South Korea possesses the necessary technological capabilities to rapidly acquire nuclear weapons, potentially within a year, should it decide to pursue that path. However, South Korea has deliberately chosen to uphold its commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday.   Speaking at Harvard University’s Kennedy School in Boston, Yoon addressed growing public calls within South Korea for the country to pursue its own nuclear armament ami

Politics April 29, 2023

  WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held a meeting at the Pentagon on Thursday to underscore their robust alliance and the unwavering commitment of the United States in supporting South Korea's defense against North Korea's provocative actions. On his final day in Washington D.C., President Yoon visited the Pentagon before heading to Boston. He is set to deliver a speech at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on

Foreign Affairs April 28, 2023

WASHINGTON -- President Yoon Suk Yeol strongly condemned Russia’s attack against Ukraine and denounced North Korea’s persistent human rights violations and provocations during his address to a joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington. In a 45-minute address punctuated by frequent standing ovations -- the first to the US congress by a Korean president in 10 years -- Yoon called for solidarity among democratic nations. He received 56 ovations and 23 standing ovations from the l

Foreign Affairs April 28, 2023

  WASHINGTON -- Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden warned Kim Jong-un that a nuclear attack by North Korea against the US and South Korea will be responded to with a nuclear counterattack and that will result in the end of the reclusive regime. “A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partisans -- partners -- is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action," said Biden at a press conference held afte

Foreign Affairs April 27, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of South Korea and the United States adopted a declaration to strengthen extended deterrence against provocations from North Korea at their summit on Wednesday, in an agreement that formalized consultations with Seoul on the decision making process. Under the Washington Declaration, South Korea and the US will launch a nuclear consultation group as a new mechanism to focus on nuclear and strategic planning issues. It would facilitate "systematic operations" of inf

Foreign Affairs April 26, 2023

WASHINGTON -- American multinational tech company Corning said it would invest an additional $1.5 billion in South Korea over the next five years, according to the South Korean presidential office. The plan was announced by Corning CEO Wendell Weeks at the Korea-US business roundtable attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon's senior economy secretary Choi Sang-mok said. Corning has invested over $10 billion in South Korea over the past 50 years, which has contributed to the creation of th

Politics April 26, 2023

WASHINGTON -- President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to the United States, attended a ceremony Wednesday morning where six US high-tech companies announced a total of $1.9 billion in invesments, according to the presidential office. The six companies are Air Products, Plug Power, On Semiconductor, Greene Tweed, PureCycle Technologies and EMP Belstar, related to high-tech industries such as clean hydrogen, semiconductors and carbon neutrality. They will build production facilities in

Foreign Affairs April 26, 2023

WASHINGTON -- John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said Tuesday that South Korea and the United States would "coordinate" on their chip investments when asked of a Financial Times report that Washington requested Seoul not to fill any market gap created by a potential ban by Beijing on chips from US memory chipmaker. “What I can tell you is that the Biden administration and the Yoon administration quite frankly have worked together to ma

Politics April 26, 2023

WASHINGTON -- An additional document detailing extended deterrence measures will be unveiled following the summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, according to the South Korean presidential office. Yoon's senior press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, told reporters Monday evening in Washington that the upcoming document will specify a more advanced version of the extended deterrence strategy. Extended deterrence refers to the US' commitment

Politics April 25, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Netflix chief Ted Sarandos said his company will invest $2.5 billion in Korean content for next four years during a meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol, who arrived in Washington on Monday. President Yoon met Sarandos as his first official engagement in the US. The meeting was accompanied by the ministers of finance, culture and industry, as the Netflix management team, according to the presidential office. “The investment will be a significant opportunity for all Korean

Politics April 25, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday began his five-day state visit to the US to mark the 70th anniversary of bilateral ties and to set a new direction for the alliance with US President Joe Biden, amid intensifying nuclear threats from North Korea and mounting trade issues. The primary focus of the summit scheduled for Wednesday is on the level of bilateral agreement to be reached on extended deterrence as well as the extent of economic and security cooperation. This will be Yoon�

Foreign Affairs April 24, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol will make a five-day state visit to the United States from April 24 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden. During the visit, the two leaders are expected to strengthen their joint defense posture, discuss details of extended deterrence and further enhance economic and security cooperation. President Yoon's trip marks the first visit of a Korean president to the United States in 12 years, following the visit of former President Lee Myung-bak in 2011. The Whi

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2023

Victor Cha, a former senior adviser on North Korea for the George W. Bush administration, said North Korea could conduct a nuclear test ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's US visit next week to renew the allies' commitment to regional security. "When there is no diplomacy between the US and DPRK and we have military exercises (against the regime), North Korea does a lot of activities and a lot of negative activities," Cha, senior vice president and Korea chair at the Center

Foreign Affairs April 19, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol has made a firm commitment to eliminate unfair employment succession practices, condemning them as against the spirit of the Constitution and as depriving future generations of opportunities. The elimination of employment succession at industrial sites is considered one of the key tasks of labor reform for Yoon. The goal is in line with his broader efforts to strengthen transparency in union accounting and enforce strict measures against violent acts. During a livestreame

Politics April 18, 2023

Lim Jong-deuk, the second deputy director of the National Security Office, is set to attend the NATO Cyber Champions Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania from Monday, according to the presidential office. The meeting's purpose is to prepare for the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, which Lithuania will host in July, with a focus on expanding and strengthening global cooperation to combat advanced cybersecurity threats. In addition to NATO members, key partners from the Asia-Paci

Foreign Affairs April 17, 2023