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☆ South Korea's Yoon to meet Japan's Kishida in Tokyo on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony of the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul on March 1, 2023. Jung Yeon-Je/Pool via REUTERSSEOUL, March 14 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will travel to Japan for talks on Thursday with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a South Korean official said, days after South Korea announced a plan to end a row between the U.S. allies over wartime forced labour. Yoon's two-day visit to Japan from Thursday will be the first such trip by a South Koran leader in 12 years. "This visit ... will be an important milestone in the improvement of relations between South Korea and Japan which has been promoted by the Yoon administration since inauguration," Yoon's national security adviser, Kim Sung-han, told a briefing on Tuesday. South Korea announced last week that its companies would compensate victims of forced labour under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-1945, seeking to end a dispute that has undermined U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.

☆ Exclusive: Seoul mayor calls for South Korean nuclear weapons to counter threat from North
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon added new fuel to a growing debate over how South Korea should arm itself as the North races to perfect its capability to strike the South with tactical nuclear weapons. "North Korea has nearly succeeded in miniaturising and lightening tactical nuclear weapons and secured at least dozens of warheads," Oh said. Oh, an influential member of President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservative People Power Party, is one of the highest-profile officials to actively advocate for a South Korean nuclear weapons programme. He dismissed opponents who warned of punishments from other countries, including sanctions, saying a South Korean nuclear programme would send a message to countries like China to curb the North's military buildup. "If North Korea’s nuclear threat becomes more visible and South Korea takes its own path to nuclear development, it will signal the start of a nuclear domino effect in Asia."

☆ World-class ships and new supersonic jets mark the quiet rise of a new defense industry powerhouse in Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

South Korea's defense industry has seen meteoric growth in recent years. 2023 is also shaping up to be a good year for South Korea's defense industry. South Korea's defense industry was originally tailored to meet the country's own needs, and Seoul assisted its growth with subsidies and other incentives. As South Korea's defense products increased in quality, so too did its exports. The South Korean defense industry's most anticipated product might be the KF-21 Boramae, a multi-role combat jet optimized for air-superiority missions.

☆ South Korea, Japan to Hold First Two-Way Summit Talks in More Than a Decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Alastair Gale | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, greeting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia last year. TOKYO—South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit Tokyo for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida next week, a resumption of two-way summit diplomacy after more than a decade as tensions with North Korea and China drive the U.S. allies to work more closely together. The trip, announced by both sides on Thursday, comes after the South Korean government released a plan earlier this week for paying compensation to Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. Under the plan, the companies themselves wouldn’t have to pay.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon to visit Japan for summit, first such trip in 12 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 9 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife will visit Japan from March 16-17 at Tokyo's invitation, his office said on Thursday, the first such visit in 12 years after Seoul announced a plan to end a protracted dispute over wartime forced labour. Yoon will hold a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "The visit... will be an important milestone in the improvement and development of relations between South Korea and Japan," Yoon's office said in a statement. “South Korea is an important neighbour with which we should cooperate in addressing various issues in the international community,” Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a briefing. South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday it would work with Japan to enhance security cooperation, including trilateral relations with the United States.

☆ S.Korean labour minister defends longer work week as helpful for mothers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

“We’ll introduce bold measures to help cut working hours during pregnancy or while raising children,” the minister, Lee Jung-sik, told a media briefing when asked whether the labour reform proposal will help tackle South Korea's fertility crisis. Critics of the measure, however, have said that the measures will hurt, not help, working mothers and other women. It would supersede a 2018 law that limited the work week to 52 hours - 40 hours of regular work plus 12 hours of overtime. "It will make it legal to work from 9 a.m. to midnight for five days in a row. There is no regard for workers' health and rest," the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said in a statement.

☆ North Korean leader Kim calls for intensified drills in case of 'real war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its west coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, adding it was analysing possibilities the North may have launched multiple missiles simultaneously from the same area. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion. North Korean leader Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said earlier this week any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed the joint military exercises for growing tensions. Yang Uk, a research fellow and defence expert at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea has been increasingly claiming that its smaller missiles are nuclear-capable, in apparent threats to South Korea.

SEOUL, March 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's government approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in Seoul told Reuters on Wednesday. The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia. Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the time that South Korea, a U.S. ally, had not provided any weapons. Kim said Poland would need further South Korean permission to provide any of those new weapons to Ukraine.

