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    Lee to receive Italy's highest decoration for promoting bilateral ties

    ROME — President Lee Jae Myung will receive Italy's highest state decoration from Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday in recognition of his contributions to bilateral ties, a presidential official said. Mattarella was to confer the Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on Lee during a state banquet in Rome, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing. The honor comes after the two leaders held summit talks earlier in the day at the Quirinal Palace, during which they agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a special strategic partnership. Lee is currently on a state visit to Italy, the first such visit by a South Korean president in 26 years. The Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic is Italy's highest decoration bestowed on foreign heads of state. Italy conferred the honor on King Charles III of Britain and the president of the United Arab Emirates last year. The conferral reflects Italy's "highest expression of respect for Lee in appreciation of his contributions to strengthening friends

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee to receive Italy's highest decoration for promoting bilateral ties
  • Others

    Korea, Britain sign revised nuclear cooperation protocol, discuss partnership

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea, Britain sign revised nuclear cooperation protocol, discuss partnership
  • Foreign Affairs

    UAE sends military planes to S. Korea to transport Cheongung missile systems: sources

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    UAE sends military planes to S. Korea to transport Cheongung missile systems: sources
  • Foreign Affairs

    PHOTOS German Embassy brings Berlin techno to Seoul through public diplomacy

    1 MIN READBy Anna J. Parkphoto
    [PHOTOS] German Embassy brings Berlin techno to Seoul through public diplomacy
  • Foreign Affairs

    Korea hosts engineering, medical training for troops from UN peacekeeping nations

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea hosts engineering, medical training for troops from UN peacekeeping nations
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North Korea

N. Korea likely stole over $2 bil. in cryptocurrency last year: US official

WASHINGTON — North Korea likely stole over US$2 billion in cryptocurrency last year, a U.S. official said Monday, amid growing concerns that its revenue from virtual asset heists continues to bankroll its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Jonathan Fritz, principal deputy assistant secretary at the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, delivered a presentation during a U.N. meeting on a Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) report detailing the North's sanctions violation and evasion through cyber and information technology (IT) worker activities. The MSMT was established after a U.N. expert panel, tasked with monitoring sanctions enforcement, was disbanded in April 2024 due to Russia's veto of a resolution to extend its mandate. It consists of 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada. Fritz's document based on the MSMT report showed that from January last year through September, Pyongyang had stolen more than $1.6 billion in crypto thefts, with the total amount during the entire 2025 likely to exceed $2 bi

Jan 13, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea likely stole over $2 bil. in cryptocurrency last year: US official
North Korea

N. Korea denounces multilateral monitoring of UN sanctions

North Korea on Monday slammed multilateral monitoring activities on U.N. sanctions against the North, describing such activities as "illegal" without any connection to the United Nations. North Korea's permanent mission to the U.N. made the argument in a press statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency on a U.S. plan to hold a briefing at the U.N. headquarters about a report of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). MSMT was set up in 2024, led by South Korea and the United States, as a multilateral mechanism to monitor and report violations of U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea. The U.S. Department of State was to hold a briefing Monday (U.S. time) on an MSMT report issued in October last year, which found North Korea stole about $2.84 billion worth of virtual assets between early 2024 and September 2025. "What should be questioned and openly discussed in the U.N. as the most important pending issue is the hideous criminal act of the U.S.," the statement claimed, calling the MSMT an "illegal ghost organization that has no connection with the U.N. in

Jan 12, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea denounces multilateral monitoring of UN sanctions
North Korea

N. Korea unlikely to respond to request for joint probe into drone incident

North Korea is unlikely to respond to calls from South Korea for a joint investigation into an alleged drone incursion, analysts said, dimming hopes in Seoul that the incident could help break a deadlock in inter-Korean relations. Pyongyang has accused South Korea of sending drones into its territory on two occasions — once in September last year and again on Jan. 4 — claims Seoul's military immediately denied. South Korean officials said they will continue efforts to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. On Monday, South Korea's police and military launched a joint task force of about 30 members to investigate the incident. The move came two days after President Lee Jae Myung ordered a swift probe, warning that any drone flights carried out by civilians pose a serious threat to national security. Later in the day, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said he was considering proposing a joint investigation with North Korea. "I am considering proposing a joint inter-Korean investigation through the United Nations Command," Ahn said during a National Assembly session, adding that at t

Jan 12, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
N. Korea unlikely to respond to request for joint probe into drone incident
North Korea

N. Korea drums up renewable energy use amid sanctions-caused electricity shortage

North Korea is drumming up the utilization of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, local media showed Monday, as the country faces a chronic shortage of fuel and electricity amid continuing international sanctions. The North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper ran an article introducing a pickled seafood processing factory in Unryul County, South Hwanghae Province, as a model case of utilizing natural energy sources. The newspaper said the region had solar and wind power plants constructed at the instruction of leader Kim Jong-un, who visited the area in 2015, with the solar power facility housing about 11,000 solar panels. The Rodong Sinmun touted that the facilities, which combine solar and wind power stations, overcome days with insufficient sunlight by switching to wind power generation to produce electricity. The paper also reported that the regional power stations generate enough electricity to power factories and supply surplus electricity to the homes of factory employees, as well as to the national power grid. "Since the factory began operations, we have not known such a thing a

Jan 12, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea drums up renewable energy use amid sanctions-caused electricity shortage
Foreign Affairs

