Latest news with #anti-Pyongyang
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Mammoth probes to look into Yoon's alleged treason, insurrection
Special teams size of a district attorney's office to be formed to investigate ex-president Multiple probe teams together comprising some 120 prosecutors are set to look into allegations surrounding former President Yoon Suk Yeol, including one that he committed treason by trying to impose martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday passed a series of bills seeking to open three separate special counsel investigations. One will investigate whether Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration would constitute insurrection, for which a criminal trial is already underway, as well as treason. The Democratic Party claims that Yoon plotted to provoke a military action from North Korea to justify declaring martial law with his hawkish policies such as resumption of anti-Pyongyang broadcasts near inter-Korean borders in June 2024. The Democratic Party is also pushing an as-yet unsubstatiated claim that Yoon sent unmanned aerial vehicles into Pyongyang in October 2024. Yoon allegedly attempting to instigate an armed conflict with North Korea in the run-up to his martial law decree was "treason," the Democratic Party claimed, on top of it being a "rebellion against the Constitution, which is to say, insurrection." Another special counsel investigation would revisit the death of a Marine in July 2023. Cpl. Chae Su-geun, 20, died when he was swept away in moving water during a search and rescue operation to locate flood victims in a rain-swollen river in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. The Democratic Party claims that the Yoon presidential office tried to hinder a preliminary investigation into if there had been negligence and other wrongdoing at the top in Chae's death. Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee is also set to face a special counsel investigation into allegations that she interfered in the People Power Party's nomination of candidates for a National Assembly seat. The Democratic Party voted without the People Power Party to pass the special counsel bills Thursday. The Democratic Party has the majority in the Assembly, holding 167 out of 300 seats.
Korea Herald
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
N. Korea to keep bolstering nuclear force, criticizes US for pursuing 'outdated' denuclearization goal
North Korea said it will adhere to bolstering its nuclear force, criticizing the United States for pursuing what it called an "outdated and absurd" denuclearization plan of the North, according to the North's state media Tuesday. The North's foreign ministry made the remarks in response to a recent joint statement by South Korea, the US and Japan that reaffirmed their goal of the complete denuclearization of North Korea. North Korea will "consistently adhere to the new line of bolstering up the nuclear force" and "thoroughly deter the US and its vassal forces from threats and blackmail" by making use of all political and military tools at its disposal, the North's ministry said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. "The US is pursuing an outdated and absurd plan of 'denuclearization,' which is now getting more impossible and impracticable even practically and conceptually from the viewpoint of the present time," it said. The statement also called denuclearization a "shortsighted goal," saying it is "no more than the height of stupidity that arouses the astonishment of the world people" and the US has not yet awakened from "the failed old dream of the denuclearization." "It is not worth consideration to counter the stand of the US escaping from reality and we condemn and reject the US action in the most resolute tone," it also said. South Korea's foreign ministry said last week's trilateral talks among South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya sent a "strong" warning against North Korean provocations and stressed their commitment to reinforcing the global anti-Pyongyang sanctions regime. The North's ministry expressed "serious concern," accusing the three nations of "inciting collective confrontation" on the Korean Peninsula and the region and warning that any provocation and threat will be met with "overwhelming and decisive counteraction." "As long as the US and its vassal forces' hostile threat exists, the DPRK's nukes are means for defending peace and sovereignty and a means for legitimate self-defense," the ministry noted. "The more desperately the US resorts to ineffective means of pressure against the DPRK ... the more the DPRK will continue to take a new opportunity for the upward coordination of its strategic force," the ministry also said, adding that "anachronistic and futile attempt to challenge its sovereignty will entail self-destructive results." (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Top diplomats of S. Korea, US, Japan reaffirm 'resolute' commitment to 'complete denuclearization' of N. Korea
The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Saturday reaffirmed their "resolute" commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea and decried "systematic, widespread and gross" violations of human rights in the reclusive state, a joint statement said. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met trilaterally on the margins of a security forum in Munich, Germany, where they sent a "strong" warning against North Korean provocations and stressed their commitment to reinforcing the global anti-Pyongyang sanctions regime. During the first three-way talks since Rubio's inauguration last month, the US side reaffirmed its "ironclad" security commitments to South Korea and Japan, "backed by America's unmatched military strength, including its nuclear capabilities." "The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in accordance with the U.N. Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs)," the three countries said in the statement. DPRK is short for the North's official name. "They expressed their serious concerns over and the need to address together the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs, malicious cyber activities including cryptocurrency thefts, and increasing military cooperation with Russia," they added. The countries went on to say, "They sent a strong warning that the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea will not tolerate any provocations or threats to their homelands. They decided to strengthen their trilateral efforts through close policy coordination at all levels." The statement came amid lingering questions over how the Trump administration will deal with the trilateral partnership that rose to new heights following the countries' Camp David summit, the first standalone three-way summit in August 2023. Since the landmark summit, the three countries have deepened cooperation by launching a system for the real-time sharing of North Korean ballistic missile warning data; creating a trilateral military exercise named "Freedom Edge"; and installing a trilateral secretariat to institutionalize their cooperation, among other efforts. During Saturday's talks, the US restated its "extended deterrence" pledge to mobilize the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend the Asian allies. "The United States reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen extended deterrence cooperation through the ROK-US and Japan-US Alliances," they said. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The three sides heaped opprobrium on the North's human rights record. "The Secretary and Foreign Ministers condemned the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread, and gross violations of human rights in and by the DPRK," they said. "They also committed to maintain and strengthen the international sanctions regime against the DPRK by responding firmly to violations and evasions of the relevant UNSCRs and applying pressure on Pyongyang to halt illicit activities that fund its nuclear and missile programs." On the economic security front, the three sides announced their intention to strengthen energy security by unleashing the US' "affordable and reliable" energy and natural resources, and by enhancing energy cooperation, particularly in liquefied natural gas, in a "mutually beneficial" manner, the statement read. They also affirmed their commitment to closer cooperation on developing critical and emerging technologies. "They committed to deepening cooperation on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum science and technology, cybersecurity, biotechnology and its enabling infrastructure, as well as digital information and communications technology infrastructure," the countries said. Moreover, the three diplomats issued a message against China on key geopolitical issues as they emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an "indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community." "They encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues and opposed any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the status quo," the countries said. "They also expressed support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations." The trio voiced their strong opposition to "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea." "They emphasized their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and ensuring international law prevails," they said. (Yonhap)
