Latest news with #Korean peninsula
South China Morning Post
12-08-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
What's behind North Korea's ‘unusual' reaction to US-South Korea drills?
North Korea has issued a notably restrained response to next week's annual US–South Korean military exercises, signalling an effort by both sides to cool tensions on the Korean peninsula. A week before the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are set to begin, Pyongyang's defence minister No Kwang-chol on Monday denounced the exercises as 'provocative' and warned of 'negative consequences'. Yet analysts say his statement was stripped of the fiery invective that has long characterised the North's reaction to such manoeuvres. 'We strongly denounce the US and the ROK [South Korea] for their provocative moves' aimed at confrontation, No said, accusing the allies of undermining regional security. He pledged a 'resolute counteraction posture' should any 'provocation go beyond the boundary line', invoking the North's right to self-defence. This was an unusual tone for North Korea to adopt, according to Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification think tank. 'Pyongyang is putting out a plainly worded statement as it can't just leave it ahead of the coming joint drills,' he told This Week in Asia. 'It was carefully calibrated to avoid aggressive, hostile expressions' – even though the response came from a higher-ranking official compared with last year. South Korean protesters rally on Monday outside the presidential office in Seoul against this year's Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise. Photo: AP This year's Ulchi Freedom Shield will be partly scaled back, with around 20 field drills postponed to September due to an ongoing heatwave.
Asharq Al-Awsat
10-06-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
South Korean President Lee, Xi Pledge Closer Economic, Security Cooperation
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to work for substantive advances in economic ties and peace and security on the Korean peninsula, Lee's office said. In their first phone call since Lee took office last week, the South Korean president told Xi he hoped the two countries would pursue a more active exchange and cooperation in the areas of economy, security and culture, his spokesperson said. "President Lee requested China to play a constructive role for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and peace and security," Kang Yu-jung told a briefing. "President Xi in response said the Chinese side would make efforts for the resolution of the issues ... as they are matters of common interest to the two countries," Kang said. Lee took office on June 4 after winning the presidency in a snap election called after the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol over a failed martial law attempt in December. Lee has since spoken to US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Chinese state media earlier said Xi told Lee that the two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and ensure ties move forward "on the right track." A strategic cooperative partnership between both countries would bring more benefits to both and "inject more certainty into the chaotic regional and international situation," Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV. China is South Korea's biggest trading partner and diplomatic relations between the two have improved since a 2017 spat over South Korea's installation of a US missile defense system that Beijing opposed. While reiterating the importance of the US-South Korea alliance, Lee has also expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating a reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
