BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – China’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that work is in progress to remove part of the steel structures built in the overlapping waters of the Yellow Sea with South Korea. A Chinese company is carrying out the work related to removing the management platform, an autonomous operation in progress led [...]
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – A newly released U.S. defense strategy is signaling a subtle but consequential shift in Washington’s approach to the Korean Peninsula, raising the prospect of changes to the American military footprint in South Korea and placing new expectations on Seoul to assume greater responsibility for its own defense as the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Friday rejected claims by U.S.-based investors in Coupang that the government had targeted the e-commerce giant, calling their use of remarks by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok in a planned international arbitration case a “deliberate distortion.” The Office for Government Policy Coordination said an arbitration notice submitted [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Two major U.S. investment firms backing Coupang have asked the United States government to investigate what they describe as discriminatory treatment by South Korean authorities, raising the prospect that a domestic regulatory dispute could escalate into a bilateral trade issue. Reuters reported Thursay that Green Oaks Capital and Altimeter Capital [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The unification ministry said Thursday it will seek consultations with the U.N. Command (UNC) over its move to reopen three shuttered trail sections within the inter-Korean buffer zone of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In 2019, South Korea launched 11 trail routes, known as the DMZ Peace Trail, along key [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — President Donald Trump’s comments suggesting that South Korean investment funds could be used for an ambitious Alaska natural gas development project have sparked unease in Seoul, raising concerns that political rhetoric in Washington could complicate ongoing bilateral investment negotiations. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday to mark the first [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The unification and foreign ministries launched their vice ministerial-level consultative channel to coordinate policies on North Korea on Friday, officials said. Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung and Jeong Yeon-doo, vice minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence at the foreign ministry, held a luncheon meeting earlier in the day in [...]
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday signed a document to participate in a growing U.S.-led coalition for supply chain cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals and other areas, joining South Korea and seven other signatories to the group. The State Department said that Under Secretary of State [...]
NARA, Japan, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has reaffirmed its bid to join the trans-Pacific trade pact during the summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Lee’s top security adviser said Wednesday. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters that relevant government departments were expected to discuss [...]
NARA, JAPAN & SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan struck an unexpected and highly symbolic chord on Tuesday, performing an impromptu drum duet following their summit meeting in Nara Prefecture. The private performance took place during an off-the-record reception after the leaders’ bilateral [...]