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
UNJournal Jon Lee | Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Kim Seong-joong met with Ambassador Aida Ismailova of the Kyrgyz Republic to Korea and her entourage at the provincial office on July 22 to discuss international cooperation measures in the field of the disabled. This meeting was arranged to conduct preliminary exchanges and improve the effectiveness of the project ahead of the ‘2025 Local Government Public Cooperation Project Integrated Competition’ fully supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The province plans to apply for this competition with the ‘Project to Str
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo “Iran’s capacity for food exports—particularly high-quality seafood such as shrimp and fish from the southern regions—represents a promising new frontier for expanding trade and export cooperation with South Korea,” said Ambassador of Iran to South Korea on July 18. In an exclusive interview with the Diplomacy Journal held at the Embassy of DRC in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Amb. Saeed Koozechi said, “With targeted expertise and joint investments, these sectors in Iran are well positioned for further growth and development.” Noting that the volume of bilateral trade between Ko
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
UNJournal Jon Lee | The Preparatory Office for APEC 2025 held the First Advance Visit for 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting for delegates from 20 APEC member economies from July 9 to July 10, 2025. The First Advance Visit was chaired by Senior Managing Director Kim Ji-Joon and attended by over 120 participants, including delegations from APEC member economies and officials from relevant authorities. Korea will host the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju in the second half of 2025, marking 20 years since its last hosting of the event in Busan in 2005. On the first day, the Prepar
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo “The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Korea need to speed up cooperation in the sector of critical minerals, in addition to the diplomatic and political field,” said Ambassador of the DRC to Korea Atoki Ileka on July 9. In an exclusive interview with the Diplomacy Journal held at the Embassy of DRC in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Ambassador Atoki Ileka said, “South Korea emphasized expanding trade and investment in Africa, particularly focusing on critical minerals at the recent Korea-Africa Summit in June 2024. To that effect, a Korea-Africa Critical
UNJournal Jon Lee | National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac, who is visiting the United States, held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C. on July 7 (local time) to discuss current issues in South Korea-U.S. relations, the Presidential Office announced. At the meeting, South Korea emphasized the need for the two countries to consult on current issues between them and develop their alliance further based on the spirit of alliance, and expressed its hope that the South Korean and U.S. national security advisors would work closely toget
UNJournal Jon Lee | KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) Commissioner Kim Wan-ki held high-level talks with Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Mohammed bin Hassan Al-Malki at the Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry and signed a “Strategic Partnership Program on Establishing a National Intellectual Property Strategy and Strengthening Capabilities” on July 6 (Qatar local time). Qatar is accelerating its transition to a knowledge-based economy based on the ‘Qatar National Vision 2030’ in order to break away from its oil-dependent economic structure, and has decided
UNJournal Jon Lee | Hamyang County in Gyeongsangnam-do province hosted an international exchange event with Ethiopian Ambassador to South Korea Dessie Dalkie Dukamo and his entourage on July 8, 2025. This visit was arranged in anticipation of the upcoming overseas experience trip to Ethiopia by Geumban Elementary School students in November. The ambassador and his delegation attended the “Glocal Connection Day” event at Geumban Elementary School, participating in lectures, traditional coffee ceremonies, and a commemorative tree-planting ceremony. The ambassador's lecture, themed “The Past and
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
UNJournal Jon Lee | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Climate Change in Seoul on July 1, 2025. It was organized by the Korea Institute of Energy Research and supported by the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, the Korea Startup Accelerator and Early Stage Investors Association, and the Chungnam Content Agency. As AI technologies play an increasingly significant role in addressing climate change and accelerating the energy transition, this conference brought together over 450 participants—including representa
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
UNJournal Jon Lee | Nkubito Manzi Bakuramutsa, the Rwandan Ambassador to South Korea, visited the Chungcheongbuk-do province and met with Governor Kim Young-hwan on June 30, 2025. This visit was part of mutual exchanges that began with the visit of Kim Soo-min, Vice Governor of Chungcheongbuk-do Province, to the Rwandan Embassy in South Korea in March. During the meeting, they discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation, cultivate bio talent, and develop the bio industry. Vice Governor Kim emphasized, “Chungbuk Province is the heart of K-Bio and a forward base for life science innovation
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
UNJournal Jon Lee | The Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Korea held an event dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of the Belarusian People, co-organized by the South Korean news media Diplomacy Journal on June 20, 2025. In his opening remarks, the Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Korea Andrew Chernetsky pointed out the need to defend the historical truth about the crimes of Nazi Germany against the Belarusian population and the peoples of the former Soviet republics, to preserve the memory of