South Korea yesterday offered to talk with North Korea to ease animosities and resume reunions of families separated by their war in the 1950s.
It is unclear if North Korea would agree to the proposed talks as it remains suspicious of the South Korean president’s overtures, seeing the new leader’s more liberal policy as still resorting to the US to force North Korea to disarm.
Seoul’s proposal for two sets of talks indicates that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is pushing to improve ties with Pyongyang despite the North’s first intercontinental ballistic missile test this month.
South Korean Vice Minister of Defense Suh Choo-suk said the South’s defense officials are proposing talks at the border village of Panmunjom on Friday to discuss how to end hostile activities along the border.
Seoul’s acting Red Cross chief Kim Sun-hyang said it wants separate talks at the border village on Aug. 1 to discuss family reunions.
North Korea’s state media has not immediately responded to South Korea’s overtures.
Earlier this month, Moon reiterated he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if conditions are met.
Moon also said the two Koreas must halt hostile activities, restart family reunions and cooperate on next year’s Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Moon has said he would use both dialogues and pressure to resolve the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program, but his push has reported little progress with the North test-firing a series of missiles since May.
The North’s missile launch has stoked security worries that the country could eventually perfect a reliable nuclear missile capable of reaching anywhere in the US.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source