S. Korea, Oman vow cooperation on stable LNG supplies, hydrogen

South Korea and Oman agreed Monday to strengthen cooperation on stable energy supply chains and hydrogen sectors amid global uncertainties, Seoul's energy ministry said. The pledge was made during the meeting between Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang and Oman's Minister of Energy and Minerals Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi held in Seoul, according to the ministry. During the talks, Lee called on the two nations to work more closely as major energy trading partners over th

Sept. 5, 2022

Trade chief to visit US for talks on EV tax credit

South Korea's Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun will depart for the United States on Monday for talks on the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that excludes electric vehicles assembled outside North America from tax incentives. The IRA, signed by US President Joe Biden in August, gives tax credits to buyers of EVs assembled only in North America, sparking concerns that carmakers here will lose ground in the US market as they make EVs at domestic plants for export. During the three-day stay through Wedn

Sept. 5, 2022

China's top legislator to visit S. Korea for talks with parliamentary speaker

China's top legislator Li Zhanshu will make a visit to Seoul next week for a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, the speaker's office said Sunday. It is part of a four-nation trip by Li, chief of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the Chinese Communist Party. He plans to arrive here on Sept. 15 for a three-day stay, leading a large-scale official delegation including four minister-level and three vice minister

Sept. 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] Leak ruins NASA moon rocket launch bid; next try weeks away

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's new moon rocket sprang another dangerous fuel leak Saturday, forcing launch controllers to call off their second attempt this week to send a crew capsule into lunar orbit with test dummies. The inaugural flight is now off for weeks, if not months. The previous try on Monday at launching the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful ever built by NASA, was also troubled by hydrogen leaks, though they were smaller. That was on top of leaks det

Sept. 4, 2022

NSC chief says Korea-Japan summit may take place at UN General Assembly

South Korea’s national security adviser Kim Sung-han said he had discussed a bilateral summit between the leaders of the two nations with his Japanese counterpart, hinting it could take place as early as the middle of this month at the United Nations General Assembly. When a reporter asked upon his arrival on Friday afternoon if he had discussed the specific timing of a summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Kim replied, "We discussed t

Sept. 2, 2022

Seoul, Tokyo, Washington vow to make Pyongyang ‘learn of its fault’ if it carries out nuclear test

South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed to join forces to take strong measures against North Korea if it conducts a nuclear test, to make sure the regime understands it has clearly made a “wrong decision,” Seoul’s security chief said on Thursday (US time). The three countries also vowed to come up with a joint response to prevent disruption in the global supply chain, South Korea’s National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han said after a meeting with his US and Japane

Sept. 2, 2022

S. Korea launches council on economic cooperation with Middle East

South Korea on Friday launched a council involving both government and private sectors meant to jointly seek ways to promote corporate advancement into the Middle East, the industry ministry said. The council on the Korea-Middle East economic and trade cooperation will discuss how to actively participate in various projects by Korean firms in the region and boost cooperation with the countries there in energy and such new industry sectors as bio and games, according to the Ministry of Trade, Ind

Sept. 2, 2022

NSC chief has trilateral talks with US, Japan on NK, economic security

South Korea’s National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han held a meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Japan’s National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba, in Hawaii on Thursday to discuss North Korea, economic security and major regional issues, the presidential office said Friday. At the first such meeting since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the three security chiefs held extensive consultations on North Korea's

Sept. 2, 2022

Vietnam reaffirms commitment to international peace, stability on 77th national day

Vietnam reaffirmed its commitment to international peace, stability and cooperation with Korea celebrating National Day and the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-Korea diplomatic relations on Friday at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Vietnam’s Independence Day, which falls on Friday, commemorates Vietnam’s declaration of independence from France and reading of the declarations of independence of Vietnam by Vietnam’s first President Ho Chi Minh at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi in 1945. Vietnam wa

Sept. 1, 2022

US promises to review impacts of IRA on Korean EV makers

The United States will look into the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on South Korean automakers, a Korean national security official said after a bilateral talk with his US counterpart on Thursday. South Korea's National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han held a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan on the sidelines of a trilateral security meeting involving Japanese national security adviser Takeo Akiba in Hawaii. "(Sullivan) said IRA does offer more of advantages than

Sept. 1, 2022

[Hwang’s China and the World] What comes after BTS?

