The Seoul government held off on responding Thursday to remarks by the U.S. Eighth Army commander suggesting that American troops stationed here should be prepared for missions beyond countering North Korean threats. Cheong Wa Dae, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) did not comment when asked about Lt. Gen. Joseph Hilbert’s email interview with the South China Morning Post on the Eighth Army’s readiness for broader regional operations. According to sources familiar with the South Korean military, the lack of comment reflected a reluctance to publicly interpret Hilbert’s remarks, rather than an articulated government position on a broader U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) role. The sources noted whether deployments beyond the Korean Peninsula would require prior consultation between Seoul and Washington has yet to be clarified. In an email interview published by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, Hilbert said it would be “irresponsible to focus myopically” on threats within the Korean Peninsula or assume that being stationed in South Korea preven

A court on Thursday found 34 student activists guilty of trespassing on the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024. The Seoul Western District Court sentenced a senior leader of the Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) to a suspended four-month prison term and ordered 32 other members to pay fines ranging from 1 million won ($756) to 6 million won. One other member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine. Two others were indicted but acquitted. The students faced multiple charges, including trespassing on a U.S. military installation in Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between Korea and the United States. In January and October 2024, they attempted to illegally enter what was then the presidential compound in Seoul's Yongsan Ward to demand the resignation of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee. The court ruled that the defendants did not act on impulse but conspired in advance, such as by sharing picket signs wit

South Korea and the United States on Thursday held joint river-crossing drills aimed at enhancing interoperability as part of the annual Hoguk military exercise, the South Korean Army said. Some 540 troops from the allies took part in the drills along the Namhan River in Yeoju, about 65 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The drills mobilized some 130 pieces of equipment, including 10 KM3 amphibious bridging vehicles, ribbon bridge systems and about 50 combat vehicles, such as K2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles. During the drills, the allied forces jointly installed and crossed a bridge spanning a 280-meter section of the river. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha and U.S. Brig. Gen. Robert Brown, commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division/South Korea-U.S. Combined Division, observed the drills.

A Seoul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a man in his 70s suspected of setting fires at two buildings in southern Seoul earlier this week, leaving 19 people injured. The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant on charges of arson resulting in injuries, saying the man is a flight risk. The suspect was taken into custody hours after setting fires at two patent firms in separate buildings in Seoul's Gangnam district Tuesday. The fires left 19 people injured, including one who was rushed to a hospital in cardiac arrest. Police suspect the man held a grudge against the firms as he claimed they had defrauded him by issuing fake patent registration certificates. The suspect told investigators that he had bought two jerrycans, a lighter and flammable materials near his home in western Seoul on Friday, according to the police. Police are examining the suspect's psychiatric records and considering additional charges of attempted murder based on testimony that he had been looking for a specific person before setting the fires. The suspect was previously sentenced to two and a ha

I am a PHP developer myself. For years, I have heard the familiar joke that “PHP is dead.” Yet the language continues to power websites, online stores, and business applications that people depend on daily. For many Filipino developers, PHP has been a practical entry point into building software. Its accessibility and widespread hosting support

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) will question whether the Supreme Court (SC) committed “judicial overreach” in its ruling declaring certain provisions of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 national budgets unconstitutional, Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe said Thursday. In a 121-page decision penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC declared

MANILA, Philippines — Makabayan bloc lawmakers on Thursday urged the House of Representatives to recall the approved P7.2-trillion budget bill. This call comes following the declaration of the Supreme Court (SC) that the key provisions of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 national budgets were “unconstitutional.” ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said they welcome SC’s

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — Where chainsaws and slash-and-burn farming once tore through ancestral frontiers, provincial leaders are now betting that specialty coffee can brew an economic turnaround for isolated mountain villages. On Wednesday, local officials led by Agusan del Sur 2nd District Rep. Adolph Edward Plaza climbed the winding slopes of Barangay Padiay,

Today’s headlines: Atong Ang, Ping Lacson, Ombudsman

Hog traders are implementing a three-day “pig holiday,” or a temporary suspension of the sale of pork, to protest the imports affecting the industry.