Google will finally be able to provide real-time driving and walking directions in South Korea, The New York Times reported. The company has received permission from the nation’s Transport Ministry to export geographic data out of the country, which will allow it to provide GPS services as well as detailed listings for restaurants and other businesses.
“We welcome today’s decision and look forward to our ongoing collaboration with local officials to bring a fully functioning Google Maps to Korea,” Google’s senior executive Cris Turner told the NYT in a statement. However, the approval is contingent “on the condition that strict security requirements are met,” a spokesperson from the Transport Ministry said. Those conditions reportedly restrict Google from displaying sensitive military sites and longitude and latitude coordinates.
South Korea has generally restricted the export of 1/5000 scale map data over national security concerns, as it’s still technically at war with its neighbor North Korea. Google hasn’t been able to provide mapping directions or business details since it arrived in the nation, though it has applied twice in 2007 and 2016.
This lack of data sharing has reportedly been a bone of contention in trade talks with the US. Google argued that it was unfairly handicapped by the restrictions that allowed local apps like Naver to thrive.
However, critics in the nation have expressed concern that Google could now come in and monopolize the market. “If Naver and Kakao are weakened or pushed out and Google later raises prices, that becomes a monopoly. Then, even companies that rely on map services — logistics firms, for example — become dependent [on Google],” geography professor Choi Jin-mu told Reuters.
SEOUL, Feb 25 (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States will conduct major joint military drills known as Freedom Shield from March 9 to 19, military officials from the countries said on Wednesday.
The annual exercise is “defensive in nature”, officials said at a briefing, though the designation has not prevented it from being a frequent flashpoint with North Korea, which has long denounced the drills as a rehearsal for invasion.
The exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for the transfer of U.S. wartime operational control to South Korea, they said.
Past drills, including last year’s iteration, featured multi-domain and command-post training aimed at supporting this readiness.
South Korea aims to complete the handover of military command from the U.S. before President Lee Jae Myung’s term ends in 2030.
South Korean and U.S. officials said the exercise by the allies next month would incorporate deterrence scenarios related to North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
President Lee has sought to improve strained ties with North Korea, though those efforts have so far been rebuffed by Pyongyang.
South Korean media previously reported that Seoul had proposed scaling back field training exercises during Freedom Shield to support this outreach, but that it was met with U.S. resistance.
Talks on adjusting the field drills are still ongoing and will continue up to the last minute, officials told Reuters.
North Korea is currently holding the ruling Workers’ Party’s Ninth Congress, the biggest political event in its calendar, which analysts say may conclude with a military parade in Pyongyang to showcase its latest military capabilities.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim and Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies)
SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) – South Korea has asked the Russian embassy in Seoul to take down a large banner reading “Victory will be ours”, its foreign ministry said, just ahead of this week’s fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.
The ministry said in a statement on Sunday that it had conveyed its concerns to the embassy without clarifying whether it had received a response.
The roughly 15-metre (49.21 ft) banner, in the colours of the Russian flag and written in Russian, was hung on the embassy’s outer wall in central Seoul ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday.
The banner remained in place on Monday.
In its statement, the ministry reiterated South Korea’s position that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is illegal.
The ministry also said that military cooperation between Russia and North Korea should stop, describing it as a grave threat to South Korea’s security and a violation of the U.N. Charter and U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev praised what he described as North Korean troops’ role in fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, according to media reports.
Under a mutual defence pact with Russia in 2024, North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops against Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources.
The Russian embassy in Seoul could not immediately be reached for comment by phone. An automated voice message stated the embassy was closed due to a public holiday on Monday.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok ShimEditing by Ed Davies and Saad Sayeed)
Bithumb CEO admited past mistakes following the latest 620,000 BTC blunder which has prompting further investigations into system flaws.
South Korea’s financial authorities are facing criticism after failing to spot major flaws in Bithumb’s systems that led to an unprecedented Bitcoin error.
Despite repeated inspections by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), a vulnerability remained that allowed a single employee to trigger massive coin transfers without detection.
