CUHK department triggers backlash over WeChat attendance registration policy

WASHINGTON — North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong plans to attend a high-level segment of the U.N. General Assembly set to begin in New York next week, a source at the international body said Thursday. Kim is scheduled to attend the General Assembly's high-level general debate, which is set to take place from Sept. 22 to Sept. 26, and on Sept. 28, according to the source. On the last day of the general debate, the vice minister plans to take the podium for a speech. He also attended last year's General Assembly, during which he reiterated that North Korea would never give up its nuclear program "under any circumstances." During his upcoming visit to New York, Kim is expected to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and officials from countries friendly to North Korea, such as Cuba and Venezuela. The vice minister's message during his planned attendance at the U.N. gathering is expected to be keenly watched by Washington as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year. Pyongyang had not sent a

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is expected to postpone the announcement of new tariffs over trading partners' alleged excess capacity in manufacturing sectors until after the planned summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, a report said Thursday. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on the expected delay, noting that the reason for the delay is unclear, as Trump is expected to have a summit with Xi in Washington on Sept. 24, more than four months after their previous meeting in Beijing. Bloomberg previously reported that the Trump administration intended to issue a trade report on excess manufacturing capacity before next week's Trump-Xi summit, and that the report would recommend a 7.5 percent tariff on Chinese products. In March, the administration launched a trade investigation into South Korea, China, Japan and 13 other economies to uncover "unfair" trade practices related to "structural" excess capacity and production, a move that might result in tariffs. In the same month, it opened a separate investigation

WASHINGTON — China may not block the resumption of diplomacy between the United States and North Korea but is unlikely to play a "central" role in their reengagement, a former senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday, ahead of the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Daniel Kritenbrink, who served as assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs from 2021-25, made the comment in response to written questions from Yonhap News Agency, noting that Beijing will be "suspicious" of any significant thaw in the Washington-Pyongyang relations. Trump and Xi are expected to have a summit in Washington, D.C., next Thursday, while Trump has expressed his intention to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year. "I would not expect China to block U.S.-DPRK diplomacy, and it may take certain limited steps to support it," Kritenbrink, now a partner at The Asia Group, a strategic advisory firm, said. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "But Beijing will also be suspicious of

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Friday condemned a U.S.-led multinational maritime exercise as a "war game" and vowed to "intensify the nuclear war deterrence." She made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), days after the multilateral naval exercise Pacific Vanguard, involving U.S. allies, including South Korea and Japan, wrapped up its 13-day run last week. "During the war rehearsal, various naval training for U.S.-centered anti-warship, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare was staged intensively for more than ten days," Kim said. "This was another threatening 'war game' invented by the U.S. for inter-camp confrontation in the region." "This is a part of the U.S. political and military design to prolong its hegemony by relying on the military strength of the exclusive camp in the Asia-Pacific region where there are many big powers regarded as its major rivals," she added. Kim also criticized the participation of South Korea and Japan, framing it as evidence of a "tripartite military cooperation system" aimed

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) and its Tajikistani counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding on financial information exchanges to combat money laundering activities, the country's financial regulator said Friday. KoFIU and its Tajikistani counterpart, the Financial Monitoring Department under the National Bank of Tajikistan, agreed to bolster cooperation to counter money laundering activities, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The bilateral cooperation will help detect and analyze suspicious capital flows, and support anti-money laundering efforts, the FSC said. KoFIU is under the FSC, which is tasked with countering money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other illegal financial activities.

