Seoul : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) watches a sports event with his daughter and other top officials on Feb. 17, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (Yonhap/IANS)
Photos carried by the North Korean state media showed a missile firing from Patrol Ship No. 661, with Kim observing the scene aboard a separate vessel…reports Asian Lite News
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a navy unit and inspected a cruise missile test aboard a warship, as South Korea and the US began their annual joint military drills, Pyongyang’s state media reported on Monday.
Kim visited the Navy flotilla tasked with defending the east coast and watched the seamen on a patrol ship stage a launching drill of “strategic” cruise missiles, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without disclosing the date of his visit.
“At the drill aimed to reconfirm the combat function of the ship and the feature of its missile system and make the seamen skilled at carrying out the attack mission in actual war, the ship rapidly hit target without even an error,” Yonhap News Agency quote the KCNA report as saying.
Photos carried by the North Korean state media showed a missile firing from Patrol Ship No. 661, with Kim observing the scene aboard a separate vessel.
Kim vowed to strengthen the North’s navy to make it an “all-round and powerful” service group with improved combat efficiency and modern means of surface and underwater offensive and defensive capabilities, the KCNA said.
Meanwhile, South Korea and the US kicked off the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise on Monday, featuring various contingency drills, such as the computer simulation-based command post exercise, concurrent field training and Ulchi civil defense drills.
The exercise will run until August 31.
Kim’s inspection came amid expectations that North Korea could carry out major provocations, such as the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), in a bid to protest the joint military drills.
The North has long denounced the Seoul-Washington military exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion.
China considers North Koreans entering its country to be illegal immigrants rather than refugees…reports Asian Lite News
South Korea demanded that Beijing stop repatriating the detained North Koreans who have left their homeland in an attempt to make their way to a third country, Voice of America (VOA) reported.
China considers North Koreans entering its country to be illegal immigrants rather than refugees and arrests them when they are caught, then sends them back to North Korea, which treats them as traitors.
China is detaining North Korean defectors who face severe punishment for fleeing the repressive Kim regime, South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho said Wednesday at a seminar in Seoul, VOA reported.
Elizabeth Salmon, the UN special rapporteur on North Korea’s human rights, estimated the number of North Korean defectors in China to be as high as 2000, as of 2022, the South Korean minister used.
China has an “obligation to abide by international norms prohibiting forced repatriation,” Kim continued, adding, “The South Korean government will accept all defectors who wish to come to South Korea.”
According to VOA, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, on Thursday said, “The Chinese government has all along handled issues related to the DPRK people illegally entering into China in keeping with Chinese laws, international law and humanitarianism.”
The official name of North Korea is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
China ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol in 1982 and is obligated to follow the convention’s core principle of nonrefoulment. That is a principle of international law that forbids a country receiving asylum-seekers from returning them to a country in which they would be in probable danger, VOA reported.
Ties between China and North Korea are becoming closer as tensions between Beijing and Washington increase. The two Asian nations agreed to increase cooperation when a Chinese delegation visited Pyongyang in July as the allies marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War of 1951-53.
South Korea’s Kim said China must designate North Korean defectors as refugees who have the right to receive protection rather than as illegal immigrants, VOA reported.
He added that the human rights of North Korean defectors in China should be guaranteed according to international norms and that the North Koreans in China should be allowed to go to a country of their choosing such as South Korea.
Seoul has been raising human rights issues since President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022.
In the first open UN Security Council meeting on North Korea’s human rights in six years, South Korea’s UN Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook on Thursday condemned North Korea’s human rights abuses, VOA reported.
He said human rights abuses are a “critical national security issue” for South Korea as Pyongyang represses its people to develop nuclear and missile programs that threaten South Koreans. (ANI)
After the first-ever trilateral summit between the US, Japan and South Korea, a joint statement was released titled ‘The Spirit of Camp David’ expressing support for their collective alliance.
United States, Japan and South Korea, in a joint statement on Friday, condemned the “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” by China and expressed stern opposition against any attempt to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific.
