Another senior police officer has been dismissed from her position as authorities investigate the response to the crowd disaster in Itaewon, Seoul, on Saturday that left at least 156 people dead. On Thursday, the police dismissed Senior Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin, who was in charge of monitoring the situation in Itaewon, for not taking special action despite the 11 calls made to police hours before the incident. The police agency revealed Tuesday it had received 11 calls starting from aroun

The international community has been in an era in which “no one backs you up” since the Donald Trump’s period. During the Trump era, US-China relations fell into a double trap of Thucydides and Kindleberger. Many in the international community believe that the international order has already entered the New Cold War between the US and China. Are we really in the New Cold War? Has the international order changed, or is it still changing? While the Cold War between the US and S

But Seoul terminating agreement first will only give Pyongyang an excuse to justify more military provocations, experts warn

It has been estimated that the string of missile launches carried out on Wednesday could have cost North Korea as much as $75 million. According to Radio Free Asia, Bruce Bennett of RAND Corporation estimated that each launch would have cost Pyongyang between $2 million and $3 million. With South Korea having detected 25 missiles throughout the day, the cost of Pyongyang’s barrage would range from $50 million to $75 million. The estimated cost of launching a missile, including North Korea&

Lee visits the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency which tracked down hideout of Osama bin Laden

While the entire nation has been fixated on the Halloween tragedy in Seoul over the weekend, families of two miners believed to be trapped at a mine in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, have been praying for their safe return for nearly 10 days. Thursday marks the ninth day since the zinc mine collapsed on Oct. 26. The two, aged 62 and 56, are thought to be in a vertical shaft some 170 meters underground. It is unclear whether they are alive. The rescue team had a minor breakthrough early

President Yoon Suk-yeol paid another visit to a mourning altar for victims of the Halloween crowd crush on Thursday, his fourth this week. Yoon arrived at the altar in front of City Hall with his aides and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, and paid tribute to the victims by laying a chrysanthemum, burning incense and bowing his head in silent prayer. The visit was his third to the same altar and fourth overall, including a visit to a mourning altar near the site of the tragedy Tuesday. A weeklong

WASHINGTON -- Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup visited the US geospatial intelligence agency near Washington, DC on Wednesday in a symbolic trip highlighting the need for the allies' tighter security coordination to counter North Korea's military threats. His visit to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Springfield, Virginia, came on the eve of the annual South Korea-US defense ministerial talks, called the Security Consultative Meeting, where the North's nuclear and missi

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is supplying a large number of artillery shells to Russia for use in the latter's ongoing aggression in Ukraine, a White House National Security Council spokesman said Wednesday. John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, also said the North is trying to cover up its shipments by disguising their true destination. "In September, North Korea publicly denied that it intended to provide ammunition to Russia," Kirby said in a virtual press brie

NK fires three missiles toward East Sea, with ICBM launch likely a failure

The United States condemns North Korea's firing of a missile that landed below the de facto maritime border with South Korea, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson also said the U.S. will continue to work with South Korea and other allies to limit North Korea from further advancing its weapons programs. "The United States condemns the DPRK's ballistic missile launches and its reckless decision to fire a missile below the de facto maritime boundary with the Re

President Yoon Suk-yeol met with former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday and asked him to help promote the development of bilateral relations by working to increase people-to-people exchanges, the presidential office said. Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is visiting South Korea as head of a Japan-South Korea cooperation committee made up of elders and established in 1969 following the normalization of relations between the two countries. He is also dep

An 18-member delegation of Japanese lawmakers, affiliated with the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union, paid their respects on Wednesday to victims of a deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. Led by Fukushiro Nukaga, a member of Japan's House of Representatives, the lawmakers visited a mourning altar at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall after their arrival at Gimpo International Airport. They were accompanied by two South Korean lawmakers -- Rep. Chung Jin-suk, leader of the ru

North Korea has fired six additional missiles late Wednesday afternoon, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. According to the JCS, six projectiles including surface-to-air missiles were fired from two locations into the East and the West seas between 4:30 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. The latest missiles were launched from Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province on North Korea’s west coast, and Onchon, South Pyongan Province on the east coast.  

Choi In-ae, an office worker who works for a pharmaceutical firm, has attended emergency response training sessions annually. It was a compulsory program required by her company, which she often just got it over with. After learning about the desperate call out for those who know how to perform CPR on victims at the scene of the Itaewon crowd crush, she now thinks differently about first air training. “I received emergency response training such as CPR and the Heimlich maneuver from my c