The US Department of Commerce on Friday announced the final rule to restrict semiconductor subsidy recipients from expanding their manufacturing capacity in China, following Seoul's brisk diplomacy to minimize its potential impact on South Korean businesses. The national security "guardrails" of the CHIPS and Science Act prohibit the material expansion of semiconductor manufacturing capacity for advanced facilities in "foreign countries of concern" for 10 years from the

The top diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to take stern measures against a potential arms deal between Russia and North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. According to the ministry, Seoul's Foreign Minister Park Jin met with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, and Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa, in New York on Friday to discuss Russia-North Korea arms dealings. Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Russ

US President Joe Biden slammed Russia on Thursday for seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea for use in its war in Ukraine, reiterating such an arms transfer would flout UN Security Council resolutions. Biden made the remarks during a White House summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which he announced a $325 million military assistance package, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense capabilities. "Russia alone stands in the way of peace. He could end

The United States is closely monitoring possible arms trade between North Korea and Russia, a senior US official said Thursday, after last week's summit between their leaders raised concerns about military cooperation. During a meeting with a group of reporters in Brussels, the official also said South Korea has expressed its willingness to actively support North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries that assist Ukraine in its war against Russia. "Obviously Russia is looking fo

The Russian Embassy in Seoul on Thursday expressed "deep regret" over President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech condemning military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow at the United Nations and accused him of joining Washington's "propaganda campaign." During his keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday (U.S. time), Yoon warned that any arms deal between the two countries would be considered a "direct provocation" against South Korea, relaying

The South Korean government on Thursday handed out the world's first unilateral sanction on North Korea's defense minister, who had accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his recent trip to Russia. The financial sanctions also targeted other individuals and entities allegedly involved in illicit arms and financial transactions with third party countries, most notably Russia. The announcement of sanctions appears to be a tit-for-tat response to indications of illicit military tr

South Korea will consider imposing unilateral sanctions as a viable course of action should concrete evidence of illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia be confirmed, Seoul's vice foreign minister said Thursday. Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin emphasized that Russia's potential transfer of technologies to enhance North Korea's weapons of mass destruction would constitute a "serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions" if confirmed. "T

President Yoon Suk Yeol criticized a recent talk between leaders of Russia and North Korea that a potential arms trade between them would be a "direct provocation" not only to Ukraine but also to South Korea, stressing that Seoul won't just sit and watch. "If the DPRK acquires the information and technology necessary to enhance its (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, such a deal between Russia and the DPRK wi

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of summits with world leaders in New York on Wednesday as part of his ongoing efforts to secure support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Yoon, on the third day of his trip to attend the UN General Assembly, is using the annual gathering to meet with dozens of leaders on the sidelines in a last-minute push to bolster the country's campaign for the Expo bid. Yoon engaged in a series of discussions with leaders from Europe,

When Shin Kak-soo, South Korea’s former ambassador to Japan, supported efforts for a summit between the Korean and Japanese leaders in Kyoto in December 2011, the career diplomat, just seven months into the job, did not expect to wait 12 years to see the next one. “The talks didn’t go well. Seoul was doubling down on resolving disputes involving Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the peninsula. Not only wasn’t Tokyo as receptive to the idea as Seoul wanted, but the di

  President Yoon Suk Yeol and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres fortified their commitment to fostering peace and enhancing human rights in North Korea during a meeting on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York. Meeting the UN chief for the third time, Yoon said he was looking forward to continuing cooperation with the United Nations to “curb" North Korean provocations and substantially “improve the human rights situation” in the regime, accord

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned North Korea's continued violation of UN Security Council resolutions but reiterated his commitment to diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Biden made the remarks in a speech at the UN General Assembly as a recent summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin deepened concerns about a potential arms deal that would violate multiple UNSC resolutions. "We condemned the DPRK's continu

A US energy firm said Tuesday it will appeal a district court's decision earlier this week to dismiss its lawsuit filed to stop two South Korean state-run companies from exporting nuclear power plants. On Monday, the District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the complaint that Westinghouse Electric Co. filed against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corp. last October. The court determined that Westinghouse "lacks a private cause of action" and wa

The foreign ministry said Tuesday it has asked the Japanese police to carry out a "prompt and fair" probe into an incident in which a restaurant served water containing bleach to a South Korean national. The request came after a South Korean national was hospitalized in Tokyo late last month after showing symptoms, such as vomiting, after drinking water served by the restaurant that contained bleach. The victim informed the South Korean embassy of the incident earlier this month, with

The South Korean foreign ministry summoned the top Russian envoy to the country Tuesday to lodge a complaint over Moscow's discussions of arms deals and military cooperation with North Korea. Seoul's Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin called in Russian Ambassador Andrey Kulik earlier in the day and called for Moscow to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions, the ministry said in a message to reporters. The summons came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Rus

The South Korean government confirmed Tuesday that it had transferred to Qatar Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions, as part of a prisoner swap deal that led to the US and Iran releasing five of each other’s detainees. Tehran’s access to $6 billion in oil revenue had been frozen since May 2019, when Washington, after scrapping the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, stepped up pressure to block hard currency from flowing into the Middle Eastern country. “

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol led a diplomatic campaign at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in a bid to secure support for the 2030 Busan World Expo, his office said Tuesday. After arriving in New York on Monday morning, Yoon met with leaders of nine countries, including Sri Lanka, San Marino and Denmark on the day. He plans to hold bilateral summits with leaders of around 40 countries throughout his stay in the city. Yoon told the leaders that Busan is the world’s second-la

Mexico's ambassador to Korea, Carlos Penafiel Soto, underlined people-to-people connections and the mutual exchange of knowledge as the linchpin of Mexico-Korea ties, marking Mexico’s 213th anniversary of independence from Spain on Wednesday. Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810. Noting bilateral strategic partnerships and political dialogue that were developed over six decades, Soto highlighted recent bilateral trade between Mexico and Korea that hit $30 billion in 202

Honoring history and pledging to build a new future, the embassies of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua commemorated the 202nd Independence anniversary in Seoul on Friday. To commemorate the occasion, the Seoul City Hall building was illuminated in blue and white -- the colors that symbolize the common history of the region. The event was attended by the ambassadors, diplomats, and community members of the Central American countries. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, H

Alumninetzwerk Deutschland-Korea and the German Embassy in Seoul held an integrated academic conference and press day commemorating the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Germany on Monday. Under the theme "Together for another 140 years," the event discoursed on the enduring partnership between South Korea and Germany and encapsulated the spirit of unity and collaboration. The attendees included ADeKo Chairman Kim Hyo-jun, German Ambassado