After the first-ever trilateral summit between the three countries held in the US, a joint statement was released titled ‘The Spirit of Camp David’ expressing support for their collective alliance.
“Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States are determined to align our collective efforts because we believe our trilateral partnership advances the security and prosperity of all our people, the region, and the world,” the statement read.
The three nations expressed commitment to expanding cooperation trilaterally and raising shared ambition to a new horizon across domains and across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
“We will strengthen our economies, provide resilience and prosperity, support the free and open international order based on the rule of law, and bolster regional and global peace and security, especially as current and incoming members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). We will strengthen our coordination on promoting democracy and protecting human rights. And we will enhance strategic coordination between the US-Japan and US-ROK alliances and bring our trilateral security cooperation to new heights,” the joint statement read.
Additionally, the joint declaration by US, Japan and South Korea expressed shared concerns over Chinese actions in supporting unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, as well as their strong opposition to any unilateral actions by Beijing aimed at changing the existing situation in the Indo-Pacific waters.
“We share concerns about actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order, which undermine regional peace and prosperity. Recalling the publicly announced position of each of our countries regarding the dangerous and aggressive behaviour supporting unlawful maritime claims that we have recently witnessed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea, we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific,” the statement read.
They also opposed the militarization of reclaimed features; the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive activities, and further expressed concern about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The three countries also reiterated their commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, emphasizing that the basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and they called for peaceful resolutions to cross-Strait matters.
“We reiterate our firm commitment to international law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The July 2016 award in the South China Sea arbitration sets out the legal basis for the peaceful resolution of maritime conflicts between the parties to that proceeding. We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community. There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” the joint statement added.
They also announced holding the first trilateral meeting between the finance ministers and launching a new commerce and industry ministers track that will meet annually. An annual Trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue will also be launched to coordinate the implementation of Indo-Pacific approaches and to continually identify new areas for common action.
Expressing support for the ASEAN-led regional architecture, the three countries affirmed commitment to working closely with ASEAN partners to support robust implementation and mainstreaming of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
US, Japan and South Korea also reaffirmed the commitment towards “complete denuclearization” by North Korea in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions and urged Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
“Furthermore, we reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions and urge the DPRK to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. We call on all UN Member States to fully implement all relevant UNSC resolutions. We strongly condemn the DPRK’s unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches, including multiple intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches and conventional military actions that pose a grave threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” the statement read.
The three countries added that in addition to the security partnership, they will also maintain focus on building robust cooperation in the economic security and technology spheres.
“We are fully committed to continuing to eliminate barriers to economic participation and build diverse, accessible, and inclusive economies in which all our people—including women and marginalized groups—can succeed. We will work to further strengthen our people-to-people ties, including among our young people and students,” the joint statement further read.
They also stated that the trilateral summit marks a “new chapter” in their relationship and the three countries depart from Camp David with a “shared resolve and optimism for the future”.
“Today, we declare that a new chapter in our trilateral relationship has begun. We are aligned in our vision; undaunted in the face of our era’s greatest challenges; and, most of all, united in our belief that Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States can meet those challenges together, now and in the future,” the statement added. (ANI)
It will mark the first in what US officials hope will be an annual gathering between the three country’s leaders, formalizing their ties …reports Asian Lite News
The United States, Japan and South Korea will launch a series of joint initiatives on technology and defence when the countries’ leaders gather at Camp David this Friday, according to senior US administration officials, amid mounting shared concerns about China.
While the summit is unlikely to produce a formal security arrangement that commits the nations to each others’ defence, they will agree to mutual understanding about regional responsibilities and set up a three-way hot line to communicate in times of crisis, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Joe Biden invited Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, to the storied presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains as the Asian nations work to mend their tattered diplomatic relations in the face of greater regional threats posed both by China’s rise and North Korea.
It will mark the first in what US officials hope will be an annual gathering between the three country’s leaders, formalizing their ties and cooperation.
