S. Korea, UN discuss N. Korean nuclear issue, military AISenior officials of South Korea and the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) held a meeting Friday and discussed North Korea's nuclear program and the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military domain, the foreign ministry said. The meeting between Vice Foreign Minister for Strategy and Intelligence Jeong Yeon-doo and U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu took place on the sidelines of the two-day Korea-U.N. Conference on Disarmament and Nonproliferation, held in Seoul from Thursday. During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the North Korean nuclear issue, the outcomes of the U.N. General Assembly's First Committee and ways to deepen cooperation between South Korea and the UNODA. During the conference, Jeong stressed the need for international cooperation to promote the responsible use of AI in the military domain while addressing related challenges. He also said South Korea would continue to play an active role in the field, noting that it had spearheaded a U.N. General Assembly res1d agoBy Yonhap
Vice FM to visit US next week for economic security talksSecond Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina will visit the United States next week for talks on economic security cooperation and ways to strengthen bilateral relations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Kim will make a four-day visit to the U.S. starting Sunday. She is scheduled to hold talks with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg on Monday to discuss cooperation on strengthening supply chains and promoting mutually beneficial trade and investment, according to the ministry. The vice minister will attend the 10th Korea-U.S. public-private economic forum on Wednesday and deliver a keynote speech on ways to boost bilateral economic cooperation, particularly in the shipbuilding and energy sectors. Kim also plans to meet with academic figures as part of outreach efforts to strengthen support for South Korea-U.S. relations in the U.S. amid changes in the makeup of Congress following the U.S. midterm elections, the ministry said.1d agoBy Yonhap
Lee to hold bilateral talks with Thai, Philippine leaders at ASEAN summitKorean President Lee Jae Myung will hold bilateral meetings with his Thai and Philippine counterparts next week on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), his spokesperson said Friday. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung announced Lee's planned meetings as the Korean president is scheduled to attend the ASEAN summit in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in China. Lee will attend the ASEAN summit in Manila on Monday and Tuesday before traveling to China's Shenzhen on Wednesday for a two-day trip to attend the APEC summit. Lee will separately meet with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on Monday afternoon on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, Kang said in a press release. On the sidelines of the APEC summit Wednesday, Lee will hold a luncheon meeting with Korean residents in southern China, home to some 24,000 Korean nationals, she said.2d agoBy Yonhap
FM Cho to visit China this week for talks with Wang Yi on N. Korea, bilateral tiesForeign Minister Cho Hyun will visit China this week for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on North Korea-related issues and bilateral relations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Cho is scheduled to make a two-day visit to Beijing starting Friday, during which he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang and attend a dinner on the same day, according to the ministry. "The two ministers plan to hold wide-ranging discussions on issues of mutual interest, including bilateral relations, developments on the Korean Peninsula and other regional issues," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said at a press briefing. Cho's visit follows an invitation from Wang during their talks in Seoul in August. At the time, the two ministers exchanged views on bilateral relations and Korean Peninsula issues, with Cho calling for Beijing to play a constructive role in bringing North Korea back to dialogue. The visit will precede President Lee Jae Myung's planned trip to China to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19. Chinese President Xi2d agoBy Yonhap
Lee to attend ASEAN, APEC summits in Philippines, China next weekSouth Korean President Lee Jae Myung will attend summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) next week, his national security adviser said Thursday. The South Korean president will depart Monday first for Manila where he will attend the ASEAN summit until Tuesday, followed by a two-day trip to China's Shenzhen beginning Wednesday, where he will attend the APEC summit, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac told a briefing. On Monday, Lee plans to hold discussions with ASEAN countries on ways to enhance cooperation during a South Korea-ASEAN summit, followed by a meeting with leaders of five Mekong countries — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. During the summit with the Mekong countries, the South Korean president plans to express his commitment to strengthening strategic partnership with the countries and discuss ways to enhance cooperation in critical minerals, responses to transnational crimes and others, Wi said. The following day, Lee will attend the ASEAN Plus Three summit, which will bring together theNov 12, 2026By Yonhap