  The prominent idol group BTS is something we cannot be unfamiliar with. They are a different type from a number of previous Korean idols and have become a global sensation. So many people around the world were fascinated by BTS dances and read into the messages of social reform in their lyrics. BTS was understood as the ultimate peak of K-pop and we saw the possibility of the Korean Wave being able to stand proudly in the mainstream of global culture. BTS is recognized as the spearhead o

Sept. 1, 2022

Li Zhanshu expected to visit Seoul, meet with President Yoon

High-ranking Chinese official Li Zhanshu is expected to visit South Korea in the middle of the month to meet with President Yoon Suk-yeol, according to local media outlets citing political and diplomatic sources. Li, current chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, is the third-highest Communist Party leader. The two countries are reportedly coordinating Lee’s three-day visit to Korea, scheduled to begin on Sept. 15. The visit was at the invitation of Na

Sept. 1, 2022

S. Korea seeks joint responses with Britain to US inflation act

South Korea called on Britain on Thursday to boost consultations on how to deal with the United States' Inflation Reduction Act that excludes electric vehicles assembled outside North America from tax credits, Seoul's trade ministry said. Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun made the request during a meeting with John Whittingdale, Britain's trade envoy to South Korea, in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The IRA, signed by U.S. President Joe Biden earlier thi

Sept. 1, 2022

China's No. 3 official expected to visit Seoul this month: sources

Li Zhanshu, China's third-ranked official and chief of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, is expected to visit Seoul later this month, sources said Thursday, amid speculation he could discuss the possibility of President Xi Jinping visiting South Korea. Li is arranging to visit Seoul at the invitation of Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. The two are expected to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries and discuss ways to beef up c

Sept. 1, 2022

Joint military drills important for security on Korean Peninsula: Pentagon

WASHINGTON-- Joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States are important for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, a Pentagon spokesperson said Wednesday. South Korea and the US are currently conducting a regular joint exercise, called Ulchi Freedom Shield, which started last Monday. "What I would tell you is that these exercises do remain important, in terms of ensuring that our militaries can closely work together and be prepared to fight and defend

Sept. 1, 2022

US nods at need to address S. Korean concerns over Inflation Reduction Act: official

WASHINGTON -- The United States has given a positive response to South Korea's proposal to form a formal channel to discuss Seoul's concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a South Korean official said Wednesday. Deputy Trade Minister Ahn Sung-il also said the US fully understands South Korea's concerns over the new US law and that it is ready to discuss ways to minimize potential damage from the newly enacted law to South Korean firms. "They too were taking this issu

Sept. 1, 2022

Foreign Minister to meet with victims of Japan's forced labor

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is expected to meet with the victims of wartime forced labor by Japanese companies, as the country’s top court delayed its ruling on liquidating the assets of the firms.According to officials from the Foreign Ministry, Park is planning to meet with the Korean victims, who are currently waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling that could start liquidation of the Japanese firms’ assets to provide compensation for them. Park’s plan to ho

Aug. 31, 2022

NSC chief to have trilateral talks with US, Japan on Thursday

South Korea’s national security adviser Kim Sung-han will meet with his US and Japanese counterparts in a two-day meeting in Hawaii to discuss North Korea, economic security and major regional issues, the presidential office said Wednesday. On Wednesday, Kim will meet bilaterally with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Japan’s national security adviser Takeo Akiba to hold trilateral talks the next day at the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu. The th

Aug. 31, 2022

[Newsmaker] Last Soviet leader Gorbachev, who ended Cold War and won Nobel prize, dies aged 91

Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, hospital officials in Moscow said. Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War Two and bring about the reunification of Germany. But his internal reforms helped weaken the Soviet Union to the point whe

Aug. 31, 2022

S. Korea ordered to pay Lone Star $216.5m in investor-state suit

  An international tribunal ordered South Korea to pay the US private equity firm Lone Star Funds $216.5 million, officials said Wednesday, bringing an end to a decadelong legal battle surrounding its sell-off of a local bank. The Washington, DC-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) delivered the verdict in the investor-state dispute settlement suit that Lone Star filed in 2012 to demand $4.68 billion in compensation from South Korea's government, accordin

Aug. 31, 2022