Yoon, NATO Secretary-General reaffirm to develop cooperative relationship

MADRID – South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday to discuss South Korea-NATO cooperation and exchange views on major international issues, including those pertaining to the Korean Peninsula. President Yoon said that South Korea and NATO have been closely cooperating and responding to various challenges facing the international community since establishing the global partnership in 2006, according t

July 1, 2022

Korea, UK adopts new framework for closer cooperation

President Yoon Suk-yeol had a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the occasion of attending the NATO Summit on Thursday. The two leaders adopted a “Bilateral Framework for Closer Cooperation” encompassing a vision of bilateral relations and discussed key international issues, including peace on the Korean Peninsula. President Yoon said, “We are pleased to have adopted the Korea-UK framework on the occasion of today‘s talks and evaluated that

June 30, 2022

Korea, Canada eye deeper security, economic ties

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol had a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, reaffirming their efforts to deal with North Korean provocations and the Ukraine crisis, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Trudeau said he fully agrees with the future-oriented bilateral relationship with South Korea, and explained that Canada’s newly announced Indo-Pacific strategy puts close relations with regional partners such as Korea as a top priority, according to the presid

June 30, 2022

Seoul to launch public-private consultative body to address issue of Japan’s forced labor

  South Korea plans to establish a public-private consultative group to discuss possible solutions in providing compensation for the victims of Japan’s coercion into labor during wartime, ratcheting up efforts to reset strained ties with Japan. 　 According to victim support organizations here, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested that victims attend the first meeting of the envisioned consultative group of civil organizations and the government, set to launch Monday. The entity

June 30, 2022

Yoon’s NATO trip ‘achieved goals beyond expectations’: presidential office

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol’s first overseas trip had exceeded expectations, the presidential office said Wednesday, crediting the administration’s two-track strategy of attending security-themed NATO meetings and economy-focused bilateral summits. “As the Asia-Pacific value issue is inseparable from that of Europe and security issues in one region are amplified globally, we have reached the awareness that all countries in the global village must work together to s

June 30, 2022

Awkward yet cordial: Yoon and Kishida's encounters in Spain

MADRID -- The South Korea-Japan bilateral summit some had hoped for did not materialize, but both nations’ leaders appeared sincere at this week’s NATO summit about wanting to improve relations. The invitation of the two countries to the Western military alliance gathering in Madrid, Spain, drew attention to the possibility of a bilateral summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. As Yoon -- even during his presidential campaign -- has promised to

June 30, 2022

[Newsmaker] Hong Kong in limbo 25 years after British handover to China

HONG KONG (AP) -- When the British handed Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997, it was promised 50 years of self-government and freedoms of assembly, speech and press that are not allowed on the Communist-ruled Chinese mainland. As the city of 7.4 million people marks 25 years under Beijing's rule on Friday, those promises are wearing thin. Hong Kong's honeymoon period, when it carried on much as it always had, has passed, and its future remains uncertain, determined by forces beyond its control. Before

June 30, 2022

Jill Biden advises first lady Kim: "Just be yourself"

MADRID -- US first lady Jill Biden advised South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee on Wednesday to be herself as she talked about the pressures of being the president's wife, the presidential office said. Biden and Kim took part in an official program for spouses of leaders attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, which included visits to the Royal Palace of La Granja of San Ildefonso near Segovia, northwest of Madrid, the nearby Royal Glass Factory of La Granja, an

June 30, 2022

Yoon, French president discuss cooperation in nuclear power, space

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday and discussed cooperation in various sectors, including nuclear power and space, the presidential office said. During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, the two leaders agreed on the importance of nuclear energy in achieving carbon neutrality and promised to expand bilateral cooperation to ensure the safety of nuclear power generation an

June 30, 2022

Yoon, Danish PM discuss cooperation in energy, environment

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday and discussed cooperation in energy and the environment, his office said. During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, the two leaders welcomed the countries' growing cooperation since their establishment of a "comprehensive green strategic partnership." In particular, they noted the investment and cooperation of the t

