US President Joe Biden is looking forward to his upcoming trip to Asia but the details of his proposed trip have yet to become available, a White House spokesperson said Wednesday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also declined to comment on Biden's possible visit to South Korea. "Not quite yet," said Psaki when asked if she could confirm Biden's upcoming trip to Asia, including a potential visit to South Korea. "I will tell you that, you know, of course, the president tal

As the recent US-China competition intensifies, the strategic significance of the Indo-Pacific region is also rising. In this situation, major countries are presenting new Indo-Pacific Strategies with the purpose of strengthening their respective political, economic, and military influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The US Biden administration has set its Indo-Pacific vision as its main diplomatic policy in order to maintain the US’ influence within Asia and to check China’s growin

The incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is considering expanding humanitarian aid to Ukraine, his spokesperson said Wednesday, after the country's president asked for weapons support. In a virtual address to South Korean lawmakers on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for military equipment support to help the country fight off Russia's invasion, though Seoul has already turned down a request for weapons. "We know that the current government has also exp

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's team has not received confirmation of details for a possible summit with US President Joe Biden, his spokesperson said Wednesday. A summit could take place in late May shortly after Yoon takes office if Biden stops in South Korea before or after a trip to Japan to attend a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting around May 24. "On the timing and schedule, I believe the relevant departments are holding consultations," Yoon's spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin said

South Korea plans to provide Ukraine with additional non-lethal aid worth 2 billion won ($1.6 million) this month to help the war-torn country, an informed source said Wednesday. Seoul is preparing to start sending to Ukraine such items as bulletproof vests, helmets, medical supplies and meals, ready-to-eat (MREs), as early as next week, according to the source. The new package has been arranged following South Korea's shipment last month of non-lethal military and medical supplies -- worth 1 bi

Biden reported to visit Korea after attending Quad summit in Japan on May 24

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's recent missile tests appear to be aimed at developing capabilities to evade US missile defense systems deployed in the region, a US congressional report suggested. The Congressional Research Service (CRS), however, said the actual capabilities of North Korean missiles remain uncertain in the report released Friday. "The recent advances in North Korea's ballistic missile test program appear to be directed at developing capabilities to defeat or degrade the effecti

Ukrainian president asks Seoul to reconsider stance against arms support

PARIS (AP) -- Incumbent Emmanuel Macron will face far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen in a winner-takes-all runoff for the French presidency, after they both advanced Sunday in the first round of voting in the country's election to set up another head-to-head clash of their sharply opposing visions for France. But while Macron won t heir last contest in 2017 by a landslide to become France's youngest-ever president, the same outcome this time is far from guaranteed. Macron, now 44, emerged ahead

South Korea's top diplomat told NATO members that Seoul plans to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid worth a total of $40 million and will consider an additional package. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong was attending a foreign ministerial session of NATO members and four Asia-Pacific partners in Brussels Thursday (local time), according to his ministry. He became the first South Korean foreign minister to be present at such a high-profile NATO meeting. During the session, Chung made public his

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol will seek to hold summit talks with US President Joe Biden at an early date, the head of Yoon's delegation said Thursday, adding the Biden administration also understands the need for an early meeting between them. Rep. Park Jin of the People Power Party said the exact date and other details of a Yoon-Biden summit will be discussed through diplomatic channels. Yoon is set to take office May 10. "Every person we have met in the U

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's recent missile provocations and statement from leader Kim Jong-un's sister about the possible use of nuclear weapons are highly "choreographed" tactics to create an acquiescent South Korea, a US intelligence official said Thursday. Sydney Seiler, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council, also said the North uses US-South Korea joint military drills as a pretext for its provocations while it continues to conduct much

WASHINGTON -- The United States and its allies must resolutely pursue a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of North Korea, the nominee for US ambassador to South Korea said Thursday. Philip Goldberg also said North Korea may stage additional provocations amid suspicions that Pyongyang may be preparing to conduct a nuclear test. "Comprehensive, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization -- those are difficult goals, but they fit very well with our non-proliferation

South Korea and China can overcome their differences over the former's hosting of a US THAAD anti-missile system, Beijing's top envoy here said Thursday, noting the thorny issue has hurt public sentiment in both countries. Amb. Xing Haiming made the remarks during a forum amid concerns the THAAD issue could resurface as a thorn in bilateral ties, as South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol advocated for the deployment of additional THAAD units during his campaign. "As bilateral ties hav

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Thursday it has started providing real-time information on hacking attempts to the country's major cryptocurrency exchanges amid growing cyberthreats. The country's major crypto exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone -- now have access to the agency's information on online security threats, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the hacking attempts, according to the National Intelligence Service. It stressed the importance of tackli