Bithumb Crypto Mishap
According to Rep. Kang Min-guk of the People Power Party, the FSC reviewed Bithumb once in 2022 and twice in 2025, while the FSS carried out three inspections during the same period. Despite this, none identified discrepancies between actual holdings and accounting records.
On February 6, a promotional event went wrong when users were mistakenly credited with 2,000 BTC each instead of coins worth 2,000 won (worth approximately $1.38). This error caused the system to register a total of 620,000 bitcoins being “distributed” to users, which is far more than the exchange’s actual holdings of about 42,800 BTC.
As reported by The Korea Times, the country’s lawmakers said the mistake exposes deeper weaknesses in internal controls, ledger management, and regulatory supervision. Rep. Han Chang-min of the Social Democratic Party questioned whether regulators’ inspections were largely procedural and noted attempts to place responsibility on Bithumb.
The FSS has extended its probe through February and is investigating potential violations involving investor protection, anti-money laundering (AML), and system flaws.
Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won acknowledged two smaller prior errors that were recovered, which the FSS will also review.
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Meanwhile, an emergency team from the authorities and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) is reviewing asset verification and internal controls at some of the country’s other prominent exchanges, such as Upbit, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX. Results are expected to influence both DAXA’s self-regulatory rules and future crypto legislation.
Lost and Found
The latest setback comes a month after the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office reported that Bitcoin seized in a criminal case had gone missing, but authorities have now recovered all 40 billion won worth of the lost cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the 320.8 bitcoins were returned from the hacker’s electronic wallet to the office’s wallet on February 17, apparently voluntarily, after the hacker was unable to cash them out.
The coins had originally been confiscated from the daughter of a couple arrested for operating an illegal overseas gambling site worth 390 billion won between 2018 and 2021, who had converted their criminal proceeds into Bitcoin. Officials said the BTC were lost last August when prosecutors accidentally accessed a phishing site while checking the wallet, which exposed the funds.
Authorities have been tracking the hacker and monitoring domestic and international exchanges to prevent further losses.
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SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) – South Korea on Sunday protested a Japanese government event commemorating a cluster of disputed islands between the two countries, calling the move an unjust assertion of sovereignty over its territory.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said it strongly objected to the Takeshima Day event held by Japan’s Shimane prefecture and to the attendance of a senior Japanese government official, urging Japan to immediately abolish the ceremony.
The tiny islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, which controls them, have long been a source of tension between the two neighbours, whose relations remain strained by disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
“Dokdo is clearly South Korea’s sovereign territory historically, geographically and under international law,” the ministry said, calling on Japan to drop what it described as groundless claims and to face history with humility.
The ministry summoned a top Japanese diplomat to the ministry building in Seoul to lodge a protest.
A person at Japan’s foreign ministry said no one was available on Sunday to comment. A call to the Prime Minister’s Office went unanswered. The government sent a vice-minister from the Cabinet Office, not a cabinet minister, to the ceremony.
Seoul has repeatedly objected to Japan’s territorial claims over the islands, including a protest issued on Friday over comments by Japan’s foreign minister during a parliamentary address asserting Tokyo’s sovereignty over the islets.
The territory lies in fertile fishing grounds and may sit above enormous deposits of natural gas hydrate that could be worth billions of dollars, Seoul has said.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim in Seoul; Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by William Mallard)
SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) – North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party held the third day of its Ninth Congress on Saturday, with leader Kim Jong Un continuing a report reviewing the party’s work in the last five years, state media said on Sunday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim’s report assessed the party’s activities over the past term and outlined a new strategy and goals for the next five years, including tasks across all sectors aimed at advancing socialist construction.
Delegates said the report set out strategic and tactical directions for what it described as a new stage of national development and reaffirmed confidence in the country’s future, KCNA reported.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; editing by Diane Craft)
SEOUL — Governments and companies around the world scrambled Saturday to determine the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down most of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and his response with a new round of import taxes.
The latest twist in the U.S. tariff roller-coaster ride, launched when Trump returned to office 13 months ago and upended dozens of trading relationships with the world’s biggest economy, roiled trade officials from Mexico to South Korea to South America and beyond.
