The Korea Times

South Korea to strengthen economic security diplomacy

Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapNorth Korea fires missiles for first time since Seoul's leadership changeBy Kang Seung-wooSouth Korea will bolster diplomacy focusing on economic security as the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is seeking enhanced cooperation with the United States in the area, new Foreign Minister Park Jin said, Thursday. He also stressed that the shared values of South Korea and the U.S. such as liberal democracy and market economy should evolve actively in response to rising new challenges and a changing strategic environment. Park, a four-term lawmaker, took office earlier in the day even though his confirmation report had not been adopted by the National Assembly amid objections from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).His emphasis on economic security comes days ahead of Yoon's first meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden next week. The American president is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on May 20, with the summit slated for the following day. Economic security and

May 12, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

South Korea to strengthen economic security diplomacy

Yoon appoints foreign, interior ministers

Politics

China tries to prevent South Korea from joining US-led coalition

President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan during their meeting in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapYoon's strong commitment to Korea-US alliance, ironically, bolsters leverage in ties with China By Kang Seung-wooChinese leader Xi Jinping's invitation to President Yoon Suk-yeol on the day of his inauguration reflects Beijing's attempt to keep Seoul from getting closer to Washington amid an ever-intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.In an unprecedented move, China's Vice President Wang Qishan, the highest-level official sent by the Chinese government to Seoul on the occasion of Korea's leadership change, made the invitation public following his meeting with Yoon, Tuesday. In response, Yoon thanked Xi for the invitation, adding that he was looking forward to meeting his Chinese counterpart in Seoul. Xi's unexpected invitation came just ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's scheduled visit to Seoul. Yoon and Biden will hold their first summit in Seoul, May 21“Given that the Yoon administration is seeking to strengthen its alliance with the United States or bolster t

May 11, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

China tries to prevent South Korea from joining US-led coalition

Politics

300 foreign guests attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, right, attends President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly Plaza in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap Chinese vice president, US vice president's spouse present By Kang Seung-wooHigh-profile foreign dignitaries from key neighboring countries, headlined by the Chinese vice president and the spouse of the U.S. vice president, attended President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration, Tuesday. According to Yoon's presidential office, some 300 foreign dignitaries, including 143 foreign envoys to Korea, were present at his inauguration ceremony that took place at the National Assembly Plaza.The most notable attendee seated behind Yoon on the podium was Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan.Wang, considered one of the closest aides to Chinese President Xi Jinping, was the highest-level official sent by the Chinese government to Seoul on the occasion of Korea's leadership change.Previously, then-State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and then-Vice Premier Liu Yandong of the State Council attended the presidential inaugurations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hy

May 10, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

300 foreign guests attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony

Domestic dignitaries reveal Korea's turbulent modern history

Foreign Affairs

Diplomatic headaches lie ahead for Yoon

New South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will face myriad yet difficult diplomatic challenges for the next five years. Korea Times fileNorth Korea's nuclear ambitions, US-China competition to put new South Korean leader's foreign policy to testBy Kang Seung-wooManaging to survive a hard-fought, nail-biter election, President Yoon Suk-yeol now faces even tougher diplomatic challenges. An unanswered nuclear threat is just sitting across the border, while a strategic dilemma over the country's balancing act amid the U.S.-China rivalry will continue to vex the new South Korean government. Plus, the new administration should find ways to normalize the nation's frayed ties with Japan.Through his election campaign, the priority of Yoon's foreign policy direction ― to pursue a comprehensive strategic alliance with the United States ― has been advertised as a shift from the Moon Jae-in administration's balanced diplomacy, which was designed to avoid picking sides between its security ally, Washington, and largest trade partner, Beijing.As such, Yoon dispatched his policy consultation delegati

May 10, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Economic security tops Yoon's trade policy

North Korea

Why is North Korea's state media silent on recent missile launches?

This photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Oct. 20, shows a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) being fired in waters off the east coast the previous day. Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooDespite launching two ballistic missiles within less than a week, North Korea has remained quiet on the launches, raising questions over the silence. Diplomatic observers say the absence of reporting on the launches in the North Korean media was due to the Kim Jong-un regime's plan to promote the provocations as a routine military action, as well as China's desire to prevent tensions from growing on the Korean Peninsula, rather than speculation that the launches ended in failure.According to the South Korean military, North Korea fired what was believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Sunan area in Pyongyang, Wednesday, followed by the launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the waters off the North's eastern coastal city of Sinpo, the North's main submarine shipyard, Saturday.However, the reclusive state's official news

