S. Korea, Chile hold talks to upgrade bilateral FTA

South Korea and Chile have launched another round of talks on upgrading a bilateral free trade agreement in line with changing global trade circumstances, Seoul's industry ministry said Tuesday. The seventh round of negotiations to revise their FTA began Monday in Santiago and is set to run until Wednesday, during which they will deal with upgrading rules on a wide range of sectors, including goods trading, trade facilitation, intellectual property, labor and environment, according to the M

May 23, 2023

PM calls for recovering ‘multilateral trading system’ in meeting with WTO chief

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo met with the visiting head of the World Trade Organization on Monday, highlighting the importance of recovering the multilateral trading system, according to Han's office. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala arrived in Seoul on Monday for a three-day stay, marking the first visit to South Korea by the WTO’s top official since 2014. During the dinner meeting, Han emphasized the crucial role of the WTO in restoring the multilateral trading system ami

May 22, 2023

Korea, EU agree to foster peace, address security challenges

President Yoon Suk Yeol and European Union leaders have agreed to strengthen their cooperation to foster peace and stability in their regions in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s growing provocations, during their summit held in Seoul on Monday. Yoon held a summit meeting on Monday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, who flew to Seoul after attending the Group of Seven summit held in Hiroshima

May 22, 2023

S. Korean inspection team set to kick off on-site inspection of Fukushima nuclear plant

TOKYO -- A team of South Korean experts began its official activities to inspect the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant Monday, amid lingering concerns about the safety of the water. The Korean delegation is scheduled to hold a meeting later in the day with Japanese officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the wrecked power plant, as well as the industry ministry and the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the country's top n

May 22, 2023

S. Korea, Germany agree to sign military pact

South Korea and Germany agreed on Sunday to sign a military deal on sharing their military secrets to streamline supply chains involving the two countries’ defense industries. The summit, which took place at the presidential office in Seoul following the two leaders’ participation in the Group of Seven summit in Japan the same day, is the latest efforts by Yoon to partner with democracies to put checks on North Korea amid its escalating nuclear threats. “Germany understands th

May 21, 2023

Yoon, Widodo discuss future industry cooperation

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Indonesian President Joko Widodo discussed widening their relations and cooperation in future industries at a summit on the sidelines of the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday. During the bilateral summit, Yoon said he is pleased with the rapid progress in cooperation between the Korea and Indonesia since Widodo’s visit to Korea in July last year, according to a written briefing from the presidential office. Yoon said the Korean go

May 21, 2023

Seoul vows more non-lethal support for Ukraine

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to continue providing non-lethal aid for Ukraine upon the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their first meeting held in Hiroshima, Japan, on the sidelines of an expanded Group of Seven summit session on Sunday. Yoon told Zelenskyy that Seoul will push for sustained diplomatic, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, with medical evacuation vehicles and demining vehicles being the primary focus as of the current moment, Yoon'

May 21, 2023

Yoon, Biden, Kishida hold summit in Hiroshima

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday. The three leaders met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit for talks expected to focus on ways to strengthen trilateral security cooperation against North Korea's nuclear threat and China's assertiveness. The leaders last held a three-way meeting in Cambodia in November and agreed to share missile warning data in real time to cope w

May 21, 2023

S. Korean water inspection team departs for Fukushima

A 21-member Fukushima Daiichi wastewater inspection team departed from Incheon Airport Sunday morning for a six-day trip to Japan to deliver Seoul's own assessment of the wastewater treatment facilities in the quake-hit region before Japan's planned discharge of the water starting as early as this year. The inspection team reiterated that it would affirm the safety of the facilities in Japan based on "scientific grounds and standards." This came amid persistent local backlash

May 21, 2023

Yoon, Kishida pay respects to Korean victims of Hiroshima atomic bomb

Leaders of South Korea and Japan on Sunday visited a cenotaph dedicated to the Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima, Japan, for the first time in history, underscoring their shared commitments to honoring a "painful history" while forging a path toward a "peaceful future" in unison. On the final day of the Group of Seven meeting held in the city where the first-ever use of an atomic bomb killed an estimated 200,000 civilians 78 years ago, South Korean Presid

