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US Navy chief likely to visit South Korea next week: sources
US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is expected to visit South Korea as early as next week, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday, a trip likely aimed at discussing shipbuilding cooperation in line with the Donald Trump administration's initiatives. Phelan's office has finalized the plan and is fine-tuning the details of the itinerary with government officials and relevant industries in Seoul, according to the sources. Phelan is likely to visit major South Korean shipyards during h
April 24, 2025 -
US delivering 'more forward' Indo-Pacific force posture to deter China: Pentagon chief
The United States is delivering a "more forward" force posture in the Indo-Pacific to help deter an increasingly assertive China, the Pentagon chief said Wednesday, calling on allies and partners to "step up" to be "true force multipliers for freedom." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the remarks during a speech at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania, reaffirming America's security commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and stressing that US President Donald Trump's America First policy do
April 24, 2025 -
Rubio describes N. Korea as 'nuclear armed' country
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described North Korea as a "nuclear-armed" country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons capabilities, despite the Trump administration's stated commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of the North. Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, as he pointed to a series of security challenges facing the United States, including those from China, Russia and Iran. "We live in a world with a nuclear-armed North K
April 24, 2025 -
US says China's refusal to abide by intl. law hampers its interests, after Seoul-Beijing maritime tensions
China's refusal to comply with international law hampers its economic interests and causes regional instability, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday, following maritime tensions between Seoul and Beijing over China's installation of steel structures in the Yellow Sea. China has constructed a set of steel structures in the Provisional Maritime Zone near Ieo Islet, a submerged rock off South Korea's southwest coast. The PMZ is an area where the exclusive economic zones of the two countr
April 24, 2025 -
S. Korea, US to hold '2+2' trade talks in Washington amid tariff concerns
South Korea and the United States were set to hold their first "2+2" trade dialogue involving finance and trade ministers in Washington on Thursday, in what is seen as a key step toward potentially easing recently announced US tariffs. The high-level talks, scheduled for 8 a.m., or 9 p.m. in South Korea, will bring together South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The tal
April 24, 2025 -
Bessent calls for allies' stronger defense commitments ahead of trade talks with S. Korea
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Wednesday for allies to strengthen their commitments to "shared defense," noting America's provision of security guarantees and "open" markets, as he is set to attend high-profile trade talks with South Korea later this week. Bessent made the remarks during a forum hosted by the Institute of International Finance, a day before he and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to join South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Industry Minister
April 24, 2025 -
Seoul to discuss cooperation with US in shipbuilding, energy at trade consultation: minister
South Korea will discuss ways to bolster the country's cooperation with the United States in the shipbuilding and energy sectors at the upcoming bilateral "2+2 trade consultations," Seoul's top trade official said Wednesday. Seoul has highlighted such cooperation as a way of addressing the trade imbalance between the allies, which has prompted Washington to impose hefty import tariffs on South Korea under its broader tariff scheme affecting all its major trading partners. "We plan to discuss the
April 23, 2025 -
S. Korea, UAE agree on joint pursuit of overseas nuclear power projects
South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to pursue joint nuclear power projects abroad as part of broader bilateral cooperation on nuclear energy, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. The agreement was reached during a high-level consultation on nuclear cooperation between the two countries, held Tuesday in Abu Dhabi and led by South Korea's Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun and UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei. The consultation was launched in 2018 to discus
April 23, 2025 -
S. Korea, China set for maritime talks amid tensions over steel structures in Yellow Sea
South Korea and China held a working-level maritime dialogue in Seoul on Wednesday, diplomatic sources said, as tensions are building up over a set of steel structures Beijing has installed in their overlapping waters in the Yellow Sea. The talks come after the two countries engaged in a standoff in February in the Provisional Maritime Zone near South Korea's southwest coast, when Chinese authorities blocked a South Korean ship from inspecting a steel structure China installed in the area. The P
April 23, 2025 -
Eastar Jet launches Seoul-Almaty service
South Korean low-cost airline Eastar Jet has launched a new direct flight between Seoul and Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, according to a press release from the Kazakh Embassy in Seoul. In his remarks at the route launch ceremony, Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Nurgali Arystanov said there would be 11 direct flights per week between Kazakhstan and South Korea. “The addition of two new flights by Eastar Jet creates a new aviation bridge,” said Arystanov. The ambassador noted that people-to-p
April 23, 2025 -
S. Korea voices deep regret over Japan PM's offering, lawmakers' visit to war shrine
South Korea expressed deep regret Tuesday after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to a war shrine seen as symbolizing its militaristic past and its lawmakers paid their respects there. Ishiba sent the offering to the Yasukuni Shrine honoring Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by the Allies in international tribunals for their roles in World War II, on the occasion of the annual spring festival. A bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers also vis
April 22, 2025 -
US expert foresees difficulty for Korea over possible measures targeting China in trade talks with US
A prominent US expert said Monday that South Korea could face difficulty in agreeing to trade measures against China when it holds high-level tariff talks with the United States this week, as China warned countries against striking deals unfavorable to Beijing's interests. Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, made the remarks as Seoul and Washington plan to hold "two-plus-two" talks involving their finance and trade ministers in Washington on Thursday to discuss tar
April 22, 2025 -
KHNP chief stresses Korea-US nonproliferation cooperation amid 'aggressive' nuclear exports by China, Russia
The head of South Korea's state-run nuclear energy firm underscored the need Monday for South Korea and the United States to work together to reinforce the global nonproliferation regime in the face of "aggressive" nuclear exports from China and Russia. Whang Joo-ho, president and CEO of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., made the remarks, voicing hope that "Team Nuclear KORUS" can achieve the allies' common vision of "atoms for peace." KORUS is short for Korea and the United States. "In regio
April 22, 2025 -
![[Herald Interview] Expert urges German, S. Korean support for ICC in Trump era](jpg/news-p.v1.20250421.4934e80a1b0c4da0b0c42bfbc13b6de3_t13496.jpg?type=h&h=240)
[Herald Interview] Expert urges German, S. Korean support for ICC in Trump era
In an interview with The Korea Herald, Christoph Safferling, an expert in international criminal law, urged Germany and South Korea to continue supporting the International Criminal Court amid renewed US skepticism. “The US has been skeptical toward a permanent international criminal court from the very beginning,” Safferling noted. “Sometimes the US administration has been more cooperative, sometimes it has been openly hostile. We are now again in a phase in which the US administration imposes
April 21, 2025 -
Indonesia eyes Korean partnership in beauty, wellness
Indonesia is eyeing partnerships with Korea in the beauty and wellness sector, leveraging the upcoming Bali Wellness and Beauty Expo 2025, to be held in June. Speaking at a roadshow ahead of the expo, Zelda Wulan Kartika, charge d’affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul, noted that as of 2024, trade between the two countries reached $20.9 billion, with a 9.86 percent annual growth rate over five years. She noted that bilateral trade in goods, alongside technology transfers, extends to the bea
April 21, 2025