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  • Foreign Affairs

    S. Korea, US, Japan hold talks on N. Korea

    South Korea had a trilateral meeting with officials from the United States and Japan in Tokyo on North Korean affairs this week, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The ministry said the talks took place Friday involving Kim Sang-il, head of the ministry's North Korean Nuclear Affairs Policy Division; David Wilezol, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Northeast Asia; and Kengo Otsuka, deputy director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at the Japanese foreign ministry. The officials shared their views on recent affairs on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Northeast Asia, and also reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearize North Korea and to ensure the implementation of U.N. and autonomous sanctions, Seoul's foreign ministry said. "We explained our effort in easing tension and building trust in inter-Korean relations, and also exchanged views on trilateral cooperation in ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," the ministry added. In a press release issued Friday, the Japanese foreign ministry noted the three officials "expressed their serious concerns over

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korea, US, Japan hold talks on N. Korea
  • North Korea

    N. Korea calls denuclearization an 'irreversibly finalized' matter

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    N. Korea calls denuclearization an 'irreversibly finalized' matter
  • Foreign Affairs

    Lee says S. Korea, Italy are 'optimal partners' for business cooperation

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee says S. Korea, Italy are 'optimal partners' for business cooperation
  • Foreign Affairs

    Lee hopes S. Korea, Italy will work together to promote free trade, multilateralism

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee hopes S. Korea, Italy will work together to promote free trade, multilateralism
  • Others

    Korea, Italy sign MOUs to enhance advanced science cooperation, explore joint projects in Africa

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea, Italy sign MOUs to enhance advanced science cooperation, explore joint projects in Africa
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Foreign Affairs

Rwandan envoy urges global responsibility at 31st genocide commemoration

Rwanda’s Ambassador to Korea Nkubito Manzi Bakuramutsa called for greater global accountability and solidarity during a ceremony Monday in Seoul, marking the 31st commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “Today, we gather for the 31st commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi — a solemn moment to remember over one million innocent lives taken in just 100 days,” the ambassador said. “It is a time to honor the victims, to comfort the survivors and to salute those who stopped the genocide and rebuilt our country from its ashes.” In a deeply reflective speech, Bakuramutsa underscored that the genocide was not a spontaneous event but the culmination of decades of systemic ethnic hatred. “The genocide did not happen in a vacuum. It was the result of decades of ethnic-based hatred and division, introduced during colonial rule and perpetuated by successive regimes,” he said. “From 1959 to 1994, Tutsi were marginalized, persecuted, and repeatedly targeted in mass killings — all under a system that fostered impunity and enshrined divisionism.” The amba

Apr 11, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Rwandan envoy urges global responsibility at 31st genocide commemoration
North Korea

N. Korea's Mount Paektu designated as UNESCO Global Geopark

The North Korean side of Mount Paektu, an active stratovolcano on the North Korean-Chinese border, has been approved as a UNESCO Global Geopark. The executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) endorsed the addition of Mount Paektu to its list of Global Geopark networks the previous day in Paris. This marks North Korea's first inclusion in the UNESCO Global Geopark networks. The list is maintained and updated to recognize major natural sites of significant geological value and to promote their sustainable preservation. Last year, the UNESCO executive board designated the Chinese side of the mountain as Mount Changbaishan UNESCO Global Geopark under its Chinese name. North Korea sought the UNESCO listing for the mountain in 2019, a year before China, but China secured the designation first as an on-site inspection in North Korea was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The territory demonstrates well-developed glacial geography, with cirques made by glacial erosion and other topographical features such as moraine hills, moraine plains an

Apr 11, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's Mount Paektu designated as UNESCO Global Geopark
Others

Veterans minister to leave for Washington this week to meet Korean War veterans

Veterans Minister Kang Jung-ai will depart for Washington, D.C., this week to meet with U.S. veterans who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War as Seoul marks the 75th anniversary of the conflict's outbreak this year, her ministry said Friday. During her three-day trip from Saturday through Monday, Kang will first visit the Armed Forces Retirement Home in the U.S. capital, where 43 Korean War veterans currently reside, and express her gratitude for their service on the battlefield, according to the ministry. She will also pay her respects at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in the National Mall and Arlington National Cemetery, and hold a meeting with Curtis Scaparrotti, chairman of the Korea Defense Veterans Association and a former U.S. Forces Korea commander, to discuss ways to strengthen the alliance. Kang will then visit several national independence-related sites in Washington, including the Old Korean Legation and the Korean Commission building, as this year also marks the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. "The United States is our closest ally t

Apr 11, 2025By Yonhap
Veterans minister to leave for Washington this week to meet Korean War veterans
North Korea

N. Korea's maternal mortality rate estimated at 67: report

North Korea's maternal mortality rate was estimated at 67 per 100,000 live births in 2023, a number dramatically lower than in 2000 but nearly 17 times higher than South Korea's figure, a report showed Friday. The figures were released in a recent report on maternal mortality estimates, jointly published by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank Group and other international organizations. The report defines maternal mortality as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of a pregnancy. North Korea's maternal mortality rate has been on a gradual decline since reaching 129 in 2000, around the time the country fell into a severe famine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The figure came down to 78 in 2005, 72 in 2015, 66 in 2020 and 67 in 2023, but the latest rate is still about 17 times higher than South Korea's corresponding rate of 4, the report showed. The global average maternal mortality rate in 2023 was estimated at 197, and the United Nations aims to reduce it to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2023. (Yonhap)

Apr 11, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's maternal mortality rate estimated at 67: report
Foreign Affairs

