By UN Journal Kayla Lee Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jina met with Grahame Morton, Deputy Secretary for Americas and Asia Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand on August 19. They exchanged views on the new Korean government's foreign policy, measures to further strengthen Korea-New Zealand relations, and regional dynamics including the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Vice Minister Kim welcomed the visit of Deputy Secretary Morton and highlighted that New Zealand is Korea's longstanding friend that participated in the Korean War as well as its key like-min
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held his first South Korea-Indonesia foreign ministers' meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, who is visiting South Korea, and exchanged views on high-level exchanges, practical cooperation, and regional and international situations, including the Korean Peninsula, on August 21. Minister Cho welcomed Minister Sugiono's visit and expressed hope that Indonesia, as our special strategic partner, would further deepen and expand mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in all areas, taking the launch of the new governmen
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Representatives Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Richard McCormick (R-Ga.), who were visiting South Korea, on August 12. They exchanged views on topics including Korea-Texas and Georgia cooperation, the ROK-US alliance, the North Korean nuclear and North Korea issues, and regional and global affairs. Minister Cho noted that Texas and Georgia serve as hubs for Korean investment in the US and play a key role in economic cooperation between the two countries. He emphasized the significant potential of both regions in developing the ROK-US all
By UN Journal Kayla Lee The 28th World Peace Art Exhibition Awards Ceremony was held at the Korea Gallery in Insa-dong, Seoul on August 6, 2025. About 620 artists from 21 countries participated in the event, submitting approximately 1,200 works. About 800 of these works were exhibited. The ceremony concluded successfully with approximately 200 distinguished guests in attendance. Attendees at the ceremony included Nurgali Arystanov, Ambassador of the Embassy of Kazakhstan, Fazliddin Arziev, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Uzbekistan, Consul Eugene Redko of the Embassy of Belarus, and Rita
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, currently visiting the United States, met with Hudson Institute President John Walters and other leaders on July 31, 2025. They outlined the new Korean administration's foreign policy and exchanged opinions on ways to develop the ROK-US alliance. Minister Cho explained that the new administration seeks to build a globally responsible powerhouse that can effectively address changing global order under a pragmatic approach. He added that in doing so, the government plans to continue strengthening the ROK-US alliance and ROK-US-Japan c
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun held his first telephone conversation with Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi on Thursday, July 24, from 14:10 to 14:30, during which the two sides exchanged views on Korea-Japan relations and regional affairs. The call also served as a courtesy exchange marking Minister Cho’s inauguration. Minister Cho noted that Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, along with the Korea-U.S. alliance, form the core pillars of the Korean government’s pragmatic diplomacy, and that the two countries would work together to buil
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Director-General for Consular Affairs and Safety Yoon Chu Sok held the 7th ROK-Thailand Consular Consultation in Bangkok with H.E. Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 9, 2025. The two sides engaged in wide-ranging discussions on bilateral consular issues, including ▴enhancing the convenience of entry, exit, and stay for Korean nationals in Thailand, and ▴protecting Korean nationals residing in Thailand. Director-General Yoon emphasized that the bilateral relationship between the two
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Dr. Shin Hee-seok, a legal analyst of the Transnational Justice Working Group (TJWG), was appointed as a member of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) at the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on July 8, 2025. The WGAD is one of the special procedures of the HRC and is composed of five members appointed from each of the UN’s five regional groups. The WGAD investigates cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily or inconsistently with international human rights standards, and adopts an opinion as to the arbitrariness of the detention an
By UN Journal Kayla Lee On the sidelines of the 4th Conference on Financing for Development (June 30-July 3, Seville), Kim Jina, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a joint meeting on July 1, with the high-level representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to announce the ROK government’s humanitarian assistance initiatives and its key project plans for this year. The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development was the first high-level meeting convened by the UN in a decade si
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Director-General for Northeast and Central Asian Affairs Kang Young-shin held a consultation in Seoul with the Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Liu Jinsong on July 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The previous ROK-China director-general-level consultation was held on December 30, 2024, in China. Both sides agreed to maintain communication at all levels, building on their shared understanding of the need to seize the opportunity of the upcoming APEC Summit in Gyeongju to furt
By UN Journal Kayla Lee “We’re here in Sevilla, Spain to change course,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told world leaders on June 30, calling on them to grasp a once-in-a-decade opportunity to close a $4 trillion financing gap facing developing countries to meet sustainable development goals – and build a better world for all. According to the UN News, António Guterres issued his clarion call noting that sustainable development powered by international cooperation, is now facing “massive headwinds.” Addressing the opening session of the 4th Financing for Development Conference (FFD4) i
By UN Journal Kayla Lee “Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo on June 23. Asia is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to a report released on June 23 by the WMO. This rate of warming – which shows no signs of stopping – is leading to devastating consequences for lives and livelihoods across the region, and no country is exempt from the consequences, the UN News reported. The WMO report said that Asia is warming twice as fast as global averages because of its large landmass
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Governor Oh Young-hoon of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province met with Director-General Qu Dongyu at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy, to discuss international cooperation on Jeju's globally important agricultural heritage system on June 25, 2025. Qu Dongyu is from Hunan Province, China, and holds a PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. He has served as Director-General of the FAO since August 2019. The main agenda of the meeting was the sustainable preservation and utiliz
By UN Journal Kayla Lee UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on June 18 that he remains “profoundly alarmed” by the ongoing military escalation between Israel and Iran, as the sides continued to trade airstrikes, the UN News reported. “I reiterate my call for immediate de-escalation leading to a ceasefire,” Mr. Guterres said in a statement in which he strongly appealled against any further internationalization of the conflict. “Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and secu
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Korean Ambassador for Climate Change Chung Kee-yong attended the 3rd UN Ocean Conference held in Nice, France from June 9 to 13 (local time) as the alternate chief representative and emphasized the Korean government's policy of linking climate and ocean issues and its willingness to cooperate internationally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on June 15. The 3rd UN Ocean Conference was held under the theme of “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the oceans.” Approximately 15,000 people, including heads of state from 75 c