Trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States is reaching unprecedented levels thanks to the leadership of South Korean and Japanese leaders, a senior US administration official said Friday, calling it a "huge innovation" that helps promote peace and stability in the region. Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, noted the three countries are also seeking to institutionalize their defense cooperation. "I think ... ar

The veterans ministry said Friday a large group of foreign Korean War veterans and their family members will visit South Korea next week under a program aimed at commemorating their service during the 1950-53 conflict. Some 200 people from 21 countries, which sent troops or other forms of support to South Korea during the war, will be here from Monday through Saturday, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted the conflict, according to the ministry. Among them are 64

The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Japan on Thursday and strongly condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, delivered the message at a trilateral meeting in Karuizawa, a day after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles

Turkish Embassy in Seoul solemnly observed 'Democracy and Unity Day' on Saturday, marking respect for the victims of the infamous coup attempt that took place in Turkey in 2016. The annual commemoration, held on July 15, serves to honor the sacrifices made by the Turkish people during that tumultuous period and serves as a stark reminder of the grave consequences of the coup attempt, as the Turkish Embassy in Seoul stated in a press release. According to the Turkish Embassy, the Fetull

President Yoon Suk Yeol was seen bolstering a push to insert South Korea into a tighter coalition of Western countries decrying Moscow for its war in Ukraine during a surprise trip to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv last week, following his participation in the NATO summit and visit to Poland. The tour Saturday that covered the towns of Bucha and Irpin outside Kyiv, the alleged sites of Russian massacres, included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- the culmination of Yoon&rsq

South Korea and China should use this year’s three-way summit with Japan as momentum to reshape their somewhat rocky ties, experts said Sunday following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, Asia’s biggest security gathering attended by foreign ministers in the region. Talks held on the sidelines of the two-day forum that ended Friday between South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, came at a time when Seoul and Beijing were

His trip centers on participation in Ukraine’s reconstruction

WARSAW, Poland -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged increased military aid as well as humanitarian support to Ukraine, a nation ravaged by war, during his surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday. Yoon had a 65-minute private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss pending issues between the two countries and a 45-minute extended meeting with key officials from both governments. At a joint press conference held following the summit, Yoon vowed to increase Korea&rsquo

WARSAW, Poland -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee are in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a highly secretive visit made after the Korean president's official visit to Poland, the presidential office said Saturday. The couple arrived in Kyiv on Saturday morning, and traveled to Bucha, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv where Russian troops carried out atrocities early on in the war. He also visited nearby Irpin, where civilian areas were subjected to c

WARSAW, Poland -- South Korean and Polish businesses formalized 33 memorandums of understanding across the high-tech, energy and service industries during a business forum held in Poland's capital Warsaw on Friday. The deal was reached in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who also committed to bolstering the private sector's involvement in Ukraine's post-conflict reconstruction efforts. The South Korean and Polish firm's 33 deals include 11 within high-t

South Korea announced another round of unilateral sanctions on North Korea including on the high-profile director of the army politburo, shortly after a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea's illicit launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile ended without producing collective agreement to condemn it. The Yoon Suk Yeol government on Friday imposed new financial sanctions on four North Korean individuals and three entities in response to North Korea's firing of the

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan are scheduled to hold three-way talks Friday to discuss ways to deal with North Korea's evolving threats highlighted by this week's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US and Japanese counterparts, Antony Blinken and Yoshimasa Hayashi, respectively, were visiting Jakarta to attend annual regional meetings led by the A

Defense officials of South Korea and the United States have agreed to reinforce joint efforts to address threats from North Korea's nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction during their talks in Washington, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday. Kim Sung-koo, deputy chief of the ministry's policy planning bureau, and Richard C. Johnson, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and countering WMD Policy, led the Counter WMD Committee session on Wednesday and Thursda

WASHINGTON -- The United States and 12 other members of the United Nations Security Council unsuccessfully sought to hold North Korea accountable for its recent long-range missile test Thursday due to opposition from China and Russia. North Korea, making its first appearance at a UNSC meeting since 2017, also rejected international condemnation of its missile launch, insisting that it was a legitimate test that had no effect on the security of any neighboring nation. Thursday's UNSC meeting

WARSAW, Poland -- South Korea will offer comprehensive support from both the public and private sectors for Ukraine reconstruction projects valued at $52 billion, according to the presidential office. "Ukraine has requested the involvement of Korean companies in approximately 5,000 construction projects, estimated at $20 billion, through an intergovernmental cooperation channel in May," said Choi Sang-mok, economic secretary for President Yoon. According to Choi, the government will b