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Quotes of the Day:
"All oppression creates a state of war."
- Simone de Beauvoir
"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
– Marcus Tullius Cicero
"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."
– Robert Louis Stevenson
1. Defense chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. visit DMZ amid efforts to resume N.K. diplomacy
2. Military chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. conduct first-ever joint commander's flight
3. South Korea, US report ‘meaningful progress’ toward wartime OPCON transfer
4. Hegseth peeks into North Korea during Panmunjom visit with ROK counterpart
5. Lee Jae-myung asks China’s Xi to support denuclearization of North Korea
6. Seoul's US$200 bln investment in U.S. will first go to S. Korean companies: minister
7. S. Korea, U.S. expected to complete documents on trade, security agreements this week: presidential office
8. New Zealand sends plane to monitor North Korean sanctions evasion from Japan
9. First Australia, then South Korea...who Next Wants to be in the SSN Club?
10. Xi-Lee Summit Centers on Repairing Diplomatic Ties
11. President Lee’s approval rating rises to 53%, says Realmeter
12. President Lee's foreign policy outline emerges after Trump, Xi summits at APEC
13. Some South Korea firms pulled projects after Hyundai immigration raid
14. US commentary over Silla crown gift to Trump draws backlash in Korea
1. Defense chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. visit DMZ amid efforts to resume N.K. diplomacy
I would like to get a readout on the details of the OPCON transition discussion. I would really like to know the real positions of both countries on transition. Do we have a common understanding and common objective?
Excerpts:
It remains unknown if Hegseth had a message for North Korea at the DMZ. Observers said that the secretary might have a message of peace on the divided Korean Peninsula rather than of warning against Pyongyang given that Seoul and Washington seek to create an opening to kick-start diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime.
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Following the visit, Seoul's defense chief Ahn told reporters that Hegseth appeared to be impressed by a combined search operation by South Korean and U.S. troops at the DMZ and expressed satisfaction over the allies' combined defense posture.
Ahn noted that Hegseth mentioned the visit by the allies' defense chiefs to the JSA carries a "symbolic" meaning for their alliance, given how it is a site at the front line of inter-Korean ties as well as a venue of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's meeting.
The defense minister also mentioned how Hegseth remarked he learned through the visit how close the South Korean Daeseongdong Freedom Village is to the North.
Summary:
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth jointly visited the DMZ—their first such visit since 2017—symbolizing alliance unity amid renewed efforts to restart diplomacy with North Korea. The visit precedes annual defense talks focused on OPCON transfer, combined readiness, and Seoul’s growing defense responsibilities.
(3rd LD) Defense chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. visit DMZ amid efforts to resume N.K. diplomacy | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Lee Minji · November 3, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251102002554315?section=national/defense
(ATTN: ADDS remarks, photo; AMENDS dateline)
By Song Sang-ho and Lee Minji
PAJU/SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Monday, as the allies seek to resume diplomacy with North Korea while ensuring a robust combined defense posture.
The defense chiefs visited Observation Post Ouellette, the U.N. Command's military facility close to the Military Demarcation Line, and the Joint Security Area (JSA) inside the DMZ, marking the first joint visit to the buffer zone by the two countries' defense chiefs since October 2017.
The 250-kilometer-long, four-km-wide DMZ is a buffer zone between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
It remains unknown if Hegseth had a message for North Korea at the DMZ. Observers said that the secretary might have a message of peace on the divided Korean Peninsula rather than of warning against Pyongyang given that Seoul and Washington seek to create an opening to kick-start diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (L) and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pose for a photo during a visit to the truce village of Panmunjom between South and North Korea inside the Demilitarized Zone, which separates the two Koreas, at the western section of the inter-Korean border in Paju, north of Seoul, on Nov. 3, 2025, in this photo released by the South Korean defense ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Following the visit, Seoul's defense chief Ahn told reporters that Hegseth appeared to be impressed by a combined search operation by South Korean and U.S. troops at the DMZ and expressed satisfaction over the allies' combined defense posture.
