• Kim Jong-un keeps job

    North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was re-elected as the first chairman of the country’s powerful National Defense Commission (NDC), Wednesday. His re-election came during the first session of the North’s newly-elected Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), said the state-run North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim was initially chosen for the…

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  • US President likely to pass on sex slave issue

    Korea visit will follow Japan trip U.S. President Barack Obama will face a couple of issues that Koreans want to see addressed during his visit here later this month. First among these is the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War…

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  • Assembly emblem to feature Hanguel

    A group of bipartisan lawmakers agreed Tuesday to change the text in the center of the National Assembly emblem and on lapel badges worn in the parliament by representatives from a Chinese character to Hangeul, Korean script. The parliamentary steering committee passed a bill to revise the relevant law. In…

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  • NK warned against nuclear test

    South Korea, the United States and Japan urged North Korea to drop its plan to conduct another nuclear test or face serious repercussions. They issued the warning following a trilateral meeting in Washington D.C., Monday. “If North Korea goes ahead with another nuclear test, we, along with the international community,…

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  • Rep. Ahn loses magic

    NPAD leader concedes on signature pledge Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo has lost another piece of his political soul by conceding his signature political initiative. In a news conference, Ahn, now co-chairman of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), announced that he would not insist on the abolition of parties’ nomination…

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  • Park’s ‘Dresden Doctrine’ faces tough test

    North Korea reacts to peace initiative with provocations Barely 10 days after President Park Geun-hye came up with a package of proposals for the future unification of the two Koreas during her visit to the German city of Dresden last month, her so-called “Dresden Doctrine” has generated a great deal…

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  • Human rights body’s fall

    Seoul must take swift steps to avoid further disgrace Korea’s human rights organization, once the object of envoy among new democracies, has become a disgrace to the nation. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC), which barely limped along during the past seven years under successive conservative governments, is…

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  • NK drones land Kim in hot water

    Defense minister faces criticism for slack military readiness Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin finds himself with few allies. President Park Geun-hye rapped the military Monday over North Korea’s recent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, intrusions. Lawmakers also are moving to see somebody take responsibility. A relic from the previous administration,…

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  • Two-faced neighbor

    New Japanese textbooks ruin their children’s future Japan’s historical whitewashing reached a new low Friday when Tokyo expanded their targets of distorted education to include elementary schoolchildren. According to a revision added to their history books, Dokdo is Japanese sovereign territory unlawfully occupied by Korea. This is a glaring aggravation…

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  • East Asia

    Park faces N. Korea dilemma

    Pyongyang threatens nuclear, missile tests President Park Geun-hye has a new dilemma over North Korea. Park made a peace overture to Pyongyang during a recent visit to the German city of Dresden. The North reacted to her “Dresden Doctrine” by firing missiles and threatening nuclear tests. But Park remains calm.…

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