UN set to hold meeting on N. Korea's latest missile launch: Seoul official

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) plans to convene a session this week in response to North Korea's latest projectile launch, a South Korean government official said Monday. It would be the second meeting of the council in about a week in connection with such a move by the recalcitrant regime. Regarding the North's test-launch of an apparent ballistic missile on Saturday, some members of the influential panel have requested closed-door discussions, and the meeting is scheduled to open

March 7, 2022

S. Korea to impose export controls against Belarus

South Korea on Sunday decided to impose export controls against Belarus for “effectively supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” joining the US and other countries in implementing tough restrictions against Moscow’s strong ally.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would notify the US and related countries of its decision.  “The Korean government decided today to implement export controls against Belarus, based on the judgment that Belarus is

March 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] Zelenskyy's 'desperate' plea to Congress: Send more planes

WASHINGTON -- Fighting for his country's survival, Ukraine's leader made a "desperate" plea Saturday to American lawmakers for the United States to help get more warplanes to his military and cut off Russian oil imports as Kyiv tries to stave off the Russian invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opened the private video call with US lawmakers by telling them this may be the last time they see him alive. He has remained in Kyiv, the capital, which has a vast Russian armored column thr

March 6, 2022

S. Korea, Australia vow to boost ties in digital trade

South Korea and Australia agreed Friday to enhance cooperation on e-commerce and other digital trade issues during a senior-level dialogue, Seoul's industry ministry said. Kim Wan-ki, chief of South Korea's trade policy bureau under the trade ministry, held a videoconference with Australia's First Assistant Secretary of the foreign and trade department Elisabeth Bowes, and the two sides discussed a wide range of issues on digital trade, including trade norms, standards and the industry's transit

March 4, 2022

Russia attacks Ukraine nuclear plant as invasion advances

Russian forces shelled Europe's largest nuclear plant early Friday, sparking a fire as they pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing Ukrainian city and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea. Leading nuclear authorities were concerned -- but not panicked -- about the damage to the power station. The assault triggered phone calls between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden and other world leaders. The US Department of Energy activat

March 4, 2022

S. Korea wins exemption from US' Foreign Direct Product Rule regarding exports to Russia

South Korea won an exemption from the United States' expanded export restrictions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Seoul's industry ministry said Friday. The move came as South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with senior US officials in Washington on Thursday and the two sides agreed to include South Korea in the US' list of exempt countries. Last week, the US government announced the Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) for "all of Russia" as part of its export controls

March 4, 2022

Sanctions against Russia show united front against unjust invasion of Ukraine: US official

WASHINGTON -- The sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, including South Korea, show how many countries see Russia's invasion of Ukraine as unjust, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, said the United Nations has also voiced its clear opposition against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The international community has been very clear and we've been united in our defense of this wa

March 4, 2022

South Korea relocates Ukraine Embassy from Kyiv to Chernivtsi

South Korea has relocated its embassy in Ukraine from the capital Kyiv to Chernivtsi, a city closer to the border with Romania, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, as Russian troops continue to close in on the capital and attacks across the country intensify.  Ambassador Kim Hyung-tae and all remaining embassy staff left the capital and arrived in Chernivtsi on Wednesday night local time, along with six South Korean nationals who expressed the intent to evacuate, a ministry official in Se

March 3, 2022

Ukraine crisis causes delay in S. Korea,-US-Japan talks to arrange defense ministerial meeting: official

The armed conflict in Ukraine has led to a delay in talks among South Korea, the United States and Japan to arrange their in-person defense ministerial meeting, a Seoul official said Thursday. The three countries have been in talks to set up a meeting among Defense Minister Suh Wook and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Lloyd Austin and Nobuo Kishi, in line with an agreement at their phone talks last month to meet face-to-face at a "mutually agreed-upon" date. The three defense chief

March 3, 2022

S. Korea, Mexico agree to resume talks on free trade deal

South Korea and Mexico have agreed to resume negotiations to forge a bilateral free trade agreement 14 years after their suspension, Seoul's trade ministry said Thursday. The two nations began talks on a strategic economic complementary agreement in 2006, but the negotiations have stalled since 2008 amid opposition from businesses in the Latin American country. South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier held ministerial talks in Mexico City on Tuesday