☆ Biden to host S.Korea's Yoon for state visit April 26 -White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will host South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit on April 26, the White House said on Tuesday. "The upcoming visit celebrates the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. The visit will highlight the United States' "unwavering commitment" to South Korea, she said. The state visit is the second of Biden's administration, she said. Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Forced labour victims protest in wheelchairs, reject S.Korea deal on Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 7 (Reuters) - Two elderly South Korean victims of wartime forced labour took to the streets in wheelchairs on Tuesday, saying they rejected a compensation deal announced this week, potentially complicating Seoul's efforts to end a diplomatic spat with Japan. Under President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by South Korean private-sector companies, rather than seeking payments from Japan. Overall there are about 1,815 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to government data. The compensation for each woman was estimated at around 210 million won ($161,465.18), according to the Victims of Japanese Wartime Forced Labor support group. Is he truly a South Korean?

Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. SOUTH KOREAN FUNDSRelations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Overall there are fewer than 1,300 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to media estimates. The South Korean companies include KT&G (033780.KS), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) and other companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty between South Korea and Japan. Asked whether Japanese companies would pitch in to compensate, Park said both Japanese and South Korean businesses were considering a plan to contribute.

☆ South Korea says its own companies will pay to resolve forced labor dispute with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a briefing on March 06, 2023 in Seoul. The South Korean government announced it will no longer seek direct payment from responsible Japanese firms to compensate victims of Japan's forced wartime labor. South Korea said on Monday that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in a bid to improve poor relations that have impeded trade and cooperation between the two countries. Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced laborers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. "We welcome this as a step that returns Japan-South Korea relations to a healthy one," he said.

☆ South Korea proposes public foundation to resolve forced labour dispute with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a briefing announcing a plan on Monday to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/PoolSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea announced a plan on Monday to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, although victims groups have expressed doubts. Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through a public foundation funded by private-sector companies, Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. Park said that he believes the Japanese government would not prevent Japanese companies from voluntarily contributing. Reporting by Josh Smith, Soo-hyang Choi, and Ju-min Park in Seoul and Yoshifumi Takemoto in Tokyo.

☆ Factbox: South Korea moves to resolve historical, legal disputes with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea on Monday proposed establishing a public foundation to compensate victims of wartime forced labour by Japan, to help resolve strained ties between the two countries. Efforts to overcome historical disputes between South Korea and Japan were renewed under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, with both countries vowing to improve ties. Japan says the matter of any compensation for forced labour was settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic ties and providing South Korea with economic assistance. - Relations deteriorated in 2019 when Japan restricted exports of high-tech material to South Korea. Under Yoon, South Korea has resumed trilateral military drills and agreed to more intelligence sharing on things like tracking ballistic missile launches from North Korea.

Japan and South Korea are near an agreement to compensate Koreans forced to work in Japan during World War II, officials said, boosting U.S. efforts to foster cooperation between its allies to counter China and North Korea. Seoul is set to release a plan as early as Monday for a South Korean fund to pay plaintiffs who have won court cases against Japanese companies over forced labor, the officials said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol may later visit Tokyo, they said, although they cautioned that the talks aren’t finished and may still break down.

☆ South Korea, Japan near landmark deal on wartime labour dispute - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The labour dispute and one over women forced into Japanese military brothels have bedevilled ties between the two pivotal U.S. allies for years. South Korea's foreign ministry, asked about the reported agreement, said negotiations were ongoing. The row spilled over into a trade dispute. 'VOLUNTARY' FUND, SUMMITSeoul unveiled a plan in January to compensate former forced labourers through a South Korean public foundation. The fund would be jointly formed by the Federation of Korean Industries, South Korea's big business lobby, and its Japanese counterpart, Keidanren, the report said.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon says cooperation with US, Japan key to overcoming N.Korea threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony of the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul on March 1, 2023. Jung Yeon-Je/Pool via REUTERSSEOUL, March 1 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday that trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan has become more important than ever to overcoming North Korea's growing nuclear threats and other crises. Yoon spoke at an event commemorating the country's historic March First independence movement against Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea. "Japan has transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values with us," said Yoon. Though Japan and South Korea are at times uneasy neighbours, the three countries are keen to expand cooperation in various fields in the face of increased global tensions, a more assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.

