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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

    Norwegian architect behind Busan Opera House highlights architecture’s role in social change

    3 MIN READBy Anna J. Park
    Norwegian architect behind Busan Opera House highlights architecture’s role in social change
  • Foreign Affairs

    Lee says depending on US for defense no longer valid, will boost economic ties

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee says depending on US for defense no longer valid, will boost economic ties
  • 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?
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Foreign Affairs

Gov't launches video messaging project for families separated by Korean War

The unification ministry will launch its annual project to film messages from families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War addressed to their relatives in North Korea, officials said Wednesday. This year's filming will begin with around 1,000 applicants and will expand to include others, including separated families residing overseas, lasting until Oct. 31, ministry officials said. Since 2005, the ministry has been filming messages from families separated from their relatives in North Korea due to the Korean War, with the aim of archiving them and potentially delivering them to recipients in the North. As of October 2024, South Korea has 37,425 nationals who have registered their wish to locate separated relatives in North Korea, with many more such applicants in the South having died of old age or other reasons. Many of them remain out of touch with their relatives in the North, with no knowledge of whether they are alive, as the two Koreas are separated by a heavily fortified border. Following a total of 21 rounds of family reunion events between South and North Korea since 2000, along

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
Gov't launches video messaging project for families separated by Korean War
Foreign Affairs

Acting president says Korea to communicate closely with Czech Republic to finalize nuclear deal at early date

Acting President Lee Ju-ho said Wednesday the gov ernment will communicate closely with the Czech Republic to swiftly finalize a nuclear power plant deal temporarily scuttled by a court injunction this week. Lee made the remark during an economic security strategy meeting, a day after a Czech court blocked the country's main electricity firm, CEZ, from signing the estimated 26 trillion-won ($18.6 billion) contract with a Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power until it reviews a legal complaint filed by France's EDF, a losing bidder in the tender. "Our government will communicate closely with the Czech side to reach a final contract at an early date," he said during the meeting at the government complex in Seoul. "The Czech government's position is that there are no problems as the evaluation process for the tender was conducted transparently and in accordance with the law," he added. Industry Ministry Ahn Duk-geun is in Prague as the court decision came while he was en route to attend a signing ceremony for the deal. Lee spoke with the minister by phone early Wednesday morn

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
Acting president says Korea to communicate closely with Czech Republic to finalize nuclear deal at early date
North Korea

Belarusian delegation arrives in N. Korea for economic talks: KCNA

A government delegation from Belarus, led by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko, has arrived in Pyongyang to discuss economic cooperation, North Korea's state media reported Wednesday. The delegation arrived in the capital the previous day at North Korea's invitation to attend the third meeting of the intergovernmental joint committee for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The visit will last from Tuesday to Friday, according to the KCNA's earlier report. North Korea has been widely expected to strengthen ties with Belarus as its alignment with Russia deepens. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In February, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a congratulatory message to Lukashenko after he was reelected to his seventh presidential term. Top diplomats of North Korea and Belarus held a meeting in Pyongyang in July 2024, as the two nations have been deepening military ties with Russia amid Moscow's war against Ukraine.

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
Belarusian delegation arrives in N. Korea for economic talks: KCNA
Foreign Affairs

US lawmaker reintroduces bill against Korea's regulatory efforts that could harm US digital firms

A U.S. congresswoman has reintroduced a bill calling on the U.S. government to step in if Korea takes regulatory measures that might harm America's digital businesses, Congress' website showed Tuesday. On Monday, Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) introduced the bill, titled "To authorize the appropriate administrative authorities to impose certain restrictions with respect to the Republic of Korea, and for other purposes," which was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The bill appears akin to the U.S.-Republic of Korea Digital Trade Enforcement Act, which Miller introduced last year to protect American online companies in the event of Korea passing a bill to regulate digital service platforms. The act did not pass as the previous 118th Congress closed. U.S. online firms have demanded that Korea withdraw its digital platform regulatory moves, as the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) proposed enacting an act in late 2023 to tighten oversight over market-dominant online platform businesses so as to promote fair competition. After pushback from U.S. stakeholders and others, the KFTC a

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
US lawmaker reintroduces bill against Korea's regulatory efforts that could harm US digital firms
North Korea

N. Korea's Kim inspects munitions factories, touts increased shell output

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected shell manufacturing at munitions factories, lauding that a rapid increase of shell production has helped the North Korean military's combat power, the North's state media reported Wednesday. During his field guidance at major munitions enterprises under the Second Economy Commission, Kim inspected shell production and the state of the machine-building industry, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Kim expressed "great satisfaction," saying the facilities' modernization had reached a high level and that the shell production capacity had grown rapidly, the KCNA noted, adding that their shell output had increased four times the average annual level and nearly twice the peak-year level. The KCNA quoted Kim as expressing hope that "they would produce more shells to contribute to the expansion of the combat power of our armed forces," adding that bolstering the artillery force enhances the army's combat efficiency and perfects its combat preparations. "This remarkable growth of productivity ... takes on a very important meaning in realiz

