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

Yoon says S. Korea has never provided lethal weapons to Ukraine

South Korea has never provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of negative consequences for the two countries' relations if Seoul sent arms to Ukraine. "We've provided humanitarian and peaceful assistance to Ukraine but never lethal weapons," Yoon told reporters. "It's a matter of sovereignty, and we are trying to maintain peaceful relations with all countries around the world, including Russia." (Y

Oct. 28, 2022

Korea looks to corporate donations to resolve forced labor dispute with Japan: report

Seoul is reportedly seeking donations from Japanese firms as one of the solutions to the wartime forced labor issue. According to Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday, South Korea is solely reviewing the plan in which the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan, a state-operated entity, collects donations from both Korean and Japanese companies to pay damages to Korean victims who were forced into labor during Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula. “The

Oct. 27, 2022

[Hwang’s China and the World] Roles and cooperation of East Asia, for the transition of civilization

The 20th century was a terrifying era of war not only in the West, but also in East Asia. The East-West conflict during the Cold War that dominated decades of the late 20th century after World War I and II maintained a balance of power under the cloak of ideological confrontation, but there was a blatant armed conflict on one side of the Earth at the same time. East Asia, where Korea and Vietnam are located, is in fact the region where the Cold War was the ‘hottest.’ Even if the Cold

Oct. 27, 2022

N. Korean nuclear test would constitute a 'grave escalatory action': State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- A nuclear test by North Korea would constitute a "grave escalatory action" that will be met by serious consequences, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, insisted the US has a "number of tools" to hold North Korea accountable for any future provocations. "A seventh nuclear test, should it happen, would constitute a grave escalatory action and seriously threaten regional stability, in

Oct. 27, 2022

South Korea, US, Japan warn of 'unparalleled' scale of response in case of NK nuclear test

South Korea, the US and Japan will respond on an "unparalleled" scale to a nuclear weapons test by North Korea, the three nations warned Wednesday. As the three countries assess that North Korea is likely to carry out its seventh nuclear test soon, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeo Mori held a trilateral consultation meeting in Tokyo to share their commitments for extended deterrence to handl

Oct. 26, 2022

[Herald Interview] Nigerian President hopes to boost trade and investments with Korea

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed hopes for more trade and investment from Korea, stressing the Nigerian government’s recent policies to encourage foreign investment in an exclusive written interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. "Our government has improved the ease of doing business in our country, and we have created a 'one stop shop' at the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission. We have also reinvigorated the commission with all the resources needed to attract FDI

Oct. 26, 2022

Seoul's trade chief in Europe for economic ties, Expo bid support

South Korea and Hungary have agreed to push for the signing of a new framework meant to promote bilateral trade and investment, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday. The agreement was reached during a meeting between South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Monday. Ahn visited Budapest as the first stop of his weeklong three-nation trip to Europe as a special envoy of President Yoon Suk-yeol, according the Ministry of Trade, Industry and En

Oct. 26, 2022

S. Korea, US, Japan to hold high-level talks amid speculation on N.Korea nuke test

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to hold consultations on Wednesday on regional and global security issues amid concerns over the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test. South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong is scheduled to engage in the trilateral session with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori -- in Tokyo to discuss ways to deal with North Korea's evolving threats highlighted by a series of bal

Oct. 26, 2022