Ahn noted that Hegseth mentioned the visit by the allies' defense chiefs to the JSA carries a "symbolic" meaning for their alliance, given how it is a site at the front line of inter-Korean ties as well as a venue of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's meeting.
The defense minister also mentioned how Hegseth remarked he learned through the visit how close the South Korean Daeseongdong Freedom Village is to the North.
The visit to the DMZ came about an hour after Hegseth landed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 65 km south of Seoul, kicking off his two-day visit to Korea.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (C) shakes hands with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Camp Bonifas just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on Nov. 3, 2025. (Yonhap)
On Tuesday, Ahn and Hegseth will attend the allies' annual defense talks, called the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
During the SCM, the two sides are expected to discuss an array of key alliance issues, including the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul, South Korea's defense spending and the alliance's combined defense posture, to name a few.
The issue of the OPCON transition is likely to figure prominently at the SCM as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration seeks to retake wartime OPCON within its five-year term that ends in 2030.
Seoul's push for the transfer comes as the South Korean military has stepped up efforts to advance its independent defense capabilities, with Washington calling on Seoul to undertake greater security responsibilities.
The two countries have been working on the conditions-based OPCON transition. South Korea handed over operational control over its troops during the 1950-53 Korean War. It retook peacetime OPCON in 1994, but wartime OPCON still remains in U.S. hands.
Also on Tuesday, Hegseth plans to meet with President Lee Jae Myung, and meet U.S. troops at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the largest U.S. overseas military installation, to thank them and their families.
Korea is the last leg of Hegseth's Asia swing that included stops in Hawaii, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L) is greeted by U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson upon arrival at Camp Bonifas just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on Nov. 3, 2025. (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Lee Minji · November 3, 2025
2. Military chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. conduct first-ever joint commander's flight
General Caine gets to do the cool stuff. Because he can.
Military chiefs of S. Korea, U.S. conduct first-ever joint commander's flight | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Lee Haye-ah · November 3, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251103011400315?section=national/defense
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The military chiefs of South Korea and the United States conducted a joint commander's flight Monday for the first time in the alliance's history.
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, oversaw a combined formation flight aboard South Korean and U.S. fighter jets, respectively, after holding the 50th Military Committee Meeting in Seoul, according to the South's JCS.
The flight marked the first time the allies' military chiefs have jointly commanded a combined formation flight in the history of the 72-year alliance, the JCS said.
A total of five aircraft took part in the flight, including the KF-16 fighter jet boarded by Jin and the F-16 jet boarded by Caine.
The two chairmen took off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometers south of Seoul, and flew over Osan, Chuncheon, Daejeon and Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. overseas military installation.
Both Jin and Caine are Air Force generals.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung (L) and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, head to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Nov. 3, 2025, to perform a joint commander's flight, in this photo provided by Jin's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Lee Haye-ah · November 3, 2025
3. South Korea, US report ‘meaningful progress’ toward wartime OPCON transfer
What is meaningful progress?
Excerpts:
The annual assessments measure progress toward the three major conditions for OPCON transfer agreed upon in 2014: South Korea’s ability to lead the Combined Forces Command (CFC), its capability to counter North Korean nuclear and missile threats and a stable regional security environment. Peacetime OPCON shifted to Seoul in 1994, but wartime control has remained with the U.S. commander since the Korean War.
The JCS press release said this year’s evaluation showed clear improvements in the readiness and interoperability of the alliance’s joint command structure.
However, the U.S. JCS readout offered a more restrained account, omitting the specific assessments cited by Seoul. Instead it stated that the two sides had “reaffirmed their commitment” to the conditions-based transfer.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has put OPCON transfer at the forefront of his administration’s main defense policy objectives, outlining an ambition to “regain” wartime command by 2030. If completed, the transition would formally shift OPCON to a South Korean four-star general heading the future Combined Forces Command, with the U.S. general serving as deputy. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed Seoul’s push for OPCON transfer last week, calling it “great.”
