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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
  • 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
  • North Korea

    N. Korea's parliament elects new judges of highest court

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    N. Korea's parliament elects new judges of highest court
  • North Korea

    N. Korea's Kim reaffirms alliance with Russia in letter to Putin

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    N. Korea's Kim reaffirms alliance with Russia in letter to Putin
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Foreign Affairs

InterviewIOM deputy chief warns against fear-based narratives in migration policies

When Lee Sung-ah speaks about migration, she does not begin with statistics or policy debates. Instead, she starts with people. As immigration debates grow increasingly polarized around the world, Lee, deputy director general for management and reform at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, said the conversation needs to move away from fear-based narratives and toward a more balanced understanding of migrants. "In the end, it's the people we are talking about. When someone feels they have no opportunities, or when they live in a conflict zone, they naturally leave in order to survive. Stopping them does not mean people will stop moving across borders," she said during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul on Friday. "Safe, orderly and regular migration pathways benefit everyone. And that is the message we are trying to send as we communicate with our partners." Like many international organizations, IOM — which works with governments on migration policy and humanitarian assistance — is navigating new challenges amid shifting global politic

Jan 10, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
IOM deputy chief warns against fear-based narratives in migration policies
Foreign Affairs

Lee to visit Japan next week, seeking to strengthen bilateral diplomacy

President Lee Jae Myung will visit Japan from Tuesday to Wednesday at the invitation of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the presidential office said Friday, in what officials say signals a continuation of bilateral diplomacy between the two countries and analysts see as part of Seoul’s effort to maintain strategic balance as pressures in the region grow. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said the visit was agreed to during a summit between Lee and Takaichi on the sidelines of last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, when the two leaders decided that their next summit would be held in Nara, the Japanese prime minister’s hometown. “With this visit, the two leaders will have met three times in less than three months — in Gyeongju, on the sidelines of an international meeting abroad and now in Nara,” Wi said during a briefing. “This reflects the shared commitment to the early realization of mutual visits and the continuation of shuttle diplomacy.” In Korean, shuttle diplomacy refers to bilateral state visits. According

Jan 9, 2026By Kim Hyun-bin
Lee to visit Japan next week, seeking to strengthen bilateral diplomacy
Foreign Affairs

Korea launches gov't task force for nuclear energy talks with US

The Korean government said Friday that it had formed a pan-government task force ahead of nuclear energy talks with the United States on uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel for peaceful use. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rim Kap-soo, the government's representative for Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation, chaired the inaugural meeting, which was attended by officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Officials from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control also took part. Rim, a former ambassador to Romania, is widely regarded as an expert in nuclear energy and nonproliferation. He previously worked as a nonproliferation specialist at the International Atomic Energy Agency. The closed-door meeting reviewed the respective roles of each organization on key issues and potential challenges related to upcoming consultat

Jan 9, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea launches gov't task force for nuclear energy talks with US
Foreign Affairs

Lee, Italian PM Meloni to hold summit talks Jan. 19

President Lee Jae Myung and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will hold summit talks on Jan. 19, as the two nations seek to promote cooperation in trade, investment, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Meloni will pay a three-day visit to Korea beginning Jan. 17, the first time in 19 years that an Italian leader is visiting Seoul for bilateral summit talks. Lee and Meloni are scheduled to hold their summit and an official luncheon meeting Jan. 19. The two leaders are expected to discuss ways to bolster cooperation in areas of trade and investment, artificial intelligence, defense and semiconductors, among others. Italy is Korea's fourth-largest trading partner in the European Union and is visited by roughly 1 million Koreans annually, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

Jan 9, 2026By Yonhap
Lee, Italian PM Meloni to hold summit talks Jan. 19
Others

AnalysisKorea and China at odds: Lee defends China, calls out Koreans over mutual hostility

President Lee Jae Myung said election fraud allegations are fabricated and baseless, accusing those spreading the conspiracy theory of being “out of their minds.” He claimed political extremists are fanning hatred toward China and vowed to hold them accountable for fueling anti-China sentiment. “China is being accused of involvement in election fraud in Korea. Such nonsensical allegations angered Chinese people and drove them to turn their backs on Korea,” Lee said Wednesday in Shanghai during a luncheon with Cheong Wa dae correspondents. “These allegations are baseless and unnecessary. I have addressed the issue multiple times at Cabinet meetings, openly criticized those spreading it, and promised to hold them accountable,” he said. Lee added that Korea is now paying the price, as anti-Korea sentiment in China has led to consumer boycotts of Korean goods and products. He said his recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping would serve as a turning point, arguing that mutual hostility between Koreans and Chinese would begin to subside. He emphasized that he and Xi agreed

