President Yoon Suk-yeol left for Cambodia on Friday on the first leg of a two-nation tour that will include his attendance at various summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20. In Phnom Penh, Yoon is scheduled to attend a South Korea-ASEAN summit, an ASEAN Plus Three summit and the East Asia Summit during a three-day stay, with other bilateral and multilateral meetings expected to take place on the sidelines. Yoon told reporters earlier he will hold a trila

South Korea's defense ministry on Friday reaffirmed its commitment not to provide Ukraine with lethal military support, responding to a news report that Seoul is working on a "confidential" arms deal with Washington on the exports of artillery shells for use by Ukraine in its war against Russia. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed US officials, the US plans to buy 100,000 rounds of 155mm artillery from South Korea for delivery to Ukraine. South Korean Defense

WASHINGTON -- The United States supports and is taking steps to help the people of North Korea despite differences with the North Korean regime, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price made the remark as he also called on Pyongyang to put its people before its own interests. "Even when we have profound differences with a particular regime, and that of course applies in the case of North Korea, we are always looking for ways that we can support the humanitarian needs of a pa

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain concerned about a potential North Korean nuclear test, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday, noting that Pyongyang may still decide to conduct a test. Sullivan also expressed concerns over additional North Korean missile tests. "We have been very transparent about out concern with North Korea that the DPRK would conduct its seventh nuclear test at some point in this broader timeframe, and by broader I mean we have been tal

South Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to deepen economic ties and boost business cooperation in various areas, including smart city, hydrogen and bio industries, Seoul's industry ministry said. Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and Saudi Arabia's Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih reached the consensus during their talks in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the talks, Lee proposed enhanced bilateral cooperation, as large-scale investment has

The new head of the U.N. human rights agency's office in South Korea on Thursday called on North Korea to use resources for improving its dire human rights situations instead of focusing on provocative acts, like missile launches. James Heenan, representative of the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, made the remarks during his introductory meeting with reporters here amid heightened tensions on the peninsula caused by a string of North Korea's missile provocations. The Office of the U

Suneung, the college entrance examination that is held once a year, is now just a week away. Across the country, people of all ages pay attention to the exam that takes place simultaneously everywhere here on the third Thursday of each November, as society puts great importance on college admission. Students go all out to achieve their best score on the test in belief that a good score could change their lives. Their families and friends bustle to help, pray and buy sweets for the students in th

The second prototype of South Korea’s first homegrown KF-21 fighter completes its inaugural test flight on Thursday morning at the base of South Korea’s Air Force 3rd Training Wing in the city of Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. The first prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter conducted its first test flight in July. South Korea’s Air Force and Korea Aerospace Industries aim to conduct around 2,200 test flights until 2026 with six KF-21 fighter prototypes. (Defense Acquisi

Kim Jin-tae, the province’s first conservative governor in 12 years, shares visions for change

Uzbekistan has a special significance among the global Turkic world, as it is one of the main countries of Central Asia. No issue in the region can be resolved without its participation. The first summit of the Organization of Turkic States will be held in Samarkand on Nov. 11. At the summit held in Istanbul last year, the Turkic Council was renamed the Organization of Turkic States. The members of the organization are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Hungary and

Eyes on how South Korea will position itself in the strategic region to navigate between US, China

The Korean government has pledged a major reform of police administration and the overall national safety system following the Itaewon Halloween tragedy. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday the reform plans would be released next month. "We will work on a pangovernmental disaster safety management system, major reform of police and crowd management measures by next month," Han said at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Han’s pledge co

President Yoon Suk-yeol said that he will hold a trilateral summit with leaders of the US and Japan on the sidelines of a multilateral summit on Sunday. While explaining his itinerary in Southeast Asia to the press during his regular morning briefing on Thursday, Yoon said the Korea-US-Japan summit has been confirmed. The meeting will be held during Yoon's first trip to Southeast Asia to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat issue. The trilateral meeting will be held in Cambodia on Sunday

South Korea's military on Thursday presented a bill to expand its nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threat response center to better counter evolving military threats from North Korea, according to officials. The bill calls for the reorganization and expansion of the center under the Joint Chiefs of Staff into a larger directorate-level body, the Defense Ministry said. The JCS has recommended the plan as part of efforts to better deter and respond to various threats, including those f

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he believes the people want to see a "scientific" and "compulsory" investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush, effectively dismissing the opposition's push for a parliamentary probe. The main opposition Democratic Party and two minor parties jointly submitted a request for a parliamentary probe into the tragedy Wednesday. The request is expected to be handled during a plenary parliamentary session scheduled for later Thursday. "