Page 37 - South Korea

S Korea, US troops to hold massive live-fire drills near N Korea border

The South Korean and U.S. militaries were set to begin massive live-fire drills near the border with North Korea on Thursday, despite the North's warning that it won't tolerate what it calls such a hostile invasion rehearsal on its doorstep. Thursday's drills, the first of the allies' five rounds of firing exercises until mid-June, mark 70 years since the establishment of the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. North Korea has typically reacted to such major South Korean-U.S. exercises with missile and other weapons tests. Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-launched more than 100 missiles but none since it fired a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in mid-April. North Korea has argued its torrid pace of tests was meant to respond to the expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, but observers say the North aims to advance its weapons development then wrest greater concessions from its rivals in eventual diplomacy. The U.S.-South Kore

G20 tourism track meet in Srinagar successful: Korean ambassador to India

The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting here was a success, South Korean Ambassador to India Chang Jae-bok said on Wednesday, adding that Kashmir is a wonderful place with kind people. The Korean ambassador said Seoul strongly supported India's presidency and expressed hope that New Delhi will make the G20 meetings successful. He told PTI, "The G20 meeting (in Kashmir) was successful." Jae-bok and other delegates to the working group meeting also visited the refurbished Polo View Market in the Residency Road area here. He said Kashmir is a wonderful place and the people are very kind. "It is a wonderful place, the people here are very kind. I hope more people come here to discover the beauty and diversity of India," he added. The Korean ambassador further said, "India is becoming a global power. Right now, India is the fifth biggest economy and it will become the third biggest economy very soon. We hope that India and Korea will continue to have good relations," he said. YN Brugge

South Korean, German leaders agree to cooperate on supply chains, N. Korea

The leaders of South Korea and Germany on Sunday pledged more cooperation in building stable industrial supply chains and addressing the challenges posed by nuclear-armed North Korea as they met in Seoul after flying in from the Group of Seven meetings in Japan. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, pointed to the similarities between the two major manufacturing nations that are dependent on foreign trade and said a stronger supply chain partnership would help them cope with intensifying global economic instability and geopolitical conflicts. He said the countries in particular will work to advance trade relations in high-tech industries and clean energy, including semiconductors and hydrogen projects, and pursue further opportunities in defense cooperation. Yoon said they also discussed the growing threat posed by North Korea, which has test-fired around 100 missiles since the start of 2022 while accelerating its push t

S Korea, Japan use G-7 to push improvement in ties long marked by animosity

Amid the high-level efforts to deal with a raft of global emergencies, this weekend's Group of 7 summit of rich democracies will also see an unusual diplomatic reconciliation as the leaders of Japan and South Korea look to continue mending ties that have been marked for years by animosity and bickering. At first glance the two neighbours would seem to be natural partners. They are powerful, advanced democracies and staunch US allies in a region beset with autocratic threats. The continuing fallout, however, from centuries of complicated, acrimonious history, culminating in the brutal 1910-1945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula, has resulted in more wariness than friendship. A big part of the sudden recent shift in tone is a shared focus on China's growing aggressiveness, t he threat of North Korea's fast-improving arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles and deep worry about how Russia's war in Ukraine is influencing both issues. Some diplomatic nudging by Washington, which

South Korea's crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb raided in crypto scandal

Prosecutors raided two of South Korea's local crypto exchanges as part of an investigation into snowballing suspicions surrounding opposition lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk's digital assets, officials said

US calls for S Korea to be vocal against Russia's aggression of Ukraine

US Ambassador Philip called for South Korea to "keep speaking out" against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stressing the importance of the two allies working together on global issues

S Korea, Japan holds working-level meeting on Seoul's Fukushima inspection

South Korea and Japan held working-level consultations on Friday to discuss details of Seoul's inspection of Tokyo's plan to discharge contaminated water from crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant

Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida vow better Seoul-Tokyo ties following summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday called for officials to map out specific steps to hasten security and economic cooperation with Japan following his weekend summit in Seoul with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida during Sunday's meeting expressed sympathy toward Koreans forced into industrial slavery during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula as the leaders vowed to overcome historical grievances and strengthen cooperation in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat and other challenges. The summit, which was the second meeting between the leaders in less than two months, drew a mixed reaction in South Korea. Critics, including Yoon's liberal opponents who control majority in the National Assembly, said Kishida's comments fell short of a meaningful apology and accused Yoon of letting Japan off the hook over its past aggressions while pushing to repair bilateral ties. Others saw the summit as a sign that the two key U.S. allies are final

In a bid to improve ties, S. Korean, Japanese leaders meet again for summit

The leaders of South Korea and Japan met on Sunday for their second summit in less than two months, as they push to mend long-running historical grievances and boost ties in the face of North Korea's nuclear programme and other regional challenges. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in South Korea earlier on Sunday for a two-day visit, which reciprocates a mid-March trip to Tokyo by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. It was the first exchange of visits between the leaders of the Asian neighbours in 12 years. South Korean media attention on the summit is focused on whether Kishida will make a more direct apology over Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Such comments by Kishida would likely help Yoon win greater support for his push to build stronger ties with Japan and ease domestic criticism that he's preemptively made concessions to Tokyo without receiving corresponding steps in return. It took 12 years to restore the shuttle diplomacy' but our ...

South Korean, Japanese leaders to meet again in a bid to improve ties

The leaders of South Korea and Japan are to meet Sunday for their second summit in less than two months, as they push to bolster cooperation following years of fraught ties over historical issues. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is to arrive in South Korea on Sunday for a two-day visit, which reciprocates a mid-March trip to Tokyo by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The exchange of visits between the leaders of the Asian neighbours, the first of its kind in 12 years, signals that both nations are serious about strengthening ties in the face of shared regional challenges such as North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal and China's increasing assertiveness. "I hope to have an open-hearted exchange of views with President Yoon based on our relationship of trust," Kishida told reporters before his departure at his official residence. "Since March, there have been various levels of communication in areas including finance and defense, and I plan to further develop this ongoing ..

