Politics

The Woo Min-ho-directed “The Man Standing Next” is set around the 1979 assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee.
Arts

Politics take center stage in popular South Korean films

Cinema comes of age as country becomes more liberal

4 April 2021
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen on April 3.
International relations

China and Seoul vow to cooperate on Korean Peninsula denuclearization

Foreign ministers agree to first high-level security talks in 6 years

4 April 2021
A senior White House official said the U.S., Japan and South Korea hold "many of the keys to the future of semiconductor manufacturing technology."
International relations

US, Japan and South Korea to discuss 'secure' chip supply chain

Following trilateral talks, White House to invite Samsung and peers to discuss production

2 April 2021
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, left, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi before a meeting in Beijing in 2018. Chung was national security director at the time.
International relations

South Korea's top diplomat visits China as Sino-US tensions spike

Seoul seeks to balance ties with powers while US readies North Korea policy review

2 April 2021
A woman walks in a New Delhi market in September. India's gender gap ranking fell more places than any other Asian nation in the World Economic Forum's latest report.
Society

Pandemic widens gender gap across Asia

India and Indonesia tumble in WEF ranking; Japan and South Korea inch up

31 March 2021
Mourners attend the funeral of Kyaw Win Maung, who was shot and killed during a protest against the military coup, in Mandalay on March 28.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar junta shamed by foreign defense chiefs over civilian deaths

Joint condemnation pushes military further into Beijing's arms

29 March 2021
Park Young-sun, left, of the ruling Democratic Party and Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, are running in an April 7 election to become mayor of Seoul. A string of candidates have expressed their disapproval over holding Seoul Pride in the city center. (Source photos by Yonhap/Kyodo, Yonhap/EPA/Jiji and Getty Images) 
Politics

How religion spurs homophobia in South Korean politics

Politicians constantly need to prove their anti-LGBTQ credentials

26 March 2021
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, with South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong in Seoul on March 25. 
International relations

Russia urges renewal of six-party talks to denuclearize North Korea

Foreign Minister Lavrov woos South Korea in first meeting since 2019

26 March 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes the firing of suspected missiles in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on March 22, 2020. (File photo by Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea missiles rattle South and Japan as US stays calm

Pyongyang may be testing out new technology rather than provoking, analysts say

25 March 2021
Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, will run on the conservative People Power Party ticket against the Democratic Party's Park Young-sun in the city's mayoral election April 7. (Park photo by Kyodo)
Politics

South Korea's opposition forges united front in Seoul mayoral race

Conservatives turn up the heat as support for Moon sinks to record lows

24 March 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, right, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin participate in a joint news conference with their South Korean counterparts in Seoul on March 18. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of State)
Indo-Pacific

Blinken and Austin's heavy lifting: Takeaways from Indo-Pacific tour

Verbal combat with China dominated news, but the Americans also squeezed some diplomacy in

23 March 2021
Civic activists and local residents protest against alleged land speculation by employees of the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. The scandal is hurting support for South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his ruling party. (Source photos by Reuters and EPA/Yonhap/Jiji) 
Politics

South Korea property scandal hurts Moon ahead of key polls

Approval rating falls to new low weeks before Seoul and Busan mayor elections

22 March 2021
Left to right, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook pose before "two-plus-two" talks in Seoul on Thursday.
N Korea at crossroads

US and South Korea omit 'denuclearization' from joint statement

Seoul affirms importance of trilateral cooperation with Japan

19 March 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul on March 17.
International relations

Blinken presses South Korea to work with Japan in Indo-Pacific

Secretary of state reaffirms commitment to alliance but wants to 'build' on it

18 March 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Mount Paektu during Moon's visit to the North.
N Korea at crossroads

Olympic hopeful? Moon pins legacy on Kim Jong Un trip to Seoul

South Korean leader sees Tokyo Games as opportunity to kickstart stalled talks

14 March 2021
A prototype of the Altay tank for which Turkey is hoping to develop and build with the help of South Korean companies. 
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Turkey turns to South Korean companies to help build battle tank

Ankara seeks new partners in arms production as the West and Japan block sales

12 March 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party holds 60% of the seats in the national assembly.
Politics

Liberal forces strengthen grip on South Korean politics

Moon supporters steamroll legislation and pressure judiciary

11 March 2021
President Joe Biden at the Pentagon on Feb. 10. His foreign policy team will be meeting allies as well as strategic competitor China next week. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense) 
Biden's Asia policy

Biden foreign policy team to embark on Indo-Pacific tour

Alaska meeting with China 'not a strategic dialogue,' Blinken tells Congress

11 March 2021
South Korea's former prosecutor general, Yoon Seok-yeol in 2020, has emerged as the most likely conservative to win next year's presidential election. (Nikkei montage/Yonhap/Kyodo/AP)
Politics

Yoon Seok-youl takes lead in running for South Korean presidency

Conservatives pin hopes on former top prosecutor to win election next March

9 March 2021
The flags of the U.S. and South Korea are seen together in Seoul. The two sides have agreed to the text of a new six-year Special Measures Agreement. (Photo courtesy of the State Department)
Biden's Asia policy

US doesn't make 'demands' on ally South Korea: State Department

Two sides strike deal to share troop-hosting costs for six years

9 March 2021
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, center, tells reporters he will resign at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office in Seoul on Thursday.
Politics

South Korea's top prosecutor quits for possible presidential run

Conservative opposition banking on Yoon Seok-youl challenging liberal opponents

5 March 2021
Park Young-Sun, right, of the ruling Democratic Party and opposition People Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo are campaigning to become mayor of Seoul in next month's election. (Source photos by EPA/Jiji and Yonhap/Kyodo) 
Politics

Seoul mayor race kicks off, setting tone for presidential poll

Defeat for Moon's ruling party risks making president lame duck in final year

2 March 2021
Trials of autonomous buses are underway in Sejong as the project enters its smart-city phase. (Photo by Yosuke Onchi)
Politics

South Korea's 'island of bureaucrats' emerges as next capital

Planned city of Sejong evolving into model for smart-city tech

20 February 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the formation of a unit for strategic oversight of cyber operations in 2012.
International relations

North Korea ramps up ransomware attacks in hunt for cash

Emerging cyber power trains 1,000 digital 'warriors' a year

18 February 2021
Former South Korean comfort woman Lee Yong-soo, center, speaks at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.
International relations

Former Korean 'comfort woman' asks Seoul to take issue to ICJ

South Korea nor Japan are likely to agree to go to the international court

16 February 2021