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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
South Korea reviewing various options to improve North Korea ties
Find out what's new on ST website and app. A visitor takes a picture of the Bridge of Freedom, which connects North Korea and South Korea, at the Imjingak pavilion near the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon SEOUL - South Korea is studying various plans to improve relations with North Korea, a spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Monday, in response to a media report that Seoul is considering allowing individual tours to North Korea. Koo Byung-sam, a spokesperson for the ministry that handles inter-Korea affairs, refused to comment on a "particular issue". But, Koo said he understood individual tours were not in violation of international sanctions. Tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea that are not targeted under United Nations sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programs. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has pledged to improve strained relations with Pyongyang that have reached their worst level in years. In a bid to ease tensions, Lee suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border and ordered a halt to leaflet campaigns criticising the North's leaders by anti-Pyongyang activists. The president has said he will discuss further plans with top security officials to resume dialogue with North Korea that is technically at war with the South. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Priority for singles, higher quota for second-timer families to kick in from HDB's July BTO exercise Singapore Witness stand not arena for humiliation in sex offence cases, judge reminds lawyers Asia Japan PM Ishiba under siege after ruling coalition loses Upper House majority Business Bigger, quieter, greener: High-volume low-speed fans see rising demand in warming Singapore Singapore New home owners in Singapore find kampung spirit on BTO Telegram groups World Microsoft alerts businesses, governments to server software attack Asia Hun Sen calls Thaksin out, reveals historic role in Thai politics Business Singapore dollar faces downward pressure from US tariffs, expected policy shift North Korea recently opened a beach resort in the city of Wonsan, a flagship project driven by leader Kim Jong Un to promote tourism. But, the tourist area is temporarily not accepting foreign visitors, according to a July 16 note by DPR Korea Tour, a website operated by North Korea's National Tourism Administration. North Korea first needs to open the area to the outside world, the Unification Ministry spokesperson said, asked if South Koreans could travel to Wonsan. South Korea once ran tours to North Korea's Mount Kumgang area, but suspended them in 2008, when a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier. REUTERS
Hans India
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
South Korea: Unification minister nominee says North Korea is 'threat'
Unification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young on Monday said he does not agree with the view that North Korea is South Korea's "main enemy," instead calling the North a "threat. Chung made the remarks during a parliamentary confirmation hearing as the former conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration defined the North Korean regime and military as the South's "enemy" in the 2022 defence white paper. "I don't agree," Chung said when asked by an opposition lawmaker if he concurs with the view that North Korea is the South's main enemy. "(The North) is a threat." South Korea defined North Korea as its main enemy for the first time in the 1995 defence white paper. In the 2004 version, the expression was replaced by a "direct military threat" amid a conciliatory mood between the two Koreas. The former Yoon government referred to North Korea as an "enemy" for the first time in six years in the 2022 defence white paper, after the liberal Moon Jae-in administration dropped the labelling in the 2018 and 2020 editions. In late 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other," vowing not to seek reconciliation and unification with South Korea. He also called the South his country's "primary foe." On a now-suspended inter-Korean military tension reduction pact, Chung said he thinks the government will be able to approve its restoration in a Cabinet meeting, reported Yonhap news agency. In June last year, the former Yoon government fully suspended the 2018 military agreement signed under the Moon administration in response to the North's repeated trash balloon campaigns and attempts to disrupt GPS signals near border islands. The military pact calls for halting all hostile acts against each other and setting up land and maritime buffer zones where artillery firing and drills are suspended. Chung said before approving the restoration of the deal, he believes South Korea could take "interim" steps by refraining from military measures at sea and on land that are banned under the agreement. Meanwhile, Chung raised the need to consider changing the name of the unification ministry, suggesting the Ministry of the Korean Peninsula could be one of the choices for the new name. A controversy has recently emerged over whether South Korea should change the name of the Ministry of Unification in charge of inter-Korean affairs by dropping the unification reference after the North's leader vowed not to seek unification with the South. "This would be a very important issue that needs to be discussed with the National Assembly," Chung said. Some liberal experts insist the name change would help dispel North Korea's doubts about South Korea's possible pursuit of absorption-based unification and set the stage for resuming inter-Korean dialogue. But conservatives and even some former liberal unification ministers are opposed to the name change, saying it could be misunderstood as South Korea not seeking unification. The Constitution stipulates South Korea will seek national unification in a peaceful manner. On North Korea's stance of "two hostile states," Chung said he thinks it was the North's response to the former South Korean government's hard-line stance against Pyongyang. Calling the way that East and West Germany unified a "pragmatic" approach, the nominee assessed that they pursued unification through exchanges and cooperation while effectively recognising them as two separate states. "What the Lee Jae Myung government needs to pursue is pragmatism," he said. Chung said former liberal President Moon Jae-in's proposal in 2017 to suspend a joint military exercise with the United States helped resume inter-Korean dialogue on the occasion of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. "This is an issue that needs to be discussed at meetings of the National Security Council," Chung said. Chung, a journalist-turned-lawmaker, was nominated last month as the first unification minister under the Lee Jae Myung administration. He previously served as unification minister in 2004-05 under former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun.
