Category: International Headlines

It will be interesting to see if South Korea and Japan join the Board of Peace:

DAVOS, Switzerland — Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, seen by some as a rival ‍to the United Nations, has caught officials at some of the countries invited off guard, with several saying they felt compelled to sign up rather than risk the U.S. president’s wrath.

Reuters canvassed 16 world leaders, including politicians and delegates from Arab nations, Latin American countries and Europe at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, with the response fairly consistent.

Officials from several regions said privately that joining Trump’s proposed board felt less like a choice and more an inevitability, as governments weighed the risks of staying out against the uncertainty of signing on.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but if Korea or Japan really want to get on Trump’s good side they should offer to host the board in their country.

With North Korea getting all their needs currently met by the Russians there really isn’t any urgency for the Kim regime to engage with the U.S. Additionaly Kim Jong-un has to consider what Putin would think if he sees him meeting with Trump when the war in Ukraine is still ongoing:

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is willing to extend his stay in South Korea in order to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Pyongyang has offered no response, maintaining its customary silence ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during his flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo on Monday, Trump said, “If he [Kim] wants to meet, I’d love to,” adding that he “could go over there” while in South Korea.

He emphasized that he and Kim had a “very good relationship” and that extending the trip would be “easy if needed.” It was the latest in a series of gestures that began before his departure for Asia last week.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if the personnel deported will be allowed back into the country again in the future with a proper work visa. With that said I am sure every Korean business is reviewing visa status of their workers now:

The Korean government said Sunday that talks with U.S. authorities to release more than 300 Korean workers detained in Georgia were finished, and that only administrative steps remained before a chartered plane would be dispatched to bring them home.

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik announced the development at a high-level policy meeting in Seoul, saying the release as imminent thanks to swift cooperation among government ministries, business groups and companies.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

You know things are not going well when you have to flee to Turkmenistan for safety:

Twenty South Korean nationals and their family members have evacuated Iran via a land route and arrived safely in Turkmenistan amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I am not sure why a South Korean would want to be in Iran in the first place, but it is probably a good time to get out there because the end of the regime could be near:

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday raised its travel advisory for Iran and Israel, urging its nationals to leave the countries immediately in response to ongoing missile strikes between Israel and Iran.

Effective from 1 p.m. Wednesday, Seoul time, the updated travel alert expands the existing Level 3 advisory — which recommends departure — to cover the entire country.

Previously, the Level 3 alert, part of the four-tier travel advisory system in which Level 4 constitutes a travel ban, applied only to certain regions within Iran.

“Accordingly, South Korean nationals currently staying in Iran are advised to leave the country as quickly as possible, following guidance from the diplomatic mission, while paying special attention to their personal safety,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I read the article and still have a hard time understanding what this British company was complaining about; no wonder the case was dismissed:

The top U.S. court has dismissed an appeal case by a British company claiming it was wrongfully excluded during South Korea’s purchase of advanced U.S.-made F-35 fighters, Seoul’s arms procurement agency said Thursday.

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal Monday in a case that South Korea has argued is beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts as the transaction was one between governments, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

In December 2020, Blenheim Capital sued the South Korean government, Lockheed Martin, the F-35’s manufacturer, and others, claiming it was excluded from the transaction as the broker of an offset program connected to the deal and sought US$500 million in damages, DAPA said.

High-cost military contracts between countries usually involve offset programs, where a buyer receives other goods or technologies in return for the deal. Seoul’s F-35 purchase included an offset program involving a military satellite capable of integrating with the jets.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If all these countries join it makes me wonder of the AUKUS is turning into a Pacific version of NATO to counter China:

The United States, Britain and Australia are considering South Korea, Canada and New Zealand as potential partners for cooperation on advanced capability projects of their AUKUS security partnership, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

The remarks came a day after the defense chiefs of the three countries issued a joint statement noting their consideration of Japan as a partner for Pillar II projects of the partnership.

Launched in September 2021 in an apparent move to counter China’s assertiveness, AUKUS consists of two key pillars. Pillar I is to support Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, while Pillar II is for cooperation in high-tech areas, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and hypersonics.

“The AUKUS partners are considering a range of additional partners who may bring unique strengths to Pillar 2, including the ROK, Canada and New Zealand, in addition to Japan,” the official said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but China is of course complaining about this announcement. If China would quit trying to forcibly take over other nation’s territory there would be no need for AUKUS in the first place.