South Korea’s Trade Ministry called for an emergency meeting Saturday to understand the new landscape. Some specific exports to the U.S., like automobiles and steel, aren’t affected by the U.S. high court decision. Those that are affected will probably now be covered by a new tariff imposed by an executive order Trump signed Friday. Trump announced Saturday morning that he would raise that 10% tariff to 15%.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the checks and balances in the United States, praising the “rule of law” during a visit to a Paris agricultural fair: “It’s a good thing to have powers and counter-powers in democracies. We should welcome that.”
But he cautioned against any triumphalism.
Officials were going over the language of bilateral or multilateral deals struck with the U.S. in recent months, even as they braced for new swings and Trump’s swift announcement of new tariffs.
“I note that President Trump, a few hours ago, said he had reworked some measures to introduce new tariffs, more limited ones, but applying to everyone,” Macron said. “So we’ll look closely at the exact consequences, what can be done, and we will adapt.”
Mexico braces, adapts
Mexico’s secretary of the economy, Marcelo Ebrard, urged “prudence” Friday in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. “We have to see where this is going,” Ebrard told reporters. “We have to see what measures [Washington] is going to take to figure out how it is going to affect our country. “
Amid widespread concern about tariffs in Mexico — the United States’ major commercial partner, with almost $1 trillion in annual two-way trade — Ebrard cautioned: “I tell you to put yourselves in zen mode. As tranquil as possible.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, when asked about the tariffs, said, “We’ll review the resolution carefully and then gladly give our opinion.”
Ebrard said he plans to travel to the United States next week to clarify matters.
Last year, Ebrard noted, Mexico managed to stave off Trump’s threats to impose a 25% across-the-board levy on all Mexican imports.
However, Mexico has been pushing back against Trump administration tariffs on imports of vehicles, steel and aluminum, among other products.
Among other impacts, the Supreme Court voided so-called fentanyl tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada. The Trump administration said it imposed those levies to force the three nations to crack down on trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid.
About 85% of Mexican exports to the United States are exempt from tariffs because of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The accord extended a mostly free-trade regimen among the three nations, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The three-way pact is scheduled for joint review starting July 1. That date marks six years since the agreement was signed during the first Trump presidential term.
In Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, along the Texas border, Sergio Bermúdez, head of an industrial parks company, discussed Trump’s plan for a new tariff. Trump, he said, “says a lot of things, and many of them aren’t true. All of the businesses I know are analyzing, trying to figure out how it’s going to affect them.”
The impact could be felt especially in Juarez: Much of its economy depends on factories producing goods to export to consumers in the U.S., the result of decades of free trade between the U.S. and Mexico.
The policy swoons in the United States over the last year have made many global business leaders cautious, as they struggle to forecast and see investment take a hit.
CEO Alan Russell of Tecma, which helps American businesses set up operations in Mexico, has seen his job grow increasingly complicated over the last year — his company’s workload has surged as much as fourfold as it grapples with new import requirements. He worries the last U.S. moves will only make things more difficult.
“We wake up every day with new challenges. That word ‘uncertainty’ has been the greatest enemy,” said Russell, who is American. “The difficult part has been not being clear what the rules are today or what they’re going to be tomorrow.”
A ‘good decision’
Swissmem, a top technology industry association in Switzerland, hailed the Supreme Court ruling as “good decision,” writing on X that its exports to the U.S. fell 18% in the fourth quarter alone — a period when Switzerland was facing much higher U.S. tariffs than most neighboring countries in Europe.
“The high tariffs have severely damaged the tech industry,” Swissmem President Martin Hirzel said on X, while acknowledging the dust is far from settled. “However, today’s ruling doesn’t win anything yet.”
Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell in Mexico City contributed to this report, as did Associated Press writers Tong-Hyung Kim in Seoul and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City.AP writers María Verza and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City, Samuel Petrequin in London and Jamey Keaten in Lyon, France, also contributed.
SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the completion ceremony of a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of troops who died in overseas military operations, state media KCNA said on Monday.
In a speech, Kim said the new district symbolized the “spirit and sacrifice” of the dead troops, adding that the homes were meant to allow bereaved families to “take pride in their sons and husbands and live happily.”
Kim said he had pushed to finish the project “even one day earlier” in the hope it might bring “some small comfort” to the troops’ families.
