South Korea is considering boosting assistance to Ukraine, Seoul's top trade official said Wednesday, as Western countries provided weapons and other support to help Ukraine defend against the Russian invasion. South Korea has provided $40 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, 65 non-lethal military items and various support for Ukraine refugees. "We are considering continuing to expand assistance to Ukraine," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said during a virtual meeting with tra

The United States plans to boost its deterrence against China and North Korea, partly by increasing its "prepositioned stocks" of military supplies in the Indo-Pacific, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Monday. The US defense chief also said the defense department plans to spend some $6 billion in fiscal year 2023 to boost its deterrence posture in the Indo-Pacific. "So this budget invests some six billion dollars in the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and in keeping with o

S.Korea envoy calls for China to play a ‘constructive role’ in bringing N.Korea back to dialogue table

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and China met in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss security situations on the Korean Peninsula amid concerns about North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. Liu Xiaoming, Beijing's special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs, was on his first visit to Seoul since assuming the post in April 2021 at a time of heightened tensions over Pyongyang's recent spate of missile launches and reported signs of preparations for another nuclear test. In his fir

WASHINGTON -- The US-South Korea alliance is an incredibly important relationship that is vital to many issues in the region and around the world, a White House spokesperson said Monday of reasons for President Joe Biden's planned trip to Seoul. Jen Psaki also noted North Korea will be a "prominent part" of the agenda for Biden's upcoming trip that will also take him to Japan. "I would note that we have an incredibly important, vital relationship with South Korea. We work on a ran

WASHINGTON -- The United States is continuing to closely monitor North Korea for signs of additional provocations while sharing such intelligence with South Korea, a US Department of Defense spokesperson said Monday. John Kirby said the US is also always looking for ways to get better information about the reclusive country. US Indo-Pacific Command was ordered to intensify its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) collection activities in waters near the Korean Peninsula in early M

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- A long-awaited evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was under way Sunday, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed that she visited Ukraine's president to show unflinching American support for the country's defense against Russia's invasion. Video posted online by Ukrainian forces showed elderly women and mothers with small children bundled in winter clothing being helped as they climbed a steep pile of debris from the sp

South Korea and Norway kicked off annual three-day talks on defense industry cooperation in Seoul on Monday, the state arms procurement agency here said, as Seoul seeks to support local companies' efforts to tap into the European country's market. The two sides began the ninth session of their joint committee on arms industry cooperation, with their agenda including South Korea's bid to export K-2 tanks to Norway, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Kim Saeng, chi

South Korea's top envoy to Ukraine and some other embassy staff have returned to Kyiv to restart operations there, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. South Korean embassy officials had evacuated from the capital and worked at a temporary office in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi since March following Russia's invasion of the country. Amb. Kim Hyung-tae and some embassy staff have returned to Kyiv in preparation for work there starting Monday (Ukraine time), the ministry said, adding it is c

China's top nuclear envoy on Sunday arrived in Seoul for talks with his South Korean counterpart, amid lingering tensions caused by North Korean missile launches and hardening rhetoric. Liu Xiaoming, special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs, told reporters that he will meet officials of the incumbent and incoming Korean governments to discuss "political solutions" for Korean peninsula issues. Touching on pending issues related to North Korea, the envoy said that said tha

The World Forestry Congress, the world‘s largest gathering of foresters, kicked off its five-day run in Seoul on Monday. The 15th edition of the WFC will be running from Monday through Friday at Coex in Gangnam. The WFC is the most influential global forestry gathering, held every six years under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It’s the first time the WFC has been held in South Korea, and it is also the first time in 44 years that the

South Korea should actively participate in global efforts to maintain peace and stability in South China Sea

South Korea's incoming administration will strive to establish a system for the two Koreas and the United States to have dialogue anytime through a liaison office at the truce village of Panmunjom or Washington, D.C., the nominee to become Seoul's top diplomat said Saturday. In a written report to lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearing, Park Jin pointed out that the three nations are "core parties concerned" with Korean Peninsula security issues. Setting up such a liaison offi

South Korea will reopen its embassy in Kyiv shortly amid stabilizing situations in the Ukrainian capital, the foreign ministry said Friday. South Korean embassy officials were evacuated from Kyiv in mid-February and operated temporary offices in the Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Chernivtsi, and Romania. The Lviv mission was closed on March 18. The ministry said embassy officials will return to Kyiv for smoother cooperation with the Ukrainian government and the protection of South Korean nationa

Foreign Minister nominee Park Jin affirmed his commitment Friday to revitalizing high-level "strategic communication" with China, including through reciprocal visits by South Korean and Chinese leaders. Park made the remarks in his written answers to lawmakers' questions ahead of his confirmation hearing scheduled for Monday, as the incoming administration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol faces a series of foreign policy challenges, including an intensifying Sino-US rivalry. "I