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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
  • 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
  • Others

    Korea, Britain sign revised nuclear cooperation protocol, discuss partnership

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea, Britain sign revised nuclear cooperation protocol, discuss partnership
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Foreign Affairs

Philippines woos Korean investors with defense, energy, tech incentives

Philippine officials made a fresh pitch to Korean companies to invest in sectors ranging from defense to clean energy, highlighting new incentive packages and strategic opportunities during a business-to-business meeting (B2B) held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Seoul on Monday. The event, held on the sidelines of the Philippine Business Forum, was aimed at boosting bilateral economic cooperation and drawing Korean firms into the Philippines’ ambitious push for industrial modernization. Gene Angelo Ferrer, the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone's manager of the business development and marketing division, said, “We’re looking for locators and investors in the Philippines." "With the meetings we have now, we hope to ensure that the Philippines and Korea have balanced trade — and beyond that, strengthen the defense industries of both countries.” Ferrer said the Philippine government has adopted a “self-reliant defense posture” policy, seeking to develop a domestic defense industry with technological support from allies like Korea. “We just had a meeting with Starcom, which sp

Apr 8, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Philippines woos Korean investors with defense, energy, tech incentives
Foreign Affairs

Seoul to provide additional $2 mil. in aid to earthquake-hit Myanmar

Korea will provide an additional $2 million in urgent relief goods to support earthquake-hit Myanmar's recovery efforts, following its initial $2 million assistance last week, the foreign ministry said. The assistance will include around 500 camping tents for the displaced, 4,000 water bottles and 80,000 blankets, according to the ministry. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar last month, with the death toll surpassing 3,500 so far. On March 31, Korea had initially provided $2 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar through the International Committee of the Red Cross. (Yonhap)

Apr 8, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul to provide additional $2 mil. in aid to earthquake-hit Myanmar
Foreign Affairs

Korea voices 'strong' protest against Japan's renewed territorial claim to Dokdo

The foreign ministry on Tuesday expressed "strong protest" against Japan's territorial claim to Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its latest foreign policy paper, calling for an immediate withdrawal. Releasing this year's Diplomatic Bluebook earlier in the day, the Japanese government once again renewed its claim to the Korea-controlled islets, as it did the previous year. "We strongly protest against the repetition of the unjust territorial claim to Dokdo, which is clearly our territory based on history, geography and international law," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We urged (Japan) to immediately withdraw this," it said. The government also vowed to respond sternly to "any kinds of provocations by Japan" regarding Dokdo. The ministry subsequently called in Taisuke Mibae, minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to lodge a formal protest with Japan. A stern-faced Mibae entered the foreign ministry's headquarters in central Seoul without responding to a flurry of questions from reporters about the territorial claim's impact on Korea-Japan relations, among other issues.

Apr 8, 2025By Yonhap
Korea voices 'strong' protest against Japan's renewed territorial claim to Dokdo
North Korea

N. Korea's under-5 mortality rate rises for 2nd year in 2023 during pandemic

North Korea's estimated mortality rate for children under age 5 reached 18 per 1,000 live births in 2023, marking two consecutive years of increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, United Nations data showed Tuesday. The 2023 rate marks an increase from an estimated 17.72 under-five mortality per 1,000 lives in 2022 and 17.44 in 2021, according to the website of the U.N. Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME). North Korea's under-five mortality rate surged to 107.68 per 1,000 live births in 1995 as the country fell into a severe famine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The country had seen significant improvements since 2003, gradually reducing the rate to 17.7 in 2019 and 17.45 in 2020, reaching a low of 17.44 in 2021. The website did not provide clear reasons for the increases from 2021 to 2023, but they may be related to the country's pandemic-era border controls, which affected inoculation rates among North Korean children. According to UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), only 41 percent of children in North Korea received the first dose of the diphthe

Apr 8, 2025By Yonhap
N. Korea's under-5 mortality rate rises for 2nd year in 2023 during pandemic
Foreign Affairs

Trump threatens to raise tariffs on China, says talks with other countries will begin 'immediately'

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday he will impose additional 50 percent tariffs on China if Beijing does not withdraw its retaliatory 34 percent tariffs against the United States, while noting tariff negotiations with other countries will kick off "immediately." Trump issued the warning in a social media post as China announced a plan Friday to impose 34 percent tariffs on imports from the U.S. following his announcement that Washington will impose 34 percent "reciprocal" tariffs on Chinese goods starting Wednesday. The warning came as Trump denied media reports that he is considering pausing the implementation of new U.S. tariffs for 90 days. "If China does not withdraw its 34 percent increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 percent, effective April 9th," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place

