President Lee Jae Myung pledged Wednesday to create conditions for renewed US-North Korea dialogue, as he seeks to turn US President Donald Trump’s latest overtures to Pyongyang into an opening for diplomacy. Lee underlined that South Korea must break the inter-Korean deadlock and move the peninsula beyond its decades-old armistice toward a lasting peace regime in his address to Americas-based members of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. “As President Trump’s determination has created a

South Korea and Japan held high-level economic security dialogue to discuss closer cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and supply chains, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Kim Sung-youl, presidential secretary for economic security, and Takeshi Soda, Cabinet councilor at Japan’s National Security Secretariat, led their respective delegations at the fifth Korea-Japan Economic Security Dialogue in Tokyo on Tuesday. “At the meeting, Korea and Japan assessed the economic security enviro

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday instructed Prime Minister Han Seong-sook to overhaul the system for handling missing-person cases, underscoring the importance of establishing clear lines of ultimate responsibility in the process. Lee's instruction came amid mounting controversy over two missing person cases on Jeju Island that a police officer allegedly closed on fabricated grounds after falsely recording that contact had been made with the individuals. Both were later found dead in separate

President Lee Jae Myung has accepted the resignation of Kim Yong-beom, his top policy adviser and a key architect of the administration’s economic and financial agenda, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Kim tendered his resignation Monday and that Lee accepted it the following day. Kang did not immediately elaborate on the reasons for Kim’s offer to step down, but the move comes amid mounting pressure over tax and other economic policies. Kim’s is the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has carried out a sweeping reshuffle of the country’s military leadership, bringing back a veteran heavyweight and recasting several senior posts. The shake-up restored veteran Park Jong-chon to the No. 2 post and moved Defense Minister No Kwang-chol — who held the equivalent post during Kim’s summit diplomacy with the US during President Donald Trump’s first term — to the Party Central Committee’s Munitions Industry Department. The changes were announced at the s

President Lee Jae Myung reshuffled his Cabinet on Sunday, replacing six ministers as he moved to reset his administration for its second year. The shake-up also filled monthslong vacancies in key presidential AI posts and created a new advisory role to oversee the Lee administration’s flagship megaprojects in semiconductors and AI. The most notable changes occurred in Lee’s economic policy team at a delicate juncture: The government is grappling with high interest rates, persistent inflation and

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday ordered the mobilization of all available resources to search for and rescue South Koreans who remain out of contact or stranded after Wednesday's flash floods in northern Nepal. “We have had to convene an unscheduled emergency meeting. The safety and lives of our citizens are in a very serious situation,” Lee said in his opening remarks at an emergency meeting at the Foreign Ministry’s situation room in Seoul. “Nine of our citizens who were working at a hydro

Local leaders brought a diverse slate of growth proposals to President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday, from renewable energy projects along the inter-Korean border to building a K-food hub in North Gyeongsang Province. The pitches came as Lee’s administration seeks to channel investment, industries and jobs beyond the capital region and build new regional economic hubs around strategic industries. Lee chaired the 10th central-local cooperation meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, the first since the J

Police reform push: President Lee Jae Myung ordered a government-led overhaul of the police, putting the Prime Minister’s Office in charge as scrutiny grows over mishandled missing-person cases. Jeju failures exposed: A Jeju officer allegedly fabricated records to close two missing-person cases. Both individuals were later found dead after their families pressed authorities to resume searches. Power shift looming: Police are set to gain broader investigative authority on Oct. 2 as prosecutors lo

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered the government to draw up a police reform plan, a day after asking police to come up with their own proposals, as scrutiny intensifies over officers alleged mishandling of cases. In the last week, suspicions have emerged that two missing persons cases were closed on fraudulent grounds. Searches uncovered the bodies of the two people after their families sought continued investigation. Police are set to assume greater investigative powers in October, but

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday called for South Korea’s integrity standards to catch up with its growing economic stature, as he presided over the first anti-corruption policy council meeting under his administration. Lee pointed to a widening contrast between South Korea’s economic standing and its level of public-sector integrity. Lee noted that the country’s exports have reached a record high and risen to the fifth-largest in the world, while its current account surplus has also hit an all

President Lee Jae Myung named veteran trade bureaucrat Park Jung-sung as the country’s new trade minister Friday, as Seoul navigates sensitive tariff and investment negotiations with Washington. Park, who has served as deputy minister for trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, has spent nearly three decades in trade and commerce policy, according to Cheong Wa Dae. His appointment comes after former Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo was dismissed on Saturday, creating an unexpected vaca

President Lee Jae Myung is facing another politically fraught domestic challenge, this time over who will sit on South Korea’s Supreme Court and how much say the presidential office should have in choosing them. The dispute erupted after Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae on Tuesday submitted a formal recommendation in writing for two judges to fill vacancies on the country’s highest court without the customary face-to-face consultation with Lee. The move broke with a long-standing practice under which t

Senior officials from South Korea and China agreed Thursday to maintain "close communication" on developments on the Korean Peninsula and seek broader common ground on regional and global issues, according to Cheong Wa Dae. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reached the agreement during talks and a luncheon in Seoul. Cheong Wa Dae said Wi and Wang “exchanged a wide range of views on matters of mutual interest, including the future direction of Korea-China

President Lee Jae Myung met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday, as US President Donald Trump’s overtures to North Korea bring Beijing’s potential role back into focus. Lee and Wang assessed bilateral ties as being on a steady path of improvement following reciprocal summit visits, and they agreed to build on that momentum ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in November, according to Cheong Wa Dae. “Lee also asked Wang to maintain close str