Israel has agreed to four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in the fighting in northern Gaza to bring humanitarian aid in, get civilians out of harm's way and facilitate the release of hostages, a White House official said Thursday. John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, made the announcement that the pauses would begin Thursday -- a move that he said followed an "awful lot of engagement," including a series of talks between President Joe

Seoul's top diplomat says North Korea 'deserves more sanctions' should any indication of Hamas support be discovered

Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Nurgali Arystanov and South Chungcheong Province Gov. Kim Tae-heum showcased their expanding business and investment potential at the fourth edition of the Global Biz Forum hosted by The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Arystanov's presentation centered on Kazakhstan's active "multivector" foreign policy, its rising status as an investment destination and the significance of South Korea in the C5+Korea initiative launched in 2007. He highlighted South Kor

Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were set to hold talks Thursday on North Korea, alliance, regional and global issues, amid concerns over expanding military cooperation between the North and Russia. The talks come after revelations that the North provided Russia with a large amount of munitions and weapons for use in the war in Ukraine under an arms deal apparently reached at a rare September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President V

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, on a state visit to South Korea, and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. “Italy is a country that had helped us during the Korean War with medical support. … Together we share values like freedom, human rights and the rule of law. I look forward to strengthening exchanges in the future,” Yoon said at the meeting Wednesday. Rome was one of five countries that deployed

President Yoon Suk Yeol is slated to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the United States next week, to be followed by visits to the United Kingdom and France later in the month and the Netherlands in December, the presidential office said Wednesday. Yoon will visit San Francisco from Nov. 15-18 to attend the APEC summit, during which he will share South Korea’s stance on various global issues, Deputy National Security Director Kim Tae-hyo said in a press briefing. This

The United States will suspend the operation of its obligations under a late Cold War-era security treaty next month following Russia's withdrawal, a senior White House official said Tuesday. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the announcement as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization decided to suspend its obligations of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe aimed at limiting key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe. The suspension came as prospects

South Korea will open 10 new embassies overseas next year to provide manpower and resources increasingly needed to support its rising global profile, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday. Countries that will see the new Korean diplomatic missions are: Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Jamaica, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Zambia. Among the ten nations, Georgia and Jamaica will see their previous embassy-level offices promoted to official embassies. Seoul

Poland highlighted growing ties with Gyeonggi Province in Korea, marking the 105th anniversary of Polish independence on Monday. Poland reappeared on the world map after a 123-year absence and reestablished its independence on Nov. 18, 1918. The country celebrates Independence Day to commemorate the restoration of Poland's sovereignty in 1918. “Losing the statehood does not mean losing the identity — and this is the solid foundation of the power and will for life,” said Po

A Korea-Georgia free trade agreement would bring substantial benefits for Korea and Georgia, Genadi Arveladze, the Caucasus nation's deputy minister of economy and sustainable development, told The Korea Herald on Friday, as Georgia and Korea embarked on negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement. “The agreement would not only help expand trade and investment but also provide a comprehensive institutional framework for a wide range of bilateral cooperation,” Arveladze

A North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker of South Korea's ruling People Power Party called Monday for a UN human rights resolution to include a phrase stipulating China's responsibility for the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees. Rep. Tae Yong-ho made the remark during a meeting with South Korean correspondents in New York as discussions are under way to adopt an annual UN General Assembly resolution on the North's human rights situation. The discussions came after hundre

Turkmenistan hosts 16th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum

Foreign Minister Park Jin made a final pitch in France this week to win support for South Korea's bid to bring the 2030 World Expo to its southeastern city of Busan, his ministry said Saturday. During a visit to Paris on Thursday and Friday, Park held luncheons and dinners with the ambassadors of 12 nations likely to take part in the vote that will decide the host of the World Expo, as well as with representatives of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the body responsible for overse

South Korea and Thailand will soon hold consular talks to discuss recent complaints by Thai nationals of their allegedly unfair treatment by South Korean immigration services, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. The two sides agreed to hold the talks between the directors-general for consular affairs at their respective foreign ministries, after the complaints spread on social media, with the hashtag "ban Korea travel" trending on the platform X in Thailand. According to the p