South Korea established its first diplomatic mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium, after it received an official acceptance from the North Atlantic Council. The North Atlantic Council said Tuesday that the allies agreed to accept Seoul’s request to designate its embassy to Belgium as the country’s diplomatic mission to NATO. According to the council, the NATO allies agreed to "strengthen dialogue and cooperation with new and existing partners in the Indo-Pacific to tackle cross

Foreign Affairs Sept. 28, 2022

World Wide Web Consortium Director Tim Berners-Lee won this year’s Seoul Peace Prize for his work promoting data sovereignty and leading the movement to “decentralize” the web dominated by tech giants. The Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation, headed by Yeom Jae-ho, made the announcement on Wednesday. According to the foundation, a selection committee consisting of eight members conducted a rigorous, objective and in-depth selection among many leader figures around the world

Foreign Affairs Sept. 28, 2022

The South Korean delegation led by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attended the state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Tuesday. Before the funeral, Han met with US Vice President Kamala Harris, who was also visiting the country for the occasion. About 4,300 were to attend the ceremony that kicked off at 2:00 p.m. at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, with at least 48 current or former government officials, including the US vice president. Before the funeral, Han met

Foreign Affairs Sept. 27, 2022

A number of top-level discussions on alliance, security and the economy are expected to take place this week, as top officials, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, are set to visit Seoul. The meetings will be follow-ups to the talks South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had with world leaders during his seven-day trip to Britain, the US and Canada last week. Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Monday that Prime Minister Han Duk-soo will be traveling to Japan on Tuesday to

Foreign Affairs Sept. 26, 2022

North Korea fired one short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Sunday, two days after a US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived here for a joint exercise. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday that Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile from Taechon in North Pyongan Province at 06:53 a.m. The missile traveled about 600 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of 60 km, the JCS confirmed. The launch of the ballistic missile comes in an apparen

Foreign Affairs Sept. 25, 2022

With the first meeting of the US-led “Chip 4” semiconductor alliance expected to take place before the end of this month, China appears to be closely monitoring its proceedings. The preliminary meeting involving the US, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan is reportedly expected to take place early next week. In response, the Chinese ambassador to Korea met with a Korean lawmaker on Tuesday to reiterate Beijing’s opposition. At the first Chip 4 meeting, working-level officials of the

Foreign Affairs Sept. 22, 2022

Washington said it is reviewing "all possible measures" to address Seoul's concerns regarding the US' Inflation Reduction Act hurting Korean electric vehicle makers, and reaffirmed that it will maintain an open channel for communication, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. On Tuesday (US time), South Korean Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon met with Jose Fernandez, the under secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the US State Department to disc

Foreign Affairs Sept. 21, 2022

Foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed to work together to resolve historic disputes in a bilateral meeting in New York, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday. In their meeting held for some 50 minutes, the two ministers agreed to continue to strengthen bilateral, and also trilateral cooperation wit

Foreign Affairs Sept. 20, 2022

China’s top legislator made an unprecedented visit to Seoul last week, where they confirmed their differences on South Korea’s deployment of the US-made missile defense system that Beijing opposes. Li Zhanshu, Beijing’s third-highest-ranking official and chief of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, made an unprecedented two-day trip to Seoul from Thursday, as South Korea has embarked on work to normalize operations of the Terminal High Altitude Area

Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2022

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- The escalating strategic competition between the United States and China is posing "life-or-death" challenges to countries around the world. In order to prevent complete disengagement of the two countries and to stop the world from splitting into two spheres of technology and economy, it is crucial for the US and China to cooperate on the important issue of climate change, experts said at a forum on Jeju Island on Friday. Speaking at a session dubbed, "Th

Foreign Affairs Sept. 16, 2022

JEJU CITY -- A former South Korean ambassador to Japan said Korea should "freeze" the liquidation process of Japanese firms accused of using forced labor in the early part of the 20th century to mend ties with Japan, as the country's top court continues deliberating on a critical ruling in the case. Seoul should also legislate any final settlement made over the issue with Japan to put an end to the dispute once and for all, Shin Kak-soo, who served as ambassador to Japan from 2011-13

Foreign Affairs Sept. 15, 2022

The 17th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity kicked off in Jeju on Wednesday to address and explore ways to tackle major global challenges such as the intensifying US-China rivalry, the Ukraine crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Under the theme, “Beyond Conflict, Towards Peace: Coexistence and Cooperation,” the three-day forum has invited world-class leaders, government officials and experts of various sectors to the International Convention Center Jeju to share insig

Foreign Affairs Sept. 14, 2022

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights appointed an Australian labor expert as the new head of the Seoul office, filling in the post that has been vacant for the past two years, according to a media report Wednesday. The office of the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General confirmed that James Heenan, the head of the OHCHR Office in Palestine, has been tapped as the new chief of the Seoul office, the Voice of America reported. “The head of the office is Jam

Foreign Affairs Sept. 14, 2022

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will go on a seven-day trip visiting Britain, Canada and the US, where he will attend major international events including the British monarch's funeral, the presidential office said Monday. With his departure planned on Sept. 18, Yoon will first attend Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral that is slated to take place in London on Sept. 19, according to Kim Sun-han of the national security office. Joining other world leaders, Yoon will pay tribute to

Foreign Affairs Sept. 12, 2022

South Korea and 13 other member countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework kicked off negotiations for the US-led initiative to boost regional economic cooperation, prompting China to again question their intentions. Minister-level officials of the 14 countries attended the first in-person meeting of the IPEF held for two days from Thursday in Los Angeles. There, they agreed to start formal discussions to work out details of the four main focus areas, or “pillars” of the initi

Foreign Affairs Sept. 12, 2022