Latest news with #PanmunjomDeclaration
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
South Korea begins dismantling border loudspeakers to ease tensions with the North
South Korea on Monday began dismantling its loudspeakers near the border used for anti-Pyongyang propaganda, in a "practical step" to ease tensions with North Korea, Seoul's Defense Ministry said the same day. 'The removal is a follow-up measure to the suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts in June,' said Col. Lee Kyung-ho, vice spokesperson of the Defense Ministry, during a press briefing. 'It is being carried out within a scope that does not affect our military's readiness.' The ministry's vice spokesperson added that the latest move was a result of discussions within the Lee Jae Myung administration and was not pre-negotiated with North Korea. Seoul has dismantled and reinstalled loudspeakers near the border repeatedly since the 1960s, depending on the status of inter-Korean relations. The most recent suspension occurred under the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. The system was reactivated in June 2024 under the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration in response to North Korea's launch of waste-carrying balloons over the border. President Lee Jae Myung, who took office on June 4, ordered broadcasts to be halted on June 11 in an effort to thaw inter-Korean relations. He also cited stress caused to residents near the border as an additional reason to stop the broadcasts. North Korea ceased its own broadcasts towards the South the following day. All fixed loudspeakers are expected to be removed within a few days, according to the ministry. Mobile and vehicle-mounted units were withdrawn following the June 11 suspension. A Seoul-based expert projected the decision to be effective in reducing border tensions. 'This is not a reciprocal move, but a preemptive action that enhances South Korea's image as a peace-loving nation,' said Yang Moo-jin, president and professor at the University of North Korean Studies. He added that the move could mark the beginning of efforts to restore the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement. The accord was nullified after North Korea unilaterally withdrew from it in November 2023. South Korea later suspended the deal in June 2024 in response to North Korea's launch of trash-filled balloons across the border. Yang also stressed the importance of reviewing the scale and nature of joint South Korea-US military drills going forward. 'Military training is natural for any nation with armed forces. However, for progress toward a peace-based economic model on the Korean Peninsula, we must limit operations to defensive drills and halt retaliatory or large-scale punitive responses,' he said. North Korea has yet to take corresponding steps. 'We've observed signs of maintenance work on some of their loudspeakers, but not removal,' said Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun during Monday's briefing. He noted that North Korea is believed to operate slightly more loudspeakers than South Korea, which reportedly had about 20 in use before June. Meanwhile, Seoul's Defense Ministry confirmed that annual joint military drills with the United States will proceed as scheduled in mid-August.
Korea Herald
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Ex-President Moon criticizes indictment against him as ‘unjust'
Former President Moon Jae-in on Friday called the indictment on bribery charges against him 'unjust,' while accusing the prosecutors of abuse of power and being 'political.' The remarks came during his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik ahead of attending a celebratory event marking seven years of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, which was an outcome of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit between then-president Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 'The indictment itself was unjust, but I felt that (the prosecutors) were pushing this into a direction (they had) already set,' Moon told Woo in a meeting held at the main building of the Assembly. 'This means that the prosecution has become that much political and is an example of abuse of prosecutorial power,' he added. Moon also revealed that the indictment came as a surprise for him, as there was an initial agreement with the prosecutors to allow the former president to review the facts tied to the bribery charges before they would make any further decisions. '(In the timeframe leading up to the indictment,) I was reviewing (related) records at the presidential archives to do some in-depth fact checking after having written my affidavit (to submit to the prosecution later),' he explained. 'The process had been agreed upon by the prosecution … But they have decided to abruptly indict me.' Moon asked Woo to focus on letting the public know about the 'abuse of prosecutorial power and politics.' Ahead of Moon's remarks, Woo said that the prosecutors' move to indict the former president was 'unconvincing' for him, as he believes that they ignored the appropriate procedures before charging Moon with bribery. 'It's unconvincing for me in terms of the (charges) and the timing of the indictment with the country suffering under various turmoil. I believe the Assembly should look into whether there are any flaws in the procedures (of the indictment),' Woo said. The Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday they indicted Moon without detention on charges of bribery concerning his former son-in-law's employment at a local airline. The former son-in-law, surnamed Seo, allegedly received some 217 million won ($151,000) between August 2018 and April 2020 in the form of salary and housing support from Thai low-cost carrier Thai Eastar Jet after being appointed as executive director. Seo had no experience in the airline industry and former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, who is the airline's founder, was appointed as head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency at the time. Moon was in office as president from 2017 to 2022.
Korea Herald
05-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea's aid to North Korea drops to zero in 2024
Korea provided no humanitarian assistance to North Korea in 2024 at both government and private levels, marking the first-ever complete halt since Seoul began its aid efforts in 1995, data from the Unification Ministry showed Wednesday. The cessation follows a steady decline over the past five years. According to the ministry, aid amounted to 10 billion won ($6.9 million) in 2023, down from 26 billion won in 2022 and 31 billion won in 2021. The steepest drop occurred in 2020, when support was nearly halved, falling to 149 billion won from 277 billion won in 2019. The shifts in aid levels align with changes in inter-Korean relations. Aid had seen an increase in 2019 under the Moon Jae-in administration, which prioritized economic cooperation and humanitarian assistance as part of a broader strategy to improve ties with Pyongyang. This approach was further reinforced by diplomatic momentum from the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration between the Koreas and the 2019 summit between North Korea and US in Hanoi, Vietnam. However, these efforts collapsed after the Hanoi Summit ended without an agreement between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In the following years, inter-Korean relations deteriorated further, culminating in North Korea demolishing the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong in June 2020. Soon after, Pyongyang sealed its borders due to COVID-19, effectively shutting out nearly all external assistance and reinforcing its isolationist stance. In 2022, President Yoon Suk Yeol's new administration adopted a more restrictive stance on inter-Korean exchanges, leading to a further decline in humanitarian aid. The sharp reduction also reflects North Korea's increasing reluctance to accept external aid, according to Unification Ministry officials. "North Korea has largely refused outside aid in recent years, except for limited cases involving UNICEF, and has become even more adamant in rejecting support from South Korea," a Unification Ministry official said. In 2023, Pyongyang rejected Seoul's offer of flood relief. It has reportedly pressured foreign nongovernmental organizations to exclude South Korean funds from their operations. South Korea began providing humanitarian aid to North Korea in 1995, when Seoul sent 1.85 trillion won in assistance, including 150,000 tons of rice, to help Pyongyang recover from devastating floods. Over the 30 years, Seoul's aid to Pyongyang peaked in 2007 under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration, but mostly declined in the following years due to North Korea's nuclear and missile development. The sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in a North Korean torpedo attack in 2010 accelerated the reduction in aid.