North Korea's Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il has reaffirmed his country's nuclear program at a defense forum in China, calling it "self-defensive," Pyongyang's state media reported Friday. Kim made the remarks Thursday in his address at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which was held in China from Tuesday to Thursday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim criticized the United States' joint military exercises with its allies, claiming that the drills based on the assumption of nuclear weapons use were carried out publicly near the Korean Peninsula. Insisting that such drills justified North Korea's own nuclear program, he said the North will "ceaselessly expand and strengthen our self-defensive nuclear war deterrent," while describing the country's nuclear status as at "the point of no return." Kim also urged "enemy states" to abandon what he called their "unrealistic denuclearization delusion." On the sidelines of the forum, he met with his Chinese counterpart to discuss deepening "strategic communication" and expanding military cooperation and development, the KCNA reporte

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has met with U.S. lawmakers in Washington and discussed bilateral relations and issues related to the Korean Peninsula and global security, the foreign ministry said Friday. Cho, who is in Washington for a three-day trip from Thursday, met separately with Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) on Thursday, according to the ministry. Cho told the lawmakers that the importance of close cooperation between Seoul and Washington has grown amid rapidly changing international circumstances, calling for active support from the U.S. Congress to ensure the swift implementation of the Joint Fact Sheet (JFS). The JFS, released in November following the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, outlines a range of commitments by both sides, including Seoul's pledge to invest $350 billion in the United States in exchange for a reduced U.S. tariff rate, as well as cooperation in the nuclear sector and other security-related issues. Hagerty praised Seoul's efforts t

Korea and Indonesia have agreed to expand partnerships in halal certification and support Korean companies' entry into the Southeast Asian country, Seoul's drug ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Indonesia's Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency, also known as a BPJPH, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the sidelines of the Halal Summit 20, which kicked off in the Indonesian city of Depok the same day. Halal certification is an official verification process that confirms products, ingredients and manufacturing processes comply with Islamic law. Indonesia is considered one of the biggest halal markets in the world and has been gradually expanding items subject to mandatory halal certification, including foods and cosmetics that will be required to go under such certification starting next month. The deal reached Friday (local time) comes after Korea and Indonesia agreed to elevate their bilateral relation into a "special comprehensive strategic partnership" during President Lee Jae Myung's official visit to the Southeast Asian country in March, t

Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Korea plays a key role in developing human capital and preparing the next generation for a changing world. In recent years, under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has undertaken major reforms to improve the quality of education, bring curricula and teaching methods closer to international standards and strengthen the role and status of teachers in society. A key priority of these reforms is to modernize the content of education while preserving national values and drawing on international experience. Curricula are being updated through a competency-based approach, with greater emphasis on critical thinking, creativity and practical skills. The ultimate goal is to develop human capital by ensuring that every child has access to quality education and the opportunity to become a skilled and competitive individual. This transformation goes beyond updating textbooks or improving school infrastructure. It involves reshaping the education system to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. The reforms being implemented by the Ministr

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel on Friday highlighted the Korea-U.S. alliance as the "linchpin" of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific. Steel made the remarks at a forum in Seoul, noting the bilateral alliance was forged over 70 years ago with blood and sacrifices made in the 1950-53 Korean War. "For more than 70 years, the U.S.-ROK alliance has been the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific," Steel said in her opening address, referring to Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea. "Our mutual defense treaty is an unbreakable bond," she added. "But our alliance is more than an agreement between governments. It is also a human story. It is our story." Steel stressed that Seoul and Washington share "one story" forged in war and secured by American and Korean soldiers who stood "shoulder to shoulder" to defend freedom during the Korean War. Highlighting that Korea has now become a "global leader" in a number of areas, including technology, culture, manufacturing and democracy, Steel said such an

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday reiterated his commitment to replacing the armistice that suspended the 1950-53 Korean War with a permanent peace regime. The president made the remarks in a speech at a ceremony at the National Assembly commemorating the Pyongyang Joint Declaration, signed on Sept 19, 2018 by then President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following their summit in Pyongyang. The speech was read on his behalf by Kim Kyoung-soo, Lee's special aide for political affairs. The 2018 declaration affirmed the two Koreas' determination to end military hostility across their border and to boost cooperation. Lee said that despite the declaration, inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation have ceased while tensions have risen, highlighting North Korea's rapid advancement of its nuclear weapons capabilities in the meantime. Now, South Korea is witnessing signs of hope for the resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States, the president noted, pledging to help expedite its resumption and efforts to have it develop into dialogue for a peace regime on the