By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels on April 2, and exchanged views on ▴ ROK-NATO cooperation, ▴ major security issues such as Russo-North Korean military cooperation, and ▴ the global security situation. Secretary General Rutte expressed his pleasure at Minister Cho's participation in the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting and emphasized that NATO attaches great importance to cooperation with its partners in the region, including South Korea, Japan, Austral
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced that it held a 'Korea-Ukraine Reconstruction Cooperation Forum' with a delegation from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Trade Tower in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on March 25. The forum was co-hosted by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea-Ukraine New Building Association (KUNBA). The forum was attended by Yoon Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, Valeriy Korol, Vice Chairman of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lee Yang-gu, Chair
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko and the Ukrainian Economic Mission met with Incheon City Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok at Incheon City Hall on March 24 to discuss cooperation. The meeting was aimed at expanding economic exchanges and laying the groundwork for practical cooperation between Incheon and Ukraine. The Ukrainian economic mission consisted of government officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, including Iryna Tsymbal, chairman of the President Yushchenko Foundation, and Viktoriia Parchevska, Chief Specialist of I
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held bilateral talks and a luncheon on March 22 with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya from 11:20-13:10 on the sidelines of the ROK-China-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo, Japan. At the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, North Korea and nuclear issues, and regional and global issues. Following the bilateral meeting that took place on the occasion of Foreign Minister Iwaya's visit to South Korea in January, the two ministers appreciated the fact that the foreign ministers' meeting was held again afte
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The 2025 Korea Traditional Arts Festival, a festival that reinterprets traditional arts with a contemporary perspective and connects cultural values between East and West, past and present, was held at the Calligraphy Museum of the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul through March 18, hosted by Korea Traditional Arts Inheritance Association (Chairman Kim Moo-ho). The event rediscovered the beauty of Korean traditional culture and demonstrated how art can be reinterpreted and expanded in the modern world as an artistic platform where tradition and modernity, the
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar visited Changwon City, Gyeongsangnam-do and discussed ways with Changwon City Mayor Hong Nam-pyo on March 18 to strengthen friendly cooperation to develop the defense industry between the two countries. Prior to the visit to the city hall, the Indian delegation visited STX Engine Co. and GNT, two of Changwon's leading defense SMEs that participated in Aero India, an aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India, in February, to check the latest K-defense core technologies. “Changwon City is intensively promoting the defense in
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha over the phone and exchanged views on Korea's support for Ukraine, the end-of-war negotiations, and the issue of repatriating North Korean military prisoners of war on March 17. Minister Cho said it was a pleasure to speak with Sybiha following the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Italy last November (Nov. 25), and said that the ROK government is paying close attention to the efforts to end the war and will continue to work with th
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Busan Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ) Commissioner Park Sung-ho discussed ways to expand economic cooperation and investment with Uzbek Ambassador to Korea Alisher Abdusalomov, who paid an official visit to the Busan Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority on March 14. The ambassador’s visit is expected to be an important opportunity to strengthen economic ties between Korea and Uzbekistan. Commissioner Park and the Uzbek ambassador focused on the possibility of cooperation with key industries in the Busan Jinhae Free Economic Zone. The two countries have been coop
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The 2025 Diplomatic and Reunification K-Folk Painting Contest, featuring works that reinterpret symbols and motifs from traditional folk paintings with modern colors and designs, was held at the Korea Art Museum in Insa-dong, Seoul, organized by the monthly K-Folk Painting and the Korea Masters Association. The exhibition is on display until March 17, and has attracted great interest and response due to the high quality of the works submitted. The contest was organized under the theme of 'K-Folk Paintings, Coloring the Global Community' to showcase the beauty of
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Seoul Foreign Resident Center, established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and managed by the non-profit Migrant Center Friends, will join hands with the Embassy of Mongolia to strengthen support for Mongolians living in Seoul. The Seoul Foreign Resident Center signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Embassy of Mongolia in Korea on March 10 to share information and hold educational and cultural events to support the stable stay of Mongolians in Korea and improve their quality of life. Under the agreement, the center will expand its Mongolian
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul hosted an Iftar Dinner to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, inviting various guests from the business, academic, media, and cultural communities, including diplomatic corps of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries on March 11. Iftar, which means “break fast,” refers to the first meal after sunset at the end of the daily fast during Ramadan, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been organizing Iftar events since 2004 to promote mutual friendship and cooperation with the Islamic world. Speaking at t
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong Kyun held a working luncheon with the European Union (EU) Ambassadors to Korea on Feb. 28. As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between Korea and the EU, Vice Minister Kim stressed that Korea and the EU are seeking joint responses to global security challenges by adopting the ROK-EU Security and Defense Partnership last year, while also expanding cooperation across various fields, including advanced technology, the defense industry, and energy. He also voiced expectatio
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with Emmanuel Bonne, Head of the Foreign Affairs Office of the French Presidential Office, in Paris, France, and held the Fifth Korea-France Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot on March 7. During the meeting, Minister Cho exchanged views on ▲ recent domestic developments, ▲ high-level exchanges between Korea and France, ▲ trends in strengthening security in Europe and France's contribution after the new U.S. administration, ▲ France's role and contribution to the 2026 chairmanship of
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a dinner meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Winston Peters on Feb. 28. The two ministers engaged in substantive discussions on the elevation of Korea-New Zealand relations, high-level exchanges, and practical cooperation in areas such as the economy, defense and space, as well as developments on the Korean Peninsula and key regional issues. Minister Cho welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Peters’ visit to the Republic of Korea following the one in July last year. Both sides exp
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee While attending the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul attended the 27th MIKTA (A grouping of Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia)Foreign Ministers' Meeting on February 20 (local time), where he exchanged views with representatives of MIKTA member countries on how to cooperate with MIKTA in the current global situation, and introduced the direction of Korea's activities and priorities as the chair of MIKTA for the next one year. Minister Cho emphasized that amidst the escalating geopol