The Defense Ministry promised more active communication with local residents regarding normalizing the THAAD anti-missile base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Col. Moon Hong-sik, deputy spokesperson of the Defense Ministry, said in a regular briefing, "We will sufficiently and actively communicate with local residents. Not only the Defense Ministry, but also the government should make effort to soothe the problem.” He stressed the importance of the Terminal High Altitu

Yoon talks with Lee over phone, but remains cautious on in-person meeting

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday asked the National Assembly for cooperation on a budget proposal of 639 trillion won ($473.5 billion) for next year that marks the slowest spending growth in six years. Han told a Cabinet meeting that the government "asks for active cooperation in the parliamentary deliberation process so that the direction of state administration and core values contained in the budget bill can be kept well." The main opposition Democratic Party holds a majority

South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday it has requested a 15.1 percent hike in its 2023 budget, compared with last year, for humanitarian cooperation with North Korea for the new government's "audacious initiative" revolving around plans to offer a set of bold economic incentives to Pyongyang in return for denuclearization steps. According to the ministry's budget proposal reported to the Cabinet, 751 billion won (US$558 million) -- a 15.1 percent increase from

The South Korean government announced a plan Tuesday for a 4.6 percent on-year increase in its defense budget for next year, with a focus on bolstering a key deterrence system to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The defense ministry has proposed a budget of 57.1 trillion won ($42.3 billion) for next year, up from this year's 54.6 trillion won. The government plans to submit it to the National Assembly on Friday for approval. Of the total, the ministry seeks to spend 1

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rebounded to over 115,000 Tuesday after declining for a few days, due largely to fewer tests, as the virus trend continues at a steady pace. The country reported 115,638 new COVID-19 infections, including 380 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 23,142,479, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally is a jump from the previous day's 43,142, but is in the range of 100,000-150,000 reported last week, e

WASHINGTON -- Recent satellite imagery suggest that work to repair North Korea's main nuclear test site in Punggye-ri may have been suspended due to flood damage, a US monitor said Monday. The satellite imagery, taken on Wednesday, showed no significant activities at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, according to Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "No significant activity is observed at Tunnel No. 3 of the Pungg

WASHINGTON -- The US missile defense system deployed in South Korea, THAAD, is a purely defensive system that is only designed to protect South Korea and its people against threats from North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, also insisted any call or demand from other countries to withdraw THAAD would be "inappropriate." "THAAD is a prudent and limited self defense capability designed to counter a D

WASHINGTON -- The US government has agreed to launch formal talks with South Korea on ways to minimize the adverse effects of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on South Korean electric vehicles, Seoul's ambassador to the US said Monday. Amb. Cho Tae-yong also said the US understands the reasons behind South Korea's concerns and that they are justified. "We have especially stressed that the discriminative measures against electric vehicles from South Korea, an ally

The Democratic Party of Korea’s new Chairman Lee Jae-myung began his first day on Monday by pledging to seek cooperation with the ruling party and the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to overcome pressing economic issues and to improve people’s livelihoods. But, he also noted that he will fight any attempts to hurt democracy. On Monday morning, Lee began his first day with a visit to Seoul National Cemetery to pay tribute to fallen patriots. He then held a meeting with high-level offi

South Korea’s advisory committee on infectious diseases, under the office of the prime minister, on Monday advised the government to lift COVID-19 testing regulations for inbound travelers. The committee’s announcement is fanning speculations that the government will lift the predeparture COVID-19 testing rule. The government’s decision is expected to be made this week. At present, all travelers to South Korea must submit the results of a polymerase chain reaction test tak

Party members call on Kweon to resign, suspended leader Lee warns of another legal action

Korean foreign minister visits Mongolia for first time in 8 years for bilateral meetings

The South Korean government is sending a delegation of negotiators to Washington to discuss the US Inflation Reduction Act, which excludes electric vehicles built outside of North America from tax benefits, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. The move comes as the US inflation law signed last week sparked concerns among EV makers, as it would get rid of tax subsidies given to EVs assembled in Korea. The act, signed into law by US President Joe Biden last week, also requires the batteri

It has been 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and South Korea. Our countries are time-tested reliable strategic partners. As a result of high-level dialogue and joint aspirations, cooperation between our countries has been steadily developing in all directions. The state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to South Korea on Dec. 16-18, 2021 raised the relations to a qualitatively new level. This historic visit has la