South Korea remains 5th in global military power ranking

SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - South Korea remained the world's fifth-strongest military power, unchanged from last year, according to a ranking compiled by Global Firepower (GFP) and released on Tuesday. In its annual report for this year, the U.S.-based think tank evaluated 145 countries to assess their "potential war-making capability across land, sea, and air, fought by conventional means." South Korea maintained fifth place in the ranking with a power index score of

January 14, 2025

Trump may soften stance on North Korea's denuclearization, spy agency speculates

SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to pursue dialogue with North Korea and may opt for a "small deal" with its leader Kim Jong-un over the renegade country's nuclear weapons program, South Korea's spy agency said on Monday. The assessment was made during a closed-door briefing to lawmakers by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), just a week before Trump is set to take the oath of office in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20.

January 13, 2025

Foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan hold talks ahead of Trump's inauguration

SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held talks in Seoul on Monday and agreed to maintain stable diplomatic relations between the two countries amid political uncertainty after President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law debacle last month. It was South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul's first meeting with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya, after the two talked over the phone in October last year when Iwaya was appointed as

January 13, 2025

Yoon's first formal hearing in impeachment trial to be held in absentia

SEOUL, January 12 (AJP) - President Yoon Suk-yeol will skip the first formal hearing of his impeachment trial scheduled for this week by the Constitutional Court of Korea. Yoon's legal representatives said on Sunday that the president cannot attend such hearings unless "issues related to safety and security" are properly handled. "The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) in cooperation with police authorities continues to try to ille

January 12, 2025

Ruling party recovers support after hitting dismal low

SEOUL, January 10 (AJP) - The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has recovered support after hitting rock bottom, following President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law debacle last month. According to a survey of over 1,000 adults conducted by pollster Gallup Korea early this week and released on Friday, some 34 percent expressed support for the PPP, while around 36 percent backed the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). The PPP has narrowed the gap with the DP by about 10 p

January 10, 2025

North Korean commemorative stamps hint at deepening ties with Russia

SEOUL, January 10 (AJP) - As North Korea has been cozying up to Moscow, a strip of commemorative stamps for Lunar New Year's Day now includes descriptions in Russian, alongside Chinese. North Korea on Friday unveiled postal stamps, slated for release on Jan. 20, featuring young North Korean athletes who participated in last year's Under-17 and Under-20 Women's World Cup events, as well as the Asian Table Tennis Championships. "It is uncertain, but such almanac st

January 10, 2025

Presidential security chief questioned over blocking Yoon's arrest

SEOUL, January 10 (AJP) - The head of South Korea's Presidential Security Service underwent police questioning on Friday over allegations that he ordered security officials to block investigators from executing an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. Park Chong-jun, chief of the Presidential Security Service, appeared at the National Office of Investigation (NOI) headquarters in western Seoul in the morning and expressed concern about potential clashes between g

January 10, 2025

All victims of plane crash buried, two weeks after disaster

SEOUL, January 9 (AJP) - Funerals for the victims of a plane crash in Muan, southwestern South Korea late last month have now wrapped up, with the remaining two victims laid to rest in Jeju on Thursday. With their funerals, all the victims have been buried, nearly two weeks after the fatal crash of a Jeju Air flight which claimed 179 lives at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province on Dec. 29. Until the previous day, the obsequies for the other 177 victims had been compl

January 9, 2025

Investigators weigh in on timing for another attempt to arrest Yoon

Security officials stroll at President Yoon Suk Yeol's official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Jan. 9, 2025. Yonhap SEOUL, January 9 (AJP) - Investigators are gearing up for another attempt to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol over last month's botched martial law debacle. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) failed to arrest him in its first attempt after an hours-long standoff with security officials at Yoon's official residence in Hannam-

January 9, 2025

Mercury drops to coldest this winter

SEOUL, January 9 (AJP) - A biting cold hit the entire country on Thursday, with temperatures in Seoul plunging below -10 degrees Celsius, the coldest day of this winter. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the morning low in Seoul fell to -10.2 degrees, but the wind chill effect made it feel even colder, bringing the temperature down by 5 to 10 degrees. The lowest morning temperatures were -16.9 degrees in Daegwallyeong in Gangwon Province, -13.6 degree

January 9, 2025