South Korea and North Korea on Thursday marked the 70th anniversary of the cease-fire to the Korean War, a three-year conflict that left the Korean Peninsula divided, still with no formal peace treaty in sight, amid growing tension in the region. President Yoon Suk Yeol paid respects to soldiers who fought for the US-led United Nations Command in the 1950-53 war at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan, the only place in the world dedicated to fallen UN soldiers. The visit, the first for a sitting K

Politics July 27, 2023

The Tuesday reshuffle that put China’s top diplomat Wang Yi back in his old job as foreign minister, a post he had held for almost a decade since 2013, could reinforce South Korea’s push to improve ties with its largest neighbor, experts said Wednesday. According to China’s state media, former Foreign Minister Qin Gang was removed from the job, marking the shortest-ever tenure for the role. Qin assumed the position in December last year but disappeared from public view in June

Foreign Affairs July 26, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol was seen bolstering a push to insert South Korea into a tighter coalition of Western countries decrying Moscow for its war in Ukraine during a surprise trip to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv last week, following his participation in the NATO summit and visit to Poland. The tour Saturday that covered the towns of Bucha and Irpin outside Kyiv, the alleged sites of Russian massacres, included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- the culmination of Yoon&rsq

Foreign Affairs July 18, 2023

South Korea’s Cyber Operations Command will take part in an annual US-led virtual exercise throughout next week to boost readiness against threats in what is increasingly becoming a new battlefront for the military, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Monday. The Cyber Flag drill, running from Monday to Friday next week, is meant to bolster not only cybersecurity by simulating defense and sharing information, but ties among the participants led by the Five Eyes network -- an intelligenc

Defense July 17, 2023

South Korea and China should use this year’s three-way summit with Japan as momentum to reshape their somewhat rocky ties, experts said Sunday following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, Asia’s biggest security gathering attended by foreign ministers in the region. Talks held on the sidelines of the two-day forum that ended Friday between South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, came at a time when Seoul and Beijing were

Foreign Affairs July 16, 2023

For Kim Hyo-jung, a 31-year-old office worker in Seoul, who is one of many health-conscious consumers looking to avoid sugar and added calories at every turn, sugar-free drinks have long been a fact of life. “Who doesn’t know too much sugar is bad for you? I don't think I am being particularly picky because almost everyone around me (thinks) like me,” Kim said, adding that finding sugar-free soft drinks hasn’t been too hard. For some time, sugar-free or zero-sugar pr

Social Affairs July 15, 2023

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was reelected for a third term in a much expected landslide victory paving the way for another seven years of rule amid his push for reforms. The 65-year-old leader won with 87.1 percent of the vote on Sunday, according to preliminary results released by the Central Election Commission. The snap election took place following a constitutional change by referendum in April that reset his term count and extended terms from five to seve

Foreign Affairs July 13, 2023

  VILNIUS, Lithuania/SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol has requested from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to halt the discharge of wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant if radiation levels remain over the line even after filtering out radioactive elements. At their meeting held on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday, Yoon also asked his Japanese counterpart to share monitoring information over the discharge process in real time, and to allow Korean experts to

Politics July 12, 2023

Foreign Minister Park Jin will seek to rally allies and countries to step up efforts for North Korea’s denuclearization at the ASEAN Regional Forum, the biggest security gathering in the region set to be held from Thursday to Friday in Jakarta, Indonesia. Having repeatedly stressed a united coalition on the isolated country defying international sanctions prompted by its nuclear ambitions, the top South Korean diplomat will in particular double down on curbing the North’s illegal cyb

Foreign Affairs July 12, 2023

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was reelected for a third term with 87.1 percent of the vote on Sunday, the Central Election Commission said Monday, citing preliminary results. Mirziyoyev, who took office in 2016 upon his predecessor’s death and was on a second term of five years, called for an early election following a constitutional change by referendum in April that resets his term count and extends presidential terms to seven years. The 65-year-old lead

Foreign Affairs July 10, 2023

A third South Korean court on Wednesday refused to remit government money as compensation to the family members of Korean victims forced into labor during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, a process mandated by the March 6 settlement agreed by Korea and Japan. The March deal requires a state-run foundation to pay the 15 victims, not Japanese companies held liable by a 2018 Korean court ruling amid the firms’ opposition. Four victims -- two alive, two dead -- and their representatives ha

Foreign Affairs July 5, 2023

The South Korean government will soon disclose a safety assessment on wastewater to be discharged from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, officials in Seoul said Wednesday, noting it respects the latest safety evaluation by the International Atomic Energy Agency. A day earlier, the UN nuclear watchdog endorsed Japan’s plans to filter and discharge the water into the Pacific Ocean in stages, saying in a report that the release “would have a negligible radiological impact

Politics July 5, 2023

A South Korean court on Tuesday refused to remit government money as compensation to a Korean victim forced into during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. She contends that the compensation should come from the Japanese companies held liable for damages as per a 2018 Korean court ruling. Yang Geum-deok, 94, is one of the four victims that have refused such deposits mandated by the March 6 settlement, which relieves the Japanese firms from having to compensate the 15 victims and requires a Kore

Foreign Affairs July 4, 2023

The government is preparing to finalize the remaining payment owed to four South Korean victims of Japan’s 1910-45 forced labor who have refused to accept it because it is coming from a state-run fund and not the Japanese companies held liable, the Foreign Ministry said. Under the March 6 settlement, signed by the two countries’ leaders, Japanese companies held liable for damages by a 2018 Korean court ruling would not pay the 15 victims. A government foundation would instead make th

Foreign Affairs July 4, 2023

A 151-member South Korean disaster relief team has embarked on a 30-day mission Sunday to assist Canada in combating devastating wildfires that have ravaged the country. The team, which includes firefighters, first responders and personnel experienced in disaster response, will land in the province of Quebec to contain the country’s worst wildfire season since 1989. As of Sunday, wildfires had affected at least 8.8 million hectares of land. This marks the second time this year Korea has di

Foreign Affairs July 2, 2023