Lee to meet Bessent to discuss tariffs, US-China summitPresident Lee Jae Myung will meet visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week, Lee's office said Tuesday, with the two expected to discuss U.S. tariffs among other issues. Lee will receive a courtesy call from Bessent on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, just one day before Bessent heads to China for the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Diplomatic sources earlier confirmed Bessent's one-day trip to Seoul. Observers say Lee and Bessent are expected to exchange views on U.S. tariff measures and global supply chain stability, issues that will also likely come up at this week's U.S.-China summit. Lee and Bessent are also expected to discuss other pending issues between Seoul and Washington. Before meeting Bessent, Lee will also receive a courtesy call from Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. During the meeting with He, Lee is expected to discuss matters related to the U.S.-China summit as well as ways to maintain peace in the international community and on the Korean Peninsula. Bessent iMay 12, 2026By Yonhap
Japan PM mulls visit to Korea's Andong in May for talks with Lee: sourcesJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering a visit to Korea's southeastern city of Andong in mid-May to hold a summit with President Lee Jae Myung as part of their shuttle diplomacy, diplomatic sources said Wednesday. Takaichi is considering a two-day trip to Andong, about 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which is Lee's hometown, with May 19-20 seen as the most likely dates, according to sources familiar with the matter. The possible visit comes after Lee visited Takaichi's hometown in Nara in January, where the two leaders discussed ways to deepen bilateral ties. The two leaders first met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju in October, where they pledged to actively pursue shuttle diplomacy. If the visit takes place, the two sides are expected to exchange views and explore ways of cooperation regarding energy security and other challenges stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The potential summit could also provide an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss bilateral ties and broaderMay 6, 2026By Yonhap
Kidnapped Korean man rescued in Malaysia; 3 suspects also KoreansA Korean man who was kidnapped in Malaysia has been rescued by local authorities, according to Seoul's foreign ministry Friday. The man in his 40s residing in Kuala Lumpur was rescued by Malaysian authorities on Tuesday after being abducted on April 17, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time of the rescue, authorities also detained three suspects, all of whom are believed to be Korean nationals, and an investigation is now under way in Malaysia, it added. Other details, including the condition of the victim, the exact location of the incident and the motive, were not immediately known. It was the first kidnapping case involving a Korean victim in Malaysia. The ministry said it received a report of the incident Sunday through a consular call center and handled the situation in cooperation with the Korean Embassy in the Southeast Asian country and Malaysian authorities.Apr 24, 2026By Yonhap
Rights groups rally in Tokyo against Japan’s exclusion of Korean schools from child protection lawCivic rights groups and activists from Korea, Japan and other parts of the world rallied in Tokyo, Thursday, urging the Japanese government to include Korean schools under the Basic Act on Children and make them eligible for free high school tuition support. They argued that Japan continues to enforce discriminatory policies despite corrective recommendations from the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The rally was organized by the International Network in Solidarity with Korean Schools, a coalition of civic groups from Korea, Japan, Europe and Australia, and held at the House of Councillors Members’ Office Building. A global petition signed by more than 45,000 people was submitted to Japan’s education ministry and Children and Families Agency, urging the government to include Korean schools under the Basic Act on Children. “For the sake of Japanese society and its children, discrimination in Japan must end,” an activist from the National Network for Supporting Korean Schools told the crowd. In 2023, Japan enacted the Basic Act on Children, which sets ouApr 24, 2026By Hankookilbo
Iranian model in Korea criticizes Seoul's $500,000 aid package to IranAn Iranian model and influencer based in Korea openly criticized the Korean government's decision to send humanitarian aid worth $500,000 (735.7 million won) to Iran through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), arguing the funds would not reach ordinary Iranians but instead would support terrorism. "If you send money to Iran at this time, it will go not to the people but to the dictatorial regime that slaughtered some 40,000 people, to be used for terrorism or weapons purchases," Hoda Niku, who has more than 530,000 Instagram followers, wrote in Korean in a post Wednesday. "Not even a single dollar of that money will reach ordinary citizens." Niku moved to Korea after placing third in the 2018 Miss Iran pageant and has since been active as a model and TV personality. She is also an outspoken critic of the Iranian government via social media and has participated in public protests in Korea calling for greater international attention to the situation in Iran. “Iranian people don’t want money or aid; they simply want no support to go to this regime in their name. It's lApr 16, 2026By Park Ji-won
