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South Korea’s National Assembly passed a motion to arrest its opposition leader for bribery on Thursday, as the progressive opposition bloc’s approval ratings sank to new lows and with just a few months before the general election in April.  More than half of 295 lawmakers who voted – 149 – backed the arrest of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, outnumbering the 136 who opposed the motion. Six were abstention votes while four were counted as invalid.  The outcome is rare, given that the National Assembly is…

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a fresh warning to Russia and North Korea in an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, declaring that Seoul and its allies would respond collectively should the two authoritarian states pursue military cooperation. “If North Korea acquires the information and technology necessary to enhance its WMD [weapons of mass destruction] capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, the deal will be a direct provocation, threatening the peace and security of not only Ukraine, but also the Republic of Korea,”…

North Korea is tapping its students to serve as free labor during the corn harvest this fall and searching them after each shift to make sure they aren’t stealing from the fields, residents of the country told Radio Free Asia. The daily searches are an indignity for the students, but the government considers them a necessity to prevent theft. The country has been suffering from chronic food shortages for decades and every kernel is precious. “The search involves patting the students down to see if they have corn kernels in…

Five years ago, when leaders of the two Koreas exchanged a historic handshake in Pyongyang, the Korean people looked on with hope, wishing that this masterpiece of diplomacy may finally put an official end to the seven-decade-long war on the peninsula.  But as time surges forward, the once-celebrated inter-Korean agreement stands vulnerable, overshadowed by North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats, and its leader, Kim Jong Un reinforcing ties with his fellow authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin of Russia. Now, South Korea grapples with a growing divide on whether to uphold that deal.…

Updated Sept. 15, 2023, 5:35 a.m. ET North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian leader Vladimir Putin inspected a fighter jet production facility in Russia’s Far East on Friday while the United States allies prepare joint countermeasures in response to safeguarding the security in both Asia and Europe. Kim’s high-profile visit this week has pressured the allies to intensify their multilateral security cooperation in the region, a development which experts noted, may see China emerging as the most disadvantaged nation.  The North Korean leader went to the Far Eastern…

With supreme leader Kim Jong Un looking on, the foreign minister smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull of North Korea’s latest nuclear submarine, prompting the crowd of sailors and factory workers to erupt in thunderous cheers and applause. But the reaction to the smashed bottle among the general public was less than smashing. Many North Koreans saw the ceremony, involving Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, as puzzling and even hypocritical in a country that suppresses superstitious activities – which is how the submarine christening appeared to many. “Everyone…

Updated Sept. 14, 2023, 5:50 a.m. ET Russian President Vladimir Putin may pay a reciprocal visit to North Korea to crow about the “unbreakable strategic partnership” between Moscow and Pyongyang, on the back of the united front that both had pledged against democracies spanning from Asia to Europe. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that Putin was set to visit the North. The report came as Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that an official visit was not yet “on the agenda,” according to Russia’s official news…

Updated Sept. 13, 2023, 04:55 a.m. ET North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met at the symbol of Russia’s space prowess on Wednesday, where both sides vowed to boost their comprehensive cooperation, spanning from the economy to military.  “I want to discuss cooperation in the economy, and many other areas,” Putin told Kim at the start of the landmark summit at Russia’s far east spaceport of Vostochny Cosmodrome on Wednesday. “It would also be nice to talk about the situation on the Korean Peninsula.” …