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S. Korean, US diplomats agree on efforts for bilateral alliance, trilateral cooperation with Japan
Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed Friday to work together to strengthen their countries' alliance and trilateral cooperation with Japan during their talks in Washington, according to the South Korean Embassy in the US capital. South Korean Ambassador to the US Cho Hyun-dong met with new Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker at the State Department to discuss the bilateral alliance and a range of regional and global issues, the embassy said. Conf
June 21, 2025 -
Koreans evacuate Iran via Turkmen border
South Korean nationals and their Iranian family members have evacuated Iran and arrived in Turkmenistan amid ongoing trading air strikes between Iran and Israel, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Thursday. This marked the first time South Korean nationals have been evacuated from Iran since the Israel-Iran conflict was triggered by Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on June 13. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it organized the evacuation, with the group departing Tehran on Tuesday morning and trave
June 19, 2025 -
USFK cuts may signal weakened commitment: ex-US diplomat
Any “substantial adjustment” to the size of the US Forces Korea could be seen as a sign of Washington “reducing” its commitment to maintaining peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region, a former US senior diplomat said Thursday. "My worry will be that any substantial adjustment will be misinterpreted (or) will be interpreted as somehow the United States reducing its commitment to peace and stability, or raising questions about whether the US is somehow withdr
June 19, 2025 -
Prolonged Mideast conflict may negatively affect Korean exports to region: KOTRA
The ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran could negatively affect South Korea's exports to the Middle East should the crisis last for an extended period, a business assessment report showed Thursday. According to the report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the latest Middle East crisis has already triggered concerns over oil supply disruptions, with very large crude carrier freight rates rising more than 20 percent amid fears that oil prices could exceed $100 per barre
June 19, 2025 -
Iran's leader rejects call to surrender, saying US intervention would cause 'irreparable damage'
DUBAI (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday rejected US calls for surrender in the face of blistering Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage” to them, in an official statement read by a state TV anchor. The remarks from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has only been seen once since the strikes began, came after US President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender" in a social media post and warned Khamenei that the US knows
June 18, 2025 -
Why Putin’s top aide Shoigu keeps meeting Kim Jong-un
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russia’s top security official Sergei Shoigu agreed to step up Pyongyang’s military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine during their second meeting in about two weeks, North Korean state media reported Wednesday. However, the report made no mention of Shoigu’s separate disclosure that 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers would be sent to Russia’s war-torn Kursk region, where North Korean troops have already been deployed. Shoigu, Russian Presi
June 18, 2025 -
S. Korea urges nationals to immediately leave Iran, Israel
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday raised its travel advisory for Iran and Israel, urging its nationals to leave the countries immediately in response to ongoing missile strikes between Israel and Iran. Effective from 1 p.m. Tuesday, Seoul time, the updated travel alert expands the existing Level 3 advisory — which recommends departure — to cover all of Iran. Previously, the Level 3 alert, part of the four-tier travel advisory system in which Level 4 constitutes a travel ban, applied only
June 17, 2025 -
Lee-Trump talks called off due to US leader's early G7 exit
CALGARY, Canada — President Lee Jae Myung’s planned summit with US President Donald Trump will not proceed as scheduled Tuesday, the presidential office said Monday, following reports that Trump would depart Canada earlier than expected. "Trump has suddenly decided to return home, and we will be unable to proceed with the bilateral talks (on Tuesday) as planned," Wi Sung-lac, director of national security at the presidential office, told reporters Monday, local time. "These things happen often d
June 17, 2025 -
Lee discusses ways to bolster cooperation with Australia, South Africa
President Lee Jae-myung met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canada on Monday and agreed to bolster security cooperation to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and address North Korea's nuclear issue, the presidential office said. In their first in-person meeting in Calgary on the margins of the Group of Seven summit, the two leaders also pledged to work together for a successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea's Gyeongju later this year.
June 17, 2025 -
PM nominee stresses stronger Seoul-Tokyo ties in meeting with Japanese PM adviser
Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok on Monday expressed his hope for deepening relations between South Korea and Japan during a meeting with a high-ranking Japanese official. "This year is particularly meaningful for both countries as it marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. I hope the horizon of South Korea-Japan cooperation expands even further," Kim said. He made the remarks while meeting in Seoul with Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Japanese Prime Min
June 16, 2025 -
Lee calls on S. Korea, Japan to join hands for future ahead of 60th anniv. of ties
President Lee Jae-myung on Monday called for South Korea and Japan to join hands for a better future, casting the two neighbors as important partners bound to work together amid a rapidly changing global environment. Lee made the remark in a congratulatory video message at the start of an event hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which falls on this Sunday. "South Korea and Japan are key partners who must cooperate cl
June 16, 2025 -
S. Korea reviews safety measures for nationals in Middle East after Israeli strike on Iran
South Korea's foreign ministry held a virtual meeting Sunday with its officials and heads of diplomatic missions in the Middle East to discuss response measures following Israel's strike on Iran. The video conference, presided over by Yoon Chu-sok, director general for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, focused on reviewing ways to ensure the safety of South Korean nationals in the region, the foreign ministry said. During the meeting, Yoon reiterated the importance of advising South Korean
June 15, 2025 -
Hopes rise for revival of inter-Korean projects
A sense of hope is brewing among businesses for the revival of suspended inter-Korean economic projects as the liberal bloc, which traditionally favors warmer relations with North Korea, returns to the presidency. The anticipation is building among several South Korean businesses that were forced to leave the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex nearly a decade ago. They now share a hope of returning to the shuttered joint economic zone in the North’s border city to either resume their busine
June 15, 2025 -
Lee to hold 1st meeting with EU leaders during G7 summit
BRUSSELS -- President Lee Jae-myung is set to meet with top European Union officials during the upcoming Group of Seven summit in Canada, the EU office said Friday, which would mark his first diplomatic engagement with EU leadership since taking office. Lee will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the EU spokesperson's office said in response to Yonhap News Agency's question. Lee's attendance
June 13, 2025 -
Lee stresses national safety in emergency meeting after Israeli strike on Iran
President Lee Jae-myung ordered that the safety of the Korean people be put first and called for measures to prevent any harm during an emergency meeting on Israel’s attack on Iran, according to the presidential office in Seoul. Lee convened an emergency security and economic meeting on the wide scale airstrikes against Iran, just hours after they occurred, at around 12:30 p.m. at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul. “For now, the most important thing is the lives and safety of our people.
June 13, 2025