'WTO not listening to developing nations', says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Sitharaman stressed that there was also a need to involve the private sector to step up investment and innovation

No decision yet on Yoon Suk Yeo-Fumio Kishida summit in Seoul next month

"Nothing has been officially decided yet," a senior presidential official told reporters in Boston, where Yoon is on the second leg of his state visit to the US

North Korea insults US Prez Biden, slams defence agreement with Seoul

The powerful sister of North Korea's leader says her country would stage more provocative displays of its military might in response to a new US-South Korean agreement to intensify nuclear deterrence to counter the North's nuclear threat, which she insists shows their extreme hostility toward Pyongyang. Kim Yo Jong also lobbed personal insults toward US President Joe Biden, who after a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday stated that any North Korean nuclear attack on the US or its allies would result in the end of whatever regime took such action. Biden's meeting with Yoon in Washington came amid heightened tensions in the Korean Peninsula as the pace of both the North Korean weapons demonstrations and the combined US-South Korean military exercises have increased in a cycle of tit-for-tat. Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-fired around 100 missiles, including multiple demonstrations of intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U

South Korea's President Yoon talks of nuclear threat at Harvard visit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivered a speech and took questions at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge on Friday where he spoke about the challenges facing his country including the threat of nuclear weapons from neighbouring North Korea. Yoon pointed to a new plan he unveiled with President Joe Biden on Wednesday for intensified nuclear deterrence to counter any North Korean threat. If we were to accept nuclear weapons by North Korea then South Korea may have to possess nuclear weapons," Yoon said during a question-and-answer period after his speech at the Kennedy School. "This is not something we want to see happen. Yoon went on to say that if North Korea were to use nuclear weapons the result is quite obvious." As long as North Korea recognizes nuclear weapons as a means of survival we have to make sure to deter the usage of such weapons so that the Republic of Korea, our neighbouring countries, and the entire global community can be protected, he said through a .

Japan to restore preferential trade status for South Korea: Official

Japan's trade ministry on Friday said it has begun procedures to restore preferential trade status for South Korea, days after Seoul took a similar step for Tokyo and requested reciprocity, and more than three years after the countries downgraded each other during a bitter historical dispute. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said talks with South Korea this month showed that its controls over trade in sensitive materials with both civilian and military uses are now as effective as those used by Japan. It said it has proposed as a result that South Korea be restored to the list of countries which receive preferential Japanese trading status, subject to a month-long public comment period ending May 31. The list currently contains 26 nations including the United States, Britain, Canada, France and Germany. The step would end a trade dispute that began in July 2019 when Japan removed South Korea from its white list of countries given fast-track approvals in trade, in ...

Indo-Korea bilateral trade grows 17% to record $27.8 bn in 2022: Kotra

The bilateral trade between India and Korea grew by 17.3 per cent to USD 27.8 billion in 2022, according to Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). In 2021, the value of bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 23.7 billion. Korea's exports to India increased by 21 per cent to USD 18.9 billion, while imports increased by 10.5 per cent to USD 8.9 billion. Addressing India-Korea Future Industry Partnership Event 2023, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India Chang Jae-bok on Wednesday said, "India and Korea must focus on the critical issue of green energy and learn from each other's strengths. Green energy, hydrogen energy, and EVs are the future, and Korea's leadership in producing EVs since 2005 is an excellent example for India". The two-day event is organised as part of a 50-year celebration of the India-Korea diplomatic relationship. Through collaboration and cooperation, both countries can further emphasise the importance of adopting green energy and

S Korean prez opens Washington visit with spotlight on space, mega deals

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol opened his state visit to Washington on Tuesday by touring a NASA facility with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Biden administration looks to deepen ties with a close ally that it sees as only growing in importance in an increasingly complicated Indo-Pacific. Before Harris and Yoon's visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Greenbelt, Md., the two countries signed a joint statement on cooperation in space communications and navigation, and received briefings from NASA scientists on cooperative efforts on space exploration and addressing the climate crisis, Our alliance is leading on some of the most important and pressing issues of our time, Harris said in remarks with Yoon by her side at the NASA facility. Yoon, for his part, recalled his exhilaration as a third-grader watching on television as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped off Apollo 11 to become the first humans to set foot on the moon in 1969. Now, NASA and the Korea

Hyundai Motor's reports 109% increase in Q1, beating expectations

Hyundai Motor Co reported a 109% increase in first-quarter profit thanks to a rise in vehicle output as a global chip shortage eased

South Korea formally restores Japan on trade 'white list' after 3 years

South Korea formally restored Japan to its list of countries it gives preferential treatment in trade on Monday, three years after the neighbours downgraded each other's trade status amid a diplomatic row fuelled by historical grievances. In announcing the move through a government gazette, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also said Seoul will further restrict technology and industrial exports to Russia and its ally Belarus to support the U.S.-led pressure campaign against Moscow over the war in Ukraine. After years of friction, Seoul and Tokyo are working to repair relations as they tighten their three-way security cooperation with Washington to counter the threat posed by North Korea. Pyongyang has used the distractions caused by the war to accelerate testing of nuclear-capable missiles. South Korean officials expect Tokyo to restore Seoul as a favoured trade partner too, but expect that step to take more time based on the procedures to revise Japan's export ..

South Korean carmakers' global market share falls to 7.3% in 2022

Local automakers accounted for 7.3 per cent of vehicle sales in the world's eight major markets last year, down from 7.7 per cent in 2021