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    Lee says depending on US for defense no longer valid, will boost economic ties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    Lee says depending on US for defense no longer valid, will boost economic ties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

2nd high-level APEC preparatory meeting begins in Jeju

The second round of the high-level preparatory meeting for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit kicked off Saturday on South Korea's southern island of Jeju, according to officials. The 14-day Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM), scheduled to run through May 16, brings together more than 3,200 government delegates and private-sector representatives from the 21 APEC member economies. South Korea will use the occasion to highlight the details of key agenda items it has introduced for this year's summit, including cooperation on artificial intelligence and responses to demographic changes, according to foreign ministry officials. Coinciding with the event will be ministerial meetings on finance and trade, as well as a series of conferences on economic and technology cooperation, women and economic policy partnerships, among others. Three more SOM sessions are expected to be held before the summit, scheduled for November.

May 3, 2025By Yonhap
2nd high-level APEC preparatory meeting begins in Jeju
Foreign Affairs

Russia-N. Korea partnership will impact Trump's leverage in diplomacy toward Pyongyang: expert

North Korea's deepening partnership with Russia is a variable that will impact U.S. President Donald Trump's leverage in future diplomacy with Pyongyang, a U.S. expert said Friday, as the reclusive regime's reliance on Moscow has significantly lessened the need for dialogue with the United States. During a podcast, Sydney Seiler, former intelligence officer at the U.S. National Intelligence Council, made the remarks amid expectations that Trump might seek to revive his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for peace talks. "Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un have laid a pathway for a protracted period of not needing to talk to the U.S. and so that really will impact the president's leverage," Seiler said during the podcast hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Seiler then asked a question about what Trump could give Kim, which Pyongyang has not received from the Russian president. "I can't think of much," he said. North Korea has relied on Russia for food, fuel, security guarantees and other forms of support as it provided troops, in

May 3, 2025By Yonhap
Russia-N. Korea partnership will impact Trump's leverage in diplomacy toward Pyongyang: expert
Foreign Affairs

US parental child abduction report cites S. Korea, 14 others for pattern of convention noncompliance

An annual U.S. report on international parental child abduction (IPCA) cited South Korea and 14 other countries as demonstrating a "pattern of noncompliance" with a multilateral treaty, the State Department said Friday. It released the 2025 Annual Report on IPCA — a report that previously cited South Korea in 2022, 2023 and last year for showing a pattern of noncompliance with the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention that requires a country to expeditiously return a child held by a parent to the child's country of habitual residence. The convention has been in force between the United States and South Korea since 2013. The countries cited in the 2025 report are Korea, Argentina, The Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, India, Jordan, Peru, Poland, Romania and the United Arab Emirates. The report pointed out that law enforcement in Korea regularly failed to enforce return orders from the judicial authorities in abduction cases. As a result of these failures, 44 percent of requests for the return of abducted children under the convention remained unresolved for more tha

May 3, 2025By Yonhap
US parental child abduction report cites S. Korea, 14 others for pattern of convention noncompliance
Foreign Affairs

Azerbaijan highlights investment opportunities in Alat Free Economic Zone

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Korea Ramin Hasanov and Chairman of the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) Authority Board Valeh Alasgarov promoted the country’s flagship investment hub to Korean companies at a high-profile networking event in Seoul on Wednesday. Hosted under the title, “Alat Free Economic Zone: Unlocking potential for Korean manufacturing companies,” the event brought together Korean business leaders, diplomats and trade representatives to explore new avenues for bilateral economic cooperation. “Azerbaijan and Korea enjoy full-fledged and multidimensional cooperation. Our high-level relations are unique in the South Caucasus region,” Hasanov said. He underscored the dynamic economic-trade partnership, noting that Korea was Azerbaijan’s 11th-largest import partner in 2024, with bilateral trade reaching nearly $400 million. “Over 80 Korean companies already operate in Azerbaijan in various sectors,” he said, “and we welcome even greater participation, particularly through the Alat Free Economic Zone.” Hasanov called AFEZ a “unique opportunity” for Korean i

May 2, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Azerbaijan highlights investment opportunities in Alat Free Economic Zone
Foreign Affairs

Korean delegation visits Latin America to boost arms exports

A Korean civilian-government delegation recently wrapped up a four-nation Latin America visit to promote defense exports, the state arms procurement agency said Friday, as Seoul seeks to diversify its overseas arms sales. The delegation, comprising officials from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), defense and foreign ministries, and major defense firms, visited Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia from April 21 through May 1, according to DAPA. During the visit, the delegation participated in major arms trade shows and held talks with defense officials from the four nations, the agency said. In Peru, the delegation also met with its counterparts from Ecuador and Paraguay to explore the possibility of exporting frigates and aircraft. "The delegation's activities are anticipated to help Korea become a top four defense exporter in the world by diversifying its market, which had been concentrated on Europe and the Middle East, to Latin America," DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun said. Korea aims to carve out a 5 percent share of the global arms export market by 2027 to become the wo