South Korea and Japan held their first joint summit in 12 years this March, and have made steps to ease tensions after years of disputes including some related to Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of Korea.
Washington has formal collective defense arrangements in place with both Tokyo and Seoul separately, but it wants those two countries to work closer together given growing concerns about China’s mounting power and worries about its intentions.
“We are anticipating some steps that will bring us closer together in the security realm,” said one of the US officials, and that doing so would “add to our collective security.”
But the US official added that, “it’s too much to ask — it’s a bridge too far — to fully expect a three-way security framework among each of us. However, we are taking steps whereby each of the countries understand responsibilities with respect to regional security, and we are advancing new areas of coordination and ballistic missile defense, again technology, that will be perceived as very substantial.”
The summit is also expected to lead to a joint statement between the countries that includes some language speaking to concerns about China’s desire to change the status of self-governed Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory.
The US, Japanese and South Korean joint statement is set to include language on maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, one of the officials said. The exact language on that and other provisions is expected to be negotiated up to the last minute.
But the language currently under consideration would be consistent with prior US positions on the subject, avoiding a sharp escalation in rhetoric with Beijing as Washington has been seeking to ease tensions ahead of possible talks between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.
Christopher Johnstone, a former Biden White House official now with Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said the US administration was seeking to take advantage of the Tokyo-Seoul rapprochement to “institutionalize” some of the progress and make it more difficult for future leaders to reverse.
However, Johnstone told a briefing previewing the summit that progress remained fragile.
“In South Korea, President Yoon’s efforts are still not widely popular. And in Japan there’s this constant refrain of skepticism that the improvement will be durable and that … a future (South Korean) president could flip the table over again,” he said.
Johnstone said he expected a summit statement recognizing that the security of the three countries is linked, “and that some measure of threat to one is a threat to all,” even if this would fall short of NATO’s Article 5 language, that sees an attack on one as an attack on all.
He expected this to complemented with new defense initiatives, including a deepening of join military exercises and missile defense cooperation.
Yoon is scheduled to depart Thursday to attend the summit at the US presidential retreat Camp David, near Washington, the following day, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters.
U.S. President Joe Biden (L) gifts South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol a guitar signed by artist Don McLean during a state dinner for Yoon at the White House in Washington on April 26, 2023.(Yonhap/IANS)
Talks are also under way to arrange a South Korea-US summit and a South Korea-Japan summit on the sidelines, Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying.
“Through this summit, we will be able to create a key framework in the future for trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan, and institutionalise it,” Kim said during a press briefing at the presidential office, noting the leaders will use the summit to discuss a common vision and basic principles for trilateral cooperation, as well as to build comprehensive and multilayered cooperation mechanisms across diverse sectors at every level.
Kim said the summit will also serve to further strengthen trilateral security cooperation for peace and stability in the region in the face of common threats, with the leaders holding in-depth talks on practical cooperation measures to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat.
In addition, the three leaders will discuss measures to cooperate for joint regional prosperity and future growth, including ways to cooperate on cutting-edge technologies and strengthen partnerships to respond to economic security issues, such as supply chain and energy risks.
Moreover, Kim said the summit will serve as a “pivot” in the three countries’ pursuit of freedom, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
G20 leaders’ summit under India’s presidency is scheduled to take place in New Delhi this September…reports Asian Lite News
South Korea’s Ambassador to India Chang Jae Bok has confirmed that the country’s President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the upcoming G20 Summit, scheduled to take place in September in Delhi.
“Yes, our President is coming to the (G20) Summit which is being held on 9-10 September. We strongly support India’s G20 presidency this year and we hope that the Summit meeting in September will be the highlight and culmination of the G20 presidency efforts by the Indian Government,” the envoy said.
“During G20 of course we discuss the economic recovery of the world in the world situation but we also discuss regional security affairs. So we hope that India will lead the G 20 members towards the very good outcome of the G 20 for contribution to peace and security of the world and the stable economic situation in the world,” he said.
