North Korea did not answer the daily routine calls South Korea makes using its military and nonmilitary hotlines -- another sign that inter-Korean tensions have been escalating quickly as the North accuses the South and its biggest ally, the US, of ramping up tensions with their annual military drills. The Unification Ministry in Seoul, which handles the nonmilitary lines, confirmed Friday that Pyongyang had not picked up the calls, made once each in the morning and afternoon, saying assessment

North Korea April 7, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol reshuffled senior security officials Friday, bringing in the current ambassador to Russia to replace the Foreign Ministry’s first vice minister and sending the current first vice foreign minister to the US as head of mission. The move to reallocate key security roles ahead of Yoon’s state visit to the US in late April is the latest fallout from the discord within the administration over deciding on a to-do list at the summit. Last week, Yoon essentially fired

Foreign Affairs April 7, 2023

The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, the US and Japan called on the international community and countries employing North Korean workers to help repatriate them as per United Nations Security Council resolutions preventing their overseas income from bankrolling the North’s nuclear and missile programs. At a regular meeting held in person in Seoul on Friday, South Korean chief nuclear negotiator Kim Gunn, his US counterpart Sung Kim and Japanese counterpart Takehiro Funakoshi undersco

North Korea April 7, 2023

North Korea had sought to undermine the US-led United Nations Command and joint military exercises between US and South Korea, the two biggest deterrents preventing the North’s potential attacks, amid efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to the latest diplomatic cables released Thursday. The declassified papers made public by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul to update the public on events dating to 30 years ago showed the North had asked US allies and partners to remove their

North Korea April 6, 2023

The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, the US and Japan will discuss North Korea on Friday at a regular in-person meeting to adjust their policy on denuclearization, amid the North’s repeated rejection of peace efforts by the three-way coalition. The gathering in Seoul, usually held every three months on a rotational basis from Tokyo to Jakarta, is expected to present a more united front as Pyongyang continues to threaten to use nuclear weapons as long as South Korea and its biggest al

North Korea April 4, 2023

North Korea reiterated Sunday that it was serious about its warning that it would use nuclear weapons against South Korea if its annual military exercises with the US continued, calling them “provocations” warranting countermeasures. In a dispatch by the North’s official Rodong Sinmun, North Korea blamed higher inter-Korean tension on an “obsession with war” that is now close to a climax as the two allies stage their largest amphibious landing drills in years. The

North Korea April 2, 2023

Corruption erodes freedom, putting democracy at greater risk, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday, at a meeting South Korea co-hosted to bolster ties among global democracies against authoritarian rule. The speech -- given in person on the second day of the Summit for Democracy, a two-day US-led gathering that started Wednesday with a videoconference of world leaders -- marks South Korea’s latest push to rally behind US efforts to regroup democracies in the Indo-Pacific region against a

Politics March 30, 2023

Joint efforts by South Korea and the US for North Korea’s denuclearization have been disrupted in part by China and Russia -- the North’s supporters who “wrongly blame” the South and the US for little headway, according to South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations. At a press briefing Wednesday held on the sidelines of an annual meeting meant to update the foreign minister on the latest issues, Hwang Joon-kook, the envoy, said Seoul has to fight back against th

Foreign Affairs March 29, 2023

South Korea on Tuesday called in Japan’s deputy chief of mission in Seoul over textbook revisions stating that Japan did not force Koreans to provide labor during its 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula and that the Dokdo islets controlled by Seoul belong to Tokyo. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul summoned Naoki Kumagai, the deputy chief at the Japanese Embassy, and formally lodged a complaint about the textbook changes affecting students entering elementary school in April 2024, sayin

Foreign Affairs March 28, 2023

For the first time, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un revealed his country’s nuclear warhead in person alongside a system meant to manage such operations, saying the regime needs an “exponentially bigger” nuclear arsenal amid potential preparations for a nuclear test. The North’s official Korea Central News Agency said Tuesday that on the previous day, Kim inspected new tactical nuclear weapons as well as technologies needed to make compatible all weaponry, including nuclea

North Korea March 28, 2023

Japan is moving toward accepting South Korea as a partner that Tokyo can work with following Seoul’s decision to put behind their historical dispute, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said Monday in an annual meeting meant to update the foreign minister on the latest issues. The ambassador was referring to a March 6 decision that essentially skips Japan’s official apology for and direct compensation to Korean victims forced to work for Japanese companies during Japan&rsquo

Foreign Affairs March 27, 2023

Foreign Minister Park Jin said Monday diplomatic missions will be key in pushing for exports as South Korea looks for greater economic might amid rising US-China geopolitical tensions. At an in-person meeting in Seoul with 166 mission chiefs, the first in five years over COVID-19 travel curbs, the top South Korean diplomat called safeguarding economic interests a matter of “security.” “What’s more important than efficiency is reliability and stability. Seeking a united fr

Foreign Affairs March 27, 2023

North Korea tested a new underwater drone capable of nuclear attacks on South Korea and its biggest ally, the United States, in its latest drills in response to the two allies’ resumption of their annual military exercises this month after a five-year hiatus failed to bring the North back to nuclear talks. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Friday that leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the three-day drills that began Tuesday, which Kim said should make Seoul and Washingto

North Korea March 24, 2023

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration is preparing for joint forums and military exercises starting next month to commemorate 70 years of relations with the US, as South Korea looks to cement ties with its biggest ally to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats and a more assertive China. Seoul-Washington ties date back to October 1953, when they signed a mutual defense treaty following the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas are still technically at war, having signed a cease-fire bu

Foreign Affairs March 22, 2023

South Korea on Tuesday revealed fresh sanctions banning items linked to North Korea’s satellite development, pushing for tighter curbs on its nuclear and missile programs amid the isolated country’s search for better “nuclear counterattack capabilities.” The Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced a watchlist of 77 items -- including antennas, optical devices, solar panels and camera power supplies -- to prevent Pyongyang from importing such materials either directly or ind

North Korea March 21, 2023