North Korea: elephant in the room when Xi met Lee in Beijing

The leaders of South Korea and China wrapped up a summit this week with both underlining support for one of Beijing's diplomatic priorities but making no tangible progress on North Korea, Seoul's main concern. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday for a high-stakes summit held just over nine weeks after their first meeting. During the trip, Lee declared 2026 as the year for the "full restoration of South Korea-China relations" and Xi vowed to facilitate "more frequent exchanges and closer communication". The two countries also finalized more than 10 cooperation agreements spanning areas such as industrial exchanges, digital technology, intellectual property and environmental collaboration. According to Beijing, South Korea said it respected China's core interests and major concerns and remained committed to the one-China policy, with Lee referring directly to the 1992 joint communique that formalized diplomatic ties between the two nations. The communique states that Seoul respects Beijing's position that there is only one China,

Jan 12, 2026By SCMP
North Korea: elephant in the room when Xi met Lee in Beijing
North Korea

Residents question surveillance gaps at alleged drone launch site

Hado-ri in Ganghwa County, Incheon, which North Korea claims was the launch site for a drone infiltration, remained quiet on Sunday. One resident shook his head at the allegation. “If the North’s claim is true, it’s truly absurd,” the resident said. He questioned how a drone targeting the North could cross the border undetected in such a heavily guarded area. “I’m anxious because our village was mentioned as if it were a target,” the resident added. “I wonder if surveillance by the South Korean and U.S. militaries is working properly.” Hado-ri is a border village located just 4 to 5 kilometers from Gogeun-ri, the nearest North Korean village in Kaesong. Residents here endured anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts day and night until November 2024, just before former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Dec. 3. Banners announcing budget allocations for noise-damage support were hung throughout the village. Residents were puzzled that the military seemed unaware of the drone until North Korea made the announcement. “There are Marine Corps and U.S. military uni

Jan 12, 2026By Hankookilbo
Residents question surveillance gaps at alleged drone launch site
North Korea

Seoul reaffirms continued efforts to ease tensions with Pyongyang amid drone incursion claim

The government will continue efforts to ease tensions and build trust with North Korea despite Pyongyang's recent claim accusing Seoul of carrying out drone incursions into the country, the unification ministry said Monday. Unification ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho made the remarks after President Lee Jae Myung ordered last week the creation of a joint military-police investigation team to look into the alleged drone incursions. On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, demanded that Seoul provide a detailed explanation, a day after the North Korean military claimed that the South violated the North's sovereignty by sending drones carrying surveillance equipment in September and on Jan. 4. "It's important to continue efforts to alleviate tensions and build trust between the South and the North through prompt truth-finding by the investigation team," the spokesperson said in a press briefing. Yoon also reaffirmed Seoul's stance that it has no intention of provoking or irritating North Korea. The South Korean military has denied sending the drones o

Jan 12, 2026By Yonhap
Seoul reaffirms continued efforts to ease tensions with Pyongyang amid drone incursion claim
Foreign Affairs

Trade minister heads for Washington amid US concerns over Korea's network act revision

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo on Sunday departed for Washington amid U.S. concerns over a recent revision to a Korean law aimed at addressing false and fabricated online information. "We need to explain the government's exact policy intentions regarding the domestic digital legislation," Yeo told Yonhap News Agency ahead of his departure at Incheon International Airport. The U.S. State Department has expressed concerns over the revision of the Korean law, saying it could negatively affect U.S. online platforms and undermine free expression. "It appears that our exact policy intentions may have been misunderstood," Yeo said, noting he plans to meet with officials from the United States Trade Representative, key U.S. lawmakers and business representatives during the visit.

Jan 11, 2026By Yonhap
Trade minister heads for Washington amid US concerns over Korea's network act revision
North Korea

N. Korea slams Japan's push to revise 3 key national security documents

North Korea on Sunday slammed Japan for its push to revise three key national security-related documents aimed at stepping up its defense capabilities, warning the move would only lead to complete self-destruction. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in an article, focusing on Japan's ongoing push to draw up three new documents by the end of the year — the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program. In a New Year's press conference earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a review would be conducted with the aim of revising the three key national security documents to safeguard the country's independence and peace, as well as the lives of its people. The KCNA lambasted the move as a "clear demonstration of a craze for neo-militarism," under which Japan denies its past wrongdoings and seeks to rebuild its imperial past through rearmament. "What Japan would gain through neo-militarism is only complete self-destruction," the KCNA said. "As history demonstrates, the destination of militaris

Jan 11, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea slams Japan's push to revise 3 key national security documents
North Korea

N. Korean leader's sister calls for explanation from S. Korea over drone incursions

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for Seoul to provide a detailed explanation about recent drone incursions, claiming that the drones from South Korea clearly violated the North's airspace. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, made the remarks as South Korea's defense ministry denied Pyongyang's claim about the drone incursions from the South's military, raising the possibility that private entities may have been involved in the alleged drone operations. "Fortunately, the ROK's military expressed an official stand that it was not done by itself and that it has no intention to provoke or irritate us," Kim said in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency. ROK is short for the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea. "But a detail explanation should be made about the actual case of a drone that crossed the southern border of our republic from the ROK," Kim said. Kim also expressed her personal appreciation that South Korea's defense ministry "took a wise choice" by a

Jan 11, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korean leader's sister calls for explanation from S. Korea over drone incursions
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