Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership election on Wednesday, making him all but certain to become Japan’s new prime minister.  The 64-year-old replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who decided early this month to step down after a year in office amid plummeting approval ratings over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Kishida is effectively assured to be named the prime minister at an extraor

North Korea fired a short-range missile into the East Sea on Tuesday, the South’s military said, just as Pyongyang’s UN envoy defended the country’s right to test weapons and called on the US to drop its “hostile policy” toward the reclusive regime. 　   　 South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired one “unidentified projectile” at around 6:40 a.m. into the sea off its east coast from the country’s northern Jagang Province n

South Korea has been named the next head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, marking the first time a Korean representative is to hold the post since the UN nuclear watchdog was established in 1957, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.  Shin Chae-hyun, the South Korean ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, was elected as the chairman of the board during a meeting held in Vienna on Monday. His one-year term start

North Korea dismissed the US as the “most heinous human rights abuser” for using its human rights agenda to put pressure on other countries and interfere in their internal affairs, its state media said Monday. 　 The Korea Central News Agency published an article written by Kim Jin-hui, a researcher with the Institute of International Studies of the DPRK, accusing the US of interfering in the sovereignty of countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Syria, crippling their economic develo

South Korea on Friday decided to provide up to 10 billion won ($8.51 million) to civilian organizations that are carrying out aid projects for North Korea, as the government seeks to engage the North through humanitarian assistance.  Under the decision approved during a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges, the Unification Ministry set aside up to 10 billion won to support civilian group-led projects that tackle nutrition and health conditions for vulnerable groups in No

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan met for talks on Thursday and restated differences on wartime history that have been at the center of a bilateral feud, but agreed to resolve the issue and improve their soured ties.  South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, held talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Their meeting came as the neighbors are mired in a protracted row over problems stemming from

South Korea, the US and Japan will further bolster cooperation to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenals, the three countries’ foreign ministers concluded at a meeting on Wednesday. 　 South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday (US time) in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. 　 During their session, the three discussed the recent situation o

President Moon Jae-in reiterated calls for a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, amid fresh tension on the Korean Peninsula following recent ballistic missile tests by both Koreas. 　 “I once again urge the community of nations to mobilize its strengths for the end-of-war declaration on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said as he addressed the annual gathering of world leaders in New York. “I propose that three parties of the two

The election is still nearly half a year away, but the race for the South Korean presidency is already heating up. Despite the two largest parties -- the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party -- having already shed several hopefuls, the number of people vying for the nation’s top job still stands at 30. This is a quick rundown of some of the main candidates.  Ruling party heavies Lee Jae-myung Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung’s life is Sout

North Korea could be trying to gain the upper hand in its relations with the US and China amid their intensifying rivalry, analysts say in reference to the ballistic missile tests that took place in the North on the same day that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with South Korean leaders in Seoul.  South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang launched two ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday afternoon, just days after testing a new long-range cruise missile.

North Korea has launched unidentified projectiles into the East Sea, South Korea‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The JCS said that the North fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea from an inland location Wednesday afternoon.  Seoul's military said that the type of missiles fired has not been identified, and that South Korea and the US intelligence agencies are analysing the launch. The JCS also said that the military has been put on raised alert, and maintaining read

Top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the US and Japan held a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss how best to restart stalled talks and rid the North of its nuclear weapons, amid fresh tension after the regime’s latest missile tests.  The three-way session involved South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively. A day earlier, the North announced it had successfully test-fired a n

The foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and Australia held talks Monday and emphasized the importance of bolstering mutual security ties and strategic communication to tackle common challenges.  South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook together met with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defense Minister Peter Dutton in Seoul for the so-called “two-plus-two” dialogue, where they discussed a range of issues including

North Korea said Monday that it had successfully test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend, ramping up tensions as South Korea, the US and Japan get ready for a Tuesday meeting to discuss the North’s nuclear issue.  　 During the tests Saturday and Sunday, the cruise missiles flew in ovals and figure eights for more than two hours above the North’s land and waters before hitting targets 1,500 kilometers away, according to the Korean Central News Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency will send a group of experts, possibly including some from South Korea and China, to the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant in December to monitor the safety and transparency of Japan’s planned disposal of treated radioactive water, an official from the agency said Thursday.  Fishers in Japan and neighboring countries, including China and Korea, reacted angrily to the Japanese government’s decision in April to dump the 1.25 million ton

North Korea has been banned from the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics as punishment for skipping the Tokyo Games this summer, thwarting Seoul’s hopes of using the occasion as an opportunity for rapprochement with the reclusive regime. 　 International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Wednesday announced that the North’s national Olympic committee would be suspended from the IOC until the end of 2022 as a result of the regime’s “unilateral decision” to not

The Japanese government is set for a leadership change, but a dramatic turnaround in Seoul-Tokyo relations is unlikely, experts say. 　 In the wake of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s abrupt decision to step down last Friday, many here are wondering what the new Japanese leadership will mean for South Korea as an array of candidates vies to succeed Suga at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, set for Sept. 29. 　 The new LDP president is effectively assured of becoming

North Korea has turned down some million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which may be largely out of concerns about side-effects as well as mistrust over the vaccine efficacy, pundits have said. 　 The reclusive regime recently rejected about 3 million doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine, and asked for them to be sent to other severely affected countries instead, according to the UNICEF, which is in charge of distributing doses on behalf of the COVAX facility -- a multinational program t

The Unification Ministry on Thursday said it had proposed a 1.9 percent increase in its budget for cooperation projects with North Korea next year, despite escalated tensions and a stalemate in cross-border projects.   　 A total of 1.27 trillion won ($1.09 billion) has been earmarked for the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund next year, up from this year’s 1.24 trillion won, according to the ministry.   　 The fund, established in 1991 to facilitate humanitarian and economic exchange

 South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday the proposed 5.7 percent increase in its budget next year included a record amount set aside for foreign aid, as the country seeks to expand its role on the international stage.   　 The ministry sought an allocation of 3.02 trillion won ($2.61 billion) for 2022, up from this year’s 2.84 trillion won, in what would be a record high if approved by the National Assembly later this year.   　 It earmarked 1.11 trillion won,