Apr 8, 2025By Yonhap
Trump threatens to raise tariffs on China, says talks with other countries will begin 'immediately'
Foreign Affairs

Korea, Malaysia set to hold 8th round of FTA negotiations in Seoul

Korea and Malaysia were set to hold their eighth round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) Tuesday, as the two sides seek to broaden their trade portfolio and enhance cooperation, Seoul's industry ministry said. The latest round of talks for an FTA was scheduled to kick off in Seoul for a four-day run, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two sides plan to focus on making progress in negotiations across 10 sectors, including goods, services, investment and economic cooperation, the ministry added. Following a five-year hiatus, the two nations agreed to resume talks on a free trade deal in March 2024. South Korea already has an FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but it is seeking to forge separate free trade deals with individual members, including Malaysia. "We will work to swiftly strike an FTA with Malaysia, one of our major partners in the ASEAN region, to improve conditions for South Korean companies' operations in the country and remove trade uncertainties," Kwon Hye-jin, director general for FTA negotiations at

Apr 8, 2025By Yonhap
Korea, Malaysia set to hold 8th round of FTA negotiations in Seoul
North Korea

Chinese officials managing Korean War memorial facility return to North Korea after 5 years

Chinese officials tasked with managing a memorial facility for troops who fought in the 1950-1953 Korean War returned to North Korea for the first time in five years, the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang said Monday. According to the embassy's website, 14 Chinese officials arrived in North Korea last Monday via the border between Dandong in China's Liaoning Province and the North Korean city of Sinuiju. They were welcomed by Kim Chul-young, director of foreign cooperation at North Korea's Ministry of Urban Management. The return marks the first return of Chinese personnel managing Korean War memorial sites since the North closed its borders five years ago over the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun visited the site to welcome their return. Wang is said to have emphasized strengthening the ties between the two countries, noting this year marks the 75th anniversary of China's entry into the Korean War. Last year, few high-level exchanges occurred between Pyongyang and Beijing despite it being declared the "Year of China-North Korea Friendship." But recent

Apr 7, 2025By Yonhap
Chinese officials managing Korean War memorial facility return to North Korea after 5 years
Foreign Affairs

Philippines encourages Korean firms to seize opportunities from new initiatives

A top Philippine official on economic affairs encouraged Korean investors to seize growing opportunities in the Philippines, citing a sweeping tax reform law and a new wave of infrastructure and industrial initiatives that he said will drive long-term growth. “Our message is clear: The Philippines is primed for investments, and we want the world to take notice,” Frederick D. Go, special assistant to the president of the Philippines for investment and economic affairs, said during a keynote address at the Philippine Business Forum in Seoul, Monday, highlighting the first stop of the country’s CREATE MORE international roadshow, under the slogan "Making Investments Happen in the Philippines." The event was hosted by the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Seoul and organized by the Philippine Embassy in Korea, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs and The Korea Times. Go emphasized his country’s landmark corporate recovery and tax incentives for enterprises to maximize opportunit

Apr 7, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Philippines encourages Korean firms to seize opportunities from new initiatives
Foreign Affairs

Korea to thoroughly respond to China's export controls on key rare earth elements

Korea's industry ministry said Monday it will thoroughly respond to China's export controls on key rare earth elements to secure a stable supply. Last week, Beijing said it will impose export controls on seven rare earth elements, including gadolinium and yttrium, in response to the United States' reciprocal tariff imposition. The ministry said China has not levied bans on such elements but tightened controls on them. It said the country has stable reserves of the elements but will work with the private sector not to suffer any supply shortage of the elements in the future. (Yonhap)

Apr 7, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to thoroughly respond to China's export controls on key rare earth elements
Foreign Affairs

Gov't preparing to ensure seamless transport, accommodations for APEC summit: vice FM

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun said Monday that the government is working to ensure smooth transportation and lodging plans for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit due to take place in South Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju later this year. Kang made the remark as the leaders of the 21 member economies are expected to attend the multilateral gathering between late October and early November, including the United States and China. "We're preparing to ensure smooth air travel for participants, including securing aircraft parking spaces at nearby airports and remodeling VIP lounges to accommodate the arrivals of state leaders' official aircraft," Kang said in a parliamentary session on APEC preparations. "We're developing a comprehensive transportation and logistics plan. It includes strategies for ensuring seamless movement between key locations, such as airports, KTX (bullet train) stations and the event venue, for delegations arriving through Gimhae and Incheon airports," she said. All essential meeting spaces at Hwabaek International Convention Ce

Apr 7, 2025By Yonhap
Gov't preparing to ensure seamless transport, accommodations for APEC summit: vice FM
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