With Donald Trump positioning himself for a second term in the White House, he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may renew summit talks, potentially reaching a deal that sidelines South Korea’s key interests, Seoul-based analysts warned. Observers caution that Trump could, for instance, tactically acquiesce to North Korea's nuclear weapons possession in exchange for a freeze on the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of targeting the US mainland -- a concessio

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2024

Donald Trump’s return to the White House would propel South Korea to reassess fundamentally its alliance strategy, prompting preparations for trading, deal-centered diplomacy tailored to his transactional approach -- in which there seem no exceptions, even for treaty-bound allies like South Korea. Observers in Seoul warn that Trump’s policies may bring significant challenges and pressures in three key areas: demands to renegotiate the defense cost-sharing agreement for increased cont

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2024

The timing and manner in which North Korea’s state-controlled media covers US presidential election results have long served as key indicators of Pyongyang’s stance toward an incoming US president. According to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, close attention should be paid to the timing, approach and intended audience of North Korea’s reporting on US election results. Furthermore, the timing of Pyongyang’s first official message to the incoming US administration

Foreign Affairs Nov. 6, 2024

On the day of the US presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, North Korea fired a salvo of ballistic missiles on Tuesday in an apparent message to Washington -- a continuation of its unrelenting saber-rattling, which included the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week. Escalating tensions further, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, released a forceful English-language statement on US Elec

Foreign Affairs Nov. 5, 2024

South Korea and five Central Asian countries -- all former Soviet republics -- are gearing up for their first-ever summit, aiming to forge a synergistic partnership that leverages shared strengths and foster regional peace amid escalating tensions fueled by illicit military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul convened the 17th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in Seoul on Monday, bringing together foreign ministers, vice foreign ministe

Foreign Affairs Nov. 4, 2024

South Korea and the United States have, for the first time, explicitly confirmed that cyber and space threats to either country could trigger mutual defense actions under their bilateral treaty signed in 1953, which forms the basis of their military alliance. The commitment was outlined in a joint statement following the South Korea-US '2+2' foreign and defense ministerial meeting held Thursday in Washington, notably amid rising concerns over deepening security cooperation between Russia and Nor

North Korea Nov. 1, 2024

Chinese police rank as the second-largest force after North Korea's secret police in arresting and facilitating the enforced disappearances of North Koreans, according to a report released by a human rights organization Thursday. The Seoul-based nonprofit Transitional Justice Working Group released findings based on data from 66 cases involving 113 North Korean victims of enforced disappearance. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with 62 North Korean escapees in South Korea

North Korea Oct. 31, 2024

South Korean and US envoys delivered a stark rebuke to Kim Jong-un’s regime in an unusually tense meeting at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, warning that North Korean soldiers deployed against Ukraine could "return in body bags." The sharp, intentionally undiplomatic rhetoric underscored the allies' deepening alarm over Pyongyang’s expanding military alliance with Moscow, which has escalated from arms transfers to the actual deployment of North Korean forces -- a

Foreign Affairs Oct. 31, 2024

A contingent of North Korean troops, including high-ranking generals, deployed to Russia may now be positioned on the front lines of the Ukraine war, South Korea’s spy agency reported Tuesday, adding that the Kim Jong-un regime appears to be clamping down on information about the troop dispatch internationally. "Troop movements between Russia and North Korea have been assessed as underway, with the agency examining the potential relocation of certain personnel, including high-ranking

Foreign Affairs Oct. 29, 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Monday that North Korean troops could be deployed by Russia to the front lines against Ukraine "sooner than expected," according to the presidential office. Yoon shared intelligence on North Korea's troop deployments to Russia and discussed potential response measures during a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, held at her request, the presidential office said in a statement. "The (South Korean) pres

North Korea Oct. 28, 2024

South Korea is set to convene its first 2+2 foreign and defense ministerial meeting with the United States in more than three years, paired with inaugural 2+2 talks with Canada, at a critical juncture marked by concerns of possible North Korean troop deployment to the Ukraine-Russia combat zone. The high-stakes meetings will take place in a pivotal week of diplomacy and include top diplomats and defense leaders from founding NATO members -- staunch allies of Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

Foreign Affairs Oct. 28, 2024

Growing indications suggest that North Korean troops are on the brink of deployment to support Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, as North Korean soldiers have reportedly arrived in Russia's Kursk region, where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been battling for control of key strategic border location. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russia is expected to deploy the first contingent of North Korean soldiers to combat zones as early as Sunday and Monday, based on an

Foreign Affairs Oct. 27, 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday suggested possible flexibility in the country's longstanding policy of withholding lethal weapons aid to Ukraine, framing it as part of a phased counterstrategy in response to North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia. Yoon's comment came after South Korea's presidential office confirmed Tuesday that, depending on how the battlefield situation in Ukraine unfolds, Seoul will first consider providing defensive weapons, with the option of late

Foreign Affairs Oct. 24, 2024

North Korea's dispatch of personnel to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- even if their military involvement is limited or indirect -- could put Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang's debt, experts said. The development may also set the stage for reciprocal support from Moscow for Kim Jong-un's aggressive ambitions, especially if North Korean casualties occur in the Ukraine war. Whether North Korea has dispatched troops to Russia remains a hotly debated issue, w

Foreign Affairs Oct. 23, 2024

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United Kingdom have agreed to launch foreign and defense ministerial "2+2" talks early next year in a bid to strengthen their joint response to regional and global security threats, while pledging further cooperation on co-developing defense capabilities, according to a joint statement released Tuesday. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met for the 9th Korea-UK Foreign Ministers' Strategi

Foreign Affairs Oct. 22, 2024