S. Korea required to make ironclad nonproliferation guarantee over nuclear submarine plan: IAEA chiefSouth Korea must reach agreements on safeguards with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before proceeding with its planned nuclear-powered submarine program, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Wednesday. “It is indispensable to have technically sound agreements with the IAEA, if the international community sees that this project is a project under IAEA safeguards, so that the IAEA inspectors have the ability to check that the nuclear material is only being used as the engine for a submarine and nothing more than that,” Grossi said during a press conference in Seoul. “Once the formal process has started, we will have to have important conversations with the different levels of the government, military, the naval shipyards, shipbuilders — everyone who is going to be involved in this process — to have an ironclad guarantee that this activity is not conducive to nuclear proliferation." He added that the IAEA is already going through this process with Australia and Brazil, two other countries that have decided to develop their own nuclear submarines. Grossi's remarkApr 15, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea to attend multilateral meeting on Strait of Hormuz this weekKorea will attend a multilateral meeting this week on joint efforts to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz, including ways to ensure free and safe passage through the waterway in the event of an end to the Middle East conflict, officials said Tuesday. The online meeting, set for late Wednesday (Seoul time), is a follow-up to the Britain-led ministerial meeting of more than 40 countries that took place earlier this month regarding the maritime chokepoint where thousands of vessels and crew remain stranded. Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hae will participate in the virtual gathering, which will be led by Britain and France. "While it is difficult to speed up discussions since the conflict has yet to come to an end, the objective of the meeting is to identify concrete measures to stabilize the strait after the conflict, through coordination in diplomatic and military tracks," a foreign ministry official said. Following the last meeting on April 2, the participants called for an "immediate and unconditional" reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and discussed possible collective action, includingApr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Oil-producing countries showing interest in Korea's oil storage facilities: officialMajor oil-producing countries in the Middle East have shown interest in using Korea's crude oil storage facilities amid the prolonged conflict in their region, Seoul's senior industry ministry official said Tuesday. "An increasing number of countries want to use Korea's oil storage facilities," said Yang Gi-uk, head of the ministry's office of industry, trade and resource security, noting that interest is particularly growing in utilizing Northeast Asian storage bases. Yang said Middle Eastern countries are also being hit hard by disruptions in their oil shipments due to the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz as oil exports account for a significant share of their economies. "Countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait, rely heavily on crude oil exports for their national economies," he said. In addition to Abu Dhabi National Oil, the UAE's largest petroleum company that already has a joint oil storage agreement with Korea, other Middle Eastern producers are also in contact, according to the official. "I can only say there are more countries beyond the UAE," YApr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-Kuwait Ambassador Chung Byung-ha named special envoy to IranThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Friday it named Chung Byung-ha, former ambassador to Kuwait, as a special envoy of the foreign minister to Iran. Chung, who is currently the ambassador for polar affairs, will arrive in Iran this weekend to discuss the situation in the Middle East and Korean ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, amid a tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. “Through the dispatch, the foreign ministry will exchange views on the situation in the Middle East and discuss the safety of Korean nationals in Iran and those on the ships, as well as the passage of the ships,” the ministry said in a press release. The decision to send an envoy happened Thursday during a phone call between Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. The two foreign ministers’ call happened as the situation in the region remains unclear, even after the U.S., Israel and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire agreement the previous day. A total of 26 ships related to Korean businesses have been stranded in the strait as Iran blocks the Strait of HoApr 10, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea to send special envoy to Iran to discuss Middle East situation: foreign ministryKorea will dispatch a special envoy to Iran to study the situation in the Middle East, as contradictory reports from the U.S. and Iran about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continue, according to Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday. The sending of an envoy was decided during a phone call between Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Iranian counterpart Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. The phone call was made as the situation in the region remains unclear even after the U.S., Israel and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire agreement the previous day. A total of 26 ships related to Korean businesses have been stranded in the strait as Iran has blockaded the key trade route since the conflict started on Feb. 28. “Cho welcomed that the U.S. and Iran’s agreement on a ceasefire has brought the chance to resume passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and said negotiations between the two sides of the conflict will lead to a successful deal and bring peace and stability to the Middle East," the ministry said in a press release. "Cho said he will dispatch a special envoy of the forApr 9, 2026By Park Ji-won
