PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of regional gatherings in Cambodia on Sunday, his office said. A presidential official told reporters the summit was fixed Saturday, as both leaders are in Phnom Penh to attend various summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The two sides a...

PHNOM PENH -- President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday voiced hope for a swift reactivation of trilateral cooperation mechanisms among South Korea, China and Japan. Yoon made the remark during a summit involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Korea, China and Japan, known as the ASEAN Plus Three, which brought together the leaders of nine ASEAN countries, Chinese Premier...

President Yoon Suk-yeol left for Cambodia on Friday on the first leg of a two-nation tour that will include his attendance at various summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20. In Phnom Penh, Yoon is scheduled to attend a South Korea-ASEAN summit, an ASEAN Plus Three summit and the East Asia Summit during a three-day stay, with other bilateral and multilate...

South Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to deepen economic ties and boost business cooperation in various areas, including smart city, hydrogen and bio industries, Seoul's industry ministry said. Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and Saudi Arabia's Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih reached the consensus during their talks in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. ...

The new head of the U.N. human rights agency's office in South Korea on Thursday called on North Korea to use resources for improving its dire human rights situations instead of focusing on provocative acts, like missile launches. James Heenan, representative of the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, made the remarks during his introductory meeting with reporters here amid heightened tensions on...

The second prototype of South Korea’s first homegrown KF-21 fighter completes its inaugural test flight on Thursday morning at the base of South Korea’s Air Force 3rd Training Wing in the city of Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. The first prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter conducted its first test flight in July. South Korea’s Air Force and Korea Aerospace Industries aim to conduct around ...

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he believes the people want to see a "scientific" and "compulsory" investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush, effectively dismissing the opposition's push for a parliamentary probe. The main opposition Democratic Party and two minor parties jointly submitted a request for a parliamentary probe into the tragedy Wednesday. The request is expected to be handle...

The spokesman of the main opposition Democratic Party has apologized for misquoting European Union Ambassador Maria Castillo Fernandez during her meeting with party leader Lee Jae-myung earlier this week. The EU envoy met with the opposition leader in a closed-door meeting Tuesday and discussed issues ranging from North Korea's intensifying military threats to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Follow...

Rare move prompts criticism, protests from media, experts

The main opposition Democratic Party and two minor progressive parties submitted a joint request Wednesday for a parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush despite opposition from the ruling party. The DP, the Justice Party (JP) and the Basic Income Party submitted the request to the National Assembly's Bills Division on Wednesday afternoon, with an aim to have the request reported...

A fresh row has erupted following a recent expose of the Democratic Party of Korea’s apparent bid to publish the identities of the victims of the fatal Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul. While the Democratic Party argued that the victims needed to be remembered publicly, critics said respect for privacy should come before the public’s right to know. In a text message conversation that was...

Two of opposition leader's closest aides now under investigation

President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend the upcoming ASEAN and G20 summits to strengthen economic and security ties with the region and present the nation’s new Indo-Pacific and ASEAN strategies. During the six-day journey, he could have multilateral talks with the US and Japan, but the chance of bilateral meetings with Japan and China appears low. The president will depart for Phnom Penh, Cambodia,...

South Korea will carry out special inspections into 35 mines across the country that are deemed to have relatively high chances of accidents by the end of this year in the wake of a recent collapse case, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The plan came as two miners had been trapped for about 10 days in a collapsed zinc mine in the county of Bonghwa, 244 kilometers southeast of Seoul. They we...

Prosecutors raided the home of one of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's closest confidants Wednesday over suspicions that he received bribes from real estate developers, officials said. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sent investigators to the house of Jeong Jin-sang, a vice chief of staff to Lee, to seize evidence related to the allegations, the officials said. Jeong, nicknamed L...