Russia defends N. Korea ties, denies clarifying use of N. Korean soldiers in Ukraine

Russia said on Monday it will continue its cooperation with North Korea but declined to comment on allegations that it plans to use North Korean soldiers in military operations against Ukraine. "There is a lot of contradictory information," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters when questioned about the alleged dispatch of North Korean troops and a possible plan to use them, according to the Russian news agency TASS. He added such questions should be directed to the defense

Oct. 21, 2024

Yoon, British FM agree to cooperate against NK-Russia military cooperation

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday to discuss strengthening security and defense industry cooperation amid deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia, Yoon's office said. During the meeting, Yoon shared the latest information on North Korea's preparations for sending troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, and pledged to cooperate closely with Britain and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to counter the threats, h

Oct. 21, 2024

Seoul warns Russian envoy on North Korea troop deployment

South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev on Monday to issue a stern warning over North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine -- a move confirmed by Seoul's intelligence agency last week -- and to demand their immediate withdrawal. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said that the summoning of Russia's top envoy was aimed at conveying the South Korean government’s "grave stance o

Oct. 21, 2024

Ban Ki-moon launches carbon transaction facility

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday inaugurated the Carbon Transaction Facility, an entity commissioned to scale up international carbon trading. The facility was launched in accordance with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, according to the Global Green Growth Institute, an intergovernmental organization dedicated to supporting sustainable economic growth. Ban chairs the institute. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement allows countries to cooperate on emission reduction

Oct. 20, 2024

Israel says it has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar , a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most-wanted man. Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores just over a year after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others in an attack tha

Oct. 18, 2024

Trump says America 'can't be taken advantage of any longer,' hints at possible SMA renegotiation

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that America "cannot be taken advantage of any longer in trade and in the military," reinforcing speculation that he could demand renegotiation of a recent defense cost-sharing deal with Seoul if he returns to office. The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks during a televised town hall event hosted by Fox News, falsely claiming that South Korea does not pay for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. "South K

Oct. 17, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan align on response to NK escalating provocations

South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to coordinate their responses to North Korea's recent escalating provocative steps targeting South Korea, based on a shared assessment of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday. Campbell said South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano "were able to conduct a deep and sustained review of the situation on the

Oct. 16, 2024

New multilateral N. Korea sanctions monitoring team debuts in Seoul

South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries on Wednesday unveiled a new mechanism to monitor North Korea’s flouting of sanctions and strengthen sanctions enforcement, filling the void left by the UN Panel of Experts, which was dissolved following Russia's veto of its renewal. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, joined by ambassadors to South Korea from

Oct. 16, 2024

US urges N. Korea to stop actions that raise conflict risk after blowing up of cross-border roads

The United States called on North Korea Tuesday to stop actions that would increase the risk of conflict, after Pyongyang blew up roads linked to South Korea in a rancorous removal of land routes once seen as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller made the call, reiterating Washington's calls for Pyongyang to come back to diplomacy. "We are monitoring the situation in the DPRK in close coordination with our Republic of Korea allies," he

Oct. 16, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan to hold vice-ministerial talks amid N. Korea tensions

Senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States, and Japan were set to meet in Seoul on Wednesday amid rising tensions following North Korea's destruction of roads to the South and accusations of drone flights by the South over its capital. The three-way talks come a day after the North blew up cross-border roads in a move underscoring its commitment to completely sever ties with the South after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to abandon the goal of unification and treat the Sout

Oct. 16, 2024

Russian court extends detention of S. Korean national for another month: media

A Russian court has renewed the detention period of a South Korean national arrested in Moscow on suspected espionage charges for another month until mid-November, Russian media reported Tuesday. The Moscow court made the decision on the South Korean, surnamed Baek, as it turned down Baek's appeal against an earlier court decision in June that extended his detention for three months until September, the TASS and Rio Novosti news agencies reported. Baek has been held in the Lefortovo detenti