March 3, 2022

UN Assembly votes to demand that Russia stop war in Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS -- The UN General Assembly voted at an emergency session Wednesday to demand an immediate halt to Moscow's attack on Ukraine and the withdrawal of all Russian troops, with sustained applause breaking out after a formidable show of support among the 193 member nations against the invasion. The vote on the "Aggression against Ukraine" resolution was 141-5, with 35 abstentions. It came as Russia bombarded Ukraine's second-largest city and besieged two important ports, and a

March 3, 2022

S. Korea moves Ukraine embassy from Kyiv to safe area

South Korea is moving its mission in Ukraine from Kyiv to a "safe area" in the country as Russia is stepping up military actions in the country, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. Ambassador Kim Hyung-tae and other embassy staff were moving to the new location along with six South Korean nationals who expressed intent to move out of the city, according to the ministry. It was not immediately clear to which city the embassy is relocating. The decision was made as it became &q

March 2, 2022

[Hwang’s China and the World] We need public diplomacy that fully contains the scent of Korea

Korea’s public diplomacy so far has been characterized as a state-centered one that focuses on popularizing itself. However, it is a fact that Korea is now facing needs and expectations to play a role that goes beyond it from home and abroad. Given that Korea’s status and capabilities have developed considerably in the international community, its way of lending a hand should also be tailored to what the other desires and needs. Now, giving off the messages that Korea has in its own

March 2, 2022

Russia takes aim at urban areas

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine's leader decried Russia's escalation of attacks on crowded urban areas as a blatant campaign of terror, while US President Joe Biden warned that if his Russian counterpart weren't made to "pay a price" for the invasion, the aggression wouldn't stop with one country. "Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed after Tuesday's bloodshed on the central square in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city,

March 2, 2022

Two Koreas clash over Ukraine crisis at UN

Diplomats of South and North Korea clashed over differing views of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the UN as delegates met for an emergency session to discuss a resolution condemning Moscow’s aggression. 　 Cho Hyun, the South Korean ambassador to the UN, strongly condemned “Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine,” throwing support behind a UN General Assembly resolution that was set for a vote Wednesday, demanding Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine. On the contrary,

March 2, 2022

Biden remains silent on N. Korea amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden left out North Korea in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday that laid out various challenges facing his country, including the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The US leader, however, thanked South Korea, along with dozens of other countries, for condemning what he called Russia's "unjustified" and "totally unprovoked" aggression on Ukraine. "Along with twenty-seven members of the European Union including France, Germa

March 2, 2022

Russian forces escalate attacks on Ukraine's civilian areas

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russian forces escalated their attacks on crowded urban areas Tuesday, bombarding the central square in Ukraine's second-biggest city and Kyiv's main TV tower in what the country's president called a blatant campaign of terror. "Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed after the bloodshed on the square in Kharkiv. In the US, President Joe Biden planned to use his first State of the Union address Tuesday evening to vow to make R

March 2, 2022

S. Korean envoy to UN urges Russia to end aggression, vows further assistance to Ukraine

WASHINGTON -- The chief of the South Korean mission to the United Nations on Tuesday called on Russia to immediately stop its invasion of Ukraine while saying his country will provide additional humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. Ambassador Cho Hyun also called on the United Nations to act quickly, noting South Korea would not have existed had it not been for UN assistance some 70 years ago when the country was invaded by North Korea. "We are gathered here today at one of the

March 2, 2022

External pressure alone will not denuclearize N. Korea: former USFK chief

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Yonhap) -- External pressure alone will not be enough to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear ambitions, a former head of US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday, stressing the need for what he called an internal pressure to change. Retired Gen. Walter Sharp also pointed to the need for South Korea and the US to work with China to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. "I personally believe that there's no amount of external pressure that is goin

March 2, 2022

Human rights crises in N. Korea and others require international attention: Blinken

WASHINGTON -- Human rights crises in countries such as North Korea demand the United Nations and its member states' efforts to address them, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday while urging the international community to condemn what he called Russia's unlawful and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. "Even as we focus on the crisis in Ukraine, it is far from the only part of the world where the council's attention is needed," Blinken said in a virtual meeting with the UN Huma

March 2, 2022