Under a mutual defense pact with Russia, in 2024 North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources.
North Korea has staged multiple public ceremonies in recent months to honor its war dead, including the unveiling of a new memorial complex in Pyongyang adorned with sculptures of troops.
The opening comes ahead of the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, which is set to convene in late February and is expected to serve as a major political showcase for Kim’s achievements and policy priorities.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim in Seoul; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — When South Korean chef Jun Lee opened his restaurant SOIGNÉ in Seoul 13 years ago, explaining what fine dining meant was part of the job.
Customers would ask for à la carte items at his “modern Seoul cuisine” restaurant, which only serves a tasting menu, or question why a meal took so long.
Today Lee finds himself answering different questions — queries about flavor combinations, cooking techniques, and the philosophy behind his dishes.
Chef Jun Lee prepares food for a photo at his restaurant SOIGNÉ in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
“Many people either didn’t know this culture existed or weren’t particularly interested,” said Lee, whose restaurant name means “well-made” in French. “But now they’re becoming interested, and when they come to dine, the questions they ask — the style of their questions — have more depth.”
Chefs and culinary experts say part of the shift is driven by Netflix’s cooking competition series “Culinary Class Wars,” where Lee recently appeared in the second season.
The unscripted series pits acclaimed “white spoon” chefs — including Michelin-starred restaurateurs — against underdog “black spoon” challengers. The second season of “Culinary Class Wars” debuted at No. 1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 (Non-English TV) list in December, and has remained on the chart for five consecutive weeks. Netflix has officially confirmed a third season.
Hundreds of thousands of booking requests
Tei Yong, CEO of CATCHTABLE, South Korea’s leading restaurant reservation platform, said the show’s influence far exceeded entertainment value.
“I never imagined a single TV show could generate this level of interest in gastronomy,” Yong told The Associated Press.
In November 2024, after Season 1 aired, Seoul’s Metropolitan Government hosted a pop-up event featuring fine dining chefs from the Netflix series. When CATCHTABLE opened 150 reservations, nearly 450,000 people attempted to book — roughly 3,000 people competing for each spot.
Yong said the interest in gastronomy has “sustained” after the first season. The average booking and waitlist registrations per participating restaurant jumped approximately 303% in the five weeks following Season 2’s premiere compared with the five weeks prior, he said.
Personal transformations
Chef Kim Sung-woon, of Table for Four in Seoul, said that reservations have tripled after the show.
Kim Sung-woon, the chef and owner of Table for Four, poses for a photo on Jan. 31, 2026, in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/ Juwon Park)
His staff receives roughly 100 phone calls daily — so many they can barely answer while working.
But Kim said his life has changed in other ways, too.
“Customers ask for photos constantly now — I feel like a celebrity,” Kim said. “I’ve received more letters than at any time since my military service. Young fans, even children, write to me.”
Born and raised in Taean, a seaside town south of Seoul, Kim grew up farming and once dreamed of becoming a baseball umpire before stumbling into the restaurant industry. Despite decades in the culinary world, he said he was speechless when he arrived at the Netflix set and saw legendary chefs he’d idolized.
Lee has seen similar changes. Walking down the street, people now ask for photos. Requests for international collaboration have increased significantly.
Kim Sung-woon, the chef and owner of Table for Four, cooks his signature dish on Jan. 31, 2026, in Seoul, South Korea (AP Photo/ Juwon Park)
“Before the show, foreigners made up the majority of our reservations,” Lee said. “Now South Korean customers book so quickly that foreign visitors often can’t get tables.”
Modern Korean Cuisine
The show has proven particularly significant for chefs serving Korean cuisine with fine dining techniques — a category gaining international attention. For Lee, simply adding Korean ingredients doesn’t make a dish culturally Korean.
“If you just put kimchi in a dish and say it’s inspired by Korean food, does that make it Korean?” he said. “Korean food culture isn’t about specific recipes — it’s the accumulated lifestyle habits people have created.”
Beyond the familiar Korean barbecue and bibimbap that have come to define Korean cuisine globally, chefs like Lee are reclaiming a more nuanced cultural identity. He draws on French, American, and other techniques learned in New York kitchens. “But because I’m expressing them as a South Korean person living in Seoul, Korean elements naturally come through,” he said.
