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

Zambia celebrated its 60th Independence Day in Seoul on Oct. 23. The day commemorates a historic occasion when the country gained independence from British colonial rule on Oct. 24, 1964, and is remembered as the moment when Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda, raised the new Zambian flag and declared the nation’s sovereignty. Delivering remarks at the event, Zambian Ambassador to Korea Andrew Bwezani Banda highlighted the immense potential for increased trade and investment betw

South Korea and five Central Asian countries -- all former Soviet republics -- are gearing up for their first-ever summit, aiming to forge a synergistic partnership that leverages shared strengths and foster regional peace amid escalating tensions fueled by illicit military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul convened the 17th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in Seoul on Monday, bringing together foreign ministers, vice foreign ministe

The Czech Republic applauded South Korean support for Ukraine, as it celebrated its Independence Day on Oct. 28. Czechoslovak Independence Day commemorates the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and continues to serve as a significant symbol of national identity for Czechs, despite the 1993 division into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In his remarks at the event, Czech Ambassador to Korea Ivan Jancarek used the occasion to praise South Korea’s support for Ukraine and the strengthening Cz

Turkmenistan and Korea highlighted bilateral initiatives at an event marking Turkmenistan's 33rd Independence Day on Wednesday. The Central Asian country celebrates its independence from the Soviet Union, declared on Oct. 27, 1991, after the Cold War and the Soviet Union's breakup. Speaking at the event at a Seoul hotel, Turkmen Ambassador to Korea Begench Durdyyev highlighted Turkmenistan's development journey, and the milestones in bilateral relations with South Korea, and honor

US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump are bracing for this week's high-stakes election showdown, with various polls showing them in a tight margin-of-error race. Voters will go to polling stations nationwide on Tuesday to pick a new president. More than 75 million Americans had already cast an early ballot, data from the University of Florida showed. The number of eligible voters is estimated at about 244 million, according to the Bipartisa

The foreign ministry will host a group of foreign diplomats this week for a joint conference and other programs with the UN to brief them on South Korea's disarmament efforts and its North Korea policy, the ministry said Monday. The two-day South Korea-UN disarmament conference, running through Tuesday, will bring together 25 diplomats from Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East who are currently engaged in disarmament diplomacy, the ministry said in a release.

The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland, South Korea’s military said. North Korea on Thursday tested the newly developed Hwasong-19 ICBM, which flew higher and stayed in the air longer than any other missile it has fired. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called it “an appropriate military acti

The Korea Herald will co-host a forum on Nov. 13 to unpack the foreign policy, security and economic trade implications of the US presidential election outcome for Seoul and the Korea-US alliance, and explore strategic responses to tackle emerging challenges and leverage new opportunities as the results unfold. The forum, titled "Alliance after US Election 2024: A Seoul Perspective," will be held at the National Assembly Museum in partnership with the Bipartisan Forum for Advanced Dipl