President Lee, NATO chief discuss broadening defense cooperationPresident Lee Jae Myung and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed ways to broaden cooperation in the defense sector during a phone call, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. In a written briefing, presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun said the conversation, the second between the two leaders in seven months, was held at Rutte's request. During the call, both leaders shared the need to maintain their partnership and continue close consultation to address global security challenges, including the war in Ukraine and security issues on the Korean Peninsula. Lee highlighted the competence of Korean defense companies and suggested more concrete cooperation through a working-level consultative body established last year. Rutte agreed, vowing to support enhanced cooperation. Additionally, the two pledged to continue advanced collaboration in other areas, such as space and information sharing.Feb 10, 2026By Yonhap
Coupang subpoena risks broader Korea-US trade clashThe U.S. Congress has sent a clear signal that it will not sit back if U.S. commercial interests are put at risk by what it sees as foreign governments’ excessive regulatory measures against American companies, such as Coupang. If necessary, Congress has shown that it is prepared to use all available means to push the Donald Trump administration to take tougher trade actions against those governments. This message was underscored by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s decision on Thursday to issue a subpoena to Coupang, requiring Coupang Korea CEO Harold Rogers to testify at an upcoming hearing and submit documents and communications between the U.S. company and the Korean government following the recent data breach. A congressional subpoena targeting one of Washington’s closest allies is rare — if not unprecedented — highlighting how seriously lawmakers are treating the issue. Despite this, the warning appears not to have been fully heeded in Seoul. Korean officials have been wasting time expressing divergent views over the motives behind repeated warnings from U.S. politiciaFeb 8, 2026By Kang Hyun-kyung
Top presidential aide meets Canadian defense procurement chief amid push for submarine projectPresidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said Friday he met with Canada's defense procurement chief in Seoul as the Korean government steps up efforts to win Ottawa's lucrative submarine project. The meeting between Kang and Canada's secretary of state for defense procurement, Stephen Fuhr, took place at Cheong Wa Dae. It came about a week after their earlier talks in Canada last month, when Kang visited the country as a special envoy tasked with promoting Korea's defense exports. "Canada's submarine project is a challenging task for us as it requires overcoming the high entry barrier of an advanced country's defense market," Kang wrote on his Facebook account, referring to the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, estimated to be worth 60 trillion won ($41 billion). A consortium of Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co. and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. has been shortlisted as one of the final two contenders, alongside Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. "Though the situation is challenging, the government and companies will unite as 'one team' and do our utmost until the very end," he added. KangFeb 6, 2026By Yonhap
China's top envoy says issue of disputed steel structures in West Sea making positive progressChina's top envoy to South Korea said Wednesday the issue of removing disputed steel structures built in the overlapping waters of the West Sea is making progress in a positive direction. Chinese Ambassador Dai Bing made the remark at an event hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to commemorate the upcoming Lunar New Year, after China's foreign ministry announced last month that work was under way to remove one of the three steel structures in the sea zone where the two countries' exclusive economic zones overlap. It is making progress in a positive direction, Dai told reporters. Dai pointed to two rounds of summits between President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jiping, including the latest in Beijing, where they discussed the maritime issue. The ambassador added that the countries are stepping up working-level exchanges and need to follow through on what their leaders agreed on. China built two semisubmersible buoys in 2018 and 2024, and a fixed steel platform in 2022 in the Provisional Maritime Zone. The issue has been a source of tension in bilateral relations, as Seoul haFeb 4, 2026By Yonhap
Korean gov't says Trump's tariff threat not linked to CoupangThe Korean government sees U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on Korean goods as being unrelated to the controversy over Korean authorities’ investigation into Coupang or proposed online platform regulations. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in a parliamentary session on Wednesday, “Based on our contacts with the U.S. Department of State following the announcement, we have concluded that it has no direct connection to Coupang or the online platform bill.” His comments follow speculation that Trump’s sudden tariff hike threat announced on social media on Monday (local time) was linked to Korea’s push to penalize Coupang over the U.S.-listed company’s massive customer data leak or its move to regulate online platform companies, which the U.S. says could potentially result in unfair treatment for American firms. The minister also implied the Korean government is still grappling to understand why Trump threatened to raise the tariffs from 15 percent to 25 percent. “It is difficult to pinpoint any specific and reasonably presumed special motive … I think thaJan 28, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