May 9, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea

Two Koreas go tit-for-tat ahead of South's change in administration

By Kang Seung-wooSouth and North Korea have been going tit-for-tat as the South is scheduled to inaugurate its new president, Tuesday. Kim Sung-han, the incoming Yoon administration's nominee for Korea's national security adviser / YonhapIn response to Pyongyang's submarine-launched ballistic missile, Saturday, Kim Sung-han, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's pick for national security adviser, said that the incoming administration will bolster measures to handle its provocations effectively. “The new administration will reassess the overall threat of North Korea's nuclear missiles at the same time that it takes office and combine the government's capabilities at an early date to come up with fundamental measures against North Korea's provocations and actual deterrence capabilities against its nuclear missile threats,” Kim said in a media statement following the missile launch, the first of its kind since last October. Kim's reference to “fundamental measures” may indicate the deployment of the homegrown “three-axis” defense system against North Korea

May 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Two Koreas go tit-for-tat ahead of South's change in administration

Foreign Affairs

'North Korea issue should be solved via talks'

Noh Kyu-duk, right, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Liu Xiaoming ahead of their talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooChina's top nuclear envoy reiterated the country's stance, Tuesday, that issues regarding the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's nuclear program, should be resolved through diplomatic engagement by relevant parties. Liu Xiaoming, China's special representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs who visited Seoul, Sunday, made the remark following a closed-door meeting with his South Korean counterpart Noh Kyu-duk.“I believe that the issues linked to the peninsula are still on the track of political settlement,” he told reporters. “We figure that there is a new change in terms of the situation on the peninsula. Under the circumstances, all relevant parties should make efforts, which will eventually provide more opportunities to ease tensions.” With regard to the meeting, the Chinese envoy said they mainly discussed the situation on the peninsula, during wh

May 3, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

'North Korea issue should be solved via talks'

Foreign Affairs

Foreign minister nominee remains cautious on additional THAAD deployment

Foreign Minister nominee Park Jin speaks during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap'No plans for redeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons'By Kang Seung-wooThe incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration will take a cautious approach to deploying an additional U.S. missile defense shield on the Korean Peninsula, Foreign Minister nominee Park Jin said, Monday, taking a step back from the incoming president's pledge to do so. The four-term lawmaker, regarded as a diplomacy expert, also said that North Korea appeared unprepared to denuclearize. The National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held its confirmation hearing of the nominee ahead of President-elect Yoon's inauguration, slated for May 10. During the election campaign, Yoon pledged to strengthen the extended deterrence provided by the U.S. in favor of additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployments here in proportion to North Korea's growing missile threats.“The idea was suggested as part of tightening the nation's missile defense network system in r

May 2, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign minister nominee remains cautious on additional THAAD deployment

Foreign Affairs

Japanese prime minister unlikely to attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony

By Kang Seung-wooJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is not likely to be present at President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's May 10 inauguration ceremony, according to a Japanese media outlet, Friday.According to the Sankei Shimbun, the Japanese government concluded that it is premature for Kishida to travel to Korea as pending bilateral issues such as wartime forced labor and sex slavery still remain a sticking point to improving the soured ties between the two countries. The report cited multiple government officials. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida / AFP-Yonhap It added that the Japanese government was instead considering sending its Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.The report comes as the incoming Korean president has been working to improve bilateral relations, which some believe have sunk to their lowest level in decades, due to the historical issues. Earlier this week, Yoon sent a policy consultation delegation to Tokyo, which met with Kishida and agreed to s

Apr 29, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Japanese prime minister unlikely to attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony

North Korea

North Korea lowers threshold for nuclear use: experts

A photo by the North's official Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, presiding over a military parade to celebrate the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Monday. YonhapPyongyang unveils state-of-the-art weapons at military paradeBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un's commemorative speech at a recent military parade is raising fears that the totalitarian state's nuclear strategy is shifting toward using nuclear weapons for offensive purposes, not just for a retaliatory strike. On Monday night, Pyongyang staged a military showcase on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA), during which Kim said his nuclear forces “will have to decisively accomplish its unexpected second mission” if any forces try to violate the “fundamental interests” of his country.Kim's unexpected remarks ― a sign of a change in the country's nuclear doctrine ― have prompted diplomatic observers to worry that the threshold for the

Apr 27, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

Read more

South Korea to strengthen economic security diplomacy

China tries to prevent South Korea from joining US-led coalition

300 foreign guests attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony

Diplomatic headaches lie ahead for Yoon

Why is North Korea's state media silent on recent missile launches?

Two Koreas go tit-for-tat ahead of South's change in administration

'North Korea issue should be solved via talks'

Foreign minister nominee remains cautious on additional THAAD deployment

Japanese prime minister unlikely to attend Yoon's inauguration ceremony

North Korea lowers threshold for nuclear use: experts

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