May 21, 2023

Yoon, Japan PM hold summit in Hiroshima

HIROSHIMA -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit in Hiroshima on Sunday, their third meeting in two months as bilateral relations thaw. The latest meeting came on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit, while the previous two were held in Tokyo in March and then in Seoul earlier this month during bilateral visits by Yoon and Kishida, respectively. Bilateral relations have warmed significantly since Seoul offered in March to compensate

May 21, 2023

Yoon to meet Zelenskyy for 1st time at G-7

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time in Hiroshima on Sunday, according to Yoon's officials. The meeting is set to take place on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit. The Ukrainian leader arrived in the Japanese city on Saturday. The meeting was arranged at Ukraine's request, they said. The meeting comes less than a week after Yoon met Zelenskyy's wife, first lady Olena Zelenska, in Seoul. On Tuesday, Zelens

May 21, 2023

Yoon pledges $24m donation to epidemic coalition

President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged $24 million to a coalition combating epidemics and double its provision of grain through the UN World Food Program during an expanded meeting of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Saturday. Yoon pledged the new donation to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to strengthen global health care systems. The coalition was created at the 2007 Davos Forum as a public-private joint venture whose backers included the Norwegian government and the Bill Gate

May 20, 2023

China's exports to North Korea surge in April

China's exports to North Korea soared in April from a year earlier, with wigs and fertilizer among major shipments, Chinese customs data showed on Saturday. Chinese outbound shipments to the isolated country surged 69% year-on-year to $166 million in April, data released by China's General Administration of Customs showed. The top export items in terms of value were processed hair and wool used in wigs, worth about $11.6 million, and diammonium hydrogen phosphate, a widely used fertili

May 20, 2023

Biden says still optimistic on US debt talks

Talks to avoid a US debt default were on a knife edge Saturday as President Joe Biden warned he would not accept "extreme" Republican demands but said he remained optimistic. "I still believe we'll be able to avoid a default and we'll get something decent done," he told reporters at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. With the Treasury Department warning that the US government could run out of money as early as June 1 -- triggering massive economic disruption in the

May 20, 2023

Yoon, Modi agree to strengthen defense cooperation

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to develop cooperation in the defense industry, and advanced technologies in digital, biohealth and space during a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of the G7 summit, according to the Korean presidential office on Saturday. On the second day of his visit to Japan, Yoon met Modi at a hotel in Hiroshima at around 10:30 a.m. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, whose nations commemorate the 50

May 20, 2023

S. Korean, Vietnamese leaders agree to expand trade, economic cooperation

The South Korean and Vietnamese leaders on Friday committed to expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as cooperation between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, the South Korean presidential office said Friday.

May 19, 2023

S. Korean, Australian leaders agree to further expand defense cooperation

South Korea's and Australia's leaders on Friday committed to stepping up defense and arms industry cooperation amid North Korea’s persisting provocations, the South Korean presidential office said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held an in-person bilateral summit from 5:30 p.m. local time on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Both sides agreed to "further expand defense and arms industry coop

May 19, 2023

Yoon harnesses G-7 debut to overcome past disputes with Japan

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is poised to make his debut at the Group of Seven summit, which has been largely overshadowed by Russia's grinding war on Ukraine and China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. But while these geopolitical challenges loom, Yoon has his own separate goal. The president seeks to use his visit to the city of Hiroshima as an opportunity to improve ties between South Korea and Japan, as well as display the two country's concerted efforts

May 19, 2023

Doors to Korean companies open in El Salvador, says vice minister

The doors for Korean businesses, investors and projects are open in El Salvador, according to Nelson Reyes, El Salvador's vice minister of transportation, referring to a recent infrastructure project deal won by two South Korean builders. South Korea's Dongbu Corp. has won a bid for the construction of the Los Chorros road project that would expand the Los Chorros highway and connect key regions of El Salvador. Dohwa Engineering also has won its bid for the supervision of the Los Chorr

May 18, 2023