Summary:
South Korea and the U.S. reported “meaningful progress” toward transferring wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul at the 50th Military Committee Meeting. Generals Jin Young-seung and Dan Caine reaffirmed alliance readiness, deterrence integration, and regional stability goals. The talks preceded Freedom Flag air exercises and Tuesday’s high-level Security Consultative Meeting.
South Korea, US report ‘meaningful progress’ toward wartime OPCON transfer
Top military officers pledge to work to meet transfer conditions and bolster defense against North Korean threats
Joon Ha Park November 3, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/11/south-korea-us-report-meaningful-progress-toward-wartime-opcon-transfer/
Gen. Jin Yong-sung, chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (left), and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (right), ahead of their flight over the peninsula on Nov. 3, 2025 | Image: ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff
South Korea and the U.S. have made “meaningful progress” toward the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul, according to the top military officers of the two countries, who also pledged continued efforts to meet the conditions required for the handover and to strengthen their combined defense posture against North Korean threats.
Gen. Jin Young-seung, chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Dan Caine, made the assessment during the 50th ROK-U.S. Military Committee Meeting (MCM) in Seoul, according to an ROK JCS press release on Monday.
The annual assessments measure progress toward the three major conditions for OPCON transfer agreed upon in 2014: South Korea’s ability to lead the Combined Forces Command (CFC), its capability to counter North Korean nuclear and missile threats and a stable regional security environment. Peacetime OPCON shifted to Seoul in 1994, but wartime control has remained with the U.S. commander since the Korean War.
The JCS press release said this year’s evaluation showed clear improvements in the readiness and interoperability of the alliance’s joint command structure.
However, the U.S. JCS readout offered a more restrained account, omitting the specific assessments cited by Seoul. Instead it stated that the two sides had “reaffirmed their commitment” to the conditions-based transfer.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has put OPCON transfer at the forefront of his administration’s main defense policy objectives, outlining an ambition to “regain” wartime command by 2030. If completed, the transition would formally shift OPCON to a South Korean four-star general heading the future Combined Forces Command, with the U.S. general serving as deputy. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed Seoul’s push for OPCON transfer last week, calling it “great.”
Gen. Jin Yong-sung, chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (left), and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (right), pose ahead of the 50th ROK-U.S. Military Committee Meeting on Nov. 3, 2025. | Image: ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff
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The MCM also saw the two chairmen agree to further strengthen alliance capabilities and interoperability to respond to what they described as a “complex and unstable” security situation in the Indo-Pacific, citing North Korea’s accelerated nuclear and missile advancements and intensifying global military competition.
“While North Korea is seeking to strengthen its military capabilities through cooperation with Russia, the U.S.-ROK alliance continues to effectively manage these threats based on its combined defense posture,” Monday’s ROK JCS press release said.
Under the framework of the U.S.-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), the two sides also pledged to further develop the Combined Nuclear and Conventional Integration (CNI) concept, aimed at enhancing deterrence by combining U.S. strategic nuclear weapons and the allies conventional military assets.
Both sides acknowledged that the U.S.-ROK alliance’s deterrence power extends beyond the Korean Peninsula, contributing to regional security, freedom and prosperity.
The MCM, first convened in 1978, serves as an annual high-level consultative body providing strategic direction and operational guidance to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Monday’s meeting included senior participants from both sides: from South Korea, Gen. Jin and Lt. Gen. Son Jung-hwan, head of strategic planning at the ROK JCS; from the U.S., Gen. Caine, Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of both U.S. Forces Korea and the CFC.
The outcomes of Monday’s discussions will be presented tomorrow at the 57th South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) on Tuesday, where ROK defense minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. War Secretary Hegseth are set to review alliance strategy and endorse follow-up measures.