Rather than translating concepts into Western terms, Lee keeps them in Korean — beginning with his signature dish, Hanwoo and Banchans — top-quality beef with an array of seasonal Korean condiments and vegetables.
“Side dishes in English suggest something optional. But in Korean culture, without banchan, a meal feels incomplete. The number of banchan signals whether it’s an ordinary day or a special occasion — emotions shared by those who live this culture.”
Jun Lee, co-owner and executive chef of SOIGNÉ restaurant Group Inc., poses for a photo in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Broader context
The show’s success builds on years of groundwork — the South Korean government has actively promoted Korean cuisine globally since the late 2000s.
Jihyung Andrew Kim, a professor in culinary arts and food management at Hanyang Women’s University, said entertainment content proved particularly effective in reaching younger audiences.
“The government made genuine efforts for a long time,” Kim said. “But Netflix and cultural content — like BTS gaining international recognition — accelerated globalization of Korean food.”
The academic observed that fine dining interest has grown particularly among diners in their 20s and 30s, driven by social media culture where dining experiences become shareable content.
Persistent challenges
Despite the enthusiasm, challenges remain.
Chef Kim pointed to service staff shortages following COVID-19 as a critical industry obstacle. “For fine dining to truly develop, we need service teams to grow alongside chefs,” Kim told the AP.
Lee said Korean fine dining chefs now face intense competition in a thriving market.
“If the market hadn’t broadened through Netflix and the show like this, it would have been a much more difficult environment,” he said.
SEOUL, Jan 28 (Reuters) – A South Korean district court is set to deliver on Wednesday its ruling in the trial of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who could face a jail term if found guilty on charges that include bribery.
The ruling, which can be appealed by the former first lady or prosecutors, comes in a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
Prosecutors demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won ($2 million) over accusations that include accepting luxury Chanel bags and a diamond necklace from South Korea’s Unification Church in return for political favours.
Other charges to be decided by the Seoul central district court include manipulation of stock prices and violations of political funding laws, by receiving opinion polls from a power broker in return for influencing the choice of poll candidates.
Kim “took advantage of the status of the president’s spouse to receive money and expensive valuables, and has been widely involved in various personnel appointments and nominations,” special prosecutor Min Joong-ki said in December.
Kim had denied all the charges.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)
President Trump on Monday said he is raising tariffs on South Korea because the nation has not yet approved a trade deal with the U.S. that the two countries agreed to last year.
Mr. Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. will increase its tariff on imports from South Korea from 15% to 25% and also hike levies on the country’s automobiles, lumber and pharmaceutical goods.
“South Korea’s Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States. President Lee and I reached a Great Deal for both Countries on July 30, 2025, and we reaffirmed these terms while I was in Korea on October 29, 2025. Why hasn’t the Korean Legislature approved it?” Mr. Trump said in announcing the stepped-up duties.
The two countries reached a deal on trade and security issues after Mr. Trump met his South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in Seoul last year. Under the agreement, the U.S. cut its tariffs on South Korean vehicles, car parts, pharmaceuticals and other products from 25% to 15%.
The pact also called for South Korea to invest $350 billion in several key U.S. sectors, including semiconductors, shipbuiling and biotech.
As of late 2025, South Korea was the U.S.’ eighth-largest trading partner, with total trade between the nations of $162 billion, according to Census Bureau data. The auto industry accounts for 27% of South Korea’s exports to the U.S., which takes in nearly half of the country’s car exports.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on the legality of the Trump administration’s country-specific tariffs, which the White House has imposed on dozens of nations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
If they are struck down, White House officials have said they can turn to other powers that effectively replace the sweeping levies.
The Pentagon said in an unclassified national defense strategy document titled “Restoring peace through strength for a new golden age of America” on Friday, that it plans to shift more of the responsibility of deterring North Korea to South Korea.
The U.S. would take a “more limited” role in keeping North Korea in line, the Pentagon said in the document obtained by Fox News Digital.
