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  • Foreign Affairs

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

    Architecture should do more than create iconic buildings — it should shape how people interact, gather and experience their cities, according to Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, founding partner of Norwegian architectural and design firm Snøhetta, which is currently leading the Busan Opera House project. Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday, Thorsen outlined Snøhetta’s design philosophy and highlighted projects from around the world, arguing that architecture can serve as a catalyst for cultural participation, social integration and sustainable development. The event, held at the Norwegian ambassador’s residence under the theme “Designing Culture, Designing Change: Architecture as a Catalyst for Collective Futures,” brought together architects, cultural leaders and industry professionals to explore the role of design in shaping contemporary society. Welcoming guests, Norwegian Ambassador Anne Kari Hansen Ovind described Snøhetta as one of Norway’s most influential creative enterprises and a global ambassador for Norwegian design. “Sn

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

Top Russian general confirms North Korean troop dispatch to Ukraine war

Russia's top general has confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops have been fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine as he held talks with President Vladimir Putin. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, made the confirmation of the North Korean troop deployment in a videoconference with Putin on Saturday, noting the North Korean troops had played a crucial role in the liberation of the Kursk border region. "I want to point out the participation of servicemen from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the liberation of the Kursk Region's border areas, who, in accordance with the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries, provided significant assistance in defeating the invading group of the Ukrainian armed forces," Gerasimov said in a transcript of the videoconference posted on the website of the Kremlin, referring to the North by its official name. "Soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army, carrying out combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen, displayed high professionalism, f

Apr 27, 2025By Yonhap
Top Russian general confirms North Korean troop dispatch to Ukraine war
North Korea

North Korea denounces Japan PM's offering to war shrine

North Korea has criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for making a ritual offering to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, saying that it again demonstrated Japan's pursuit of militarization. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in a commentary dated Saturday, after Ishiba sent an offering last week to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by the Allied forces after World War II. A bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers also visited the shrine in person to pay their respects at that time. The KCNA denounced those actions by Japanese politicians as "the road t militarization," saying they would only precipitate the ruin of the whole Japan. The KCNA accused Japanese politicians of regularizing their annual offerings and visits to Yasukuni, denouncing the moves as an attempt to "invariably and deeply implant the poison of militarism in the whole area of the archipelago with the shrine as the origin." It also claimed that Japan is in the final stage of legal, institutional and military preparatio

Apr 27, 2025By Yonhap
North Korea denounces Japan PM's offering to war shrine
Foreign Affairs

Korea, US to begin working-level talks on tariffs this week: industry minister

Korea and the United States will start working-level discussions this week to advance their agreement on U.S. tariffs and other areas of cooperation, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said Saturday Ahn made the remark as he returned from Washington, where he and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok had the "two-plus-two" consultations on tariffs with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The two sides agreed to craft a package deal for tariffs, and bilateral economic and industrial cooperation before the 90-day pause on the tariff measures expires on July 8. "We assess that we got off to a good start in the consultations," Ahn told reporters upon arriving at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "Working-level consultations will get under way in earnest starting this week. We plan to finalize details on specific task forces," he said. During the "two-plus-two" talks, they agreed to have future talks focused on four categories: tariffs and nontariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation and currency policies. Ahn has said the government

Apr 26, 2025By Yonhap
Korea, US to begin working-level talks on tariffs this week: industry minister
North Korea

N. Korea unveils new destroyer, pledges to strengthen naval power

North Korea unveiled its new destroyer for the country's navy as part of its broader plan to enhance maritime power, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday. On Friday, Pyongyang held a launching ceremony of its new 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer at a shipyard in the North's western port city of Nampho, according to a report by the KCNA. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the ceremony with his daughter, known as Ju-ae, and examined the newly built warship, named the Choe Hyon after a deceased North Korean anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter. The ship, planned to be delivered to the North Korean Navy early next year, is armed with weapons systems that significantly enhance its air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-ballistic missile operations, the report said. It can also be equipped with supersonic strategic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles for precise land attack operations. In a speech at the ceremony, Kim was quoted as saying the destroyer will build up the strength for "thoroughly defending" the maritime sovereignty of North Korea a

Apr 26, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea unveils new destroyer, pledges to strengthen naval power
Foreign Affairs

Korea, US agree on achieving 'expedient, meaningful' progress toward reciprocal trade: USTR

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Friday that Korea and the United States agreed to seek "expedient and meaningful" progress toward "reciprocal and balanced" trade during a bilateral meeting in Washington the previous day. In a release, the office cast the meeting between USTR Jamieson Greer and Ahn Duk-geun, Korea's minister of trade, industry and energy (MOTIE), as "productive." The two sides met as Seoul is angling to secure exemptions and exceptions from the Trump administration's "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs. "During the productive meeting, Greer underscored the priorities of President Donald Trump's America First Trade Policy, and both sides agreed on the importance of achieving expedient and meaningful progress toward reciprocal and balanced trade between the United States and Korea," the office said. "The ministers discussed next steps between USTR and MOTIE and instructed their teams to engage in technical discussions next week," it added. Greer noted his attendance at the ministerial Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting on Korea's southern resort

