
South Korea's new president asks China to promote peace
STEVEN BOROWIEC
SEOUL -- In a telephone conversation on Tuesday, South Korea's president extended an invitation to his Chinese counterpart to attend a major multilateral summit later this year, as the two sides agreed to work together to face shared challenges, such as peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
In a post on his official X account, President Lee Jae-myung wrote of his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, "China is an important partner to us in all aspects, including the economy and security."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Expresses Serious Concern Regarding China's Fighter Jet Flights; Hayashi Says Requests to Prevent Recurrence Made to Chinese Side
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Yoshimasa Hayashi The government has expressed its serious concern to the Chinese side regarding China's J-15 fighter jet making dangerous flights and strongly requested Beijing to prevent such a recurrence, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday. 'Such abnormal approaches by Chinese military aircraft [to a Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft] could lead to accidental collisions,' Hayashi said at a press conference on the day. According to Hayashi, requests to prevent recurrence were made between the diplomatic and defense authorities of both countries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi also spoke with Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao on the phone to protest again on Thursday. Hayashi did not disclose the Chinese side's response.

3 hours ago
Japan Urges China to Stop Fighter Jet Close Approaches
News from Japan Politics Jun 12, 2025 15:56 (JST) Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)--Japan has urged China to prevent a recurrence of the recent incident in which a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Thursday. "Since there was a possibility of (the incident) triggering an accidental clash, we expressed serious concern and strictly demanded that (China) prevent a recurrence," Nakatani said at a meeting of the National Security Committee of the House of Representatives. He also emphasized that the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces will do everything possible to maintain vigilance and conduct surveillance operations. At a press conference the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Japan will maintain communication with China at various levels. According to Hayashi, Japan's demand for prevention was made through diplomatic and defense channels, including a phone call from Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi to Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press


The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts along border with rival North in a move to ease tensions
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea's military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government's first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign. South Korea's Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts "to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula." Kang Yu-jung, Lee's spokesperson, described the decision as a "proactive step" to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea's retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts. North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn't immediately comment on the step by Seoul. South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South's military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas. Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. The South's broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim's government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family's dynastic rule. The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan. Efforts to improve relations Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon's hard-line policies and shunned dialogue. During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea's retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. On Thursday morning, South Korea's military said North Korean broadcasts weren't heard in South Korean frontline areas, but it wasn't clear if the North has formally halted its own broadcasts. In a briefing on Monday, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities "could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas," said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry's spokesperson. In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements. The North's nuclear threats remain North Korea's priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program. Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack. In a fierce reaction to Yoon's policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North's constitution to cement the South as a permanent "principal enemy." Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.