“With its powerful military, supported by high defense spending, a robust defense industry, and mandatory conscription, South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited U.S. support,” the document said.
It added, “South Korea also has the will to do so, given that it faces a direct and clear threat from North Korea. This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with America’s interest in updating U.S. force posture on the Korean Peninsula. In this way, we can ensure a stronger and more mutually beneficial alliance relationship that is better aligned with America’s defense priorities, thereby setting conditions for lasting peace.”
The Pentagon said in an unclassified national defense strategy document titled “Restoring peace through strength for a new golden age of America” on Friday that it plans to shift more of the responsibility of deterring North Korea to South Korea.(Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
The new policy plan on North Korea followed similar strategies for other parts of the world, with the wide-ranging document adding that the department will “no longer be distracted by interventionism, endless wars, regime change, and nation building. Instead, we will put our people’s practical concrete interests first.”
The document clarified the policy doesn’t mean “isolationism,” but rather a “strategic approach to the threats our nation faces.”
Further down it added, “We will insist our allies and partners do their part and lend them a helping hand when they step up.”
The Pentagon on Friday released an unclassified national defense strategy document titled “Restoring peace through strength for a new golden age of America.”(Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
The document said under a section titled “Increase Burden-Sharing with U.S. Allies and Partners” that it plans to deter China “through strength, not confrontation,” and as the “Department rightly prioritizes Homeland defense and deterring China, other threats will persist, and our allies will be essential to dealing with all of them. Our allies will do so not as a favor to us, but out of their own interests.”
The Pentagon document said it would prioritize threats from China while emphasizing burden-sharing by allies in other areas of the world. (Sheng Jiapeng/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
On Russia, it said the country “will remain a persistent but manageable threat to NATO’s eastern members for the foreseeable future,” and on Iran, it stated that President Donald Trump has made it clear that Iran won’t be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
SEOUL, Jan 24 (Reuters) – South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who is visiting the United States, held talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Washington, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday.
Kim’s visit is part of the allies’ discussions to iron out the implementation of a wide-reaching trade and security agreement reached by their presidents in November.
SEOUL, Jan 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for policy Elbridge Colby will visit South Korea from Sunday to Tuesday and discuss military alliance issues before travelling on to Japan, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday.
His talks with South Korean officials will likely touch on Seoul’s proposed increase in defence spending and the modernisation of the two countries’ military alliance, Yonhap said, citing an unnamed source.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry declined to confirm the report, saying questions should be directed to the U.S. side.
Colby, the Pentagon’s top defence and foreign policymaker, leads the implementation of U.S. defence strategy.
The two countries have been discussing President Donald Trump’s push for U.S. allies to shoulder a greater share of their defence cost and Washington’s realignment of its military footprint to ready its troops stationed around the world for wider missions.
South Korea hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops in combined defence against North Korea’s military threat. Seoul raised its defence budget by 7.5% for this year.
South Korea is pursuing the construction if its own nuclear-powered submarines, a plan Trump has backed.
SEOUL, Jan 22 (Reuters) – South Korea’s special prosecution team said on Thursday it has filed an appeal after a court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges including obstructing attempts to arrest him following his failed bid to impose martial law.
The Seoul Central District Court last week sentenced the ex-president to five years in prison in the case. Yoon could have faced up to 10 years in jail over the obstruction charges.
SEOUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday that there appeared to be a loophole in his country’s monitoring system to detect drones operated by civilians flying into North Korea, warning that such incidents risked inflaming tensions.
North Korea said earlier this month that a drone from South Korea was flown into its airspace recently, showing photographs of debris and aerial pictures of buildings that it alleged the drone had taken.
A South Korean task force investigating the incident has called in a civilian suspect for questioning, police said.
“It should not happen for a civilian to send a drone to North Korea for an illegal purpose,” Lee told a televised cabinet meeting. “How did we fail to check that a drone had been flown to the North?”
Lee said such action was “akin to starting a war” and created unnecessary tension with North Korea that could have a negative impact on the South Korean economy. He called for a thorough investigation and to ensure it never happened again.
Lee said that while a probe was ongoing if a South Korean citizen was found to have flown the drone they could be criminally charged for provoking Pyongyang.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, last week urged Seoul to investigate the incident, warning that any provocations could result in terrible situations.