Following the MCM, the two chairmen flew together in a combined formation of KF-16 and F-16 fighter jets, marking the first time that the chiefs commanded a joint flight from the air. The joint formation included a ROK KF-16 piloted by Gen. Jin, a U.S. F-16 piloted by Gen. Caine, a Korean E-737 airborne control aircraft and two additional aircraft, according to a separate ROK JCS press release.
A South Korean KF-16 fighter from the ROK Air Force’s 38th Fighter Wing (left) and a U.S. F-16 from the 8th Fighter Wing (right) taxiing for takeoff ahead of the joint Freedom Flag exercise | Image: ROK Air Force (Nov. 3, 2025)
FREEDOM FLAG EXERCISE BEGINS
Also on Monday, the U.S. and South Korean air forces kicked off the second iteration of their biannual Freedom Flag exercise, following an Oct. 23 announcement that the duration of this year’s joint drills would be halved due to preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which ran from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.
The South Korean air force released photos Monday afternoon showing KF-16 fighters from the 38th Fighter Group training alongside F-16s from the U.S. Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing. It said the joint exercise will run through Friday but did not disclose the number or types of assets participating.
In an earlier statement, the ROK air force said the annual exercise would begin Oct. 27, with the combined phase scheduled to take place only after the APEC summit concludes. Officials said the scale would be similar to this year’s first iteration in April.
According to the air force, the first week of the exercise was reserved for U.S.-only training, followed by combined U.S.-ROK drills this week, excluding the weekend. It added that while both sides initially sought a two-week window for the exercise, they ultimately agreed to shorten it due to U.S. scheduling constraints.
Edited by Alannah Hill
4. Hegseth peeks into North Korea during Panmunjom visit with ROK counterpart
Summary:
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back visited Panmunjom, marking the first joint DMZ visit by defense chiefs since 2017. The symbolic trip showcased alliance unity and deterrence ahead of high-level talks on OPCON transfer, regional threats, and Seoul’s growing defense leadership under Trump’s alliance modernization agenda.
Hegseth peeks into North Korea during Panmunjom visit with ROK counterpart
Allies frame joint appearance as demonstration of strong defense posture ahead of high-level military talks this week
Jooheon Kim November 3, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/11/hegseth-peeks-into-north-korea-during-panmunjom-visit-with-rok-counterpart/
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (right) visits Panmunjom with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Nov. 3, 2025. | Image: Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Korea
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom with his South Korean counterpart on Monday, looking across the border into North Korea in an appearance designed to demonstrate the allies’ strong defense posture.
The joint visit by Hegseth and ROK Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to the Joint Security Area (JSA) marked the first of its kind in eight years, following the 2017 visit by then-U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and ROK Defense Minister Song Young-moo.
After receiving an operational briefing from the JSA Security Battalion at Observation Post Ouellette, the two defense chiefs visited the Panmunjom meeting hall, Seoul’s defense ministry told NK News. It added the two sides confirmed the “strong ROK-U.S. combined defense posture and ROK-U.S. cooperation.”
The Pentagon had not released any additional details about the border visit at time of publication. But Hegseth called the visit symbolic for the alliance, according to Ahn, with the two defense chiefs not commenting on North Korea or potential U.S.-DPRK talks.
“He expressed satisfaction that operations are proceeding under a robust combined defense posture while the ROK-U.S. alliance remains strong,” Ahn said.
After visiting the JSA, the U.S. defense chief was scheduled to visit Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base south of Seoul. The next day, he will attend the high-level Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with Ahn to discuss alliance planning.
Hegseth’s visit to Panmunjom follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to South Korea last week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. While there was widespread speculation that he would attempt to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the JSA, the two heads of state ultimately didn’t reunite during Trump’s Asia trip.
Hegseth stated last week that Washington is “not blind” to DPRK threats and emphasized that Seoul and Washington share views within a “broader regional context.”
