South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's dismissal of his foreign minister drew widespread media criticism yesterday as his office tried to calm fears of a disruption in relations with the US.
There was no immediate word on a replacement for Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan, ousted on Thursday in a spat over criticism that his ministry had disregarded Roh policies that would shift Seoul away from traditional closeness to Washington.
The National Security Council (NSC), a presidential body whose officials advocating an "independent" foreign policy appeared to have prevailed over the Foreign Ministry's pro-US line, issued a statement stressing continuity in Seoul's ties with Washington.
"The personnel change in the Foreign Ministry will not affect Republic of Korea-US relations in any way," NSC spokeswoman Lee Ji-hyun said in a statement.
But the sudden departure of Yoon, a moderate career acad-emic, triggered a raging debate across editorial pages and in parliament over the wisdom of shaking up the foreign-policy team at a crucial time and over the philosophy behind the move.
South Korea and the US are striving to bring North Korea to the table for talks to resolve a crisis over its suspected nuclear arms programs. The diplomacy also involves China, Japan and Russia.
The dispute -- billed by local media as a battle between the "Alliance Faction" and the "Independence Faction" -- erupted late last year with media reports that professional diplomats had disparaged members of Roh's team as amateurish.
Mainstream newspapers said the diplomats could have been disciplined without the drastic and risky removal of Yoon.
They also questioned the Roh team's perception of national interest.
"Foreign policy must rest on cool-headed calculations of what would promote the national interest," said the centrist Joongang Ilbo newspaper in an editorial.
"But sadly, our reality is a dogmatic dichotomizing where alliance proponents are cast as anti-nationalistic and the proponents of an independent foreign policy as the patriots," the editorial continued.
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
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