G20 leaders’ summit under India’s presidency is scheduled to take place in New Delhi this September. South Korea commemorates the 78th anniversary of Liberation Day or Independence Day alongwith India.
“15th of August is the Independence Day for both India and Korea. So, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to India and the people of India,” South Korea’s Ambassador to India said.
“Since the end of February, ‘Naatu Naatu’ dance cover by the Korean Embassy was a big hit and viral. Since then many Indians showed interest in Korean culture…but this has not been the phenomenon now. It has been a big phenomenon by the young generation of India for a couple of years…” the envoy said recalling the success of the Oscar-winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the hit Telugu-language film ‘RRR’.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wished South Korea on its Independence Day.
“Warm greetings to @FMParkJin and the Government and the people of the Republic of Korea on their National Day. Confident that our Special Strategic Partnership would keep advancing,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
‘India undeniably global powerhouse’
Earlier this year, South Korea termed India an undeniable global powerhouse, praising it as both soft and hard power and added that under the Indian presidency, the G20 will pay heed to insights and feedback from members and contribute to the international community.
Addressing the first meeting of the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group, South Korea (Co-Chair of this working group) delegation head Byungsik Jung had said, “We are facing a lot of global challenges, global debts, climate changes, industrialization. We have got together to address all these issues under the spirit of `One family, One Future’. The impression of this country is that India is undeniably a global powerhouse that is not only a hard power evidenced by economic scale and population but also a soft power equipped with well-known films, cuisines, history and renowned figures.’’
He had also exuded confidence about the success of the G20 presidency this year. “I am sure that the Indian presidency will unleash its potential and charm and pay heed to insights and feedback from members and contribute to the international community,” Jung said.
Deepening ties
In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol in Japan’s Hiroshima, and discussed ways to further strengthen the ties between the two countries as India-South Korea are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.
The two leaders had discussed a range of issues including trade and defence ties between the two nations. Official Spokesman, Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi had tweeted, “Advancing – Special Strategic Partnership. PM @narendramodi met @President_KR Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea. Leaders reaffirmed commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties as India-South Korea celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.”
Modi and Yoon Suk Yeol also agreed to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, high technology, IT hardware manufacturing, defence, semiconductor, and culture. They also held discussions on India’s G20 presidency and South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
“Leaders agreed to deepen cooperation in areas of trade & investment, high technology, IT hardware manufacturing, defence, semiconductor, and culture. Also discussed India’s G20 presidency and South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy,” Bagchi tweeted.
The Prime Minister’s Office said that the meeting between the two leaders was productive and both nations share a warm friendship.
“PM @narendramodi had a productive meeting with @President_KR Yoon Suk Yeol. India and the Republic of Korea share a warm friendship and deep rooted cultural linkages. Today’s talks focused on ways to further cement this friendship in key developmental sectors,” the PMO tweeted.
India-Republic of Korea (RoK) relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high-level exchanges. (ANI)
Yoon, Biden, Kishida agree to strengthen deterrence against N.Korea.
White House announced that the summit will be held at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland…reports Asian Lite News
United States announced its first standalone trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea will take place on August 18.
With North Korea’s ‘continued threat’ as the top agenda further, the summit will address global and regional security challenges, reported The Japan Times. US President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol, according to the White House.
Adding to that, the White House announced that the summit will be held at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland as the three leaders look to expand trilateral cooperation “across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
“The summit will advance a shared trilateral vision for addressing global and regional security challenges, promoting a rules-based international order and bolstering economic prosperity,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement, according to The Japan Times.
In Seoul, presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon told the Yonhap news agency that the summit “will be an important opportunity” to elevate the cooperation among the three countries “to a new level.”
Earlier, the three leaders have held joint meetings on the sidelines of international events, but have never held a formal trilateral summit.
Moreover, during the summit, the three are also likely to release a joint statement condemning North Korea’s missile tests and nuclear sabre-rattling while also calling for Pyongyang to return to long-stalled denuclearization talks, The Japan Times reported.
