After a week of silence following its parliamentary session, North Korea on Thursday effectively claimed to have revised its constitution to declare South Korea a "hostile state" while reporting on the severance of inter-Korean routes. The Rodong Sinmun, the most widely circulated newspaper in North Korea, reported Thursday on its front page that the General Staff of the Korean People's Army on Tuesday implemented measures to sever roads and railways connecting the two Koreas alon

North Korea Oct. 17, 2024

South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to coordinate their responses to North Korea's recent escalating provocative steps targeting South Korea, based on a shared assessment of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday. Campbell said South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano "were able to conduct a deep and sustained review of the situation on the

Foreign Affairs Oct. 16, 2024

South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries on Wednesday unveiled a new mechanism to monitor North Korea’s flouting of sanctions and strengthen sanctions enforcement, filling the void left by the UN Panel of Experts, which was dissolved following Russia's veto of its renewal. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, joined by ambassadors to South Korea from

Foreign Affairs Oct. 16, 2024

The South Korean government on Tuesday expressed "deep regret" over the Russian Foreign Ministry’s defense of North Korea’s unilateral claims that South Korea had sent drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets into Pyongyang. "(The South Korean government) expressed deep regret over the Russian Foreign Ministry’s defense of North Korea’s unilateral claims, the facts of which remain unverified, while bringing up sovereignty violations and interfe

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday convened an unprecedented meeting resembling a national security council, where he outlined the course of "immediate military action" in response to what his regime alleges was a South Korean drone incursion over Pyongyang, state media reported Tuesday. The meeting came four days after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry's statement that accused South Korea of sending drones into Pyongyang’s airspace on three occasions -- Oct. 3, 9,

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not yet mustered public support for his bid to redefine the two Koreas as separate, hostile states -- a sharp break from his predecessors’ vision of a unified peninsula under a single nation and state -- former North Korean diplomats said. Some warned that Kim may ramp up military threats against South Korea to push his agenda forward. Seven of 12 former North Korean diplomats who have publicly defected to South Korea gathered on Thursday for a rare foru

North Korea Oct. 14, 2024

South Korea has secured a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, positioning itself for leadership in three key UN bodies in 2025: the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council and the Security Council. South Korea was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term during a vote at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, local time, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced Thursday in a statement. This term marks South Korea's sixth on the Human Rights Coun

Foreign Affairs Oct. 10, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned Monday that Pyongyang would "not tolerate" any disruption to the Korean Peninsula's balance of power, which he claimed is upheld by North Korea's nuclear arsenal and threatened by the growing "nuclear alliance" between South Korea and the United States. However, Kim simultaneously asserted that North Korea had no intention of attacking the South, North Korea's state media reported Tuesday. The remarks came during his 60th-

North Korea Oct. 8, 2024

China and North Korea marked their 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations Sunday with no publicly reported major events, in contrast to earlier pledges from both leaders to celebrate the milestone with displays of camaraderie in the designated "Year of Friendship." In their New Year messages, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to organize activities throughout the "Year of Friendship" and deepen cooperation across various sectors, inclu

Foreign Affairs Oct. 7, 2024

A South Korean military aircraft evacuating Korean nationals and their families from Lebanon returned home Saturday, as Israel intensifies ground operations against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah inside Lebanon, the South Korean government said Saturday. A total of 96 South Korean nationals and one foreign family member who had been residing in Lebanon arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at 12:50 p.m. local time aboard a South Korean Air Force KC-330 Cygnus transp

Foreign Affairs Oct. 5, 2024

Seoul and Washington have finalized a new defense cost-sharing agreement for 2026 to 2030. The deal comes just one month ahead of the US presidential election, in which former President Donald Trump -- who previously demanded a significant increase in South Korea's defense contributions -- is running as the Republican candidate. Over five months of intensive negotiations, the allies engaged in eight rounds of talks, culminating in a final agreement for the 12th Special Measures Agreement during

Foreign Affairs Oct. 4, 2024

South Korea's Defense Ministry on Friday condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his sister Kim Yo-jong's criticism of President Yoon Suk Yeol and the Armed Forces Day celebration in South Korea, calling it "behavior that can never be tolerated." North Korean state media earlier in the day reported Kim Jong-un denounced and dismissed Yoon's Armed Forces Day speech, which warned of the regime's end if it attempts to use nuclear weapons, launching a direct and v

North Korea Oct. 4, 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday directed the immediate dispatch of military aircraft to evacuate nationals from the Middle East as tensions escalated rapidly with intensified clashes between Israel and Iran as well as its backed militias Hezbollah and Hamas. "The president emphasized that protecting South Korean nationals in Israel and the Middle East is of utmost importance and instructed that all necessary measures be taken," his office said in a statement issued fo

Foreign Affairs Oct. 2, 2024

North Korea may revoke the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, which has served as a pivotal foundation for the development of inter-Korean relations and efforts toward peaceful reunification for more than three decades, during its parliamentary session scheduled for next week, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday. The potential action aligns with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's public declaration that the two Koreas are engaged in relations between "two hostile states" lo

North Korea Oct. 2, 2024

South Korea ramped up its diplomatic efforts to gain greater influence over North Korea’s traditional allies and old friends -- China, Cuba, and Iran -- with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul spearheading a series of high-level talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Central to the efforts was Cho's third face-to-face meeting of the year with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, a meeting South Korea's Foreign Ministry described as part of &

Foreign Affairs Sept. 30, 2024