Two South Koreans are in critical condition after being shot in Mexico, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. The victims, all currently in a local hospital after the afternoon shooting, were shot near Mexico City, the ministry said Tuesday evening, noting it had asked authorities to immediately open an investigation while offering consular services. The ministry did not detail the identity of the victims and it was not immediately clear whether the Koreans were caught in the crossfire.

Foreign Affairs June 27, 2023

A senior Foreign Ministry official in Seoul warned South Koreans about the potential fallout from China’s latest anti-espionage law, which is set to take effect in July. “Those traveling or staying there should now take more precautions,” the official told a media briefing Thursday, referring to the fact that the law could catch Koreans off guard as new changes written into the law have widened Chinese authorities’ discretion over what constitutes espionage. Previously, t

Foreign Affairs June 23, 2023

South Korea and the United States set up a working group on cybersecurity, a follow-up on what the two allies agreed at the April summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his US counterpart Joe Biden, Yoon’s office said in a statement Friday. At a three-day in-person meeting in Washington that ended Thursday, senior Korean and American officials responsible for cybersecurity established a senior steering group to start responding to threats in cyberspace, according to the statement. The

Foreign Affairs June 23, 2023

South Korea said Thursday it will provide an additional $130 million in aid to help Ukraine recover from Russia’s invasion, at a two-day annual conference that started a day ago in London for the second time. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which brought together officials from 61 countries and 33 international organizations and at least 400 companies, Bang Moon-kyu, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said Seoul pledged a $30 million increase in its budgetary su

Foreign Affairs June 22, 2023

South Korea and the United States said Wednesday the two allies will continue openly calling on China to back their efforts to denuclearize North Korea, following Washington’s briefing in Seoul about its latest talks with Beijing. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Monday to stabilize their relations to prevent further conflict, during Blinken’s two-day trip to Beijing that started a day earlier. Such a meeting last took place five years ago.

Foreign Affairs June 21, 2023

As the US and China have agreed to stabilize their escalating rivalry in talks that have partially calmed growing worries over a full-on confrontation between the two superpowers, efforts should be made for South Korea to repair ties with China as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the year, experts said Tuesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands on a more stable relationship during a rare visit by a top American diplomat, the first in five

Foreign Affairs June 20, 2023

North Korea called the botched attempt last month to launch a military reconnaissance satellite the “most serious failure,” vowing to try a second launch without offering exact dates at the ruling party’s key meeting held from Friday to Sunday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Monday, officials responsible for the May 31 launch were rebuked at the plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which leader Kim Jong-un

North Korea June 19, 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday on a high-stakes two-day mission to cool off growing tensions with China, with neighboring countries such as South Korea closely monitoring developments. On the first day of his tour, Blinken was expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and top diplomat Wang Yi ahead of a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping the following day, according to US officials. The rare trip was a follow-up on what Xi and US President

Foreign Affairs June 18, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol oversaw the largest joint live-fire exercises ever conducted by the South Korean and US military, as the two allies marked the last day of their three-week drills Thursday meant to openly deter North Korea’s growing aggression. The show of force, which took place at Asia’s largest military training field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, involved mobilizing the South Korean F-35A fighter jets and K9 howitzers and the US F-16 jets and Gray Eagle drones. About 2,50

Politics June 15, 2023

Japan has to persuade South Koreans that the wastewater it will release this summer from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant is safe, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said in an interview with a Japanese outlet. In the interview with Jiji Press published Wednesday, the envoy said there are difficulties even if “such persuasion were to take place with scientific evidence presented” because the issue itself is a “highly sensitive matter concerning the health

Foreign Affairs June 14, 2023

The Chinese ambassador to South Korea “intentionally” criticized South Korea’s foreign policy using “inaccurate information,” the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday, openly rebuking the top envoy over his remarks that heightened tension between Seoul and Beijing. “We are not faulting the ambassador for meeting with our opposition leader,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said at a briefing, referring to a meeting last week between Ambassador

Foreign Affairs June 13, 2023

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, and his US counterpart, Sung Kim, reaffirmed their commitment to respond sternly to North Korea’s aggression, including blocking illicit funds from bankrolling North Korea’s weapons programs. “We have agreed to step up our efforts to cut off funds to the North’s nuclear and missile programs,” Kim Gunn said of his meeting with the US special representative in Washington. The North is refusing to comply with internati

Foreign Affairs June 13, 2023

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, and his US counterpart, Sung Kim, will meet in Washington on Monday to review joint work on disarming North Korea, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in a statement Friday, amid heightened inter-Korean tensions. Last week, Pyongyang failed to put into orbit what it claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite, a launch that some believe was actually meant to test a ballistic missile. United Nations Security Council resolutions ban the isolate

Foreign Affairs June 9, 2023

Kim Tae-hyo, President Yoon’s deputy national security adviser, reaffirmed the country’s push to prioritize diplomacy with countries that value freedom -- the administration’s signature foreign policy that has essentially put the country in a US-led coalition against China and Russia. At a forum Friday to mark Yoon’s first anniversary of taking office in May 2022, Kim described freedom as a “core interest” that will determine whether the country will have a se

Politics June 9, 2023

South Korea will manage relations with China to foster a “healthy relationship,” President Yoon Suk Yeol’s national security adviser said, suggesting Seoul would not give in to Beijing’s demands as easily as the previous administration. Cho Tae-yong said the Yoon administration is seeking to advance Korea’s global status with a “principled approach and reciprocity,” meaning Beijing would have to reciprocate what it asks Seoul to do. China has been trying

Politics June 9, 2023