June 30, 2022

Korea, Poland agree to cooperate on defense

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed with Polish President Andrzej Duda agreed Wednesday to expand cooperation in energy and defense, indicating the likelihood that the European nation may procure Korean weapons soon. The two met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. Afterward, Choi Sang-mok, senior secretary for economic affairs, said in a briefing that tangible results are expected soon in the defense sector. “The defense cooperation b

June 30, 2022

Yoon urges international community to strengthen denuclearization resolve

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol called on the international community to strengthen its determination to denuclearize North in a three-minute speech at the NATO summit Wednesday. It was the first time a South Korean president has spoken on the NATO stage. Yoon was the seventh to take the podium at the meeting of heads of state and government, following British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "North Korea’s nuclear and missile program clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions,&r

June 30, 2022

Korea, US, Japan close ranks against NK

MADRID -- Leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan expressed concern about the North Korean nuclear threat and reaffirmed their will to jointly devise a strong deterrent against North Korea, in a three way summit before the NATO allies and partners summit on Wednesday. The trilateral talk was the first in four years and nine months since the last held on the occasion of the UN General Assembly in September 2017. The three-way summit was organized against a backdrop of a prolonged Russian invas

June 29, 2022

Korea, US, Japan in sync on security cooperation against NK provocations

MADRID -- A trilateral meeting between leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan for the first time in nearly five years set for Wednesday has fanned speculations about the strengthening of three-way cooperation in economic and security issues. The meeting among South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO summit was expected to be an opportunity for the three sides to affirm the need to raise the leve

June 29, 2022

Yoon, Dutch PM discuss cooperation in semiconductors

President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday and discussed ways to increase bilateral cooperation in semiconductors and other advanced technologies, his office said.  During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid, Yoon expressed hope the investment of Dutch semiconductor companies in South Korea, including by chip equipment maker ASML, will contribute to building stable supply chain

June 29, 2022

[News Analysis] Is Yoon’s team hinting at wider strategy veering away from China?　

Scaling down of economic ties with Beijing could be unavoidable if China continues to tie the economy to politics, experts say, as the new South Korean administration’s top officials hint at a change in Seoul’s China strategy that includes economic issues. On Tuesday, Seoul’s senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok said that Korea should reduce its reliance on China for exports, possibly hinting at a strategy that veers away from China in terms of th

June 29, 2022

S. Korea’s export boom through China coming to end, should diversify to Europe

MADRID -- South Korea‘s senior presidential secretary for economic affairs said the export boom era through China that South Korea has enjoyed over the past 20 years is coming to an end, adding South Korea needs to diversify its markets to Europe. “As you know, China’s growth is slowing and is shifting to a domestic-oriented strategy,” Choi Sang-mok, senior economic secretary, told reporters at Madrid, where the NATO summit is being held. There, member nations seek to

June 29, 2022

Yoon expresses hope for improved Seoul-Tokyo ties

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed hope of improving South Korea-Japan relations to his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, during a brief encounter at the NATO summit, Seoul’s presidential office said Wednesday. According to the presidential office, Yoon and Kishida had a short conversation at the dinner party hosted by Spain’s King Felipe VI on Tuesday. Yoon and Kishida, along with leaders of Australia and New Zealand, are in Madrid to attend the NATO summit as Asia-Pa

June 29, 2022

Yoon to promote export of S. Korean nuclear power plants, weapons

MADRID -- President Yoon Suk-yeol will seek to promote the export of South Korean nuclear power plants and arms during his bilateral meetings with world leaders in Spain this week, a senior presidential official said Tuesday. Yoon is in Madrid to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on Wednesday and has begun a series of bilateral summits on the sidelines, including with Australia's prime minister earlier Tuesday. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with the preside

June 29, 2022

First lady Kim visits Korean cultural center in Madrid

MADRID -- First lady Kim Keon-hee visited the Korean Cultural Center in Madrid on Tuesday and praised its staff for helping promote Korean culture. The Korean Cultural Center opened in the Spanish capital in 2011. Around 60 cultural programs are held at the center each year, including exhibitions, concerts, classes and film screenings. Currently, the center is hosting a Korean fashion exhibition, including clothes by designer Kim A-young, which the first lady toured. "I thank you for your h

June 29, 2022