☆ South Korea, US, Japan meet on supply-chain resilience
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] FILE PHOTO-South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Daewoung KimSEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan have held their first economic security dialogue, South Korea's presidential office said on Tuesday, amid efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains and develop technology. Though Japan and South Korea are at time uneasy neighbours, the three countries are keen to expand cooperation in various fields in the face of increased global tensions, a more assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea. "This dialogue is meaningful in expanding bilateral economic security cooperation with the United States to the trilateral level," the office of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a statement. The United States has accused China and Russia of weaponising supply chains to disrupt the global economy and stoke geopolitical tension.

☆ U.S., South Korea stage table-top drill focused on possible N.Korean nuclear strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean officials took part in a simulated "table-top" exercise that focused on the possibility of North Korea using a nuclear weapon, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. U.S. and South Korean officials have also warned the North could be preparing for its first test of a nuclear device since 2017. This was the 8th U.S. and South Korean deterrence strategy committee table-top exercise, known as DSC TTX. "The delegations discussed how best to leverage (South Korea's) non-nuclear capabilities to support nuclear deterrence against DPRK nuclear threats," the statement added.

☆ South Korea launches panel on banks amid outcry over pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - South Korea launched a task force on Wednesday to study ways to improve business practices and pay schemes at banks, days after the country's president called on lenders to help curb the cost-of-living burden on vulnerable people. The panel is headed by the deputy chief of the top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and comprises regulators, scholars, researchers and officials from financial industry associations, the FSC said in a statement. Kim So-young, vice chairman of the FSC, said at the panel's inaugural meeting that it would study ways to boost competition either between existing banks or by allowing entries of niche service providers. The panel would also look into ways to help banks diversify their business practices, currently heavily dependant on interest rate margins, and improve their pay structure, he said. President Yoon Suk-yeol and other government officials have said there is growing public discontent over reports of big performance-sharing and early-retirement bonus payments by banks.

☆ 'No going back' for S.Korea, Indonesia defence cooperation after jet funding dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Defence cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia will expand, diplomats from the two countries said on Friday, after a dispute over funding for a joint fighter jet project was resolved last year. "I think both sides are committed and there is no going back on this important initiative." The next-generation aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (047810.KS) (KAI) is designed to be a cheaper, less stealthy alternative to the U.S.-built F-35, on which South Korea relies. Indonesian Ambassador Gandi Sulistiyanto noted that Indonesian pilots were in South Korea to train with the new jet. President Yoon Suk-yeol has pledged to step up efforts to boost the export of weapons and secure cutting-edge defence technologies as he aims for South Korea to become the world's fourth-largest arms exporter.

☆ Fukushima wastewater release would have limited impact on South Korean waters - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The release of waste water from Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant would have a negligible effect on South Korean waters, according to a government study published on Thursday. "That change would be too small to detect," an official at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology said. The analysis comes as South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol is seeking to improve relations with Japan after years of tensions. The water release has raised concerns from neighbouring countries, including China and South Korea. The simulation study has "no connection" to normalising relations between South Korea and Japan, said Oh Haeng-nok, an official at South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

[1/5] Eldery people who use the free subway service to deliver parcels gather in Seoul, South Korea, February 8, 2023. "But honestly, I wouldn't be doing it if subway rides weren't free because there wouldn't be much left over for me." Free rides have been a perk enjoyed nationally by those 65 and older for four decades and are credited with keeping senior citizens active. In the greater Seoul area, where almost 3.7 million people are 65 or older, more than 233 million free rides were taken last year. Sixty percent of Koreans support raising the minimum age for senior citizen benefits including free subway rides to 70, according to a Gallup poll released last week.

☆ South Korean prosecutors seek to arrest opposition leader in graft probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for the head of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, in an investigation into development projects and bribery allegations. Lee, who was mayor of the city south of Seoul from 2010 to 2018, has denied any wrongdoing. The Democratic Party denounced prosecutors' move, calling it an "unprecedented act of violence to incapacitate the opposition party and eliminate the president's political enemy." Lee lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor-general, in the March presidential election by a margin of just 0.7%. ($1 = 1,281.3900 won)Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The remains of as many as 10,000 Koreans who died in forced labour, digging mines or building dams, are still in Japan, according to South Korean government estimates. Japan says it has identified 2,799 remains of Korean wartime labourers. Japan's foreign ministry said it had been in communication with South Korea about wartime labour issues but could not disclose details. "There's momentum now, and the Japanese and Korean governments are trying to reconcile their differences." Reporting by Sakura Murakami in Ube, Japan and Ju-min Park in Daegu, South Korea; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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