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  • Foreign Affairs

    Lee arrives in Italy for talks with Italian president, PM

    ROME — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Italy on Wednesday for talks with the country's top leaders on bilateral ties. Italy is the second stop on Lee's 10-day trip to Europe, his first visit to the region since taking office in June last year, which is widely aimed at broadening his diplomatic outreach in the region. As the presidential aircraft carrying him and his entourage entered Italy's airspace, two Italian fighter jets provided an air escort in a show of respect. On Thursday, Lee will attend an official welcome ceremony hosted by President Sergio Mattarella and hold a summit with him before the two leaders make a joint press announcement. The South Korean president will hold separate talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni the following day. On Sunday, he will attend Mass at St. Peter's Basilica and meet with Pope Leo XIV the next day. The president will wrap up his visit to Italy on Tuesday, when he will head to France's Evian for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, to which South Korea has been invited as a partner nation.

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee arrives in Italy for talks with Italian president, PM
  • Foreign Affairs

    Korea, US host energy business forum to expand bilateral cooperation

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea, US host energy business forum to expand bilateral cooperation
  • Foreign Affairs

    Japanese hotel to remove monument to colonial-era Korean independence activist

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Japanese hotel to remove monument to colonial-era Korean independence activist
  • Foreign Affairs

    Seoul denies report of Japan's request for talks on Fukushima seafood import ban

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul denies report of Japan's request for talks on Fukushima seafood import ban
  • Foreign Affairs

    Lee, Belgian PM agree to expand investment in batteries, energy, boost market access

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee, Belgian PM agree to expand investment in batteries, energy, boost market access
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North Korea

Military says N. Korea likely received Russian support for air-to-air missiles

South Korea's military on Monday raised the possibility that North Korea received technological assistance from Russia in developing a new air-to-air missile following the North's test of the weapon last week. On Saturday, the North's state media reported North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw anti-air combat and air raid drills by an air force flight group earlier in the week, unveiling what appeared to be a live-fire drill involving a new air-to-air missile launched from a MiG-29 fighter jet. "We believe there is an association," Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a regular press briefing, when asked whether the North received arms and advanced technology from Russia in exchange for its troop deployment. Lee said, however, that further analysis is necessary to determine the extent and scope of Russia's possible technological assistance. The JCS official added that it will likely take "considerable" time for the North to deploy such weapons systems for combat use. "There have been many cases in which the North attempted to deceive or exaggerate...

May 19, 2025By Yonhap
Military says N. Korea likely received Russian support for air-to-air missiles
Business

Korea, US to hold 2nd round of working-level tariff talks in Washington this week

Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a second round of technical discussions in Washington this week regarding the latter's sweeping tariff scheme, as the two sides are working toward forging a "package" deal by early July, officials said Monday. A Korean government delegation is expected to depart for Washington around Tuesday to engage in the talks, which could begin as early as Tuesday (U.S. time), according to officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two sides were to discuss six key areas of trade imbalances, non-tariff measures, economic security, digital trade, country of origin of products and commercial considerations, they added. Last month, the U.S. began imposing reciprocal tariffs on partner nations, including 25 percent duties on Korea, only to pause them shortly afterward to allow for one-on-one negotiations. Seoul and Washington subsequently agreed to work toward a "July package" deal on trade and other related issues before July 8, when Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is to expire. Following the first round of working-level di

May 19, 2025By Yonhap
Korea, US to hold 2nd round of working-level tariff talks in Washington this week
North Korea

Bad medicine

Bad medicine

May 19, 2025
Bad medicine
North Korea

N. Korea's Kim pays tribute to prominent military figure

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has paid respects at the tomb of Hyon Chol-hae, who is known to have played a key role in grooming him for leadership, to mark the third anniversary of his death, the North's state media reported Monday. Kim visited the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Sinmi-ri the previous day and laid a flower to mark the third anniversary of Hyon's death, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Hyon, marshal of the Korean People's Army, died at 87 on May 19, 2022. He is known to have played a key role in assisting Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader, in consolidating control over the military and in preparing Kim Jong-un as his successor. In 2022, North Korea held a state funeral for Hyon, chaired by Kim Jong-un. Kim also visited Hyon's tomb on the first and second anniversaries of his death. "Still vivid in my memory is Comrade Hyon Chol-hae, who was always with General Kim Jong-il. He was a shadow of the great General," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. "He will live forever in our minds, always reminding us of the era of Kim Jong-il and encouraging us i

May 19, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim pays tribute to prominent military figure
North Korea

NK university resumes Chinese language test for first time in 5 years

An elite university in North Korea has resumed its Chinese language proficiency test for the first time in five years, according to a website of the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang on Sunday. The North's Pyongyang University of Science and Technology resumed its Chinese language proficiency test called HSK on Saturday, with the Chinese ambassador to Pyongyang, Wang Yajun, attending the test. The language test in Pyongyang resumed for the first time in five years since the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Wang said he expects the resumption of the Chinese language test to "encourage more young North Koreans to join the ranks of Chinese language learners." The move comes amid signs of North Korea and China working to mend ties, which had not been at their best as Pyongyang recently aligned closely with Moscow by deploying troops to support Moscow in the war against Ukraine.

