‘Provocation’ could accelerate Taiwan reunification, retired PLA major general says

South China Morning Post - Sep 17, 2026

Progress towards reunifying with Taiwan hinges on factors like the island’s level of provocation, retired PLA major general Luo Yan told the South China Morning Post, warning that Taiwan’s leader had challenged Beijing’s red lines. Speaking on the sidelines of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, Luo said the timeline for reunification with mainland China was shaped by “the development of our national strength, our defence needs, the global security environment, as well as the degree of...

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Camarines Norte robbery-shooting suspect nabbed after 8 hours

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NK leader's sister dismisses IAEA's denuclearization calls, reiterates nuclear status

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Thursday rejected international calls for denuclearization as "all noises," calling the regime's nuclear status "absolute." She made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as the 70th regular session of the IAEA General Conference is currently under way in Vienna, Austria. The conference has voiced concern over North Korea's expanding nuclear capacity, urging Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Ahead of the session, the agency also released the IAEA Director General's Safeguards Report on North Korea, detailing a substantial increase in Pyongyang's uranium enrichment capacity and the expansion of its core nuclear facilities. The North Korean leader's sister dismissed the calls as "all noises, not surprising and not new." "No matter how desperately the IAEA and the West may hold periodic meetings and talk about the denuclearization according to the fixed scenario, th

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Korea's 2nd Nepal relief team to return; efforts to locate 9 missing Koreans to continue

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Ieodo Int'l Seminar highlights need for practical cooperation amid gray zone threats

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‘Provocation’ could accelerate Taiwan reunification, retired PLA major general says

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Singapore Management University president highlights growing role of social sciences in AI era

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Korea and France staged a joint aerial exercise this week aimed at enhancing interoperability between their troops, the Korean Air Force said Thursday. The three-day drills, which kicked off Tuesday, took place at an air base in Cheongju, about 110 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the armed service. It marks the first joint drills between Korea and France in three years. The Air Force mobilized its F-35A stealth jets and KC-330 Cygnus multirole aerial tankers, among others, while the French Air Force deployed two Rafale fighter jets and an A-330 aerial refueling tanker for the drills. The French team was mobilized as part of France's "Pegase" mission designed to inspect its interoperability and deterrence capabilities with allied forces. The exercise is scheduled to take place across nine countries, including Canada, the United States and Japan, from Sept. 8 through Oct. 15. On Wednesday, the Korean and French air forces conducted mutual aerial refueling designed to enhance the understanding of their respective aerial refueling systems. The air forces also staged joint tactical flig

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9 sent to prosecution for alleged extortion targeting foreigners in Yangsan, Gimhae

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The government has expressed support for a bill that would ease restrictions on South Koreans seeking to contact North Korean residents by removing its authority to block such contacts, officials said Thursday. Under the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, South Korean nationals planning to make contact with North Koreans are required to file a report in advance with the unification ministry. The ministry may reject such requests if there are clear concerns that the contact may undermine inter-Korean cooperation or pose a threat to national security, public order or public welfare. A revision proposed by Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party seeks to remove the government's authority to reject such requests, and the government has decided to support the move, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the main opposition People Power Party said, citing a report from the unification ministry. The ministry confirmed its position, saying, "The government supports the proposed revision, considering the law's purpose of promoting inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, operating a system

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President Lee set to meet IEA chief to discuss energy security

President Lee Jae Myung will meet with International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol on Thursday to discuss energy security and other global issues, his office said. The meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was arranged as a follow-up to Lee's proposal during the Group of Seven summit in June to discuss ways to cooperate to strengthen the resilience of Asia-Pacific nations' energy supply chain, it said in a press release. Lee and Birol plan to share views on ways to strengthen global energy security amid the intensifying energy and climate crises seen in the recent war in the Middle East and devastating flood in Nepal. Birol has been at the forefront of efforts to overcome the global energy crisis, such as by getting IEA member countries to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves in response to the Middle East conflict in March, the presidential office said.

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Special counsel team raids election watchdog in probe into ballot shortages

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Chungnam National University students complete AI research program in US

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Ex-President Yoon indicted over wife's luxury bag case

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Busan unites foreign workers through sports, culture, safety

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‘Provocation’ could accelerate Taiwan reunification, retired PLA major general says

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