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
Seoul urges immediate departure of Korean nationals in Lebanon amid ongoing strikesThe foreign ministry on Thursday urged Korean nationals in Lebanon to leave the country promptly, as airstrikes have continued in the Middle East despite a ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Seoul's Ambassador to Lebanon Jeon Gyu-seok said on the embassy's website that Koreans in the Middle Eastern country should "seriously consider departing and moving to a safe location as soon as possible," warning that a "wait-and-see" approach is "becoming increasingly dangerous." Currently, about 90 Korean nationals, around 10 embassy staff and some 180 members of South Korea's peacekeeping contingent Dongmyeong Unit are in Lebanon. While the U.S. and Iran agreed Wednesday to a ceasefire following their monthlong conflict, Israel carried out extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, arguing that the country was not part of the agreement. More than 1,000 casualties have been reported following the strikes. "The embassy will provide all possible support, but if the situation worsens, our ability to assist may become limited," the message said. Though the Dongmyeong Unit's base is located away frApr 9, 2026By Yonhap
ASEAN+3 nations discuss economic responses amid Middle East conflictDeputy finance ministers from Korea, China, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) shared their assessments of the economic impact and government responses amid uncertainties stemming from the Middle East conflict, Seoul's finance ministry said Thursday. Their talks came during the ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies' Meeting, held virtually Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Korea was represented by Moon Ji-sung, deputy minister for international economic affairs. During the meeting, major economic organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), warned that the global economy faces significant downside risks due to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. They also emphasized the need for swift, targeted fiscal support to address growing uncertainties and assist vulnerable groups, along with monetary policy responses and efforts to strengthen economic resilience. The participating countries shared such an assessment and exchanged views on the economic impact and their respectApr 9, 2026By Yonhap
'S. Korea didn’t help us': Trump’s growing frustration could affect US-Korea security talksTaking issue with the stance of United States allies in the Iran war, U.S. President Donald Trump once again singled out South Korea, barely a week after he first criticized country. Experts warn that Trump’s growing frustration could impact security talks between the two nations. In a White House press briefing on the war with Iran on Monday (local time), Trump complained that the United States received no help from NATO before singling out South Korea. “You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us,” Trump said. “We have 45,000 people, soldiers in harm’s way and right next to Kim Jong-un with a lot of nuclear weapons.” While the actual size of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) stands at around 28,500, Trump has repeatedly cited the inaccurate figure. He then went on to discuss his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, describing it as “nice” and saying Kim “likes Trump,” before adding that if a certain president had done his job, North Korea would not have nuclear weapons now. A week earlier, Trump voiced similar frustration with U.S. allieApr 8, 2026By Hankookilbo