The talks, however, remain a nonstarter with Pyongyang, which in September passed a law that makes its nuclear status “irreversible” and bars any negotiations on relinquishing its arsenal.
North Korea has fired off a volley of missiles this month, including the solid-fuel Hwasong-18, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions that ban its possession and testing of the weapons.
Pyongyang’s unprecedented spate of more than 100 missiles tests since last year has helped push the Japan-South Korea bilateral relationship closer as they look to cooperate on security issues, including with their mutual ally, the U.S., after years of soured ties over disagreements about wartime labour and other historical issues, reported The Japan Times.
Japan — which called North Korea “an increasingly serious and imminent threat” in its annual defence white paper released Friday — warned that “provocations” by the North could continue, including a potential seventh nuclear test, a possibility that only grew with the appearance of the officials from United Nations Security Council members China and Russia.
The two countries, Japan and South Korea have been pressurized by the US and its partners amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine and the growing Sino-American rivalry. In the past, they have been sought to distance themselves from their neighbour’s nuclear and missile ambitions, according to The Japan Times.
However, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Pyongyang has made a shift with Shoigu photographed viewing banned North Korean ballistic missiles with Kim at a defense expo.
In response to a question about the Russian defence minister’s recent trip to Pyongyang, the US said that it would not hesitate to impose sanctions on North Korea and Russia when necessary as they have already done it in the past a number of times. (ANI)
The fresh launches have come just three days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, reports Asian Lite News
North Korea fired several cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported citing the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analysing the launches, which took place at about 4:00 am (local time), to learn more about the type of missiles fired and other details, according to the JCS. “Our military has bolstered surveillance and vigilance while closely cooperating with the United States and maintaining a firm readiness posture,” Yonhap news agency quoted JCS as saying.
The fresh launches have come just three days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
It also came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the port visit of a nuclear-capable US submarine in more than 40 years and the inaugural session of the South Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group earlier this week.
USS Kentucky (SSBN 737), an 18,750-ton Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), departed Busan naval base on Friday, three days after a rare port visit in a major show of strength against evolving North Korean military threats.
North Korea denounced the visit, saying the SSBN’s deployment may fall under the legal conditions for its use of nuclear weapons.
This was met by a stern response from Seoul, which warned Pyongyang that any nuclear attack from the latter’s side would mean an “end” of the Kim Jong Un-led regime. (ANI)
The Defence Ministry in Seoul renewed the warning after Pyongyang’s Defence Minister Kang Sun-nam slammed the arrival of the USS Kentucky….reports Asian Lite News
South Korea has warned that North Korea will face the “end” of its regime in the event of a nuclear attack after it said the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-capable submarine and other strategic assets here could meet the conditions for its use of nuclear arms.
The Defence Ministry in Seoul renewed the warning after Pyongyang’s Defence Minister Kang Sun-nam slammed the arrival of the USS Kentucky, an 18,750-tonne Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), in South Korea and the inaugural meeting of the South Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) this week, reports Yonhap News Agency.
“In the event of any North Korean nuclear attack against the South Korea-U. alliance, it will face an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response from the alliance, and (we) strongly warn again that through this, (the attack) will result in the end of the North Korean regime,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The USS Kentucky arrived in the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday.
Its arrival coincided with the first NCG session aimed at strengthening the credibility of the US’ extended deterrence commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
The Ministry defended the NCG gathering and the SSBN’s deployment as a “rightful” defensive measure against North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile threats, dismissing the North’s claim that they posed a nuclear threat to the recalcitrant country.
It also said Pyongyang’s nuclear program and missile provocations are “clear” violations of UN Security Council resolutions and “illicit activities”, noting the country is the “only” one that repeats threats of a nuclear attack against the South Korea-US alliance.
“North Korea will never gain any concessions from the South Korea-US alliance through its nuclear development and threats, and (we) urge it to recognise its isolation and destitution will only deepen, and to come out swiftly to the path of denuclearisation,” it said.
