President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to Seoul early Sunday morning as the couple wrapped up the state visits to three Central Asian countries. Yoon on Saturday flew from the ancient city of Samarkand, about 270 kilometers southwest of Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent, for his final engagement with his counterpart, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Mirziyoyev formerly served as the governor of the Samarkand region from 2001 to 2003. They visited historical sites that used to be the center of

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol visited ancient city of Samarkand before wrapping up the state visits to three Central Asian countries, according to the presidential office on Saturday. Flying about 270 kilometers southwest of Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent, Yoon and his counterpart, Uzbek President President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, visited historic sites of what served as the center of the Timurid Empire in the 14th century, such as a public square Registan and Gur-e-Amir,

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- South Korea, the United States and Japan will join forces to analyze the process and the outcome of Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to North Korea for the first time in 24 years. According to an official of the presidential office who spoke on condition of anonymity, South Korea will "together analyze the process and the outcome" of Putin's visit to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in line with its "close and frequent com

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Uzbek counterpart, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, held a summit Friday to bolster their "special strategic partnership" in fields not limited to infrastructure and mineral resources. Notably, with the two leaders present at the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, South Korea-based heavy industry firm Hyundai Rotem and state-run Uzbekistan Railways signed a 270 billion won ($195.7 million) deal to export South Kore

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol's family will adopt two Alabay breed shepherd dogs on Tuesday, as promised by Turkmenistan's national leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov during their bilateral talks earlier this week, according to his office Friday. Following quarantine, the two Turkmen dogs will spend time on the front lawn of the presidential office in Seoul "as much as they want" and enter the presidential residence, according to Yoon's office. The Alabay dogs, an anci

ASTANA, Kazakhstan/SEOUL -- The South Korean presidential office said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will make his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, widely interpreted by observers as a key moment to bolster military and security cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and other shifting geopolitical dynamics. "President Putin's visit to North Korea will take place in a few days," a senior South Korean presidential official confirmed t

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee were again spotted with dogs during their trip to Central Asian countries, highlighting the president and his spouse's love for pets. On Wednesday evening, Yoon and Kim encountered three dogs raised by Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as the couple made their way into a special exhibition and stage performances at the Kalibek Kuanyshbaev Kazakh Musical and Drama Theater in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Sout

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to meet Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev Friday in the final leg of his Central Asia trip. Yoon last met Mirziyoyev in September last year on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States. Yoon is expected to work to ensure the stable supply of critical minerals from Uzbekistan, open ways for South Korean construction firms to join more Uzbek projects, and boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of health care

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- The presidential office on Wednesday revealed plans to add nonstop flights between South Korea's port city of Incheon and cities of Kazakhstan, namely the capital city of Astana and its most populous city, Almaty. Park Chun-sup, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, told reporters in a briefing that South Korean budget carrier T'way Air is poised to start operating direct flights between Incheon and Astana soon, two or three times a week. Also, anoth

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Kazakh counterpart President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agreed Wednesday to strengthen bilateral cooperation in critical minerals exploration and development. The presidential office said this would bolster the bilateral strategic partnership between the two nations, with his state visit to Kazakhstan marking the first by a South Korean leader in five years. During the summit of Yoon and Tokayev in Astana, the capital city of Kazakh

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- First lady Kim Keon Hee has embraced the diplomatic spotlight during President Yoon Suk Yeol's Central Asian trip, amid political pressure to investigate allegations she violated Korea's antigraft law. As Yoon and Kim are halfway through a trip involving state visits to three countries -- Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan -- Kim has expanded her public role as the first lady in a series of engagements highlighting cultural exchanges. According to Yoon's

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday called for speedier economic cooperation with Turkmenistan, as South Korean companies were working to secure up to $6 billion in construction bids in the Central Asian country's rich gas sector. Speaking at a business forum to mark the South Korean leader's state visit to Turkmenistan, Yoon said the two countries have many opportunities for collaboration, stressing Turkmenistan's status as the world's fourth-largest

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- The leaders of South Korea and Turkmenistan on Monday agreed to deepen the "mutually beneficial partnership" of the two countries, which could allow more South Korean companies to join the Central Asian country's construction and infrastructure projects. At a summit held in the capital of Turkmenistan, President Yoon Suk Yeol and his counterpart Serdar Berdymukhamedov also agreed to diversify bilateral cooperation through eight documents signed to boost b

Opposition party lawmakers on Friday played down a controversy that has recently resurfaced over ruling party claims surrounding former first lady Kim Jung-sook's official visit to India in November 2018, of her allegedly "extravagant" airline meals, visit to the Taj Mahal and eligibility to represent the South Korean delegation at the time. The lawmakers added that those stirring up such "unfounded and malicious distortions," including the ruling People Power Party'

President Yoon Suk Yeol is to embark on a state visit to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week, as he seeks to cement Seoul's business ties with Central Asia, according to the presidential office. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee are scheduled to travel for the visit from Monday to Saturday. Seoul will work to integrate South Korea's innovation prowess with Central Asian countries' potential for economic development, based on strong trust and solidarity, Kim Tae-hyo, f

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- The leaders of South Korea and African countries agreed to launch a multilateral dialogue for critical minerals to ensure their stable supply and promote technology cooperation at a summit held in Seoul to redefine diplomatic and economic ties between Asia's fourth-largest economy and the continent on Tuesday. At the first-ever summit hosted by the Korean government with African countries to strengthen mutual trust and solidarity, Seoul vowed to provide up to $10 bil

President Yoon Suk Yeol said in an opening speech of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit Tuesday that the event marks a new era of ties between Asia's fourth-largest economy and the African continent. "Today's Summit will herald an important milestone of the new era of ties between South Korea and Africa," Yoon told delegations of 48 African countries in the largest multilateral summit hosted by the Yoon administration. "We hope we can briskly start our grand journey to achieve the futur

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that South Korea will be Africa's "true friend" for the continent's common goal of achieving economic growth, given that South Korea, which was once one of the world's poorest countries, achieved its own economic breakthrough and prosperity in a dramatic fashion. At a welcoming dinner held Monday in Seoul on the eve of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit, Yoon brought up "ubuntu," a term referring to the essence of humanity used amo

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday held two rounds of bilateral talks with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, respectively, on the sidelines of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit scheduled for later this week in Seoul. Seoul described the meetings as a stepping-stone for Asia's fourth-largest economy to weather the transnational crises through increased strategic cooperation with the African continent. The Korean president and Hassan held a summit-level

The Constitutional Court of Korea has dismissed a constitutional petition by the bereaved families of April 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that the South Korean government had neglected its duty to rescue passengers from the capsized vessel. A 5-4 court ruling on Thursday dismissed the claim of state negligence filed in December 2014 and January 2015 for not meeting the relevant legal requirements, ending 10 years of legal actions by the victims' bereaved families. The petition stated that South