By UN Journal Kayla L:ee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held talks with Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard on October 16. Minister Stenergard is visiting South Korea on October 15 and 16. The two ministers exchanged views on practical cooperation and regional affairs. Minister Cho noted that high-level exchanges between the two countries have been revitalized since the launch of the new administration, including the visit of the Crown Princess Couple of Sweden and the subsequent meeting between the foreign ministers. He expressed hope that these high-level exchanges would lead to tang
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Cambodia was once a country that welcomed foreigners with the ‘angelic smile’. But now, that smile has frozen cold. Behind the beautiful Angkor Wat and emerald coastline lurks the grip of criminal organizations targeting foreigners. The murder of a Korean university student was not merely the tragedy of one individual, but the result of systematic neglect hidden behind the label of a ‘tourist nation’. A crime market disguised as tourism. Locally, alongside the tourism boom, ‘voice phishing camps’, ‘online gambling centers’, and ‘human trafficking brokerages’ have flouri
By UN Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting of economic officers from all Korean diplomatic missions in the United States on October 2, chaired by Director-General for Bilateral Economic Affairs Kim Sun-young. The meeting was convened to discuss ways to address visa-related difficulties faced by Korean companies and to strengthen coordinated cooperation between the Ministry and its overseas missions, with the overarching aim of ensuring a stable investment environment in the United States. Notably, the meeting followed the inaugural session of the Korea–U.S. Business
By UN Journal Kayla Lee The Government of the Republic of Korea, together with the Governments of Australia and Tanzania, welcomes the groundbreaking ceremony held on October 9 to officially launch the Mahenge graphite project in Tanzania. Located in the Morogoro region of Tanzania, the Mahenge project is led by the Australian company Black Rock Mining (BRM) and involves the Government of Tanzania and Korean companies, including POSCO International. Tanzanian Government officials, including the Minister of Minerals, the Korean Ambassador to Tanzania, Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Tan
By UN Journal Kayla Lee As part of the celebration of the Central Asia–Korea Friendship Day, a traditional fashion show highlighted the cultural diversity and rich creative traditions of the countries of the region and Korea on Sept. 30, 2025. The event was organized by the Central Asia–Korea Friendship Association. The ceremony was attended by President of the Association Lee Ok Ryun, President of the Asian Cultural Center Kim Sangug, diplomats of Central Asian countries, representatives of the business community, and creative groups. In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador Nurgali Arystanov und
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held a meeting with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand at the United Nations Headquarters on September 25. The two sides exchanged views on overall bilateral relations, including high-level exchanges, future substantive cooperation plans, and regional and international situations. Minister Cho expressed his delight at the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two countries following the inauguration of the new governments of Korea and Canada this year, following the bilateral summit held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Jun
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who is in New York to attend the 80th UN General Assembly High-Level Session, held a South Korea, the US, and Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting on September 22 with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya. They discussed pending issues on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, as well as ways to enhance trilateral economic and security cooperation, and adopted a joint statement. Minister Cho expressed his gratitude for attending the meeting for the first time since taking office, at a time when the commitm
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held talks and a dinner with Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, in Beijing, China, on September 17. They exchanged views on matters of mutual interest, including South Korea-China relations and issues on the Korean Peninsula. Minister Cho emphasized, “Today's meeting, as the first South Korea-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting since the inauguration of our new government, holds significance for the development of bilateral relations.” He expressed hope that, taking the Gy
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations (DPO) at the United Nations, who is visiting South Korea, on September 15. They exchanged views on ways to strengthen South Korea-UN cooperation and the future development direction of UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKO). Minister Cho emphasized Korea's commitment to continue contributing to enhancing the adaptability and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping operations as a major troop- and finance-contributing nation. He also called for further strengthening cooperation betwee
By UN Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will hold the 14th Workshop for Overseas Honorary Consuls of the Republic of Korea from September 15 to September 20. Launched in 2010, this Workshop aims so that they can provide more effective support in protecting overseas Koreans and in promoting Korea’s diplomatic activities. This year’s Workshop, the 14th of its kind, will bring together honorary consuls from 12 countries. This six-day event will kick off with a welcome reception, followed by a seminar to share best practices, special lectures on Korea’s economy and security,
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Minister Bae Kyung-hoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT met with Kazakhstan's Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, in Seoul on September 11 to discuss measures to expand bilateral cooperation in science and technology, including artificial intelligence. Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992, Kazakhstan has actively engaged with Korea across diverse fields including politics, economy, society, culture, and education, building on multiple rounds of summit diplomacy. In particular, it actively cultivates talent through inter-state exchange
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, currently visiting the United States, met with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio on September 10 (local time). They exchanged views on the swift resolution of the situation involving Korean nationals detained in Georgia by U.S. authorities, follow-up measures to the Korea-U.S. summit (August 25), high-level Korea-U.S. diplomatic schedules, and North Korea issues. Minister Cho conveyed President Lee Jae-myung's special regards to President Donald Trump and expressed the expectation that the strong ROK-U.S. allian
By UN Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA), hosted the Visiting Korea Book Fair in New York on September 4 to 5 at the NTC NYC Seminar & Conference Center. Launched in 2015, the Visiting Korea Book Fair supports Korean publishers to expand abroad and delivered approximately USD 10.25 million in potential contracts via a total of 609 consultation sessions across three countries in 2024. Coming on the back of this year’s earlier series in Prague (Czech Republic), Warsaw (Poland), and Ta
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Early morning on September 5, at the Chinese Embassy in Jung-gu, Seoul. Though still early, the air outside the embassy is thick with a peculiar mix of tension and excitement. Twenty-six youth reporters, notebooks in one hand and passports in the other, board the bus bound for China. They were participants in the ‘6th Korea Youth Journalists’ Visit to China’ program, the protagonists of a bilateral youth friendship exchange initiative organized by the Korea China Economy & Culture Educational Association (KCCEA, Chairperson Shin Kyung-sook) and co-hosted by the Chin
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