Seoul expects steady ties under Takaichi — but braces for Abe’s shadow

As Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister on Tuesday, Seoul anticipates continuity rather than confrontation in its ties with Tokyo, according to observers in Seoul. Takaichi takes office amid turbulent domestic politics and an increasingly fraught global security environment compounded by intensifying US-China rivalry under the second Trump administration. Yet analysts predict she is unlikely to derail the current rapprochement in South Korea-Japan relations fostered by her p

Oct. 21, 2025

Seoul holds talks with Poland, NATO on defense industry cooperation

Two senior presidential aides held talks with NATO members on defense cooperation, as the trans-Atlantic alliance seeks new security frameworks and supply chains in response to the war in Ukraine and rising geopolitical uncertainties. On Monday, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik met with Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz in the capital Warsaw to discuss defense and economic cooperation between the two countries. Kang is in Europe as a special env

Oct. 21, 2025

Trump expects 'fantastic' trade deal with China, notes 'fair' deals with S. Korea, Japan, EU

US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed his expectation that Washington will reach a "very strong" trade deal with Beijing during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, while noting that his administration has struck "fair" deals with Korea, Japan and the European Union. Trump made the remarks during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, reiterating that he will meet with Xi in Korea "in a couple of weeks," as Korea is

Oct. 21, 2025

[Contribution] US Congress must pass Partner With Korea Act

By Rep. Bae June-young My father was a small boy living near Incheon Port when, on the dawn of Sept. 15, 1950, the sea and sky were lit by flashes of the Incheon Landing Operation, through which South Korean and US troops retook territory from the North. He fled 20 kilometers inland with his family to escape the fighting. The operation — once deemed impossible due to the extreme tides and said to have only a 1 in 5,000 chance of success — liberated South Korea from the grip of the 1950-53 Korean

Oct. 20, 2025

S. Korean business tycoons brief Trump on US investment at Florida golf event

South Korea's top business group chiefs highlighted their US investment activities during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at a golf event in Florida last week, according to industry sources Monday. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan participated in the event Saturday at the Trump International Golf Club in Trump's private M

Oct. 20, 2025

US likely to replace acting ambassador to South Korea

Washington is expected to replace acting Ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, at the end of this month, diplomatic sources said Sunday. According to multiple sources, Yun, who has served as the acting envoy in Seoul for about nine months, since January, is expected to step down around Oct. 26. His successor is likely to be Kevin Kim, a Korean Americ

Oct. 19, 2025

Korean business leaders meet Trump for golf amid tariff talks

A group of top South Korean business leaders held a golf outing with US President Donald Trump at his private Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday, amid ongoing discussions over tariffs between the two countries. On Saturday morning, local police briefly blocked the road connecting Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence to the Trump International Gold Club to allow his motorcade to pass. White House pool reporters confirmed his arrival at the club at 9:15 a.m. The South Korean delegation included the heads of So

Oct. 19, 2025

S. Korea to hold its own memorial to honor Sado mine victims next month: ambassador

South Korea plans to hold its own memorial ceremony late next month to honor Korean victims who were forced to work at an old Japanese mine complex during Japan's colonial rule of Korea, Seoul's top envoy to Tokyo said Saturday. South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk unveiled the plan during an annual parliamentary audit of government agencies, held at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo. The planned memorial will be held at Sado mine in Japan's Niigata Prefecture, off the west coast, separatel

Oct. 18, 2025

Trump reaffirms he will meet Xi in S. Korea in 'couple of weeks' amid trade tensions

US President Donald Trump reaffirmed Friday that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea "in a couple of weeks," as Korea is set to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit slated to begin late this month. Trump made the remarks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, as trade tensions between the two superpowers have heightened following Beijing's move to tighten export controls on rare earths -- essential components for t

Oct. 18, 2025

No sign yet of Trump-Kim meeting during APEC summit in Korea: Seoul envoy

South Korea's top envoy to the United States said Friday that there is no indication yet that US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit set to open in Korea later this month. Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the UN in New York, amid lingering speculation that Trump could seek reengagement with Kim when he visits Korea for the APEC gat

Oct. 18, 2025

Chartered flight departs to bring home S. Koreans detained in Cambodia

A chartered flight departed from Incheon International Airport, the main gateway west of Seoul, on Friday to bring home approximately 60 South Korean nationals who have been detained in Cambodia in connection with online scam operations, the Seoul government said. The flight, KE9689, took off at around 7:26 p.m. for Phnom Penh. It is scheduled to depart the Cambodian capital at around 2 a.m. Saturday (Korean time), carrying the South Koreans, and expected to arrive in Incheon later in the day, t

Oct. 17, 2025

Seoul to fly home 60 detainees from Cambodia

The Lee Jae Myung administration is set to repatriate around 60 South Korean detainees in Cambodia on a chartered flight on Friday night, as part of its intensified efforts to combat a surge in job scams targeting Korean nationals in Cambodia. Speaking at a press briefing, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac announced Friday afternoon that a flight arranged by the South Korean government was expected to depart Phnom Penh for Incheon around midnight. Wi further explained that South Korean and C

Oct. 17, 2025

At UN, Seoul calls for concerted response to trafficking amid surge in Korean victims in Cambodia

South Korea called for a concerted international response at the United Nations to tackle large-scale human trafficking in Southeast Asia, amid a rapid surge in cases of its nationals forced into labor and criminal activities in Cambodia’s scam compounds. Kim Sang-jin, South Korea’s deputy ambassador to the UN, shed light on the issue amid mounting public concern over the rise of crimes — including human trafficking, forced confinement, and assault — committed by scam syndicates in Cambodia targ

Oct. 17, 2025

Cambodia to deport 59 South Koreans linked to scam centers: police

Cambodia will deport on Friday 59 South Koreans who worked in cyberscam schemes, police said, after Seoul sent a team to investigate the fate of dozens of its nationals. "Authorities plan to deport 59 South Korean nationals... who have been rescued by Cambodian authorities or detained for other crimes to their country with cooperation from the embassy of South Korea," Cambodia's national police said in a statement on Thursday. South Korea banned its nationals on Wednesday from travelling to part

Oct. 16, 2025

Cambodian PM regrets death of Korean in scam ring, vows tougher crackdown

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed regret over the death of a South Korean national killed by an online scam syndicate and pledged to redouble efforts to protect Koreans in Cambodia, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry. Hun made the remarks in a meeting with an emergency interagency response team from the South Korean government, headed by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina and including Park Sung-joo, head of the National Office of Investigation, in Phnom Penh on Thursday morning

Oct. 16, 2025