SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday nominated the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as defense minister.
Jeong Kyeong-doo, 58, a former fighter pilot, would take over the ministry as the government seeks to reduce tension and build trust with North Korea, and at a time of uncertainty over relations with main ally the United States.
Jeong, who is set to replace incumbent Song Young-moo, does not need parliament’s approval but must attend a hearing and answer legislators’ questions.
He would be South Korea’s first defense minister with an air force background in 24 years, media reported.
The United States is seeking to press North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs and as part of that effort, US President Donald Trump suspended military exercises with South Korea when he met North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in a historic June summit.
But with talks between North Korea and the United States stalled, there is speculation the South Korean-US exercises, which the North has long denounced as preparations to invade it, might get going again.
Trump said on Wednesday there was no reason to resume the exercises but US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Tuesday made remarks that were interpreted as hinting the drills could resume.
At the same time, South Korea is making efforts to improve ties between the two Koreas.
The South Korean defense ministry has said it will reduce the number of guard posts and the amount of equipment along the demilitarised zone, on its border with North Korea, under an agreement between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an April summit.
The 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the countries still technically at war.
Moon and Kim plan to meet for the third time this year in September.
Meanwhile, Moon also named new ministers of labor and industry.
The new labor minister nominee, Lee Jae-kap, must deal with the worst job market since the 2008-2010 financial crisis.
Unemployment is seen as having contributed to a plunge in Moon’s approval ratings this month to its lowest ever.
South Korea names new defense chief amid stalled North Korea diplomacy
South Korea names new defense chief amid stalled North Korea diplomacy
- Moon and Kim plan to meet for the third time this year in September
- Jeong Kyeong-doo, 58, a former fighter pilot, takes over the ministry as the government seeks to reduce tension
Italian police fire tear gas as protesters clash near Winter Olympics hockey venue
- Police vans behind a temporary metal fence secured the road to the athletes’ village, but the protest veered away, continuing on a trajectory toward the Santagiulia venue
MILAN: Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon at dozens of protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near a Winter Olympics venue on Saturday.
The brief confrontation came at the end of a peaceful march by thousands against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence of US agents in Italy.
Police held off the violent demonstrators, who appeared to be trying to reach the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey rink, after the skirmish. By then, the larger peaceful protest, including families with small children and students, had dispersed.
Earlier, a group of masked protesters had set off smoke bombs and firecrackers on a bridge overlooking a construction site about 800 meters (a half-mile) from the Olympic Village that’s housing around 1,500 athletes.
Police vans behind a temporary metal fence secured the road to the athletes’ village, but the protest veered away, continuing on a trajectory toward the Santagiulia venue. A heavy police presence guarded the entire route.
There was no indication that the protest and resulting road closure interfered with athletes’ transfers to their events, all on the outskirts of Milan.
The demonstration coincided with US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Milan as head of the American delegation that attended the opening ceremony on Friday.
He and his family visited Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” closer to the city center, far from the protest, which also was against the deployment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to provide security to the US delegation.
US Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the US is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers are being sent to Italy.
At the larger, peaceful demonstration, which police said numbered 10,000, people carried cardboard cutouts to represent trees felled to build the new bobsled run in Cortina. A group of dancers performed to beating drums. Music blasted from a truck leading the march, one a profanity-laced anti-ICE anthem.
“Let’s take back the cities and free the mountains,” read a banner by a group calling itself the Unsustainable Olympic Committee. Another group called the Association of Proletariat Excursionists organized the cutout trees.
“They bypassed the laws that usually are needed for major infrastructure project, citing urgency for the Games,” said protester Guido Maffioli, who expressed concern that the private entity organizing the Games would eventually pass on debt to Italian taxpayers.
Homemade signs read “Get out of the Games: Genocide States, Fascist Police and Polluting Sponsors,” the final one a reference to fossil fuel companies that are sponsors of the Games. One woman carried an artificial tree on her back decorated with the sign: “Infernal Olympics.”
The demonstration followed another last week when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.
Like last week, demonstrators Saturday said they were opposed to ICE agents’ presence, despite official statements that a small number of agents from an investigative arm would be present in US diplomatic territory, and not operational on the streets.
