Sino-US forum held in HK ahead of Apec summit

There were long queues on a Kent motorway following a crash involving three vehicles.

North Korea has test-fired a new type of torpedo in the East Sea, state media reported Tuesday, saying it plans to deploy the system with its Navy in early 2027. The Academy of Defense Sciences, the Missile Administration and the Torpedo Weapon Research Bureau "verified the combat effectiveness" of the new high-speed torpedo system Monday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test was part of the "obligatory activities" of the defense research institutes to put weapons technology "on a highly-developed basis," it added. The North gave no further details on the torpedo's specifications. Pyongyang has been pushing to strengthen its naval capabilities with a string of weapons tests. Last month, it conducted an underwater test of a new high-speed, precision-guided torpedo that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology, calling it a "significant" change in its naval capabilities. It also fired two types of strategic cruise missiles from what was presumed to be a 3,000-ton submarine in the East Sea. In June, it commissioned the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer in the West Sea, followe

North Korea's apparent demand to be recognized as a nuclear power could complicate U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to arrange another summit with leader Kim Jong-un, a former senior State Department official said Monday. "I think my understanding, at least, is that the North Koreans have communicated to the United States that the only condition under which there could be consideration for a summit is if the United States accepted North Korea as a nuclear power," Kurt Campbell, former deputy secretary of state, said. Campbell made the remarks during a press briefing hosted by the Asia Group to preview Trump's upcoming trip to Asia, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China. "Given the current circumstances, I think that would be almost impossible for President Trump to accept," Campbell said, noting that it could face opposition from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. "I don't think the political circumstances make it likely for anything other than maybe just a handshake of sort

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has met his French counterpart in Paris and discussed bilateral ties and international issues, including the war in Ukraine, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Cho held talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday (local time) on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting, according to the ministry. The two reviewed relations that were elevated to a "strategic partnership" this year, the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and agreed to expand practical and mutually beneficial cooperation in high-tech industries and other areas. Cho asked France to continue its support for and interest in Korean companies doing business in Europe. The G7 ministerial meeting, the second this year, is taking place Monday and Tuesday in Marseille, southern France. It is expected to address key global challenges, including artificial intelligence (AI) and developments in the Middle East, following the G7 leaders' summit in June, according to the ministry. Also on the margins of the G7 gathering, Cho met bilaterally with Saudi Foreign Minis

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has emphasized the importance of agriculture and pledged to improve living standards in rural areas, state media said Tuesday. Kim spoke on Monday during a photo session with participants in the 10th Congress of the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea (UAWK), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He praised the workers for boosting grain production and stressed the party "remains unshakable in its plan and decision to make the faithful agricultural workers enjoy the benefits of ideal society, highly civilized and prosperous, earlier than anyone else." He also called on the union to "play the role of the ideological agitator and vanguard that accelerates the rural development," describing it as the union's "primary duty." The congress, held in Pyongyang from Friday to Saturday, marked the union's 80th founding anniversary, and took place in the first year of implementing the policy direction set at the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPA) in February. The UAWK is one of North Korea's four major workers' unions, alongside the Gener

North Korea on Tuesday rejected U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' recent call to resume inter-Korean dialogue to ease tensions following September's mine blast near the border, accusing him of being "prejudiced and irresponsible." Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made the rejection in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Last week, the U.N. chief called for restoring communication channels between South and North Korea amid concerns over a potential escalation of tensions following the Sept. 21 explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone. That incident, blamed on mines planted by the North, wounded three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously. "I express my regret over the fact that the top official of the U.N., which regards impartiality and objectivity as its lifeline, took such prejudiced and irresponsible attitude as echoing the ROK's unilateral and provocative sophism," Kim said. ROK is short for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name. She also accused the U.N. chief of "doubling-dealing," saying he had

The transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States to South Korea is unlikely to happen during the remaining two years of the Trump administration, former acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun said Tuesday. He said there is no consensus in Washington that conditions are met, adding that the same applies to Seoul’s nuclear submarine ambitions and its U.S. investment pledge. “There is no consensus in Washington, for example, that conditions are ready for wartime OPCON to be transferred,” Yun, who also served as the State Department’s special representative for North Korea policy, said during the second Korea-U.S. Diplomatic Forum, which he joined remotely from the U.S. “Conditions are factors. It is never going to be ready but that still remains an issue and I cannot imagine it moving very rapidly,” he added. His remarks came about a week after the U.S. midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of Congress, both House and Senate, and amid differences between the two allies over the timing and conditions of the transfer. South Korea wa

Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday reiterated its principle of "non-involvement" in the war between the United States, Israel and Iran after Tehran called on Seoul to refrain from sending its troops to help reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry urged Korea to avoid getting involved in the war, as Seoul plans to expand the operational scope of its anti-piracy Cheonghae unit off the Somali coast to waters closer to the Hormuz strait, a key energy shipping route effectively blocked amid the Iran war. "The (Seoul) government is proceeding with a motion to strengthen the mission of the Cheonghae unit under non-involvement, non-intervention principles for protecting our citizens and economic interests," a ministry official said. "Regarding this, we have been communicating with Iran and other relevant countries." Earlier in the day, the Cabinet approved the motion to expand the Cheonghae unit's operational scope. It will then be sent to the National Assembly for parliamentary consent. The motion calls for extending the unit's operational area to waters south o

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a Chinese woman accused of spying for Beijing has emerged as a significant national security concern for the United States. According to U.S. intelligence officials, Alice Huang, who worked as a business executive at Singapore-based data center firm Megaspeed in 2023, allegedly collected intelligence and passed it on to China. The scandal erupted amid an intensifying race between the U.S. and China for global leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). The case has served as a wake-up call for South Korea. Yoo Seong-ok, a retired intelligence official who previously served as president of the Institute for National Security Strategy during his career at the National Intelligence Service (NIS), warned that South Korea is equally vulnerable to espionage operations by foreign intelligence agencies seeking to steal critical technologies. “Chinese [or] North Korean spies — or both — could have used, or may still be using, a similar honey trap to the one allegedly used against Nvidia CEO Huang to gather confidential information and pass it on to th

Korea is facing a diplomatic challenge in convincing Iran that the Cheonghae Unit’s expanded mission closer to the Strait of Hormuz is not an intervention in the ongoing U.S.-Iran war, as the Middle Eastern country warned Korea could be “portrayed as an accomplice” of U.S. military attacks. Although Korea’s defense authorities reiterated that the unit's expanded duties do not cover the strait but rather are aimed at protecting Korean vessels from piracy, experts say it seems Seoul’s message has not been delivered as intended. This raises concerns that Iran could view the move as entry into the war and lead to potential clashes. The concerns come after Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei delivered a briefing on Monday (local time). “South Korea should keep itself away from entering into an issue that is already complicated enough,” Baghaei said, according to local media reports. "It should refrain from deploying military forces to the region under the name of supporting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz." He noted that Tehran and Seoul have maintained re

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in France on Tuesday to discuss North Korea and bilateral issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Cho held a pull-aside meeting with Rubio on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting and "exchanged views on overall bilateral relations, high-level exchanges and North Korea-related issues," the ministry said, without disclosing other details. Tuesday's meeting marked the first in-person encounter between the two foreign ministers since the results of the U.S. midterm elections were announced on Nov. 4. The meeting came as the South Korean Cabinet approved a bill earlier in the day seeking parliamentary consent for the government's plan to expand the operational scope of its anti-piracy Cheonghae unit from waters off the Somali coast to areas closer to the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump has called on South Korea and other countries to help secure the vital waterway, which remains effectively blocked amid the U.S.-Iran war.

Police and paramedics were called out to the scene near Ancoats