The first US SSBN’s visit to the South since 1981 came after the .S pledged to enhance the “regular visibility” of its high-profile military assets, including the strategic submarine, in the Washington Declaration that Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden issued during their summit in April.
Tensions have heightened as Pyongyang has continued its saber-rattling, such as its launches of an inter-continental ballistic missile on July 12 and two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday.
Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrived in Ukraine following a three-day official visit to Poland, reports Asian Lite News
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Saturday, sending a strong signal of support for the war-torn nation, his office said.
Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrived in Ukraine following a three-day official visit to Poland, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye.
He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day to discuss areas where South Korea can provide additional aid, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Earlier Saturday, Yoon visited the site of mass killings in Bucha, near Kyiv, before visiting Irpin, a civilian residential area that has been subject to large-scale missile attacks, the press secretary said.
He was also scheduled to lay a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv.
Further details are yet to be disclosed.
Yoon has shown strong support for Ukraine in line with his campaign for freedom, human rights and the rule of law in solidarity with like-minded nations.
Пан Президент Республіки Корея був сьогодні в Бучі та Ірпені і на власні очі бачив наслідки російської окупації. Але ж Буча та Ірпінь – лише два з тисяч українських міст, які зазнали ударів російського терору. Масштаб принесених Росією страждань і руйнувань – колосальний. Отже,… pic.twitter.com/eiJlkUlt0u
South Korea has provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in its protracted war with Russia but denied the country’s requests for lethal weapons.
This will be the second Yoon-Zelensky meeting after one held on the sidelines of a G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in May.
At the time, Yoon promised additional non-lethal aid, including demining equipment and ambulances.
Yoon’s visit to Ukraine came at the end of a two-leg trip that earlier took him to Lithuania for the NATO Summit and then to Poland for an official visit.
The UAE delegation was in Seoul to participate in the eighth UAE-Korea Joint Economic Committee…reports Asian Lite News
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, led the UAE delegation on a visit to Samsung’s headquarters in the Republic of Korea to learn about the company’s future expansion and investment plans and strengthen its partnership with the UAE market. The Minister was received by Oh-Hyun Kwon, CEO and Vice President of Samsung Electronics.
The UAE delegation was in Seoul to participate in the eighth UAE-Korea Joint Economic Committee aimed at strengthening the existing economic and trade ties and exploring new opportunities for cooperation and investment partnerships with the Korean private sector.
Bin Touq emphasised that thanks to the directives of its wise leadership and the competitiveness of its legislative and economic environment, the UAE has succeeded in establishing a stable and attractive investment climate for the technology and the new economy sectors. The country has today become a major trading and investment hub for several leading global companies, which has further contributed to the growth of its FDI balance, attracting more foreign investors from around the world.
Furthermore, Bin Touq highlighted the measures adopted by the UAE to drive investments and expansion in new economic sectors, acknowledging its importance in building the future economy and achieving sustainable economic and social development. A wide array of future-oriented economic legislation and policies were introduced to this end, most notably the issuance of new laws on cooperatives, family enterprises, business transactions and trade records, in addition to the launch of the Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (CEPA) programme to strengthen its partnership with strategic global markets.
Bin Touq said, “Korean FDI in the UAE continues to grow, totalling AED 8.1 billion (US$2.2 billion) by the beginning of 2021 with a 73 percent growth compared to that of early 2013. Today, the Republic of Korea is one of the top 20 foreign investors in the UAE. Their investments span several economic and trade sectors including insurance, mining, financial services, retail, real estate, transport, energy and technology.”
He added, “Over the past 12 months, 200 new Korean companies have entered the country’s markets, taking the total number of economic licenses obtained by Korean companies operating in the UAE to nearly 1,100, up 22 percent compared to 900 in June 2022.”
During the visit, the UAE Minister was briefed on the progress of work and production at the Samsung headquarters and the modern digital technologies used in the production of electronic chips, screens and smartphones.
