S. Korea stresses no plan for lethal weapon supply to Ukraine

South Korea's defense ministry on Friday reaffirmed its commitment not to provide Ukraine with lethal military support, responding to a news report that Seoul is working on a "confidential" arms deal with Washington on the exports of artillery shells for use by Ukraine in its war against Russia. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed US officials, the US plans to buy 100,000 rounds of 155mm artillery from South Korea for delivery to Ukraine. South Korean Defense

Nov. 11, 2022

US supports helping North Korean people, but Pyongyang ultimately responsible: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States supports and is taking steps to help the people of North Korea despite differences with the North Korean regime, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price made the remark as he also called on Pyongyang to put its people before its own interests. "Even when we have profound differences with a particular regime, and that of course applies in the case of North Korea, we are always looking for ways that we can support the humanitarian needs of a pa

Nov. 11, 2022

US concern over possible North Korean nuclear test remains real: Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain concerned about a potential North Korean nuclear test, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday, noting that Pyongyang may still decide to conduct a test. Sullivan also expressed concerns over additional North Korean missile tests. "We have been very transparent about out concern with North Korea that the DPRK would conduct its seventh nuclear test at some point in this broader timeframe, and by broader I mean we have been tal

Nov. 11, 2022

What will Korean version of Indo-Pacific strategy look like?

South Korea is set to reveal its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy this week, drawing attention to the course Seoul sees for itself as it navigates between the United States and China. At the biannual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit slated for Friday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to present the country’s first diplomatic strategy for the Indo-Pacific. The presidential office said the strategy is the last piece of a puzzle to complete Yoon’s diplomat

Nov. 10, 2022

Yoon to discuss North Korea nuclear threat with US, Japan leaders

President Yoon Suk-yeol said that he will hold a trilateral summit with leaders of the US and Japan on the sidelines of a multilateral summit on Sunday. While explaining his itinerary in Southeast Asia to the press during his regular morning briefing on Thursday, Yoon said the Korea-US-Japan summit has been confirmed. The meeting will be held during Yoon's first trip to Southeast Asia to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat issue. The trilateral meeting will be held in Cambodia on Sunday

Nov. 10, 2022

South Korea to announce Indo-Pacific strategy at the ASEAN Summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will present the country’s Indo-Pacific strategy at the biannual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit slated for later this week, the presidential office said on Wednesday. In a press briefing, national security adviser Kim Sung-han said Yoon will participate in the summit with leaders of ASEAN countries on Friday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. There, he will announce the country’s Indo-Pacific strategy and also the government’s new ASE

Nov. 9, 2022

In era of economic security, what can Korea’s counter strategy be?

From the perspective of international politics, the existing spectrum of national security, which mainly focuses on military security, is gradually expanding to new areas including economy, food security and environmental or social factors. The global supply chain that has been driving the growth of the global economy amid the expansion of globalization is becoming an unstable factor that can weaken and worsen national competitiveness through the weaponization of interdependence. In particular,

Nov. 9, 2022

US monitoring N. Korea's covert operation to supply artillery shells to Russia: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- The United States is closely watching the suspected delivery of North Korean artillery shells to Russia, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday after Pyongyang dismissed US reports that it may be covertly supplying arms to Russia for use in Ukraine. Defense department spokesman, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, however, declined to comment when asked if the shipments have been received by Russia. "I am not going to have anything new to provide beyond what the NSC (has said), and as you highli

Nov. 9, 2022

North Korea denies accusation that it supplied weapons for Russia

North Korea denied accusation of supplying weapons or ammunition to Russia, saying that it also does not have such plans in the future, while accusing the US of attempting to tarnish its reputation. Pyongyang’s state-operated Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday revealed a statement issued by a vice director of the Military Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of National Defense to denounce the US for spreading “groundless” rumors to tarnish its reputation. "We regard such mo

Nov. 8, 2022

US urges Russia, China to hold N. Korea accountable for recent provocations

WASHINGTON -- A state department spokesperson called on China and Russia on Monday to hold North Korea accountable for its missile launches in violation of UN Security Council sanctions, insisting failure to do so will not be in their interest. The call from state department press secretary Ned Price came after Moscow and Beijing blocked US-led efforts to punish North Korea for its recent provocations that included the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, along with more than a doze