May 18, 2025By Yonhap
NK university resumes Chinese language test for first time in 5 years
North Korea

N. Korea's health minister leaves for WHO assembly in Switzerland

North Korea's health minister has left for Switzerland to attend an assembly of the World Health Organization, the North's state media reported Sunday. The North's delegation, led by Public Health Minister Jong Mu-rim, headed for Geneva on Saturday to attend the 78th annual World Health Assembly, the North's Korean Central News Agency said, without elaborating further.

May 18, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's health minister leaves for WHO assembly in Switzerland
North Korea

N. Korea bristles at US designation as country not cooperating with counterterrorism efforts

North Korea denounced the United States, Saturday, for designating it as a country that does not fully cooperate with Washington's fight against terrorism, warning that further U.S. "provocations" would escalate hostility with Pyongyang. The North's foreign ministry issued the warning, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), days after the U.S. State Department designated the North, along with Cuba, Iran, Syria and Venezuela, as uncooperative in the fight against terrorism. The ministry decried the designation as a "political provocation," saying that "the more the U.S. provokes the DPRK with unnecessary and inefficient malicious acts, the further it will escalate the irreconcilable hostility between the DPRK and the U.S.," according to its statement dated Friday. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The 'anti-terrorism' advocated by the U.S. is nothing but an excuse to justify interference in internal affairs of other countries," the ministry said, adding that "no one has asked the U.S. to lead international anti-terrorist ef

May 17, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea bristles at US designation as country not cooperating with counterterrorism efforts
North Korea

North Korea's Kim oversees air drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised drills by the country's air force and underscored the need to step up in war preparation, state media KCNA said Saturday. Kim, who inspected anti-aircraft combat and air strike drills by North Korea's 1st Air Division, Thursday, called for "all units in the entire military" to bring about "a breakthrough in war preparation," the KCNA said. During May alone, Kim oversaw a missile test, inspected tank and munitions plants, made a rare visit to the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, reaffirming the country's alliance with Russia, and observed tank firing drills and special operations unit training. North Korea also slammed the U.S. State Department for placing it on a list of countries that do not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts. North Korea has been placed on the list every year since 1997, Yonhap News Agency said. "The more the U.S. provokes the DPRK with unnecessary and inefficient malicious acts, the further it will escalate the irreconcilable hostility between the DPRK and the U.S," its Foreign Ministry spokesperson said according

May 17, 2025By Reuters
North Korea's Kim oversees air drills
Foreign Affairs

Korea to hold working-level trade talks with US this week, leveraging industrial cooperation

Korea and the United States agreed to hold another round of working-level trade discussions this week, focusing on six areas, Seoul's trade ministry said. The six areas are trade balance, non-tariff measures, economic security, digital trade, rules of origin and commercial considerations. The agreement came from a meeting between Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer on Jeju Island on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting, which concluded its two-day gathering on Friday. The meeting followed last month's high-level consultation, during which the two sides agreed to pursue a package deal addressing U.S. tariffs and economic cooperation by July 8. "The full-fledged technical consultations have effectively begun in earnest on the occasion of this APEC meeting," Ahn said during a press conference following the meeting. He added that Seoul will form a delegation for the consultations, comprising officials from relevant government bodies, including the ministries of Economy and Fi

May 16, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Korea to hold working-level trade talks with US this week, leveraging industrial cooperation
Foreign Affairs

APEC trade ministers commit to advancing AI discussions

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting successfully released a joint statement Friday, which includes an agreement to take further steps in developing initiatives to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in trade. The two-day meeting from Thursday to Friday on Jeju Island, brought together trade ministers from 21 APEC economies, along with officials from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the OECD. Korea’s Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo, who also served as chair of the meeting, shared that the member economies have supported Korea’s suggestion for “AI for Trade,” which has three initiatives: expanding AI implementation in the customs administration process, enhancing public understanding of the members’ varying AI policies and voluntarily exchanging information on AI standards and technologies. “As a follow-up, AI Trade Public-Private Dialogue will be held in Incheon this August to develop specific plans for implementing the three initiatives,” Cheong said during a press conference announcing the joint statement. He exp

May 16, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
APEC trade ministers commit to advancing AI discussions
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