Nikkei Asia
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites won't faze North Korea
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, in June 2019. © Reuters Derek Grossman is professor of political science and international relations at the University of Southern California and founder and chief analyst of Indo-Pacific Solutions, LLC. He was previously at RAND and served as daily intelligence briefer to the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs. America's bold escalation last month against Iran -- deciding to join the Israeli bombing campaign and strike key nuclear sites to impede Tehran's nuclear program -- must now be factored into adversaries' risk calculations, at least through the Trump administration. Although it remains unclear whether Washington convinced China, Russia, or even Iran to reconsider their deterrence postures, one nation is very unlikely to worry or change a thing: North Korea.
Korea Herald
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
ASEAN, regional partners call for 'complete denuclearization' of Korean Peninsula
Southeast Asian countries and Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea and the United States, have called for efforts to achieve the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a joint statement showed Saturday, as they concluded this week's multilateral gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The chair's statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum, released Friday, also underscored the need to resume dialogue among concerned parties for peace and stability, a call that comes at a time when South Korea is seeking to improve inter-Korean relations under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung. "The Meeting called for the full implementation of all relevant UNSC Resolutions and noted international efforts to bring about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the statement read. "The Meeting ... stressed the importance of resuming peaceful dialogue among all concerned parties in order to realize lasting peace and stability in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," it said. The use of the word "complete" to describe the North's denuclearization contrasts with last year's statement that called for "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization -- language seen as carrying a stronger tone. The ARF statement released every year following the ASEAN meetings draws attention for how it reconciles the differing positions on key security issues among participating countries, which also include China, Russia and North Korea. The changes in the latest statement possibly suggest Seoul's softer approach in its inter-Korean policy. Lee has called for easing tensions between the two Koreas and pursuing dialogue with Pyongyang, while continuing to respond firmly to the North's nuclear and missile threats in coordination with the international community. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, who attended this week's ASEAN meetings as the top representative, highlighted these calls throughout the venue. North Korea has severed all communication with the South amid the stalled nuclear talks, which collapsed without a deal in Hanoi in 2019. The participating countries also again voiced "grave concern" over North Korea's increasing missile launches that destabilize the Korean Peninsula, urging Pyongyang to fully comply with all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. The ARF is an expanded security forum joined by the 10 ASEAN member states, the United States, China, Japan, the European Union and other countries in South Asia and the Pacific, as well as North Korea. However, North Korea did not attend this year's session, its first absence from the forum since joining the gathering in 2000. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee calls for efforts to restore inter-Korean relations
President Lee Jae Myung called for efforts Thursday to mend strained inter-Korean ties, saying peace between the two Koreas is the most realistic and practical path to ensuring national security. Lee made the remarks while presiding over a National Security Council meeting, the first since he took office in early June, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters. "We must make efforts to restore severed relations between South and North Korea," Lee was quoted as saying. "Peace and coexistence between the two Koreas is the most realistic and practical option for safeguarding our national security." He urged participants to take a comprehensive view of the shifting international order, the domestic political situation and North Korea-related factors to prevent national security threats. Lee has ordered a halt to the military's propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border and called on civic groups to suspend their distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets, expressing hope that the reconciliatory gestures could pave the way for resuming dialogue with the North. The NSC meeting was attended by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, senior presidential aides, the deputy chief of the National Intelligence Service and senior officials from the ministries of national defense, foreign affairs, unification and safety. (Yonhap)