Jan 9, 2026By Kang Hyun-kyung
Korea and China at odds: Lee defends China, calls out Koreans over mutual hostility
North Korea

N. Korea's Kim congratulates Lao president on reelection as party chief

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has congratulated Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith on his recent reelection as chief of the ruling party, state media reported Friday. Kim delivered the greeting in a message the previous day after the Lao president was reelected as general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's central committee at a party congress that concluded the same day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim called his reelection an expression of the Lao ruling party members' and the Lao people's "high trust and expectation" toward Sisoulith. Kim also pledged to expand cooperation with Laos, recalling his summit talks with Sisoulith in Pyongyang last year. "I express confidence that the friendly, cooperative relations between our parties and countries, which have a long history and tradition, will further strengthen and advance across all sectors in the spirit of our agreement during our meeting in October last year in Pyongyang," Kim was quoted as saying. The KCNA said Sisoulith also sent a reply last month to Kim's earlier message congratulating him on the 5

Jan 9, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim congratulates Lao president on reelection as party chief
North Korea

N. Korea's Kim vows 'permanent' support for Putin's policies

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged 'permanent' support for policies by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Friday, as Pyongyang and Moscow have reinforced their military cooperation. "I will unconditionally respect and unconditionally support all your policies and decisions and I have a willingness to be always with you for the sake of you and your Russia," Kim told Putin in a letter sent to the Russian leader, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "This choice will be constant and permanent," Kim was quoted as saying. "I have come to feel once again the true comradely relations between us and availing myself of this opportunity, I'd like to emphasize that I regard the friendly relations with you as the most precious ones and (a source of) pride," Kim said, according to the KCNA. Kim sent the letter to Putin the previous day in reply to the Russian leader's congratulatory letter, the KCNA said. The KCNA did not say when or on what occasion Putin delivered the letter to Kim, although it is likely that the Russian president sent it on Ki

Jan 9, 2026By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim vows 'permanent' support for Putin's policies
Foreign Affairs

Committee chair’s protest against Trump raises concern at PM Office

Senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office are voicing concern over Park Seok-woon, a committee chairman under its authority, after he joined protests criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration over American military operations in Venezuela. Park, a longtime liberal activist, took part in a rally on Monday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, following an American military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, and his wife Cilia Flores. As the first speaker at the gathering, which was organized by 267 civic and political organizations, Park delivered a sharply worded speech denouncing Trump and Washington. “It’s a violent atrocity that will horrify humanity around the world,” Park said, branding the military operation that has left as many as 80 people dead as “murder.” Participants accused the Trump administration of violating international law and called for the immediate release of Maduro. Organizers have also unveiled plans for a larger anti-U.S. demonstration near Gwanghwamun Square this Saturd

Jan 9, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Committee chair’s protest against Trump raises concern at PM Office
Foreign Affairs

PM, Japan's ruling party policy chief discuss development of bilateral ties

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with the policy chief of Japan's ruling party Thursday and discussed ways to develop bilateral ties, especially among the countries' youths, his office said. Kim noted that the visit by Takayuki Kobayashi, chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council, takes on additional importance ahead of President Lee Jae Myung's planned visit to Japan later this month and called for strengthening cooperation where possible, his office said in a press release. Kim conveyed his particular interest in economic and youth cooperation between the two countries, saying he hopes Kobayashi will help promote exchanges between their young people as a leading rising politician of Japan. Kobayashi expressed his agreement and promised to play a part in expanding exchanges between the two countries' young people, saying the popularity of Korean cultural content among the Japanese youth is palpable. He also conveyed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's good feelings toward Korea and called for managing "difficult issues" between the neighbors to stabilize

Jan 8, 2026By Yonhap
PM, Japan's ruling party policy chief discuss development of bilateral ties
Foreign Affairs

FM Cho discusses bilateral ties with Japan's ruling party policy chief

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with the policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Thursday and discussed efforts to advance bilateral relations, along with other shared issues, the foreign ministry said. During the meeting with Takayuki Kobayashi, chairperson of the LDP's Policy Research Council, Cho took note of the bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo moving forward in the right direction based on continued "shuttle diplomacy," or regular visits by their leaders, the ministry said. Cho expressed hope that Kobayashi will further make efforts to help deepen relations between the two countries in various areas. Kobayashi, in turn, assessed that the shuttle diplomacy has helped the bilateral ties move forward in a future-oriented and stable manner, underscoring the importance of continuing bilateral cooperation as well as the trilateral partnership with the United States. Kobayashi, a former economic security minister, has served as the LDP policy chief since October last year. The Policy Research Council's chair oversees the party's policy-making process and is con

Jan 8, 2026By Yonhap
FM Cho discusses bilateral ties with Japan's ruling party policy chief
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