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Kim inspects munitions factories, touts increased shell output
Foreign Affairs

Ex-U.S. Ambassador Goldberg receives S. Korean state medal for role in bilateral ties

Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg was awarded a state medal from the South Korean government on Tuesday for his contribution to improving relations between the two countries, Seoul's embassy in Washington said. On behalf of the Seoul government, South Korea's Ambassador to the United States Cho Hyun-dong conferred the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, the highest award in the category, on Goldberg who retired after decades of foreign service, including his ambassadorship in Seoul from July 2022 to January. During a ceremony, Cho expressed deep gratitude to Goldberg for having made "great" contributions to the development of the bilateral relationship as the "strongest supporter" for the South Korea-U.S. alliance, the embassy said. Goldberg said that he took pride in achievements that have been made in light of the bilateral alliance and trilateral cooperation with Japan. Also attending the event were Seth Bailey, deputy special representative for North Korea at the State Department, and Scott Snyder, the president and CEO of the Korea Economic I

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-U.S. Ambassador Goldberg receives S. Korean state medal for role in bilateral ties
Foreign Affairs

FM Cho asks Rubio to conduct tariff talks with 'sufficient time' in view of election in S. Korea

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul called for the United States to carry out bilateral talks over tariffs and other issues "with sufficient time" in consideration of the June 3 presidential election in South Korea during a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said. Cho made the remarks as Seoul has been striving to secure exemptions from the Trump administration's "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs, with a view to reaching a "July package" agreement over trade, and economic and industrial cooperation before July 8, when President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends. "Minister Cho called for further strengthening the alliance based on a strong combined defense posture against North Korea, and for closely cooperating to explore a win-win solution from recent tariff consultations between the trade authorities of South Korea and the U.S.," the ministry said in a press release. Cho asked Rubio to play a role in ensuring that during the trade talks, South Korea's status as the U.S.' ally, and a country with a free trade agreement with the U.S.,

May 7, 2025By Yonhap
FM Cho asks Rubio to conduct tariff talks with 'sufficient time' in view of election in S. Korea
North Korea

Belarusian delegation to visit North Korea for economic talks

A government delegation from Belarus will visit North Korea this week for talks on economic cooperation between the two nations, Pyongyang's state-run media reported Tuesday. The delegation was scheduled to visit Pyongyang from Tuesday to Friday to hold a meeting of the intergovernmental joint committee for trade and economic cooperation, the Korean Central News Agency said. The visit, led by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko, comes at the request of Pyongyang, it noted. Top diplomats of North Korea and Belarus held a meeting in Pyongyang in July 2024, as the two nations have been deepening military ties with Russia amid Moscow's war against Ukraine.

May 6, 2025By Yonhap
Belarusian delegation to visit North Korea for economic talks
North Korea

N. Korea pushes ahead with final phase of Pyongyang housing project

North Korea is pressing ahead with efforts to complete the last stage of a five-year housing project to build 50,000 homes in Pyongyang by the end of this year, state media said Monday. The structural construction for 10,000 apartments in the Hwasong area in Pyongyang is fully under way as part of the housing project launched in 2021, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The KCNA said special military units have made improvements in construction procedures to reduce the time it takes for framework construction, while officials from the social security ministry have improved equipment operation rates. Pyongyang's northeastern district of Hwasong, along with Songhwa, has been newly developed under a five-year plan unveiled by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2021 to build 10,000 housing units in the capital every year. The first batch was completed in Songhwa in 2022, followed by 30,000 more units in Hwasong in three phases through last month. The country began the fourth stage project in Hwasong in February.

May 5, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea pushes ahead with final phase of Pyongyang housing project
North Korea

N. Korean leader inspects tank factory, emphasizes tank modernization

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a tank factory and emphasized the need to modernize the military with advanced tanks and armoured vehicles, state media reported Sunday. Kim inspected the factory's production status, modernization and progress in implementing research tasks related to core tank technology, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. It did not disclose the name or location of the factory or the date of his visit, describing it only as an "important" tank factory. "To replace the armored weapons of the last century in our army with latest tanks and armored vehicles is the most important issue in the building of armed forces and modernization of the army," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying during the inspection. "It is impossible to build the armored force properly" unless the military's role and developmental direction of tanks in modern warfare are correctly defined and the viewpoint in tank design is reconsidered, Kim said as he presented the direction of tank modernization and related tasks. He also emphasized the need to build large-scale capacity for producing cu

May 4, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korean leader inspects tank factory, emphasizes tank modernization
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