South Korea and the US on Tuesday staged combined air drills involving the Korean F-35A and F-15K fighters as well as the US B-52 bombers and F-22 fighters, the first time such an alliance of warplanes tested their readiness, in a clear response to North Korea’s increasingly hawkish rhetoric amid its uninterrupted missile tests. Hours ahead of the exercises, the North warned that it would take real steps to strongly disapprove of Japan’s turnaround last week from post-World War II pa

North Korea Dec. 20, 2022

The South Korean military on Monday stood by its earlier assessment that North Korea on the previous day tested ballistic missiles, not space rockets -- a launch Pyongyang claims to have taken place as part of its “final push” to develop a spy satellite. “Our joint assessment about the Sunday test that North Koreans had fired two medium-range ballistic missiles remains unchanged,” a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said at a briefing, referring to K

North Korea Dec. 19, 2022

North Korea tested what it called a high-thrust solid-fuel engine Thursday -- the latest move by the isolated country to ramp up its campaign to build better missiles and nuclear weapons while rejecting all efforts for peace deals. The test, made public Friday by the state-run Korea Central News Agency, was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, who KCNA said “encouraged missile researchers for another new weapon.” The test took place at the country’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground,

North Korea Dec. 16, 2022

The International Atomic Energy Agency can provide a platform to help bring North Korea back to nuclear talks because resuming dialogue is “indispensable,” UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Friday, hours before finishing his three-day trip to Seoul. “I am also persuaded that the IAEA can play a constructive role in this regard. Of course, it’s in the hands of the Republic of Korea, and of course, naturally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as well

Foreign Affairs Dec. 16, 2022

Foreign Minister Park Jin and UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi met in Seoul on late Thursday afternoon to discuss ways of putting checks on North Korea’s nuclear buildup and to work together on Japan’s decision to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant. The three-day trip by the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency that started Wednesday is the latest highlight of Seoul’s efforts to muster international support to deal with

Foreign Affairs Dec. 15, 2022

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will discuss North Korea, among other issues, during his three-day trip to South Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The trip, which started Wednesday after a five-year hiatus, comes as South Korea looks for a more coordinated international response to North Korea’s provocations. This year, Pyongyang has conducted a record number of missile launches, prompting not only Seoul, but the international community to step up efforts to rein in the i

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2022

The Veterans Ministry on Wednesday revealed 34 independence fighters who led military as well as diplomatic campaigns against Japan during its 1910-45 colonial occupation of Korea -- a list that includes the Korean-born US soldier who inspired “Mr. Sunshine,” a hit drama series that aired on tvN in 2018. The list -- made public monthly since 1992 to raise awareness of independence efforts -- includes all the freedom fighters to honor for each month of next year, according to the Mini

Defense Dec. 14, 2022

China urged South Korea to join its rally against the US -- Korea’s biggest ally -- calling it a “rule breaker” in what many see as the lingering discord that is likely to hamper Seoul’s efforts to use Beijing’s support to resume the US-led nuclear talks on North Korea. During a video conference held Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Korea counterpart that the US Inflation Reduction Act, which offers subsidies for electric vehicles made there, violat

Foreign Affairs Dec. 13, 2022

South Korea asked China to step up efforts to bring North Korea back to denuclearization talks at a videoconference Monday held between their respective foreign ministers, as the two countries seek to better ties that have been strained by their divergent views on Pyongyang and the escalating US-China rivalry. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin told his counterpart Wang Yi that North Korea’s return to dialogue is in their “shared interest,” urging Beijing to actively back S

Foreign Affairs Dec. 12, 2022

The presidential office expanded the press section of its official website Sunday, the latest move by President Yoon Suk-yeol to directly address the public amid a spat over penalizing a major broadcaster for delivering “malicious” and “fake” news. Late last month, Yoon’s office suspended daily media briefings -- the hallmark of his “open presidency” -- three days after an MBC reporter shouted a question to Yoon demanding the president elaborate on &ldqu

Politics Dec. 11, 2022

North Korea is ramping up its propaganda campaign to increase popular support for the country’s pursuit of a “socialist utopia,” a self-sufficient economy that its leader Kim Jong-un says will be delivered despite international sanctions placed over his nuclear weapons program. The isolated country has suffered tougher sanctions from the United Nations and United States since January 2016, when it carried out a nuclear test. In 2017 and 2018, the economy contracted 3.5 and 4.1

North Korea Dec. 11, 2022

South Korean authorities warned businesses against inadvertently hiring IT staff from North Korea who mask their true identities and take advantage of remote opportunities to skirt international sanctions and earn cash, which is used to bankroll the isolated country’s nuclear and missile programs. “These workers are making millions of dollars annually for the work they do for global IT companies. … And by the day, the money they bring in is making up a bigger part of the dolla

North Korea Dec. 8, 2022

Health experts in Asia -- regulatory officials, practitioners and consultants -- discussed how the lessons learned from the COVID-19 could help them to coordinate a more effective response to fight off pandemics to come, at a forum held in Seoul on Wednesday. Keynote speaker Tore Godal -- founding chief executive of Gavi, a global vaccine alliance that works on increasing access to immunization in poor countries -- kicked off the annual Vaccine Cooperation Forum in the Indo-Pacific Region, cohos

Foreign Affairs Dec. 7, 2022

South Korea and Japan need to step up efforts to advance their ties to better counter growing missile threats from North Korea, according to the top envoys from Seoul and Tokyo. The two Asian neighbors are still locked in longtime historical disputes, the latest of which involves compensating Koreans forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. The unprecedented frequency of Pyongyang’s missile launches this year, however, are forcing Seoul and Tokyo to put their differences

Foreign Affairs Dec. 6, 2022

South Korea -- the biggest investor in the Vietnamese economy -- is well positioned to provide key support for Hanoi to be part of global supply chains, Vietnam’s foreign minister said Monday. “Vietnam welcomes and encourages Korean firms to make new investments or expand existing ventures in Vietnam … We look forward to receiving the Republic of Korea’s assistance to be part of the global value chains of Korean corporation,” the minister, Bui Thanh Son, told The K

Foreign Affairs Dec. 5, 2022