S. Korea, US top diplomats discuss N. Korea, bilateral issues in ParisWASHINGTON/SEOUL — Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in France on Tuesday to discuss North Korea and bilateral issues, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. Cho held a pull-aside meeting with Rubio on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting and "exchanged views on overall bilateral relations, high-level exchanges and North Korea-related issues," the ministry said, without disclosing other details. The meeting came as Seoul seeks to maintain momentum on key bilateral and regional issues following the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3, in which the Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, dealing a significant blow to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Rubio also confirmed his meeting with Cho in Paris. "Great meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on the sidelines of the G7 in Paris, where we had a productive conversation on the importance of the bilateral relationship between South Korea and the United States," Rubio wrote on X. Seoul and Washington have yet to make substantial progressNov 10, 2026By Yonhap
'Honey trap': Nvidia spy scandal puts Korea on alertNvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a Chinese woman accused of spying for Beijing has emerged as a significant national security concern for the United States. According to U.S. intelligence officials, Alice Huang, who worked as a business executive at Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed in 2023, allegedly collected intelligence and passed it on to China. The scandal erupted amid an intensifying race between the U.S. and China for global leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). The case has served as a wake-up call for South Korea. Yoo Seong-ok, a retired intelligence official who previously served as president of the Institute for National Security Strategy during his career at the National Intelligence Service (NIS), warned that South Korea is equally vulnerable to espionage operations by foreign intelligence agencies seeking to steal critical technologies. “Chinese [or] North Korean spies — or both — could have used, or may still be using, a similar honey trap to the one allegedly used against Nvidia CEO Huang to gather confidential information and pass it on to thNov 10, 2026By Kang Hyun-kyung
ROUNDTABLE Korea must navigate US-China AI rivalry with strategic clarity: expertsWith artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a fiercely contested front in the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, Korea faces a growing dilemma. The country is caught between Washington's dominance in frontier AI technologies and China's growing presence in the consumer market with open-weight and open-source models. To explore how Korea should navigate this geopolitical landscape, The Korea Times hosted a roundtable titled “Beyond U.S.-China AI race: Korea’s strategic edge,” which included the country’s leading experts. Participants included Kim Sung-han, former national security adviser and Korea University professor emeritus; Reform Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jun-seok; Lim Jong-in, former presidential cybersecurity adviser and Soongsil University AI committee chair; and Bone AI CEO Lee Do-kyung. Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin moderated the discussion. Kim stressed that Korea should distinguish between consumer AI and technologies used for national security, calling for high-level consultations between Cheong Wa Dae and the White House to defiNov 4, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea, India hold inaugural meeting of economic security dialogueKorea and India held the inaugural meeting of their economic security dialogue in Seoul on Monday to discuss ways to maintain the momentum of their cooperation in stabilizing supply chains and advancing cooperation in advanced technologies, Seoul's presidential office said. Monday's meeting was held as a follow-up to the Korean and Indian leaders' summit in April, during which they agreed to launch the dialogue to enhance supply chain resilience and advance cooperation in cutting-edge technologies. Song Ki-ho, vice chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, represented Korea at the dialogue, while India was represented by Pavan Kapoor, deputy national security adviser of India, according to the presidential office. During the meeting, the two sides explored ways to maintain the momentum of their cooperation in stabilizing supply chains, advance cooperation in the advanced technology sector and jointly respond to shifts in the global economic security environment, Cheong Wa Dae said. The two countries also discussed ways to develop and implement partnerships in shipbuilding, shippNov 2, 2026By Yonhap
PHOTO Estonia marks 35 years of diplomatic ties with KoreaEstonian Ambassador Tanel Sepp delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Estonia in Seoul, Friday. Highlighting the two countries' shared drive for innovation, the ambassador noted that bilateral cooperation holds great potential, as Estonia's startup mindset and digital expertise, combined with Korea's industrial strength and technological capabilities, could create significant opportunities. Kyun Jong-ho, the Korean foreign ministry's deputy minister for climate change, said in his congratulatory remarks that Estonia's acquisition of K9 self-propelled howitzers in 2018 and a large-scale battery energy storage project launched in March are prime examples of bilateral cooperation contributing to the green energy transition and stronger security. Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-kyoungNov 2, 2026By Kim Bo-kyoung