May 2, 2025By Yonhap
Korean delegation visits Latin America to boost arms exports
North Korea

N. Korea voices support for 'multi-polarized' world order amid deepening alignment with Russia

A senior North Korean military official has expressed the North's support for a "multi-polarized" world order at an international anti-fascism event in Russia, state media reported Friday, amid Pyongyang's deepening alignment with Moscow. Pak Yong-il, vice director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, made the remarks during the 3rd International Anti-Fascist Congress held in Moscow on Wednesday, according to the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper. North Korea's military delegation, led by Pak, left for Russia on Monday to attend the international event after Pyongyang acknowledged for the first time that it has deployed troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. At the anti-fascist event, Pak said North Korea has a steadfast stance that it will contribute to "the establishment of independent and multi-polarized world order without domination, subjugation and hegemony," according to the newspaper. He said North Korea will exercise its sovereign rights for self-defense against enemies' schemes to revive fascism in the Asia-Pacific region. Pak's trip

May 2, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea voices support for 'multi-polarized' world order amid deepening alignment with Russia
Foreign Affairs

Trump aide claims Korea, Japan closed markets to US cars, defends auto tariffs

A senior aide to U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that Korea, Japan and the European Union (EU) closed their markets to U.S. cars, as he stressed trade deficits with those countries and defended the Trump administration's new auto tariffs. White House Deputy Chief of Staff or Policy Stephen Miller made the remarks, warning that the United States automotive industry might disappear within a few years if the "current path" continues. The Trump administration started imposing 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles on April 3, with 25 duties on certain auto parts planned to come by Saturday. But earlier this week, Trump signed a proclamation to give two-year auto part tariff relief to companies that assemble cars in the U.S. "Japan closed their market to our cars. The entire EU closed their market to our cars. Korea closed their market to our cars," he told a press briefing, highlighting America's large-scale trade deficits in automobile trade with them. "These are supposedly peer nations — nations that have at least a somewhat equivalent per capita gross domestic product (

May 2, 2025By Yonhap
Trump aide claims Korea, Japan closed markets to US cars, defends auto tariffs
Foreign Affairs

Foreign ministry notifies foreign missions of new acting President Choi Sang-mok

The foreign ministry notified foreign missions in Seoul of a change in the acting presidency following the resignation of acting President Han Duck-soo, government officials said Thursday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to diplomatic missions in Korea, stating that Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok will assume the role of acting president starting at midnight Thursday, according to the officials. The letter also emphasized that Korea's diplomatic direction and policy philosophy will remain unchanged. Earlier in the day, Han, who had been serving as both acting president and prime minister, stepped down, signaling his intention to run in the June 3 presidential election, which was triggered by the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. (Yonhap)

May 1, 2025By Yonhap
Foreign ministry notifies foreign missions of new acting President Choi Sang-mok
North Korea

S. Korea's military says new N. Korean warship likely requires more time for deployment

North Korea's newly launched destroyer likely requires a "considerable" amount of time for deployment, South Korea's military said Thursday. Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun made the assessment after the North's new 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer -- launched Friday -- conducted live-fire tests of its weapons systems for the first time Monday and Tuesday. "While the Choe Hyon was unveiled, it likely needs a considerable amount of time for deployment," Lee said in a briefing. "When looking at its weapons and equipment, there is a possibility that (the North) received technological or financial help from Russia." Lee said warship development typically take years to complete and that further time is required for deployment even after a vessel is built. "(We) are closely monitoring and tracking North Korea's weapons development activities." 38 North, a U.S. think tank monitoring North Korea, earlier said more work appeared to be necessary for the destroyer, citing commercial satellite imagery taken Friday that showed tugboats being used to move the ship.

May 1, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea's military says new N. Korean warship likely requires more time for deployment
North Korea

Acting president urges watertight readiness posture against N. Korea-Russia military ties

Acting President Han Duck-soo on Thursday called on security-related ministers to maintain a watertight readiness posture against strengthening military ties between North Korea and Russia, saying there must be "no compromise" when it comes to national security. Han also instructed ministers to keep a vigilant defense posture and "leave no gaps" in protecting the lives and property of the people, amid growing speculation that he may soon resign before announcing his bid for the June 3 presidential election. "North Korea is accelerating its close ties with Russia, upgrading its weapons systems aimed at us and plotting new provocations, while our government, businesses and citizens remain under constant threat of cyberattacks," Han said. Han also addressed growing public concerns over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on South Korea's security. "The government must respond to the changing global order, including negotiations with the U.S., with the national interest as its top priority and work calmly and seriously under the principle that there can be no compromis

May 1, 2025By Yonhap
Acting president urges watertight readiness posture against N. Korea-Russia military ties
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