US President-elect Donald Trump’s high-stakes, unpredictable leadership could bring new "costs" to South Korea while giving allies a rare chance to translate decisions swiftly into action with greater momentum, a high-level Seoul official said Tuesday. "One risk factor lies in the increased uncertainty associated with President-elect Trump's leadership style, which amplifies unpredictability," a high-level Foreign Ministry official said during a closed-door press b

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Tuesday released key details from 12 leaked diplomatic cables, revealing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's direct orders -- transmitted through the Foreign Ministry to overseas missions -- to counter increasing international scrutiny and pressure on human rights, especially at the United Nations. This marks the first public release of diplomatic telegrams -- confidential communications from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry to its embassies and

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Tuesday sent a high-level delegation to Spain and Poland to explore infrastructure and development-related cooperation with the countries. During the four-day two-nation trip, the delegation headed by First Vice Land Minister Jin Hyun-hwan plans to hold a meeting with Spain's Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, and attend a bilateral seminar to explore joint projects in third countries. In Poland, the delegation plans to pa

In a strategic bid to navigate the complexities of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, South Korea is seeking inroads by strengthening personal ties with Trump and his inner circle, mobilizing figures from President Yoon Suk Yeol to his former key aides and lawmakers in an attempt to build a network of influence. Since Trump’s victory, Yoon has expressed a strong commitment to meeting with the US President-elect at the earliest possible date, aiming solely to establish rappor

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday directed the immediate launch and operation of an ad hoc consultative body spanning finance, trade and industry to prepare for major shifts and potential ramifications expected with the inauguration of the Trump administration’s second term in January. Yoon highlighted that "significant changes in the global economy and security landscape" are expected as the second Trump administration takes office in Washington and sets its policy

Government officials and renowned scholars from South Korea and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened at an international conference to chart pathways for further developing cooperation, building on the October milestone that elevated Korea-ASEAN relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The International Conference on ASEAN-Korea Partnership 2024 was held Thursday under the theme "Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Future" at the Lotte Hotel i

President Yoon Suk Yeol will convene an emergency economic and security meeting Sunday to discuss the possible impact of former US President Donald Trump's return to office, Yoon's office said Friday. The meeting will focus on monitoring potential policy shifts under the Trump administration and preparing proactive response measures, the office said. Ministers of economy, foreign affairs, defense and trade along with senior presidential aides will attend the meeting. A second Donald Tr

With Donald Trump positioning himself for a second term in the White House, he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may renew summit talks, potentially reaching a deal that sidelines South Korea’s key interests, Seoul-based analysts warned. Observers caution that Trump could, for instance, tactically acquiesce to North Korea's nuclear weapons possession in exchange for a freeze on the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of targeting the US mainland -- a concessio

Donald Trump’s return to the White House would propel South Korea to reassess fundamentally its alliance strategy, prompting preparations for trading, deal-centered diplomacy tailored to his transactional approach -- in which there seem no exceptions, even for treaty-bound allies like South Korea. Observers in Seoul warn that Trump’s policies may bring significant challenges and pressures in three key areas: demands to renegotiate the defense cost-sharing agreement for increased cont

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday to congratulate him on his "landslide victory," and they agreed to hold an in-person meeting at an early date, according to Yoon's office. Yoon congratulated Trump on his victory with the "Make America Great Again" slogan and expressed hope for continued collaboration with the United States under his leadership, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte held a phone conversation Wednesday to discuss coordinated responses to North Korea's troop deployment to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine. Yoon held his third phone talks with Rutte in less than a month, following a South Korean delegation's recent visit to NATO, the European Union and Ukraine to discuss North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia. During the call, Yoon said Seoul is

A second Donald Trump administration is expected to bring shifts and unpredictability to the US-South Korea alliance, potentially increasing pressure on Seoul to take on a larger share of the burden as a US ally, experts said Wednesday. Another key focus will be how Trump might address North Korea's denuclearization, especially amid growing skepticism about Washington's commitment to this goal, as well as his approach to Russia's war in Ukraine, where North Korean troops have been

The timing and manner in which North Korea’s state-controlled media covers US presidential election results have long served as key indicators of Pyongyang’s stance toward an incoming US president. According to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, close attention should be paid to the timing, approach and intended audience of North Korea’s reporting on US election results. Furthermore, the timing of Pyongyang’s first official message to the incoming US administration

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday that the alliance between Seoul and Washington will strengthen regardless of who wins the latest US presidential election. “The South Korea-US alliance will strengthen regardless of the candidate who is elected president of the United States,” Han said in an emergency intra-party meeting on foreign affairs and security matters. The meeting was held a day after ruling party lawmakers compiled and reviewed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed the Ukrainian military's first combat engagement with North Korean troops, saying it opened a new chapter of instability in the world. Zelenskyy, in a video address posted on the Ukrainian president's official website Tuesday, said, "The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world." "I want to thank everyone in the world who reacted to the deployment of North Korean soldiers in

On the day of the US presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, North Korea fired a salvo of ballistic missiles on Tuesday in an apparent message to Washington -- a continuation of its unrelenting saber-rattling, which included the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week. Escalating tensions further, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, released a forceful English-language statement on US Elec

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui at the Kremlin in Moscow, TASS reported, amid growing concerns over Pyongyang's troop deployment to Russia to support its war in Ukraine. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin received Choe in the presidential complex as Pyongyang's top diplomat was on a working visit to Russia, according to Russia's state-owned news agency on Monday. Choe conveyed North Korean leader Kim Jong-

As many as 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia's western front-line Kursk region and could engage in combat in the "coming days," a State Department spokesperson said Monday, amid growing concerns that their involvement could expand Moscow's war in Ukraine. Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, made the remarks as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message earlier that there are already 11,000 North Korean troops in the Kursk region. "We now assess

A South Korean government delegation to Ukraine returned home Monday after visiting Kyiv to discuss possible cooperation measures in response to North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, officials said. The delegation, consisting of senior intelligence and military officials, visited Ukraine after briefing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels last week over the North's troop dispatch. The visit came as South Korea has signaled a potential shift in its Ukraine support poli

South Korea and the United States formally signed a defense cost-sharing agreement Monday, as Seoul seeks to speed up its domestic ratification procedure to ensure the stable stationing of American troops here ahead of the US elections. The signing came a month after the allies reached a new five-year deal on determining Seoul's share of its cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg signed the deal