Articles by Kim Arin
Kim Arin
arin@heraldcorp.com-
North Korea sends political prisoners to nuclear facilities: defector
North Korea is forcing political prisoners to work at some of its high-risk nuclear facilities, a North Korean defector was quoted as telling South Korean authorities. A former Pyongyang resident in her 40s who defected in 2019 said in an in-depth interview with authorities in Seoul that North Korea was sending its political prisoners to labor camps close to nuclear sites, according to a recent report by the government-run Korea Institute for National Unification. “The levels of radiation
Politics March 6, 2024
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South Korea-US military drills ‘war exercises’: Pyongyang
The annual military drills conducted by South Korea and the US were “frantic war exercises,” North Korea said Tuesday, warning of consequences. “The US and the Republic of Korea have once again launched provocative, large-scale joint military exercises that amplify the unpredictability of the situation in the Korean Peninsula,” North Korea’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried by the official state media, the Korean Central News Agency, referring to Sout
Defense March 5, 2024
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NIS warns of rise in North Korean hacking threats against South Korean chipmakers
South Korea’s spy agency on Monday warned of a recent uptick in North Korean hacking threats against South Korean semiconductor firms. The National Intelligence Service said North Korean hackers have been ramping up hacking efforts targeting South Korean semiconductor equipment makers since the latter half of 2023. The NIS said the North Korean hackers mainly focused on companies whose servers are connected to the Internet and who had their vulnerabilities exposed. The North Korean hackers
Politics March 4, 2024
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Why Jongno is known as Seoul’s center of politics
The race to win the Assembly seat for Jongno, long known as the center of politics in Seoul, officially kicked off Monday as the Democratic Party of Korea candidate, Kwak Sang-eon, set to work after a contentious primary. Kwak is the son-in-law of the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun. The party decided to hand him the nomination for the symbolic Seoul district over other competitive figures such as Jeon Hyun-hee, who served as the head of the anti-corruption watchdog under President Moon Jae-
Politics March 4, 2024
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Vote on bill to probe first lady lays bare Democratic Party of Korea split
The bill to launch a special counsel investigation into allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee was struck down in a National Assembly vote late Thursday, amid a loud protest from the Democratic Party of Korea’s primary losers challenging the results of the nominations for the April general election. The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party convened a plenary session to vote on the special counsel bill, which was sent back to the Assembly for a re-vote
Politics March 1, 2024
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[KH Explains] Inside main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s bitter faction war
The Democratic Party of Korea’s primary race for the April 10 legislative election is being tainted by a furious faction fight. As the party begins to select candidates to run for the upcoming election, nearly a dozen have left the main opposition party. Among them are long-time loyalists who have stuck with the party through thick and thin for several decades. The faction to suffer the biggest blow was a group of lawmakers who were collectively deemed as the “pro-Moon faction”
Politics Feb. 29, 2024
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Russia sending North Korea food in return for arms: Seoul defense chief
North Korea has provided Russia with 6,700 shipping containers’ worth of artillery shells over the past six months, according to Seoul’s defense chief Shin Won-sik. In return, the North is believed to have received from Russia enough food and other essentials to fill about 10,000 shipping containers over the same period, Shin said. In a press conference on Monday, Shin noted that the North Korean military factories for producing arms for Russia were operating at full capacity. &ldquo
Defense Feb. 27, 2024
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Democratic Party of Korea’s beef with prosecutors, explained
With the April general election just around the corner, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is again campaigning on “abolishing the political prosecution” -- a slogan that the liberal party has been using for every election for at least the past three administrations. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party chair who was narrowly defeated by then-rival Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 presidential election, says he is a victim of “political prosecutors." Having been in
Politics Feb. 26, 2024
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Anti-Yoon vs anti-‘586’: Main parties’ election strategies take shape
The campaign strategies for South Korea’s two major parties are starting to take shape as they fill candidacies for the legislative general election less than 50 days away. The Democratic Party of Korea, the main opposition that has a majority in the National Assembly, is playing the “Yoon Suk Yeol card,” seeking to capitalize on the strong anti-Yoon sentiment in the party’s base. Rep. Kim Min-seok, who is heading the Democratic Party general election situation room, told
Politics Feb. 25, 2024
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Election watchdog busts political deepfakes ahead of April general election
The South Korean constitutional agency overseeing election administration said Monday it formed a task force aimed at fighting artificial intelligence-generated deceitful content related to the general election in April. The National Election Commission said in a release that it busted a total of 129 deepfakes that were deemed to violate the laws on elections of public officials between Jan. 29 and Feb. 16. The “politically motivated” deepfakes were caught by the watchdog through a s
Politics Feb. 19, 2024
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Democratic Party recruits ex-official suspected in 2019 forced return of North Koreans
South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea recruited a former National Intelligence Service official who was suspected of alleged wrongdoing in the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in 2019, when former President Moon Jae-in was in office. Kim Joon-hwan was Moon’s deputy director at the NIS at the time the Democratic Party administration decided to return the two North Korean fishers forcibly. Several at the NIS, including then-director Suh Hoon, and the Moon
Politics Feb. 19, 2024
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Japan-North Korea talks must help denuclearize peninsula, Seoul says
The South Korean government said Friday it is closely communicating with Japan and the US over North Korea extending an invitation to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida a day earlier. An official in Seoul said that any exchanges between Tokyo and Pyongyang “must unfold in a way that aids efforts for denuclearizing North Korea.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Yo-jong said late Thursday that North Korea is open to “a new future” with Japan, if Kishida is
Politics Feb. 16, 2024
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North Korea hacked Yoon official’s emails last year
North Korea appears to be behind the hacking of a presidential official’s email account in November last year, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service believes. In a release responding to a news report on Wednesday, the presidential office said Wednesday that a private email account belonging to an administrative official was targeted in a cyber attack ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to France and the UK in November. Citing the NIS, the release said the cyber
North Korea Feb. 14, 2024
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North Korea conducts fifth cruise missile launch of year
North Korea on Wednesday conducted a launch of cruise missiles for the fifth time since the start of the year. “Our military detected several unidentified cruise missiles off the northeast coast of Wonsan, Gangwon Province, at around 9 a.m. the details of which are being closely analyzed by the intelligence agencies of South Korea and the US,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The JCS said the South Korean military was “working closely with the US side amid heig
Defense Feb. 14, 2024
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Kim Jong-un’s rhetorical aggression to intensify throughout year: experts
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will likely continue his verbal aggression, on top of weapons tests and military exercises through the remainder of the year, experts in Seoul believe. In the latest threats made on the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Thursday, Kim said he was willing to obliterate the country’s enemies -- namely South Korea and the US -- stressing the North’s “combat readiness.” “If hostile forces attempt to touch the dignit
North Korea Feb. 12, 2024
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