China begins relocating some West Sea structuresChina said Tuesday that it was relocating maritime structures it had installed in overlapping waters of the West Sea between China and Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul welcomed the move as a “meaningful step forward.” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a press briefing that “a Chinese company is currently carrying out work related to moving a management platform.” Guo added that the move is “an arrangement autonomously adjusted by the company in line with its own operational and development needs.” China installed the Shenlan 1 and 2 structures in 2018 and 2024, respectively, in the Provisional Measures Zone of the West Sea, where the exclusive economic zones of Korea and China overlap. In 2022, it dispatched an oil drilling ship to manage these facilities. President Lee Jae Myung said on Jan. 7 that the Chinese side had expressed its intention to withdraw some facilities related to the West Sea structures, which have become a source of tension between Korea and China. His comments came two days after his summit with Chinese President XiJan 27, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Korean Americans live in ‘constant fear’ of Trump immigration policies, activist says“Even though the U.S. government says it distinguishes between lawful and unlawful immigrants, and between those with and without criminal records, that line is not enforced in reality,” said Kim Dong-seok, head of the nonprofit Korean American Grassroots Conference, in an interview at Hankook Ilbo headquarters on Jan. 8. “People are being rounded up indiscriminately. For the past year, we have lived under constant fear.” Kim is widely regarded as one of the most politically connected Korean American figures in Washington. Yet even for him, the first year of Donald Trump’s return to power was marked by what he described as “pure fear.” How did President Trump manage to push through policies to this extent? Kim said the political conditions surrounding him have fundamentally shifted. “During his first term, anti-immigration policies were largely justified on national security grounds. But his inner circle was unprepared, and at times restrained him from carrying out policies that went too far,” explained Kim. “This time, however, Trump returned to office with Project 2Jan 20, 2026By Hankookilbo
Korea, US discuss cooperation in space commerceSenior officials of Seoul and Washington met in Seoul on Monday to discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation between Korean and U.S. space companies, the foreign ministry said. Park Jong-han, deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, and Taylor Jordan, director of the Office of Space Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce, took part in the talks, according to the ministry. In the meeting, Park stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation in establishing a trustworthy supply chain and for joint entries into overseas markets amid a rapidly expanding global space economy.Jan 19, 2026By Yonhap
Lee urges mutually beneficial ties in meeting with Japan's ex-PM AsoPresident Lee Jae Myung said Friday that Seoul and Tokyo have to seek mutually beneficial relations by improving bilateral ties. In a meeting with former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Lee said South Korea and Japan are neighbors using a front yard together. "It is desirable to find out as many areas as possible where the two countries cooperate, so as to create a mutually beneficial relationship" Lee said. Lee's meeting with the former Japanese prime minister came as he took a trip to Japan earlier this week for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on ways to broaden and deepen bilateral cooperation amid tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. The president met Takaichi in her hometown of Nara, marking his second visit to Japan and his fifth summit with a Japanese prime minister since taking office in June last year. It was their second summit following their first meeting in South Korea's Gyeongju in late October. During Tuesday's talks, the two leaders agreed to advance "future-oriented cooperation" through reciprocal leader-level visits, dubbed "shuttle diplomacy." Lee saidJan 16, 2026By Yonhap
The curse of sanctioned oil: Why turmoil in Iran and Venezuela hurts ChinaThe capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the deadly nationwide protests in Iran are separate events unfolding on different continents. However, political unrest simultaneously battering the two oil-rich nations could converge to become a defining moment with far-reaching consequences for global geopolitics and trade. Following Maduro’s extradition to New York to face criminal charges, including narco-terrorism, U.S. President Donald Trump made clear that Washington intends to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry. On Friday, he said the United States would invest at least $100 billion to rebuild the country’s battered energy sector. “The U.S. said narco-terrorism was the primary reason behind its operation to arrest Maduro. But it is fair to say that the real motive stems from Washington’s plan to control Venezuela’s oil industry,” said Choo Jae-woo, a professor at Kyung Hee University. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels, followed by Saudi Arabia with 267 billion and Iran with 209 billion. In the waJan 16, 2026By Kang Hyun-kyung