Apr 26, 2025By Yonhap
Korea, US agree on achieving 'expedient, meaningful' progress toward reciprocal trade: USTR
North Korea

N. Korea denounces US for deploying B-1B strategic bombers to Japan

North Korea on Friday denounced the United States for deploying B-1B strategic bombers to Japan, arguing that such deployment would pose a threat to security in the region. The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published the criticism in an article, accusing Washington of stationing its bomber in Japan for a long-term period and escalating tensions in the region to a record high by using Japan and South Korea as outposts. On April 15, a U.S. bomber task force, comprising B-1B Lancer aircraft, airmen and support equipment from the U.S. Air Force's 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, arrived at Misawa Air Base, Japan, to reinforce regional stability in the Indo-Pacific, according to the Indo-Pacific Command. It marks the first time a U.S. Air Force bomber task force has been deployed to Japan. The U.S. has also deployed a B-1B bomber to South Korea three times so far this year, including during a South Korea-U.S. exercise in mid-April. The B-1B Lancer is one of the three strategic U.S. bombers, with the capacity to fly 12,000 kilometers non-stop at supersonic speeds and carr

Apr 25, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea denounces US for deploying B-1B strategic bombers to Japan
Others

Korea, US agree to seek 'July package' on tariffs

Korea has requested exemptions from U.S. "reciprocal" and item-specific tariff measures and suggested a package deal to be made by July, Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said Friday. The proposals came during trade talks between the two nations' finance and trade authorities in Washington, D.C., Thursday (local time). Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok; Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun; U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer took part in the trade consultations following the Donald Trump administration’s "reciprocal" tariffs imposition. In a press conference following the talks, Choi explained that he expressed willingness to cooperate on the areas that are of major interest to the U.S., such as trade, investment, shipbuilding and energy. He also addressed concerns that the U.S. tariffs could negatively impact economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the automotive sector. "We explained that we need calm and orderly negotiations," Choi said, referr

Apr 25, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Korea, US agree to seek 'July package' on tariffs
Foreign Affairs

Korea raises concerns over Chinese structures in West Sea, Beijing calls them ‘aquaculture’

Tensions between Korea and China flared again this week as the two sides sparred over Chinese structures installed in the West Sea during a high-level dialogue held Wednesday in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the heart of the dispute are fixed installations built by China in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ), an area where the exclusive economic zones of both countries overlap in the West Sea. Korea expressed “deep concern” over the structures, saying they could infringe upon its maritime rights and destabilize regional security. “The government emphasized that Korea’s maritime rights and interests must not be infringed,” the ministry said in a statement. Chinese officials, for their part, reiterated that the facilities are intended solely for marine farming and are unrelated to issues of sovereignty or maritime boundaries. Although the two sides failed to resolve their differences during the meeting, they agreed to continue discussions through two newly established subcommittees. One will focus on sensitive issues such as the West Sea structures and il

Apr 24, 2025By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea raises concerns over Chinese structures in West Sea, Beijing calls them ‘aquaculture’
Foreign Affairs

Korea 'strongly denounces' deadly terrorist shooting attack in Kashmir

South Korea on Thursday condemned a recent terrorist shooting attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left dozens of people dead. At least two dozen people were killed with many others left wounded after gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists at a tourist spot in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on Tuesday. It marked the worst assault on civilians in the region long gripped with opposition to India's rule. South Korea's foreign ministry expressed "deep concerns" over the incident, extending condolences to the victims, their bereaved families, the Indian government and its people. "The government reaffirms its firm stance that terrorism cannot be justified under any circumstances," the ministry said in a release issued by its spokesperson Lee Jae-woong.

Apr 24, 2025By Yonhap
Korea 'strongly denounces' deadly terrorist shooting attack in Kashmir
Foreign Affairs

Book launch in Seoul bridges cultures, boosts Korea-Central Asia tourism cooperation

A literary celebration turned into a platform for cultural diplomacy and tourism development on Wednesday, as Seoul hosted the launch of "Central Asia, the Curtain Rises: 12 Stories Unearthed from the Steppes," a new book by Korean academic Kim Ju-yeon. The event, jointly organized by the embassies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, highlighted the diverse cultural narratives of the region while setting the stage for stronger tourism ties with Korea. Speaking at the event, Rhee Jong-kook, executive director of the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum Secretariat, emphasized the secretariat’s growing efforts to deepen tourism collaboration between the two regions. “Our secretariat is making a tremendous effort to promote cooperation in tourism between Korea and Central Asia,” Rhee said. “We are currently working hard to form an East-Central Asia Tourism Council in collaboration with both sides’ tourism promotion agencies, travel companies, airlines and — most importantly — the embassies represented here today.” Rhee expressed hope that the

Apr 24, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Book launch in Seoul bridges cultures, boosts Korea-Central Asia tourism cooperation
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