SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A Hong Kong-flagged vessel has been seized and inspected by South Korean authorities after secretly transferring oil to a North Korean vessel in international waters in a ship-to-ship transfer prohibited by the United Nations Security Council, government officials said Friday. South Korean customs authorities took and searched the vessel, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Another North Korean soldier defected to the South on December 21, making him the 15th defector this year. The number of North Korean defections has tripled from last year, leading some to speculate on the reasons behind the increase. Unlike his compatriot who made a daring run to freedom [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. flew two B-1B supersonic bombers over Korea on Thursday, the second sortie carried out here this week by the Guam-based aircraft, a defense official said. The Lancer bombers trained with more than 20 of the allies’ fighter jets as part of their annual Vigilant ACE air force [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The United States and South Korea will stage a joint air force drill next month involving about 230 warfare airplanes, the U.S. Air Force said Friday, in an apparent show of force against North Korea. The allies will hold the annual airborne exercise named Vigilant Ace from Dec. 4-8, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s defense ministry said Friday that it has no plan to hold talks with China over an advanced U.S. missile defense system deployed in South Korea. A local media outlet reported that China has officially asked South Korea to open military talks at an early date over the Terminal [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea is believed to have replaced all border security guards following a North Korean soldier’s recent defection to the South via a jointly controlled area at the tense border, an intelligence source said Thursday. A North Korean soldier was shot and wounded by his fellows Nov. 13 when [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Attending a parliamentary budget subcommittee meeting on November 21, presidential aide Lee Jung-do briefly mentioned past occurrences of hacking attempts made on the Blue House when he said, “There are 500 to 600 hacking attempts from the outside made on the Blue House every month.” Cyberattacks on government databases [...]
SEOUL, November 16 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean military officials are reportedly contemplating a change to the current rules of engagement at the inter-Korean border, following criticism over the response to North Korean troops firing shots at a defecting North Korean soldier. According to a source close to the military on Wednesday, despite the United Nations [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Oceans Minister Kim Young-choon on Tuesday interpreted North Korea’s recent repatriation of a seized South Korean fishing boat as a “conciliatory gesture,” as Seoul seeks to improve cross-border ties. During a parliamentary session, Kim also dismissed speculation that Pyongyang captured the boat, 391 Hungjin, last month in a move [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A leading North Korean mouthpiece on Monday urged its people to make more yields in fruits, agriculture and fisheries to cope with the ongoing U.N. sanctions. “The U.S. imperialists say ICBMs, strategic bombers and nuclear submarines are their top three strategic assets, but our ones are Gold Mountains, Gold [...]