Yoon hopes to upgrade S. Korea-US relationship into economic, security alliance

US President Joe Biden will arrive in South Korea on Friday afternoon to begin his three-day visit focused on strengthening the Korea-US alliance. After President Biden arrives at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, he will move to the Pyeongtaek campus of Samsung Electronics to tour the world’s largest semiconductor production base. President Yoon Suk-yeol will accompany him and Sa...

US President Joe Biden is set to arrive in South Korea on Friday for his first summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol on a range of issues, including North Korea's nuclear program and supply chain risks. Biden's visit, his first since taking office, comes as both Seoul and Washington believe a North Korean nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile test is imminent and could happen while he is i...

The United States is committed to engaging with North Korea in serious dialogue and is willing to take "action for action" with North Korea toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday. It marks a rare occasion a ranking US official has confirmed US willingness to reciprocate North Korea's denuclearization measures. "(We) ma...

US, S. Korea say North Korea could conduct missile and nuclear tests during Biden’s first visit to Asia

WASHINGTON -- North Korea does not appear to have developed a hypersonic missile, but its tests to develop such a system warrant US concerns, the head of the US Missile Defense Agency said Wednesday. North Korea claims to have successfully test launched a new hypersonic missile on Jan. 5 and Jan. 11 (Seoul time). "They claim to have developed hypersonics," Vice Adm. John Hill said when asked if...

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is widely expected to stage a long-range or nuclear test before or even during President Joe Biden's trip to South Korea and Japan, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday. He said the US is fully prepared to make any necessary adjustments to US defense posture to ensure the security of the US and US allies. "With respect to the issue of North Korea, ...

NK unlikely to have nuclear test in time for Biden’s visit but Plan B prepared, presidential office says

At Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Beijing back in 2019, the former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger mentioned that the US and China were still in the “foothills of the New Cold War,” which basically meant that we had not entered it yet. From my personal view, there must be a few objective criteria before determine that the New Cold War has begun: Will Biden’s 4 years also presen...

The US Forces Korea (USFK) has held a ceremony launching a permanently stationed air cavalry squadron consisting of new Apache attack helicopters in a key US base south of Seoul, its officials said Wednesday. The 5th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade was activated in the event at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday. It takes over from...

WASHINGTON -- The US-proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will help further enhance the country's economic relations with countries in the region, a White House spokesperson said Monday. Karine Jean-Pierre also said the new economic framework will promote investment in green economy, which she said in turn will help level the playing field for workers and businesses here at home and i...

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is dispatching thousands of skilled IT workers overseas to seek employment while posing as US-based or non-North Korean nationals, the US Department of Treasury said Monday. The revenue raised from such illicit employment may be funneled into North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programs, the department said in the advisory jointly issued by the state department an...

The world, particularly the construction sector, should also use more sustainably sourced wood, to protect the environment, the declaration said. Introducing data-based analytics to forest management is needed as well, to enable evidence-based forest and landscape decision-making, according to the declaration. The declaration also stresses that the forestry sector, stakeholders, and government ...

South Korea has co-sponsored a recently adopted UN Human Rights Council resolution on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine stemming from Russia's aggression, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. During a special session in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday (local time), the council adopted the resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities against Ukraine and reque...

WASHINGTON -- The UN Security Council (UNSC) convened an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss North Korea's recent missile provocations but failed to produce a tangible outcome due to opposition from China and Russia. The special session of the 15-member council came at the request of the US, which condemned North Korea's recent missile tests as "a blatant violation of multiple Security Counci...