US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump traded sharp barbs on Tuesday, spotlighting their sharply contrasting views on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, treaty alliances and a host of pivotal foreign policy issues. The televised presidential debate, the first between these two candidates, continued past the original 90-minutes scheduled, notably sidestepping North Korea and rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including Pyongyang's illicit nuclear buildup and it

Foreign Affairs Sept. 11, 2024

A comprehensive framework establishing guidelines and principles for the ethical and regulated use of artificial intelligence in military operations spanning nuclear weapons systems, endorsed by 61 countries, was adopted at a high-stakes summit in Seoul. The two-day 2024 summit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain or REAIM concluded Tuesday with the adoption of a "Blueprint for Action," drawing 1,952 participants from 96 countries, including 38 ministerial-level officials, accordin

Foreign Affairs Sept. 10, 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed the vital importance of sustaining the momentum in bilateral cooperation and exchanges -- an effort driven by their leader-to-leader diplomacy -- during Kishida's farewell visit to Seoul on Friday. Seoul and Tokyo signed a formal agreement to strengthen cooperation in protecting their nationals abroad and pledged to boost people-to-people exchanges by streamlining immigration procedures ahead of

Foreign Affairs Sept. 6, 2024

Tokyo has handed over a long-awaited list of Koreans who perished aboard the Ukishima Maru, a Japanese ship that exploded in 1945 while repatriating thousands of Koreans after Japan's colonial rule ended, the Seoul government announced on Thursday. The announcement by the two countries came just a day before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Seoul for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol before leaving his office. The transferred list is incomplete, as the Japanese government has not

Foreign Affairs Sept. 5, 2024

South Korea and the United States concluded Wednesday that the possibility of North Korea launching "grave provocations" around the US presidential election in November could not be dismissed, prompting discussions on a coordinated response to a range of potential scenarios. The high-level meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group, the alliance's premier annual forum for discussing and coordinating security strategy and policy issues impacting the Korean Penins

North Korea Sept. 5, 2024

Tae Yong-ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat, said Wednesday that his appointment to a vice-ministerial position in the South Korean government sends a compelling message to the North Korean elite -- the key pillars of the Kim regime's sustainability -- by highlighting their potential for a promising future within South Korean society or a unified Korea. Tae has become the first North Korean defector who once served in the North Korean regime to ascend to a high-ranking South Korean o

North Korea Sept. 4, 2024

Ri Il-gyu, the former second-ranking North Korean diplomat in Cuba, on Tuesday publicly proposed strategies to destabilize the Kim Jong-un regime from within by promoting societal change in the North, including the inflow of external information to the North Korean populace. "The so-called elite class, or the cadre class, has undergone a significant shift in their perception of the regime," Ri, who served as a counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Havana, said during the Global Kore

North Korea Sept. 3, 2024

The South Korean presidential office on Sunday unveiled a comprehensive cybersecurity plan with 100 actionable tasks, including measures for enhanced "offensive cyber defense" strategies to proactively counter and neutralize those with intentions of spreading fake information such as deepfakes in cyberspace. The presidential Office of National Security announced the "National Cybersecurity Basic Plan," a collaborative effort developed by 14 government ministries and organizat

Foreign Affairs Sept. 1, 2024

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Thursday organized a first-ever event where families of South Koreans abducted and held captive by North Korea made a direct appeal to foreign missions in Seoul, urging global support in bringing these decades-old unresolved cases to the UN stage for resolution. The event, titled "Families' Call for International Solidarity: Issues of Abduction, Arbitrary Detention and Forced Disappearance," aimed to garner support for highlighting North

North Korea Aug. 29, 2024

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Wednesday aimed to quell rising concerns in Seoul over the omission of US commitments to North Korea's denuclearization from the 2024 platforms of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Kim remarked, "There has been back-and-forth debate recently over the platforms of US presidential candidates," specifically referring to the US Democratic Party’s platform released in August and the Republican Party’s platform from July that set

Foreign Affairs Aug. 28, 2024

As US-China strategic competition has continued to intensify with expectations that it will likely persist, Seoul finds itself increasingly ensnared in a web of structural challenges in its relations with Beijing. With the rivalry itself serving as a key determinant that has caused challenges in critical areas such as economics and security, South Korea's already delicate and intricate China conundrum has become further complicated. South Korea-China relations have reached a pivotal crossro

Foreign Affairs Aug. 28, 2024

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and underscored their readiness to confront the world’s "greatest challenges" through trilateral cooperation. Seoul, Washington and Tokyo released a joint leaders' statement to "commemorate the tremendous progress" made in their trilateral cooperation over the past year, following the unprecedented standalone summit at Camp David

Foreign Affairs Aug. 18, 2024

South Korea's Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned the Japanese defense minister's tribute at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which Seoul views as glorifying Japan's militaristic past, calling it an "anachronistic act" and unfathomable behavior. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara's visit to the shrine in Tokyo occurred on the same day Korea commemorated its liberation from Japan’s illegal colonial rule, which lasted from 1910 to 1945. "Our gover

Foreign Affairs Aug. 15, 2024

Seventy-nine years after Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule (1910-1945), the lingering scars of that turbulent history continue to cast a shadow over bilateral relations, complicating efforts to build future-oriented ties. Although historical disputes between South Korea and Japan remain unresolved, recent efforts by the Yoon Suk Yeol and Fumio Kishida administrations aim to move beyond the past and work towards the future, despite ongoing public debate over these initiative

Foreign Affairs Aug. 14, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named a new defense minister and national security adviser, while creating the new position of special adviser on foreign affairs and national security to the President, in a surprising shake-up of his foreign and defense policy team. Shin Won-sik, who had been serving as defense minister at the time of his appointment, has now been appointed as the new national security adviser, according to presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk. Shin, a retired three-star

Politics Aug. 12, 2024