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  • Foreign Affairs

    Korea attracts $165 mil. investment from European firms, signs digital trade agreement with EU

    Korea has attracted a combined $165 million in foreign direct investment from four European companies and signed a digital trade agreement with the European Union (EU), deepening economic cooperation with the major economic bloc, Seoul officials said Thursday. The European companies — Germany's Orafol, France's Quandela, the Netherlands' Prodrive Technologies and Sweden's Mycronic — unveiled their investment plans in Korea in the semiconductor, quantum computing and other key industries during the investment announcement ceremony co-hosted by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, according to the officials at the industry ministry. The ceremony was held Wednesday (local time) marking Korean President Lee Jae Myung's visit to Belgium for a meeting with EU leaders. Korea held a separate roundtable event with European business leaders to discuss ways to expand cooperation between the two economies amid heightened geopolitical risks, the global rise of trade protectionism and rapid technological advancements. The ministry said Korea an

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea attracts $165 mil. investment from European firms, signs digital trade agreement with EU
  • Foreign Affairs

    PM offers condolences over death of ex-Japanese politician Kono

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    PM offers condolences over death of ex-Japanese politician Kono
  • North Korea

    Was Xi's stance on China-North Korea military ties also a message for US, Russia?

    5 MIN READBy SCMP
    Was Xi's stance on China-North Korea military ties also a message for US, Russia?
  • North Korea

    Lee's peace policy can improve N. Korea's human rights conditions: unification ministry

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee's peace policy can improve N. Korea's human rights conditions: unification ministry
  • 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
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Foreign Affairs

Korea to decide by August on Google's potential transfer of high-precision map data

The Korean government will decide by August whether to allow Google to transfer the country's high-precision map data overseas amid heated debates over national security, digital sovereignty and other trade issues, officials said Sunday. In February, the U.S. tech giant submitted an application to the state-run National Geographic Information Institute, seeking approval for the transfer of 1:5,000-scale high-precision map data to its data centers abroad. The review panel must notify Google of the result within 60 days of the application date, with the possibility of a 60-day extension. Holidays are excluded from the review period. The initial deadline, accordingly, was mid-May, but the government has decided to extend the review period and make a decision before the second deadline of Aug. 11, as the June 3 presidential election was designated as a temporary holiday. The decision will be made by the map data export review panel, which involves officials from major ministries, including the defense, foreign affairs, industry and science ministries, as well as the National Intelligence Ser

May 11, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to decide by August on Google's potential transfer of high-precision map data
Foreign Affairs

USTR Greer to visit Korea for trade talks next week

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer plans to visit Korea this week for talks on the U.S. new tariff scheme and other bilateral trade issues, officials said Sunday. Greer is scheduled to arrive in Korea on Thursday for a two-day stay to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers meeting, which will be held on the southern resort island of Jeju, according to government officials. On the sidelines of the meeting, Greer is expected to have high-level talks with Korea's Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun or Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo, as well as other counterparts, as consultations are now under way about U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's new tariff policies. Last month, the United States began imposing reciprocal tariffs on partner nations, including 25 percent duties on Korea, only to place a pause on them shortly afterward to allow for one-on-one negotiations. Seoul and Washington agreed to seek a package agreement on trade and other related issues before July 8, when Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends. Given the situation, the up

May 11, 2025By Yonhap
USTR Greer to visit Korea for trade talks next week
North Korea

Will Pope Leo XIV make a historic visit to North Korea?

Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, is expected to visit South Korea in 2027 for World Youth Day, and hopes are rising within the Korean Catholic community that he may also attempt a historic visit to North Korea. According to the Korean Catholic Church on Friday, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to attend the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul. The global Catholic event, which began in 1984 and is held every two to four years, typically includes a papal visit. During the event, the pope presides over an opening Mass and other major ceremonies, spending about a week in the host country. Pope Francis confirmed Seoul as the next host city at the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon. If the trip proceeds, it will mark the fourth papal visit to South Korea. The most recent was Pope Francis’s visit in August 2014, which was also his first trip to Asia following his election. He stayed in Korea for five days. Many in the Korean Catholic community see papal visits as both a moment of spiritual significance and a diplomatic opportunity to elevate Korea’s presence on the world stage. Pope Leo XIV has

May 10, 2025By KTimes
Will Pope Leo XIV make a historic visit to North Korea?
North Korea

N. Korea's Kim says participation in Russia's war against Ukraine justified

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said the North's deployment of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine was "justifiable," calling it an exercise of sovereign rights under a mutual defense treaty with Moscow, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday. Kim made the remarks during his visit to the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang the previous day to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II, known as Victory Day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Citing a mutual defense treaty signed last year with Russia, Kim said he issued the order to send the North's troops to Russia to "liberate" the Kursk front-line region as he was determined to faithfully implement the treaty. "Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," Kim said during a congratulatory speech, calling the North's troops engaged in combat against Ukraine "heroes." Last month, North Korea acknowledged for the first time that it has dispatched troops to fight alongside Russia against Ukraine. Seoul's spy agency sai

May 10, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim says participation in Russia's war against Ukraine justified
North Korea

