South Korea and the United States on Tuesday appointed veteran diplomats as their chief delegates for upcoming negotiations on the next defense-cost sharing agreement, clearly signaling an early initiation of the talks. The move stands out as it precedes the expiration of the current agreement by almost two years, scheduled to end in 2025, and gains significance in light of the looming US presidential election. Lee Tae-woo, a seasoned diplomat with a career at the Foreign Ministry since 1996, br

Foreign Affairs March 5, 2024

The UK Embassy in Seoul launched its first-ever "Green Week" event Monday, covering a range of environmental topics to enhance Korean-UK cooperation in combating the climate crisis, according to the embassy. The inaugural event, which ends Friday, comes on the heels of the Downing Street Accord signed by the leaders of South Korea and the UK last November. The agreement underscores the commitment of both countries to collaborate in accelerating the green transition and combating climat

Foreign Affairs March 5, 2024

Members of the US-led Minerals Security Partnership agreed to establish a forum to promote effective cooperation on critical mineral supplies with non-member countries that are significant producers of minerals, South Korea's Foreign Ministry announced Monday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun participated in the Representatives Meeting of the MSP chaired by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez in Toronto on Sunday. During the meet

Foreign Affairs March 4, 2024

Former South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup has been named as the country's new ambassador to Australia amid growing defense and arms industrial cooperation between the two countries. Lee, who served as defense minister from May 2022 to October 2023, played a crucial role in the exportation of Redback infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by South Korea’s Hanwha Defense. Lee also held the position of vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2017 to 2018. Lee's acad

Foreign Affairs March 4, 2024

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States on Wednesday concurred on "watertight responses" to any North Korean provocations amid escalating hostilities from the Kim Jong-un regime directed toward South Korea, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met for their first foreign ministerial meeting in Washington since Cho assumed office in January. The bilateral discussion covered a wide array of t

Foreign Affairs Feb. 29, 2024

[코리아헤럴드=지다겸기자] 김영호 통일부 장관은 23일 본지와의 인터뷰에서 김정은 국무위원장의 딸인 김주애 외에 다른 후계자가 나타날 경우 북한 내부에 "오히려 혼란을 불러올 수도 있다"고 전망했다. 김 장관이 "김주애가 후계자가 될 가능성을 배제할 수 없다"는 기존 입장을 유지하면서도, 다른 후계자가 나타날 가능성을 낮게 평가한 것이다. 이어 김 장관은 “북한 정권이 내부적으로 상당히 불안정해지니까 후계 구도를 가시화하고 있다”며 김주애 조기 등판의 배경을 설명했다. 김 장관은 김씨 일가가 경제 성장을 위한 개혁과 개방이 불가능한 내재적 모순에 빠져 있다고 지적했다. 그는 이러한 상황을 "세습적 독재 권력 딜레마"라고 표현하며, 경제 침체와 군사력 증강을 위한 자원 조달의 악순환에 빠져 체제를 장기적으로 유지할 수 없을 것으로 전망했다. 북한 내 백두혈통 이외에 새로운 권력이 부상할 가능성에 대한 질문에 대

한국어판 Feb. 28, 2024

The Yoon Suk Yeol government "does not oppose North Korea engaging with the United States and Japan," the South Korean unification minister said, concurrently acknowledging that obstacles remain for North Korea to overcome to improve relations with the two countries. "The resolution of issues pertaining to Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea appears to be a prerequisite for the advancement of relations between Japan and North Korea," Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho sa

North Korea Feb. 28, 2024

Another heir emerging for North Korea besides Kim Jong-un's publicly promoted preteen daughter Ju-ae is unlikely because it would spark confusion within the isolated totalitarian society, according to South Korea's unification minister. During an exclusive 90-minute interview with The Korea Herald on Feb. 23, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho underscored the "considerable internal instability" brewing within North Korea, a situation catalyzing the early debut of Ju-ae as candi

North Korea Feb. 28, 2024

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan agreed to strengthen cooperation on North Korean issues, while expressing lingering differences in historical matters, including compensation for forced labor victims during Japan’s colonial rule of the peninsula and South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa, met for the first time Wednesday for a 30-minute meeting, starting at 11:10 a.m. local time, on the

Foreign Affairs Feb. 22, 2024

The Yoon Suk Yeol government will officially designate July 14 as a day to commemorate North Korean defectors, symbolically coinciding with the day when the law ensuring support for their resettlement in South Korean society took effect in 1997. South Korean Unification Minister Kim Young-ho announced the official designation on Wednesday while attending the inauguration ceremony of the Special Committee for Accompanying Residents with Backgrounds from North Korea established under the auspices

North Korea Feb. 21, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a gift of a Russia-produced car exclusively "for his personal use," North Korean state media reported Tuesday. The South Korean government decried the gift as a breach of UN Security Council resolutions. The Rodong Sinmun, which primarily targets internal audiences as North Korea's most widely circulated newspaper, featured the news on its front page without disclosing specifics about the vehicle gifte

North Korea Feb. 20, 2024

The human rights situation in North Korea has remained the worst in the world, even 10 years after the UN released its first report unveiling systematic human rights abuses and violations by the North Korean regime, the US special envoy for North Korean human rights said Monday. One defector, however, asserted that North Korean people have started to adopt the notion of "human rights violations," attributing this shift to the international community's concerted efforts to shed lig

North Korea Feb. 19, 2024

Former US President Donald Trump's outspoken criticism of NATO and its collective defense resonates deeply with implications for South Korea's security, a cornerstone being the US commitment to defense, especially amid escalating North Korean threats. After Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, intensified his rhetoric on Saturday, the possibility of his return to power raised concerns about the revival of his transactional approach to the Sou

Foreign Affairs Feb. 15, 2024

The surprise establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba marks the culmination of Seoul's diplomatic endeavors with socialist countries that have historically maintained friendly ties with North Korea, according to the presidential office on Thursday. South Korea and Cuba on Wednesday evening officially announced that they had forged diplomatic relations, fulfilling Seoul's decadeslong aspiration to engage with the socialist country. Seoul believes the move deliv

Foreign Affairs Feb. 15, 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has postponed his scheduled overseas trip to Germany and Denmark, according to Yoon's office on Wednesday. The presidential office had initially prepared for a week-long trip to the two European countries beginning on Sunday. Detailed schedules were being coordinated with each country. However, after careful consideration, the presidential office has reportedly decided to postpone the trip. Yoon's office, however, did not provide further details or

Foreign Affairs Feb. 14, 2024