US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump are bracing for this week's high-stakes election showdown, with various polls showing them in a tight margin-of-error race. Voters will go to polling stations nationwide on Tuesday to pick a new president. More than 75 million Americans had already cast an early ballot, data from the University of Florida showed. The number of eligible voters is estimated at about 244 million, according to the Bipartisa

The foreign ministry will host a group of foreign diplomats this week for a joint conference and other programs with the UN to brief them on South Korea's disarmament efforts and its North Korea policy, the ministry said Monday. The two-day South Korea-UN disarmament conference, running through Tuesday, will bring together 25 diplomats from Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East who are currently engaged in disarmament diplomacy, the ministry said in a release.

The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland, South Korea’s military said. North Korea on Thursday tested the newly developed Hwasong-19 ICBM, which flew higher and stayed in the air longer than any other missile it has fired. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called it “an appropriate military acti

The Korea Herald will co-host a forum on Nov. 13 to unpack the foreign policy, security, economic and trade implications of Donald Trump’s return to the White House for Seoul and the Korea-US alliance, while exploring strategic responses to tackle emerging challenges and seize new opportunities. The timely forum, titled "Alliance after US Election 2024: A Seoul Perspective," will be held at the National Assembly Museum in partnership with the Bipartisan Forum for Advanced Diplo

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Canada have called for the withdrawal of North Korean troops dispatched to aid Russia in its war against Ukraine, labeling the deployment "a grave escalation" of tension that threatens security in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. The call was made in a joint statement adopted during a "two plus two" meeting of the two countries' foreign and defense ministers in Ottawa on Friday (Canada time), Seoul's foreign minist

China’s silence on NK troop deployments draws US criticism at UNSC meeting

China confirmed Tuesday that it has detained a South Korean citizen on suspicion of violating the country's anti-espionage law, marking the first case where a South Korean national has been arrested in China since the revised law took effect last year. "A South Korean national was arrested by Chinese authorities on charges of espionage," Lin Jian, a spokesperson at China's foreign ministry, told a press briefing, without disclosing other details. He said China has notified th

Top diplomats of South Korea and the European Union will hold talks next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday, with discussions likely to cover North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, will meet in Seoul next Monday at the inaugural South Korea-EU strategic dialogue. The strategic dialogue platform was established following a bilateral summit held in May

Chang Ho-jin, foreign policy adviser to President Yoon Suk Yeol, has visited Australia to discuss cooperation in the security and defense industry, including Canberra's frigate project, the presidential office said Tuesday. Chang visited Australia from Monday to Tuesday for meetings with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Vice Minister of Defense Greg Moriarty to exchange opinions on regional security issues and Australia's military acquisition program. During the meetings, Cha

NK's top diplomat visits Moscow for strategic talks with troops edging closer to Ukraine

A Chinese delegation of mid-level provincial government officials is visiting South Korea this week as part of efforts to boost cooperation and exchanges between the two neighboring countries, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday. The delegation, made up of foreign affairs officials representing 16 provincial governments, including the Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Liaoning and Jiangsu provinces, will begin a five-day visit to Seoul and other regions Monday, the ministry said in a release.

1st 2+2 ministerial talks with US in over 3 years; inaugural meeting with Canada

Russia is using civilian-plated trucks to transport "mercenaries" from North Korea to frontline areas, Ukraine's military intelligence service reported, amid concerns that North Korean troops might join combat in Russia's war on Ukraine. On Sunday, Russian police reportedly stopped a truck with civilian license plates carrying North Korean military personnel on the Kursk-Voronezh highway, noting that the driver lacked a combat order, according to Ukraine's Defense Intell

S. Korean, US defense chiefs to meet in Washington; gov’t to brief NATO, EU this week

South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has met with the new Japanese finance chief, Katsunobu Kato, and discussed ways to strengthen economic ties between the two countries, his office said Friday. Choi held his first meeting with Kato in Washington, DC, on Thursday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to maintain close communication and make