Lee’s administration has been seeking to improve ties with Pyongyang since he took office last year, but so far its overtures have been rebuffed by the North.
A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday on some charges related to his imposition of martial law.The verdict is the first against Yoon in the eight criminal trials over the decree he issued in late 2024 and other allegations.Video above: Former South Korean president arrives at Seoul courtThe most significant charge against him alleges that he led a rebellion in connection with his martial law enforcement and it carries a potential death penalty.The Seoul Central District Court in the case decided Friday sentenced him for other charges like his defiance of authorities’ attempts to detain him.Yoon hasn’t immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when an independent counsel earlier demanded a 10-year prison term for Yoon over those charges, Yoon’s defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such “an excessive” sentence.Yoon has been impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.Yoon maintains he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament which obstructed his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
, Seoul —
A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday on some charges related to his imposition of martial law.
The verdict is the first against Yoon in the eight criminal trials over the decree he issued in late 2024 and other allegations.
Video above: Former South Korean president arrives at Seoul court
The most significant charge against him alleges that he led a rebellion in connection with his martial law enforcement and it carries a potential death penalty.
The Seoul Central District Court in the case decided Friday sentenced him for other charges like his defiance of authorities’ attempts to detain him.
Yoon hasn’t immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when an independent counsel earlier demanded a 10-year prison term for Yoon over those charges, Yoon’s defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such “an excessive” sentence.
Yoon has been impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
Yoon maintains he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament which obstructed his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw test-flights of hypersonic missiles and called for a stronger nuclear war deterrent, state media said Monday, as Pyongyang ramps up weapons displays ahead of a major political conference.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Sunday’s drill involving a hypersonic weapon system was designed to test combat readiness, sharpen missile troops’ operational skills and assess the country’s overall war deterrent.
“Through today’s launching drill, we can confirm that a very important technology task for national defense has been carried out,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “We must continuously upgrade the military means, especially offensive weapon systems.”
The announcement came a day after South Korea and Japan said they detected multiple North Korean missile launches, which they condemned as provocations. The tests also took place just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China to meet with President Xi Jinping.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un, center, inspects test-flights of hypersonic missiles, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
If fully operational, a hypersonic missile would give North Korea the ability to evade U.S. and South Korean missile defense systems. While Pyongyang has conducted a series of hypersonic tests in recent years, many foreign experts remain skeptical that the weapons have achieved the necessary speed and maneuverability.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un walks on a road as he inspects test-flights of hypersonic missiles, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The latest tests follow recent launches of what North Korea described as long-range strategic cruise missiles and new anti-air systems, along with state-released images showing progress on what it claims is its first nuclear-powered submarine.
Experts say the regime is showcasing its weapons advancements ahead of the ruling Workers’ Party congress, its first in five years. The meeting is expected to review military achievements and could signal whether Kim plans to shift his approach toward the U.S. or revive long-stalled nuclear talks.
North Korea’s nuclear program is also expected to be discussed during the summit between Lee and Xi. Lee’s office said the South Korean president plans to urge China — Pyongyang’s main ally and economic lifeline — to play “a constructive role” in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center left, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung arrive to depart for China at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Defending his push for nuclear expansion, Kim cited growing global instability.
“Why it is necessary is exemplified by the recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events,” he said.
The missile launches followed Saturday’s dramatic U.S. military operation that removed Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro from power and brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. North Korea condemned the operation, calling it further proof of what it described as “the rogue and brutal nature of the U.S.”
Analysts say the move is likely to reinforce Kim’s push to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which he views as essential to regime survival and national sovereignty in the face of what Pyongyang sees as U.S.-led hostility.
BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) – China and South Korea agreed to carry out cultural exchanges in an orderly manner, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, when asked if Beijing would welcome South Korean culture exports in the future.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, seeking to restore ties between the two neighbours.
The two countries would “gradually” increase exchanges of cultural content and hold working-level talks on movies, dramas and others, Wi Sung-lac, Lee’s security adviser, told a press briefing after the leaders’ summit.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Christian Schmolinger)