He also voiced support for Seoul’s efforts to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington, describing it as a “great” effort and emphasizing that the alliance should not depend solely on American leadership during crises, according to the Pentagon.
OPCON refers to the authority to command combined South Korean and U.S. forces during wartime, a responsibility that Seoul transferred to U.S. military leadership during the Korean War in 1950. South Korea regained peacetime OPCON in 1994, but wartime command authority remains under U.S. control.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) shakes hands with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back before entering the Joint Security Area. | Image: Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Korea
In 2014, the two allies agreed on three conditions for its eventual handover: South Korea’s capability to lead combined operations, preparedness to respond to North Korean threats and a stable security environment.
“I think South Korea is a great example of a combat credible partner who’s postured strongly, who has been a great host for our troops but also wants to and should be increasing willingness to take the lead,” he told reporters on a plane en route to Malaysia.
He also emphasized that Seoul’s willingness to increase defense spending is crucial, given its proximity to persistent threats.
The U.S. is not stepping back from supporting South Korea, he added, arguing that a capable, motivated partner like Seoul ought to take a more active role in responding to contingencies.
Meanwhile, Hegseth reportedly said he can’t confirm whether the U.S. is planning a “NATO-like” alliance in the Indo-Pacific. Ahn welcomed Hegseth’s statement on the OPCON issue last week.
“We will do our utmost to ensure that the OPCON transfer is realized promptly within the current administration’s term, while maintaining a strong ROK-U.S. alliance and working closely with the United States,” he told reporters.
Jihoon Yu, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told NK News that Hegseth’s remarks don’t provide a definite position on OPCON transfer but are “cautiously positive” and aimed at acknowledging South Korea’s intent.
The expert added that Hegseth will express “some level of concern” about North Korea’s nuclear advancements but won’t strongly criticize them, given that Trump seeks talks with the DPRK leader. Yu also noted that Hegseth has already referred to North Korea as a “nuclear state.”
The expert Yu predicted that Hegseth will emphasize the importance of strategic flexibility and utilization of U.S. Forces Korea during his trip to South Korea.
The Trump administration has been pushing for “alliance modernization” to expand the role of U.S. troops on the peninsula beyond North Korean threats, citing growing threats from China and Russia.
Trump has also repeatedly urged South Korea to increase its financial contribution to host U.S. troops, while calling on European and Asian allies to raise defense spending to 5% as part of a broader “burden-sharing” initiative.
In response to these demands, South Korea President Lee Jae-myung requested that the U.S. allow Seoul to build nuclear-powered submarines during last week’s summit with Trump, receiving his approval to do so.
Edited by Bryan Betts
5. Lee Jae-myung asks China’s Xi to support denuclearization of North Korea
No one should expect China to solve or assist in solving ROK and US security issues.
Summary:
At their first summit in 11 years, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung urged China’s Xi Jinping to back North Korea’s denuclearization and renewed dialogue. Xi’s readout omitted any DPRK mention, signaling Beijing’s reluctance to pressure Pyongyang. Analysts say China prioritizes stability and ties with North Korea over alignment with Seoul.
Lee Jae-myung asks China’s Xi to support denuclearization of North Korea
But Beijing’s readout of summit talks makes no mention of DPRK, suggesting little appetite for pressuring Pyongyang
Shreyas Reddy November 3, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/11/lee-jae-myung-asks-chinas-xi-to-support-denuclearization-of-north-korea/
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ahead of their summit on APEC's sidelines | Image: ROK Presidential Office (Nov. 2, 2025)
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to support Seoul’s vision for the denuclearization of North Korea on Saturday, seeking to use Beijing’s close relationship with Pyongyang to kick-start inter-Korean dialogue.
Highlighting the recent surge in high-level exchanges between China and North Korea following Xi’s summit with Kim Jong Un in early September, Lee expressed hope that the renewed diplomacy would create “favorable conditions for engagement with Pyongyang.”