S. Korea establishes diplomatic ties with Syria in foreign policy milestone

South Korea established diplomatic relations with Syria this week, the foreign ministry said Friday, a diplomatic milestone that completed Seoul's endeavors to have formal ties with every U.N. member state except North Korea. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul traveled to Damascus on Thursday (local time) to finalize the procedure and met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani for talks on the development of bilateral relations, it said. Syria was the last U.N. member state with which South Korea did not have diplomatic ties. With the opening of the new ties, South Korea now has official relations with all 191 U.N. member states except North Korea. Additionally, South Korea has diplomatic ties with three non-U.N. members: the South Pacific island nations of the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Holy See. "This development opens a new chapter of cooperation with Syria, whose bilateral relations with South Korea had been severed due to its close ties with North Korea," the ministry said in a release. During talks with Al-Shaibani, Cho expressed hope that bilateral cooperation will contribute

Apr 11, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea establishes diplomatic ties with Syria in foreign policy milestone
North Korea

Unification minister discusses bilateral ties with senior Japanese officials

South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho met with senior Japanese officials in Tokyo on Thursday and stressed the importance of bolstering bilateral cooperation, according to a foreign media report. Kim is in Japan for a three-day visit through Friday, which aims at enhancing two-way cooperation on inter-Korean unification issues and the North Korea policy under Japan's Shigeru Ishiba administration, his office said. During his meeting with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Kim exchanged views on the security situation in North Korea and reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo, as well as trilateral coordination involving the United States, according to Japan's Kyodo News. Kim also reiterated the South Korean government's support for the immediate resolution of the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, it added. Kim held separate talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, during which he called for maintaining close bilateral ties and building a future-oriented cooperative relationship to promote peace on the K

Apr 10, 2025By Yonhap
Unification minister discusses bilateral ties with senior Japanese officials
Foreign Affairs

Xi 'seriously' considering visit to S. Korea for APEC summit: Chinese official

Chinese President Xi Jinping is seriously considering a visit to South Korea in conjunction with the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, a senior official from China's top legislature said Thursday. Losang Jamcan, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remarks during a meeting with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik in Seoul. "President Xi places great importance on a potential visit to South Korea in conjunction with the APEC summit. It is important to maintain close communication on this matter," Losang was quoted as saying by Woo's office. "China maintains a positive attitude toward bilateral cultural exchanges. The two sides should continue to build on the recent momentum of active exchanges and cooperation," he added. Woo asked for China's continued attention to Xi's potential trip to South Korea. South Korea is scheduled to host the APEC summit in Gyeongju, about 275 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from late October to early November. China is the host for the multilateral gathering next year. Speaking

Apr 10, 2025By Yonhap
Xi 'seriously' considering visit to S. Korea for APEC summit: Chinese official
Foreign Affairs

Korea, foreign military attachés discuss excavation of Korean War dead

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) hosted an event Tuesday inviting members of the foreign defense attaché corps stationed in Seoul to discuss ways to cooperate on recovering the remains of fallen soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War. The event was held as part of commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War and focused on honoring the sacrifices of United Nations forces who fought alongside South Korea to defend its democracy. Fought from 1950 to 1953, the Korean War began when North Korea invaded the South, prompting a U.N.-led military response. Troops from 22 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Canada, Australia and Italy, participated in combat or medical support operations under the U.N. Command. The war ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving many soldiers still unaccounted for. During the event, South Korean officials expressed gratitude to the participating nations for their support during the war and briefed attendees on the current s

Apr 10, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Korea, foreign military attachés discuss excavation of Korean War dead
North Korea

S. Korea sanctions freight ship, 4 entities for illegal transport of N. Korean iron ore

South Korea imposed independent sanctions on a freight ship, its Hong Kong-based operator and three related entities on Thursday in connection with the ship's internationally banned transport of North Korean iron ore last year, the foreign ministry said. The sanctions follow a joint government investigation into the vessel Sunrise 1, which was detained while sailing through South Korea's territorial waters in June last year, carrying North Korean iron ore, the ministry said. The supply, sale or transfer of North Korean iron ore, as well as coal and iron, is prohibited under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2371 as part of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile development. The four sanctioned entities are Xiangrui Shipping, a Hong Kong-registered shipping firm in charge of Sunrise 1; two Chinese operators of the firm — Sun Zhengzhe and Sun Feng; and LLC Consul DV, the Russia-registered consignor, according to the ministry. The fresh sanctions require the entities to obtain prior approval from South Korea's Financial Services Commission or the governor of the Bank

Apr 10, 2025By Yonhap
S. Korea sanctions freight ship, 4 entities for illegal transport of N. Korean iron ore
Others

Korea to expand interagency task force in response to US tariff measures

Korea will expand its existing response task force into a comprehensive interagency team to better cope with the U.S. administration's evolving tariff measures, the finance ministry said Thursday. The decision came as the Donald Trump administration announced a 90-day suspension of newly imposed reciprocal tariffs on imports from Korea and other trading partners, only hours after the tariffs went into effect Wednesday. In response, the government will operate the task force under an expanded framework, including eight specialized working groups focusing on sectors such as macroeconomy, finance, industry, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The task force aims to conduct in-depth analyses of sector-specific impacts of the tariff measures by facilitating rapid information-sharing among government agencies, the ministry said. Given the unpredictable nature and potential longevity of global trade tensions, the government also plans to review more fundamental strategies, the ministry added.

Apr 10, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to expand interagency task force in response to US tariff measures
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