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Seoul Pushes for More Control of Its Forces as U.S. Priorities Shift

Seoul Pushes for More Control of Its Forces as U.S. Priorities Shift

WASHINGTON•SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea is pressing ahead with a bid for greater military autonomy within its alliance with the United States, a shift that reflects both Seoul’s growing confidence and Washington’s evolving strategic priorities as rivalry with China intensifies. From efforts to reclaim wartime operational control of its forces from the United [...]

Families of Korean Forced Labor Victims Sue in Seoul to Remove Names From Yasukuni Shrine

Families of Korean Forced Labor Victims Sue in Seoul to Remove Names From Yasukuni Shrine

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The families of Koreans who were forcibly conscripted by Imperial Japan during World War II and later enshrined at Japan’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine have filed a lawsuit in a South Korean court, seeking the removal of their relatives’ names and damages for what they describe as an ongoing violation of [...]

U.N. Command Asserts Sole Authority Over DMZ Access, Rejecting Seoul’s Push for New Law

U.N. Command Asserts Sole Authority Over DMZ Access, Rejecting Seoul’s Push for New Law

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The United Nations Command (UNC) on Wednesday sharply reiterated that it holds exclusive authority over civilian and military access to the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), citing the terms of the 1953 armistice. The unusually direct statement came as South Korea’s National Assembly advances legislation that would allow [...]

Bill to Shift DMZ Authority to Seoul Draws Objections From U.N. Command

Bill to Shift DMZ Authority to Seoul Draws Objections From U.N. Command

SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A proposal that would grant the South Korean government authority over civilian access to the Demilitarized Zone — long controlled by the United Nations Command — is facing resistance from key ministries in Seoul and from the U.S.-led command itself. Lawmakers from the governing Democratic Party introduced the bill [...]

South Korea Reaffirms Dokdo Sovereignty After Japanese Prime Minister Revives Dispute

South Korea Reaffirms Dokdo Sovereignty After Japanese Prime Minister Revives Dispute

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The presidential office reaffirmed Tuesday that South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo are unequivocally South Korean territory, rejecting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s renewed claim over the islets in the East Sea. A senior presidential official dismissed Takaichi’s remarks during a parliamentary session earlier in the day, reasserting that [...]

U.S. and China Drop ‘Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ From Key Security Documents, Prompting New Questions in Seoul

U.S. and China Drop ‘Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ From Key Security Documents, Prompting New Questions in Seoul

SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Both the United States and China have quietly omitted references to the “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” from major national security documents released in recent weeks, raising speculation over whether the two most influential actors in nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang are recalibrating their approach. The omission in Washington was notable. [...]

New U.S. Security Strategy Raises Questions for Seoul as Washington Recasts Priorities

New U.S. Security Strategy Raises Questions for Seoul as Washington Recasts Priorities

SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) —  A sweeping shift in American national security priorities — from reasserting influence in the Western Hemisphere to elevating Taiwan’s defense and omitting North Korea’s denuclearization — is prompting fresh debate in Seoul over what the changes signal for South Korea’s security role in Asia. The White House on Thursday [...]

Dispute Deepens Over U.N. Control of DMZ Access After Senior Aide Denied Entry

Dispute Deepens Over U.N. Control of DMZ Access After Senior Aide Denied Entry

SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s unification minister publicly criticized the United Nations Command (UNC) on Wednesday, revealing that it had recently barred a senior presidential security aide from entering the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), reviving long-standing tensions over the scope of the UNC’s authority. Speaking at a National Assembly hearing on legislation to expand [...]

President Lee’s Global South Tour Signals a New Phase in South Korea’s Search for Strategic Relevance

President Lee’s Global South Tour Signals a New Phase in South Korea’s Search for Strategic Relevance

ANKARA & SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Korea Bizwire) —  President Lee Jae Myung’s recent four-nation trip — anchored by his appearance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg and followed by stops in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Turkey — was less a ceremonial swing through diplomatic capitals than a quiet attempt to reposition South Korea within [...]