S. Korea voices regret over China, Russia defending N. Korea in joint statement

South Korea expressed regret Friday over China and Russia's defense of North Korea in a joint leaders' statement despite its nuclear ambitions, urging them to "persistently" press Pyongyang to return to denuclearization talks. In the joint statement issued after the summit in Moscow between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, the two countries called on "relevant countries to abandon policies of unilateral coercive measures and pressure" against the North, and stop the trend of "militarizing Northeast Asia," according to Russian media reports. The "relevant" countries appeared to refer to the United States and its allies, such as South Korea, and by "coercive measures," they likely meant the U.N. sanctions imposed on the recalcitrant regime. "We express regret that the recent joint statement by China and Russia made no mention of North Korea's unlawful nuclear development provocations. Instead, it appeared to defend North Korea and unfairly shift the blame for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula," Seoul's foreign ministry said. "At this

May 9, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea voices regret over China, Russia defending N. Korea in joint statement
World

Putin meets N. Korean military delegation during Victory Day parade in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday met with a North Korean military delegation during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in World War II held in Moscow. Following his speech and the conclusion of the military parade in Moscow's Red Square, Putin greeted top Russian military commanders and dignitaries at the ceremony. At the end of the line, he shook hands with members of the North Korean delegation, including Kim Yong-bok, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, and Sin Hong-chol, North Korea's ambassador to Russia. Kim saluted Putin upon seeing him, while Putin offered a handshake while expressing warm remarks. The Russian president also greeted other North Korean officials, including Ri Chang-ho, director of the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau, and Sin Kum-chol, director at the operations bureau of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army. Kim, Ri and Sin are all sanctioned by South Korea, the United States and the European Union for their alleged involvement in dispatching North Korean troops to support

May 9, 2025By Yonhap
Putin meets N. Korean military delegation during Victory Day parade in Moscow
North Korea

N. Korea's Kim visits Russian Embassy in Pyongyang to mark Victory Day: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of Russia's World War II victory over Nazi Germany, pledging steady development of relations with Moscow. Accompanied by his daughter and top party and state officials, Kim visited the Russian Embassy on Friday morning to convey his best wishes to the Russian leadership and people, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. In a congratulatory speech at the embassy, Kim praised the Soviet army's victory over fascism, reaffirming North Korea's "steadfast" commitment to "steadily consolidate and develop the long tradition of the DPRK-Russia relations ... and the invincible alliance," the KCNA reported. DPRK stands for the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He said his embassy visit is a clear demonstration of North Korea's strong will to promote regional peace and security through the North Korea-Russia friendship, noting that the ties have evolved into "long-standing strategic relations." "Pyongyang and Moscow will always be together," the K

May 9, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim visits Russian Embassy in Pyongyang to mark Victory Day: KCNA
Foreign Affairs

Korea to send rapid response team for Osaka Expo

Korea will dispatch government response team to the Japanese city of Osaka next week to assist in the event of any incidents involving Korean nationals at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, the foreign ministry said Friday. The rapid response team, consisting of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Policy Agency and the National Fire Agency, will work at the venue for seven days starting Sunday, the ministry said. Korea has set up the Korea Pavilion at the Expo exhibition to promote its technologies and cultural assets during the "Korea Week," running from Wednesday through Saturday. The rapid response team will provide necessary consular and other assistance in the event of any incidents involving Korean nationals, working in coordination with medical and security personnel and engaging in efforts to ensure safety in the area, the ministry said.

May 9, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to send rapid response team for Osaka Expo
North Korea

Activists send leaflets to N. Korea urging return of abductees

Korean families of those abducted by North Korea have sent large balloons filled with leaflets to the North, urging the regime to repatriate their loved ones, a group representing such families said Friday. Three giant latex balloons were flown northward from a Korean border area in Gangwon Province the previous night, carrying some 1,000 leaflets about abductees in North Korea, the civic group said. It marks the group's latest controversial leaflet campaign, following its previous balloon launch from the Korean border city of Paju on April 27. Through its on-and-off leaflet campaign, the group has demanded information on the whereabouts of seven people abducted by the North, including Megumi Yokota from Japan and five other Koreans abducted as high school students in the 1970s, and has called for their repatriation. Citing data from a GPS signaling device attached to one of the balloons, the group said it landed in an area of North Korea's Kumgang county near the inter-Korean border. The group's leader said he will not stop sending leaflet balloons until he confirms whether his abducted

May 9, 2025By Yonhap
Activists send leaflets to N. Korea urging return of abductees
North Korea

No inter-Korean trade recorded for two consecutive years since 2023: White paper

Inter-Korean trade remained at “zero” for the second consecutive year, with no personnel exchanges, underscoring the ongoing freeze in relations between the two Koreas, according to a white paper released Friday by the Ministry of Unification. The annual publication outlines the South Korean government's unification policies and North Korea policies over the past year, and provides details on the current state of inter-Korean relations. According to the white paper's trade statistics, inter-Korean trade has stayed at zero since 2023 — a stark contrast to 2015, when trade volume peaked at approximately 3.8 trillion won ($2.714 billion) during the height of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Inter-Korean trade originally began in July 1989 under the Roh Tae-woo administration. The report also revealed that there have been no personnel exchanges between the two Koreas in the four consecutive years since 2021. During this period, only one family reunion took place — a private meeting in which a Korean citizen living abroad visited North Korea to reunite with family and late

May 9, 2025By Anna J. Park
No inter-Korean trade recorded for two consecutive years since 2023: White paper
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