Oct. 15, 2024

Seoul expresses regret over Moscow's defense of Pyongyang

The South Korean government on Tuesday expressed "deep regret" over the Russian Foreign Ministry’s defense of North Korea’s unilateral claims that South Korea had sent drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets into Pyongyang. "(The South Korean government) expressed deep regret over the Russian Foreign Ministry’s defense of North Korea’s unilateral claims, the facts of which remain unverified, while bringing up sovereignty violations and interfe

Oct. 15, 2024

Kim Jong-un charts military action over alleged drone incursion

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday convened an unprecedented meeting resembling a national security council, where he outlined the course of "immediate military action" in response to what his regime alleges was a South Korean drone incursion over Pyongyang, state media reported Tuesday. The meeting came four days after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry's statement that accused South Korea of sending drones into Pyongyang’s airspace on three occasions -- Oct. 3, 9,

Oct. 15, 2024

Vietnam holds Pho festival in Seoul as part of food diplomacy

Vietnam hosted the Pho Festival in Seoul earlier this month to celebrate its iconic noodle soup, pho, and to strengthen Vietnam-Korea relations through food diplomacy. Attracting more than 28,000 attendees on Oct. 5, the first day of the two-day festival, visitors could enjoy Vietnamese food, including pho, a fragrant soup made with rice noodles, herbs, and either beef or chicken. The event facilitated more than 100 business meetings between Vietnamese and Korean enterprises across the tourism,

Oct. 15, 2024

Nobel prize laureates tout S. Korea's 'remarkable' economic rise, but note challenges ahead

This year's Nobel economics prize laureates on Monday applauded South Korea's economic rise, a key subject of their research, but pointed out a set of challenges ahead, including the fast-graying population of Asia's fourth largest economy. They also drew a stark contrast between the economic backwater of North Korea -- a repressive country under an institutional framework that they said serves only a certain elite class -- and South Korea under a more "inclusive" system

Oct. 15, 2024

Biden proposes holding trilateral summit this year

US President Joe Biden has proposed holding a trilateral summit with the leaders of South Korea and Japan by the end of this year, according to South Korea's presidential office Saturday. The proposal was made through US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a dinner hosted by the prime minister of Laos at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit Thursday (local time). Biden said the proposed summit would build on the "Camp David sp

Oct. 12, 2024

Spain lauds stronger ties with S. Korea on National Day

Spain lauded strengthening ties with South Korea, marking its National Day on Thursday. Spain commemorates Oct. 12 to mark the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. In his remarks at the event, Spanish Ambassador to Korea Guillermo Kirkpatrick recalled South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's 2022 visit to Madrid for the NATO summit and Spanish President Pedro Sanchez's historic visit to Korea in the same year. He underscored recent discussions between the countries�

Oct. 11, 2024

Taiwanese Mission chief stresses AI strategy on National Day

The Taiwanese Mission in South Korea marked its 113th National Day, underlining future priorities for economic security and global cooperation on Wednesday. The day commemorates the overthrow of China's last dynasty in 1911 and the subsequent founding of the Republic of China in 1912, following a nationalist revolution that ended the Qing Dynasty. Delivering remarks, Liang Kuang-chung, the representative of the Taipei Mission in Korea, highlighted Taiwan's focus on smart technologies,

Oct. 11, 2024

Kremlin rejects S. Korean claim of N. Koreans fighting in Ukraine

Russia on Thursday rejected a recent South Korean claim that North Korean soldiers were likely fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. During a parliamentary audit session in Seoul on Tuesday, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said it was "highly likely" that North Korea had deployed troops in support of Russia, because the two countries have a mutual treaty "akin to a military alliance." Kim also said a recent media report on North Korean troop casualties in

Oct. 10, 2024

S. Korea clinches seat on UN Human Rights Council

South Korea has secured a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, positioning itself for leadership in three key UN bodies in 2025: the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council and the Security Council. South Korea was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term during a vote at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, local time, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced Thursday in a statement. This term marks South Korea's sixth on the Human Rights Coun

Oct. 10, 2024