Foreign Minister Park Jin will discuss North Korea’s nuclear threats and other key issues with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the US diplomat’s two-day trip to South Korea from Nov. 8, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday. The visit, the first in two and a half years, comes as South Korea doubles down on the importance of the US nuclear umbrella to prevent a North Korean strike. The two allies agreed on giving Seoul a bigger say in how Washington deliv

Foreign Affairs Nov. 1, 2023

Victims of a local housing rental scam who claim the fraudster is living off their money have gotten increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the police investigation, calling for immediate action, according to a report Tuesday. The suspect, who fled the country in May with rental deposits ahead of a police investigation the following month, is currently in the US, the victims said, adding that he, his wife and son recently moved away from Atlanta, Georgia, after learning that they had been

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2023

President Yook Suk Yeol on Monday instructed his ministers to do everything possible to hold responsible those who allegedly scammed young Koreans seeking home rentals, and pledged to have the government’s pension reform proposal reach a “social consensus,” without offering further details. “The majority of (those affected by) this ‘jeonse’ scam are young Koreans. This is an egregious crime that hurts our next generation,” Yoon said at the weekly Cabinet

Politics Oct. 30, 2023

The US House of Representatives will adopt a resolution in early December to recognize Kimchi Day, honoring the Korean dish of fermented vegetables. According to the Museum of Korean American Heritage in New York, the adoption will take place on Dec. 6 after the House Oversight and Accountability Committee puts the resolution on the floor, which Rep. Young Kim (R-California) proposed with bipartisan backing. The resolution did not pass last year. The adoption this time, an official at the museum

Foreign Affairs Oct. 26, 2023

The top diplomats of South Korea, the US and Japan strongly condemned the supply of military equipment and munitions by North Korea to Russia, confirming some of the deliveries in a joint statement Thursday. Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US and Japanese counterparts -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, respectively -- said such supplies would raise the “human toll” in Russia’s war in Ukraine. “We remain resolved to support Ukraine&r

North Korea Oct. 26, 2023

The Korea Herald publishes a series of interviews with South Korea’s former and current top diplomats who have played a central role in shaping the country’s foreign policies to confront the complexities of an increasingly contested international order while managing its historical relationships with allies and neighbors, for lasting peace beyond the Korean Peninsula. This is the third installment. -- Ed Heightening threats from North Korea to use its nuclear weapons against South Ko

Foreign Affairs Oct. 25, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s six-day trip to the Middle East, largely meant to expand economic ties, offers fresh momentum for South Korean companies to ride out global headwinds in the long-run, experts said Monday. The state visit to Saudi Arabia has already led to a signing of deals including memorandums of understanding worth $15.6 billion in total, over areas ranging from food to oil to energy, according to Yoon’s office. He returns home Thursday after a one-day tour to Qatar the p

Foreign Affairs Oct. 23, 2023

Japan is evacuating 18 South Koreans from Israel using its military aircraft, a gesture of goodwill that appears to reciprocate Seoul’s rescue flight last week to bring back Japanese alongside its citizens. According to Kyodo News and the Japanese Defense Ministry, 18 Koreans and one family member of foreign nationality -- along with 60 Japanese and four family members of foreign nationality -- will land at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on early Saturday. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said it ha

Foreign Affairs Oct. 20, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said North Korea and Russia should deliver on their summit agreement in September and usher in a new, future-looking era for the next 100 years, at a meeting with the Russian foreign minister in Pyongyang on Thursday. The two-day trip from Wednesday by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came as Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin seek to fight off what they see as a US-led isolation. The US warns of paying a price for arms deals it says are being reached between

North Korea Oct. 20, 2023

South Korean and US authorities warned businesses against inadvertently hiring information technology staff from North Korea who mask their true identities to skirt international sanctions and earn cash. The two allies say the IT staff are being employed to bankroll the isolated country’s nuclear and missile programs. The joint advisory on Thursday, which follows previous warnings in May and December last year, includes fresh instructions to prevent North Korean freelancers from obtaining

North Korea Oct. 19, 2023

A South Korean national kidnapped in the Philippines three weeks ago has been freed, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday. The ministry did not disclose the individual’s identity or why he had been abducted, only saying he is in good health. Local police said one of several suspects is in custody, without elaborating. “We had worked closely with authorities here and there for a safe return of our citizen,” the ministry added.

Foreign Affairs Oct. 17, 2023

South Korea will soon reveal its response to expected visits by Japanese lawmakers to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead from 1868 to 1954, including 14 convicted Class A World War II war criminals. A senior official in Seoul with knowledge of the matter told reporters Tuesday that the government needs to monitor the situation closely, referring to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision the same day to send an offering to the shrine. The previo

Foreign Affairs Oct. 17, 2023

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US and Japan met in Jakarta, Indonesia to discuss curbing North Korea’s growing aggression, in regular two-day talks that started Monday. The in-person talks, held every three months, serve to coordinate policy aimed at leading North Korea to return to stalled denuclearization negotiations, a goal that has largely remained elusive. Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his US counterpart, Sung

North Korea Oct. 16, 2023

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa thanked South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin for evacuating Japanese from Israel using South Korea’s military transport plane in a phone call Sunday, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in a statement. On board the plane, which landed at Seoul Air Base late Saturday from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, were 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese and six Singaporeans. Medical staff along with a team handling emergency responses were also a

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2023

South Korea is closely monitoring developments in the latest military exchanges between North Korea and Russia and will consider measures in response, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Saturday. “Any weapons exchanges between the two are a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and a threat to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry official said, referring to sanctions the North has been facing. “We’re al

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2023