The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan reiterated their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea and called on the recalcitrant regime to resume dialogue in a joint statement issued after their trilateral talks in New York on Monday. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week, also stressing the import

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan were set to gather in New York, with trilateral economic and security cooperation, North Korea, and other regional and global issues on the agenda, officials said Monday. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday (US time) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to officials of Seoul's foreign ministry. The meeti

North Korea's most recent missile launches likely seek to increase pressure on the US ahead of major international developments and as speculation about US-North Korea dialogue rises. Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday from Wonsan toward the East Sea. The first missile, launched at around 3 p.m., flew about 450 kilometers, while the second, fired at around 5:50 p.m., traveled more than 600 km, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The timing has drawn particular a

Korea Herald correspondent TALLINN, Estonia — South Korea and Estonia are seeking to broaden defense industry cooperation beyond arms sales, with companies and industry groups taking a larger role as the two countries navigate different strategic concerns surrounding Russia. For Estonia, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has heightened concerns over its own long-term security, prompting Tallinn to sharply increase defense spending and strengthen its military capabilities. South Korea, meanwhile, has

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday for talks expected to focus on Seoul's $350 billion investment commitment and its potential contribution to security in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Lee Jae Myung laid out clear parameters on both issues. Hours ahead of the meeting, Lee stressed during a press conference in Seoul that South Korea's national interests must be protected in negotiations over its US investment package and drew

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday ruled out any deployment of South Korean troops or military assets that would involve Seoul in the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, drawing a firm line around South Korea’s military role in the region. At the same time, Lee stressed that Seoul still had a responsibility to protect Korean ships, oil routes and nationals, as the Korean government weighs expanding the role of a naval unit it has already deployed in the Middle East. Lee said any decision would

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that South Korea and the United States are renegotiating parts of a $350 billion investment package over details in the agreement reached in working-level negotiations. The remarks shed light on the last-minute postponement of plans to unveil South Korea's first project under its $350 billion strategic investment commitment to the US. "I was told we were close to an agreement, but from what I saw in the details, there were some parts that were difficult to agr

US President Donald Trump's administration is expected to postpone the announcement of new tariffs over trading partners' alleged excess capacity in manufacturing sectors until after the planned summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, a report said Thursday. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on the expected delay, noting that the reason for the delay is unclear, as Trump is expected to have a summit with Xi in Washington on Sept. 24, more than fo

President Lee Jae Myung and International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol discussed how to advance energy security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific on Thursday, as the Hormuz crisis exposes the region’s vulnerability to supply shocks. The meeting came as the IEA coordinates an international response to the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, with South Korea taking part as a full member of the agency. Lee and Birol held “in-depth discussions on global energy and policy trends, ways to streng

President Lee Jae Myung met International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol on Thursday to discuss strengthening Asia-Pacific energy security as the Hormuz crisis exposes the region’s vulnerability to supply shocks. The meeting was arranged in part to follow up on Lee’s proposal, made at the Group of Seven summit in June, to strengthen the resilience of energy supply chains across the Asia-Pacific region, according to the presidential office in Seoul. Lee and Birol were expected to have an in-dept

A new energy security push by South Korea and the International Energy Agency will take on Asia’s heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels and surging electricity demand from AI and data centers. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on Thursday to strengthen the region’s energy supply chains and power systems against supply disruptions and climate-related disasters. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the IEA signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul to

Sexual misconduct accounted for more than half of dismissals from South Korea’s state-run international development aid agency's overseas programs over the past five years, data showed Thursday. According to data the Korea International Cooperation Agency submitted to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Ki-heon, 15 volunteers were stripped of their status for violations of service rules between January 2022 and August this year. Eight of them were dismissed for sexual misconduct. Of the eight vol

Korea Herald correspondent TALLINN, Estonia — For Estonian defense companies seeking deeper ties with South Korea, one of their selling points is something money alone cannot easily buy: experience. “The lessons learned, lessons identified from Ukraine, it is something that is measured in gold right now,” said Marko Kaseleht, founder of Estonian battlefield intelligence company SensusQ. “Getting feedback, understanding how your adversaries are collaborating, all that is something that everybody

President Lee Jae Myung called Wednesday for South Korea and five Central Asian nations to forge a “new Silk Road,” seeking to harness their complementary strengths to build a broader economic partnership spanning trade, industry and infrastructure. Speaking at the Korea-Central Asia Business Summit in Seoul, Lee drew on more than a millennium of exchanges between Korea and Central Asia to argue for taking their relationship into a new phase. The business gathering followed the inaugural Korea-C

South Korea and five Central Asian countries on Wednesday laid the foundations for a lasting partnership at their first-ever summit, adopting the Seoul Declaration to institutionalize their ties and map out a shared vision for the next 30 years. President Lee Jae Myung presided over the gathering, which focused on the future direction of Korea-Central Asia cooperation and ways to strengthen partnerships in innovation, prosperity and connectivity. The Seoul summit was the first time the leaders o