters in the Yellow Sea. The talks come after the two countries engaged in a standoff in February in the Provisional Maritime Zone near South Korea's southwest coast, when Chinese authorities blocked a South Korean ship from inspecting a steel structure China installed in the area. The PMZ covers an overlapping sea zone in their maritime boundaries, known as the Exclusive Economic Zones. The two countries signed an agreement in 2000 to allow their fishing vessels to operate there and jointly manage marine resources, while prohibiting any activities beyond navigation and fishing. China insisted it was a commercial fish farm that Seoul had no right to search. China installed two semi-submersible buoys in 2018 and 2024 in the PMZ. It also built a fixed steel structure in 2022, believed to be a repurposed decommissioned oil rig. Beijing claims the two floating installations are fish farms to grow salmon, and the fixed structure, equipped with a helicopter landing pad, was built as an aquaculture management facility. However, China's installations of the structures, potentially in violation of the agreement, has prompted Seoul to address the issue more assertively, given China's track record of territorial disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea and with Japan in the East China Sea. At Wednesday's talks, Seoul is expected to raise the issue to reinforce its calls for ensuring stability in the PMZ. Seoul has stressed that no Chinese activities in the overlapping waters should affect its "legitimate and lawful" maritime rights. On Monday, Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung said that relevant government agencies are reviewing all possible options, including reciprocal measures, to address the issue. "We are taking this matter very seriously, especially from the standpoint of the importance of the issue and the need to defend our maritime territory," Kang said in a press briefing. "We are reviewing a wide range of possible responses, including proportional measures ... that can be effectively implemented," he said. Kang said earlier that the government will begin the process to allocate a budget to install an aquaculture facility as a countermeasure.
Japan Times
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
South Korea installs platform to monitor Chinese presence in disputed sea
South Korea has set up a "reciprocal" platform in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea, known in Seoul as the West Sea, where China has increasingly built structures, Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung said on Wednesday. China says its structures are fish farming equipment, but they have raised alarm bells in Seoul over concerns Beijing could be seeking to stake claims in the Provisional Maritime Zone, where the two countries' exclusive economic zones overlap. Kang told parliament that South Korea is monitoring the Chinese presence by setting up a stationary floating platform for "environmental survey." "South Korea has taken reciprocal measure with a large-scale floating object," he said. In February, a South Korean research vessel sent to examine the Chinese structures was blocked by Chinese coast guard ships and rubber boats carrying civilians, according to South Korean media reports. The South Korean coast guard also deployed and was involved in a two-hour stand-off before retreating, the reports said. Lawmakers from South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Tuesday called the Chinese presence a "direct challenge to marine security" and urged a more forceful response. Kwon Young-se, chairman of the party's emergency response committee, said China was using fishing as a pretext and compared its actions to those it has taken in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims vast swaths of the area, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. "The West Sea is not just a sea, the West Sea is Korea," he said. "It is where many fishermen make their living, and the front line of our security." In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said some reports about the structures were not factual and that they do not violate any agreements. "The fact is that the relevant facilities set up by China are deep-sea fishery aquaculture facilities located in China's coastal waters, which are China's reasonable use of offshore marine resources," the spokesperson said in a statement. China maintains communication through diplomatic channels, and hopes to "avoid unwarranted politicization of the matter," the spokesperson added. "China and South Korea have maintained good and smooth communication on their differences related to the sea."
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Korea installs platform to monitor Chinese presence in disputed sea
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has set up a "reciprocal" platform in a disputed area of the Yellow Sea, known in Seoul as the West Sea, where China has increasingly built structures, Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung said on Wednesday. China says its structures are fish farming equipment, but they have raised alarm bells in Seoul over concerns Beijing could be seeking to stake claims in the Provisional Maritime Zone, where the two countries' exclusive economic zones overlap. Kang told parliament that South Korea is monitoring the Chinese presence by setting up a stationary floating platform for "environmental survey". "South Korea has taken reciprocal measure with a large-scale floating object," he said. In February, a South Korean research vessel sent to examine the Chinese structures was blocked by Chinese coast guard ships and rubber boats carrying civilians, according to South Korean media reports. The South Korean coast guard also deployed and was involved in a two-hour stand-off before retreating, the reports said. Lawmakers from South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Tuesday called the Chinese presence a "direct challenge to marine security" and urged a more forceful response. Kwon Young-se, chairman of the party's emergency response committee, said China was using fishing as a pretext and compared its actions to those it has taken in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims vast swathes of the area, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. "The West Sea is not just a sea, the West Sea is Korea," he said. "It is where many fishermen make their living, and the front line of our security." In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Seoul said some reports about the structures were not factual and that they do not violate any agreements. "The fact is that the relevant facilities set up by China are deep-sea fishery aquaculture facilities located in China's coastal waters, which are China's reasonable use of offshore marine resources," the spokesperson said in a statement. China maintains communication through diplomatic channels, and hopes to "avoid unwarranted politicization of the matter," the spokesperson added. "China and South Korea have maintained good and smooth communication on their differences related to the sea."
