
Lee set to preside over 1st NSC meeting since inauguration
Lee will be briefed about security issues during the planned NSC meeting, the office said in a statement.
The NSC meeting comes just a day after National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac returned from a four-day trip to the United States for discussions on trade negotiations and broader alliance issues in meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials.
US President Donald Trump has said Washington would impose 25 percent tariffs on South Korean goods from Aug. 1, which effectively extended the initial tariff deadline and allowed more time for negotiations. (Yonhap)

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Korea Herald
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North Korea on Sunday blasted recent combined air drills conducted by South Korea, the United States and Japan, saying such joint military actions are "the main danger factors heightening the level of the military tension" on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding region. "We express serious concern over their hostile acts of persistently conducting provocative and threatening military actions while deliberately ignoring the security concern of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and strongly warn of the grave consequences to be entailed by them on the regional situation," the head of the North Korean defense ministry's policy office said in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The statement referred to North Korea by its official name. On Friday, Seoul's defense ministry said the three nations had held the air drills over international waters off the southern South Korean island of Jeju and involved at least one U.S. B-52H bomber -- the strategic bomber's first deployment near the Korean Peninsula this year. The North Korean official also charged that the tripartite military alliance has "completely changed into a nuclear-based triangular military alliance." "Irresponsible acts of the US, Japan and the ROK (South Korea) steadily heightening the level of tension and danger on the Korean peninsula should be closely watched and deterred," the North's statement added. "It is our just sovereign right to take countermeasures against provocative military actions such as the moves to strengthen the multilateral military alliance threatening the security of the region and the joint military drills with clear aggressive character." (Yonhap)


Korea Herald
10 hours ago
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President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday appointed special envoys to the European Union (EU), France, Britain and India, the presidential office said, as part of broader diplomatic outreach efforts. Lee appointed former Environment Minister Yoon Yeo-joon, a renowned strategist from the conservative camp, as the chief of a delegation to the EU, which will depart for Europe on Monday. Yoon's delegation will visit the EU headquarters in Belgium to meet with key figures of the EU Council and will look to strengthen the strategic partnership between South Korea and the EU while also discussing expanding cooperation in the areas of climate change, and latest science and technology. Former Justice Minister Kang Gum-sil will head to France on Tuesday as a special envoy. Kang's team plans to express South Korea's interest in the expansion of cooperation in artificial intelligence and the defense industry, among other areas, in celebration of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) will lead a delegation to Britain, and former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum was appointed as a special envoy for India. They will both leave South Korea on Wednesday. Choo's delegation will meet with officials from the British government and parliament, and stress the importance of bilateral cooperation in defense and South Korea's willingness to cooperate on climate change, among other global challenges. Kim's team will have talks on bilateral cooperation in defense, and on cultural and human resources exchanges. Kim Chong-in, a former interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party, is believed to be highly considered as Lee's special envoy to the United States. Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is said to be the front-runner for the special envoy to Japan, and former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug will likely be named one to China. Another ex-parliamentary speaker, Kim Jin-pyo, is reportedly a candidate for special envoy to Australia, and DP Rep. Park Jie-won is under consideration for Poland. The presidential office has been consulting with 14 countries over the dispatch of special envoys, Woo Sang-ho, presidential secretary for political affairs, said last week. (Yonhap)


Korea Herald
12 hours ago
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