South Korean attorney Paek Kee-bong was elected as a judge of the International Criminal Court on Wednesday. He is the third Korean to be elected to the court. Paek will serve a nine-year term from 2024 to 2033 at the ICC headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Six new judges were elected, comprising one-third of the court's total of 18 judges, during the annual session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York. ICC judges play a

The leaders of the Group of Seven countries "strongly" condemned North Korea's recent spy satellite launch and its arms transfers to Russia on Wednesday, stressing the moves directly contravene UN Security Council resolutions. The leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan issued a statement on a range of global issues, including Russia's war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, after they met virtually. &quo

A US congresswoman renewed calls Wednesday for support to designate Nov. 22 as "Kimchi Day," named after a Korean traditional side dish, stressing that kimchi has now become a "culinary icon" reflective of South Korea's rising cultural influence. Rep. Young Kim, a Korean American lawmaker, made the call during a House session as she has submitted a resolution on the fermented dish with backing from more than a dozen other lawmakers. "I rise in support of Kimchi Day.

National security advisors of South Korea, the United States and Japan are expected to discuss a "robust" agenda of regional security issues and trilateral cooperation at their talks in Seoul this week, a White House official said Wednesday. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, made the remarks as South Korea's National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and his US and Japanese counterparts, Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba, respectively, are set to m

South Korea has requested the United Arab Emirates correct the faulty posting of North Korea's national flag as that of South Korea on the website of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. On the COP28's official website, an image of the North Korean flag had been put up above the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea, in a list of 38 countries that participated in the mutual recognition of certification sc

Korea and Japan held working-level diplomatic consultations Tuesday to discuss pending bilateral issues and ways to boost bilateral ties, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at South Korea's foreign ministry, met with her Japanese counterpart Hiroyuki Namazu to assess bilateral relations and exchange views on "issues of shared interest," the ministry said in a press release. The ministry didn't give details, but ther

Seoul believes NK's illegal currency activities burden diplomatic relations

South Korean and global security experts saw it unlikely for the growing competition between the United States and China to end soon, with some even predicting an armed conflict within the next five years, a report showed Tuesday. In the "2023 Near Global Survey Report of the World Order" released by the NEAR Foundation, an independent think tank specializing in Northeast Asia, 15 percent of the 42 experts surveyed believed a military clash between Beijing and Washington is likely to b

The US Department of State said Monday that South Korea is not the subject of UN Security Council sanctions, after North Korea accused the United States of having a "double standard" over space programs. Last month, the North launched a space rocket to put a military spy satellite into orbit, drawing international criticism that it violated multiple UNSC resolutions banning any launch using ballistic missile technology. South Korea also launched a military reconnaissance satellite from

The Venezuelan Embassy in Seoul held a press briefing in Seoul last week on the current government's position to a controversial referendum that occurred Sunday over whether the Venezuelan government could claim sovereignty over the disputed Essequibo territory. In the leadup to Sunday's referendum, the Venezuelan Embassy presented its view of the historical context to the territorial dispute and its "unwavering commitment to sovereign rights." Venezuela's current govern

Tajikistan Ambassador to Korea Salohiddin Kirom advocated for a strategic partnership between South Korea and Tajikistan in an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday. "Green Economy Development Strategy 2023-2037" strategy adopted by President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in 2022 with an estimated budget of $2.1 billion aims to enact regulatory reforms, optimize natural resource use, attract investments, introduce modern technologies, boost global collaboration in the green economy

South Korea and Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding on climate change cooperation as a follow-up step to the May summit of the two countries' leaders, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday. The MOU was signed by Kim Hyo-eun, South Korea's ambassador for climate change, and her Canadian counterpart, Catherine Stewart, on Sunday, on the sidelines of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the ministry said. The MOU calls for bolstering cooperation in exchanges of

What a recalcitrant North Korea respects is "strength" and "solidarity," a US think tank founder has said, noting he would advise former President Donald Trump to keep up trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Edwin Feulner, founder of the conservative Heritage Foundation, made the remarks as Trump seeks a second White House term. The think tank has led the development of "Project 2025," a presidential transition plan in the event o

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- People-to-people diplomacy between South Korea and Indonesia is playing a pivotal role in enhancing bilateral relations and will continue to do so in the coming years, according to experts. Deepening the relationship between the two nations further is no longer a matter of choice, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sang-deok said during a seminar commemorating the 50th anniversary of Korea-Indonesia diplomatic ties, held at the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta on Thursd

The United States on Friday released proposed guidance defining a "foreign entity of concern (FEOC)" in a move to clarify its rules meant to block tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) with battery components and critical minerals from China. The Treasury and Energy Departments announced the long-awaited rules of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as South Korean battery makers have stressed the need to clarify the FEOC requirements to address uncertainties in their overseas oper