Nov. 8, 2022

Seoul, Washington, Tokyo warn Pyongyang provocations only create further isolation

South Korea, the United States and Japan on Monday strongly condemned North Korea for launching an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles last week, and warned that such provocative actions would only further isolate the regime. In a trilateral talk over the phone, South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong spoke with his American and Japanese counterparts, Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori, to discuss cooperation measures to handle North Korea’s missile threats, Seoul’s F

Nov. 7, 2022

NK’s missile provocation deepens military rivalry on Korean Peninsula

North Korea’s ramped up missile provocations last week highlight the deepening divide between the West and Pyongyang's allies China and Russia, building more tension on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last week, prompting the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency council session on Friday to discuss ways to handle the multiple sanctions violations by Pyongyang. The meeting, however, failed to draw a unified voice to hold

Nov. 6, 2022

How China views the international and regional order

The international community has been in an era in which “no one backs you up” since the Donald Trump’s period. During the Trump era, US-China relations fell into a double trap of Thucydides and Kindleberger. Many in the international community believe that the international order has already entered the New Cold War between the US and China. Are we really in the New Cold War? Has the international order changed, or is it still changing? While the Cold War between the US and S

Nov. 3, 2022

Inter-Korean military agreement 'dead' after N. Korean saber-rattling

In an unprecedented level of saber-rattling this week, North Korea has launched over two dozen ballistic missiles into the East and Yellow seas, and also fired some 100 artillery shots, violating a symbolic inter-Korean military agreement, again. With the North’s rising hostility and disregard for the 2018 Comprehensive Military agreement, calls are rising for the South to break off the inter-Korean pact that has effectively been invalidated. At the same time, experts warn that Seoul shoul

Nov. 3, 2022

N. Korea covertly supplying artillery shells to Russia for use in Ukraine: White House

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is supplying a large number of artillery shells to Russia for use in the latter's ongoing aggression in Ukraine, a White House National Security Council spokesman said Wednesday. John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, also said the North is trying to cover up its shipments by disguising their true destination. "In September, North Korea publicly denied that it intended to provide ammunition to Russia," Kirby said in a virtual press brie

Nov. 3, 2022

Foreign victims of Itaewon disaster will be provided same aid program as Korean nationals

As South Korea is mourning over the deadly crowd surge that caused over hundreds of casualties including deaths of 26 foreigners, the government promised to apply the same support measures to foreign victims as offered to Korean national victims, Tuesday. Under the support plan, the 26 foreign victims who died, and 15 who were injured from the Itaewon disaster would be provided with financial support, including coverage of funeral costs of up to 15 million won ($10,500). "The government dec

Nov. 1, 2022

South Korea co-sponsors resolution on NK human rights again, after 4 years

South Korea joined as a co-sponsor for a UN resolution on North Korea’s human rights abuses, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday, breaking a four-year hiatus to speak out against Pyongyang’s violations. South Korea joined other countries as a co-sponsor of a EU-draft resolution addressing the human rights situations in the North, which was submitted to the United Nations’ Third Committee on Monday in the US, Seoul's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk confirmed in

Nov. 1, 2022

US does not and will not recognize N. Korea as nuclear state: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States does not and will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state as it seeks to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, a state department spokesperson said Monday. "That is not our policy. I do not foresee that ever becoming a policy," Ned Price told a press briefing when asked about the possibility of the US ever recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state. The remarks come as North Korea is widely anticipated to conduct a nuclear test, its

Nov. 1, 2022

Worst tragedy in almost decade since Sewol ferry disaster

Saturday's Halloween crowd crush, which resulted in 153 deaths and more than 100 injuries as of Sunday afternoon, would be recorded as the worst national tragedy in almost a decade, since the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. The Itaewon tragedy also marks as the worst human stampede case rare in the country's history, and has raised public concerns over the country's lack of measures for public safety and crowd management. One accident where a large number of casualties occurred from

Oct. 30, 2022

Yoon says South Korea has never supplied lethal weapons to Ukraine

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Friday the country has never supplied lethal weapons to Ukraine, reiterating the government’s position after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that such a decision would harm their bilateral ties. “We have been delivering humanitarian and peaceful support to Ukraine, together with the international society,” Yoon said during a doorstepping session at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul. His remarks came a day after Puti

Oct. 28, 2022