North Korean leader 'relies on nuclear weapons to maintain power,' US secretary of State nominee says

SEOUL, January 16 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un uses nuclear weapons as a means of maintaining his grip on power, a nominee for U.S. Secretary of State said on Wednesday. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Marco Rubio described Kim as "a 40-something-year-old dictator who has to figure out how to hold down to power for the rest of his life," adding that "he has used nuclear weapons as his insurance policy to sta

January 16, 2025

Yoon refuses further questioning after hours of silence in initial inquiry

SEOUL, January 16 (AJP) - President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday declined further questioning after being grilled for several hours the previous day, shortly after his arrest by investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Yoon's legal representatives said that the president was "not feeling well" and had already expressed his position during his previous questioning session, which lasted nearly 11 hours at the CIO headquarters

January 16, 2025

South Korea conducts joint aerial drill with US, Japan

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - South Korea on Wednesday conducted a joint aerial drill with the U.S. and Japan involving a U.S. B-1B strategic bomber. The show of force came just a day after North Korea fired multiple short-range missiles into the East Sea, ahead of the inauguration of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the Defense Ministry here, the trilateral drill, which also involved the deployment of the country's F-15K fighter jets and Japan's F-2 fighter

January 15, 2025

Pentagon chief nominee refers to North Korea as 'nuclear power'

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - U.S. Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth has referred to North Korea as a "nuclear power." In a written response submitted to the Senate Committee on Armed Services for his confirmation hearing, Hegseth said, "status as a nuclear power, its intense focus on increasing the range of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads and its growing cyber capabilities all pose a threat to stability on the Korean peninsula, i

January 15, 2025

Yoon arrested over martial law debacle

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Investigators arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour confrontation at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Wednesday. This marks the first time in the country's turbulent political history that an incumbent president has been taken into custody. Accompanied by over 1,000 police officers, hundreds of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) arrived at the residence around 5:00 a.m. and

January 15, 2025

Investigators negotiate with Yoon's legal team over arrest warrant execution

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) announced during a press briefing at around 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday that it is negotiating with President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team regarding the execution of an arrest warrant. At approximately 5:00 a.m., about 500 investigators — including CIO officers, police, and detectives — arrived at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, near central Seoul, to execute arrest w

January 15, 2025

Constitutional Court rejects Yoon's request to exclude justice amid alleged bias concerns

SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - The Constitutional Court of Korea on Tuesday unanimously rejected President Yoon Suk Yeol's request to exclude Justice Jeong Gye-seon from the bench overseeing his impeachment trial. Jeong, a newly appointed justice who joined the bench earlier this month after being nominated by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), is part of the panel handling the trial over Yoon's botched martial law debacle last month. The court said that Yoon's req

January 14, 2025

Concerns grow over potential clashes as another attempt to arrest Yoon looms

SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - The arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol appears imminent, as investigators are expected to make another try this week after the failure of their initial attempt earlier this month. Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials reportedly plans to mobilize about 1,000 police officials in cooperation with the National Office of Investigation (NOI) for their upcoming attempt to arrest Yoon over his botched martial law debacle

January 14, 2025

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