President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday dismissed the argument that his government was prioritizing economic growth at the expense of welfare and efforts to ease inequality, saying South Korea first needs to expand the overall economic pie. Lee made the remarks on social media after sharing an editorial that criticized the government's 820.9 trillion won ($599 billion) budget proposal for 2027 for placing too much emphasis on growth and called for stronger measures to reduce economic polarization.

South Korea, the United States and Japan will proceed with their annual multidomain military exercise next week despite North Korea's warning of a "hard-line" response, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The three countries are scheduled to conduct Freedom Edge from Sept. 7-11 in waters southeast of Jeju Island, according to the South Korean military. Jang Do-young, a Navy captain and spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there had been no change to the exercise plan despit

South Korea's defense budget is set to surpass 70 trillion won ($51 billion) for the first time next year, as Seoul accelerates its push to transfer wartime operational control and build up domestic defense capabilities. Of the record 820.9 trillion won proposal approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, 73.28 trillion won was allocated to defense, up 8.2 percent from 67.7 trillion won in 2026 — the steepest increase in nearly two decades. The government plans to submit the proposal to the National Ass

Rep. Chun Ha-ram, acting leader and floor leader of the minor conservative Reform Party, dismissed speculation Monday that the party was considering merging with either of South Korea's two major political parties. "There is no one in the Reform Party who is pursuing a merger," Chun said during a press conference at the National Assembly, referring to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the main opposition People Power Party. Chun pledged that the Reform Party would maintain its independent

South Korea on Friday formally selected Muan as the candidate site for the relocation of Gwangju Air Base as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration's plan to develop a major semiconductor industrial cluster on the existing military airport site. The Defense Ministry's relocation site selection committee approved an area in Mangun-myeon, Muan-gun, South Jeolla Province, as the official candidate site during a meeting chaired by Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. The area had been designated as the

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday unveiled the government's key budget plans for young people for 2027 ahead of the formal announcement of next year's budget, including a university internship program and increased housing support. During an event titled "Youth Budget Unboxing 2027" at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Lee said young people were one of the country's most vulnerable generations amid mounting challenges over jobs, housing and financial security. It is the first time the South Korean governm

South Korea's rapid response team began operations in Nepal on Friday to help locate nine South Koreans missing after massive flooding hit a hydropower plant construction site, marking the start of Seoul's on-site response. The 11-member team, led by Lim Sang-woo, the Foreign Ministry's representative for consular affairs and the protection of Koreans overseas, arrived in Kathmandu late Thursday and began coordinating with South Korean Embassy officials and Nepalese authorities. The ministry sai

The annual Freedom Edge exercise — a trilateral drill among South Korea, Japan and the US — will be conducted from Sept. 7 to 11 as scheduled, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. According to the JCS, Freedom Edge is a defensive exercise designed to strengthen the three countries' ability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and safeguard peace and stability in the region. Freedom Edge is a regular multidomain trilateral exercise whose name combines elements of Ulchi Fr

BUSAN — South Korea's homegrown suicide drone may have proved itself on land. At sea, it was not quite ready. On Tuesday, the Agency for Defense Development and the South Korean Navy opened the first maritime trial of the domestically developed medium-sized suicide drone to the media aboard the ROKS Marado, a 14,500-ton Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, in waters south of Busan. The ADD is a state-run defense research agency responsible for developing weapons systems and related technologies

Trump-Kim reset: Renewed outreach from US President Donald Trump could revive direct diplomacy with Kim Jong-un. Experts expect talks to focus on limiting North Korea’s arsenal rather than immediate denuclearization. Nuclear goals narrow: Washington may increasingly favor freezing nuclear production and pursuing gradual reductions, reflecting doubts that complete denuclearization remains achievable. Pyongyang holds leverage: Stronger military ties with Russia and closer relations with China have

US President Donald Trump's renewed outreach to North Korea may reflect a broader shift already underway in Washington toward a more pragmatic approach to Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal, potentially leaving Seoul with little to gain, experts say. Kim Young-ho, a professor of security policy at Korea National Defense University, said US President Donald Trump's renewed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should not be seen as a sudden shift. "North Korea was probably on his agenda fr

The United States should take the lead in engaging North Korea, while South Korea should take a supporting role rather than trying to work as the intermediary as it did eight years ago, a Seoul-based expert has said. Lee Sang-sin, director of the Unification Policy Research Division at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the approach taken in 2018 would be difficult to repeat now, after Pyongyang has cut off all communication with Seoul. The institute is a state-funded think tank

North Korea is preparing for a possible additional troop deployment to Russia, but no signs of an imminent deployment have been detected, South Korea's military intelligence agency said Sunday. In a report submitted to Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the People Power Party, the Defense Intelligence Agency under the Defense Ministry said preparations within the North Korean military for a potential additional deployment have continued. "North Korea continues preparations for a troop deployment, but no signs

Number draws scrutiny: Trump said North Korea has “57 very powerful nuclear weapons,” an unusually precise figure that he did not source or define. In April, he had put the arsenal at 45. Estimates run higher: South Korean officials estimate Pyongyang may possess roughly 80-120 nuclear weapons, while a KIDA researcher previously projected 127-150 based on fissile-material production. Language signals shift: Trump’s matter-of-fact description of North Korea’s arsenal, coupled with repeated refere

North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The JCS said it detected the launches from the Pyongyang area at around 5 p.m. Thursday. The specific type of missile and flight distance were not immediately disclosed. The latest launch came eight days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea from the Wonsan area on Aug. 12. The missile flew about 700 kilometers, according to the Sou