“I look forward to strengthening strategic communication between South Korea and China to utilize this opportunity for reopening dialogue with North Korea,” he added, according to the ROK presidential office.
The first summit between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, focusing on the normalization of ROK-China ties.
It came as part of Xi’s first state visit to South Korea in 11 years, while allowing Seoul to promote its current inter-Korean policies to one of North Korea’s main allies.
During a post-summit press briefing, ROK National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Lee introduced his vision for denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula and requested China’s “constructive role” in resuming dialogue with Pyongyang.
In response, the Chinese president expressed his intention to continue working toward resolution of Korean Peninsula issues and the promotion of peace and stability in the region, Wi added.
However, the Chinese foreign ministry’s summary of the summit completely omitted North Korea-related themes, instead focusing entirely on discussions about strengthening bilateral relations between “important close neighbors that cannot be moved away.”
Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Sejong Institute and NK Pro contributor, told NK News that the disconnect between the DPRK elements of the two countries’ summit readouts shows that “they are very much not on the same page any more.”
While China was a vocal supporter of the denuclearization during a period of heightened North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile testing in 2016-17, it has moved away from public endorsements of nuclear disarmament in recent years, the expert explained.
This shift was also evident at the Xi-Kim meeting in September, when Beijing changed tack on its pre-2019 approach of raising denuclearization in bilateral summits in an apparent attempt to avoid antagonizing a DPRK regime that now emphasizes its “irreversible” nuclear status.
“They don’t want to annoy the North Koreans,” Ward said. “The North Koreans have made it very clear that endorsement of denuclearization is a red line in relations with them.”
He added that North Korea remains an important buffer between China and the U.S.’s military presence in the region, and Beijing is unlikely to jeopardize its relationship with Pyongyang in favor of stronger ties with a U.S. ally like South Korea.
Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping greet each other before their first summit in six years | Image: KCNA (Sept. 5, 2025)
North Korea had already made its opposition to any denuclearization talks clear even before the summit took place, after a South Korean presidential office spokesperson said on Friday that Lee and Xi would discuss nuclear disarmament and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
In a statement issued through the state-owned Korean Central News Agency on Saturday morning, DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho slammed Seoul for raising the issue of denuclearization at every possible opportunity and reiterated North Korea’s stance that it will never give up its nuclear weapons.
“The ROK is still unaware that struggling to deny the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state and talking about its daydream of realizing the denuclearization just reveal its lack of common sense,” he said.
“We will show with patience that denuclearization is a ‘pipedream’ which can never be realized even if it talks about it a thousand times,” he added.
LEE’S VISION FOR PEACE
Despite North Korea’s pre-emptive condemnation, Lee remained undeterred in his hopes for renewed engagement with Pyongyang on Saturday.
At a post-APEC summit press conference, the South Korean president stressed that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are vital for peace and stability in Northeast Asia as well as the world, despite the “complex and difficult” situation between the two Koreas.
“One cannot take off someone’s coat simply by blowing a strong wind — it will only make them wrap it tighter,” he said, citing former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. “Instead, one must create a warm spring day that makes wearing the coat unnecessary.”
To achieve peace, Lee emphasized the need for “deterrence, dialogue, compromise, coexistence and the hope of shared prosperity” to overcome Pyongyang’s “suspicion and hostility” toward the South Korean government.
“We do not view North Korea’s occasional hostile rhetoric as a sign that dialogue is impossible, but rather as an inevitable part of a gradual process of change,” he said.
To create conditions for peace on the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean leader said the U.S. remains a critical stakeholder, as it was a signatory to the 1953 Armistice Agreement suspending conflict in the Korean War.
Lee thus pledged to do his utmost to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts at outreach to Kim, reiterating his stated position during a U.S.-ROK summit on Thursday.
“If the U.S. and North Korea improve relations through dialogue, it will open a path for improved inter-Korean relations as well,” he said.
“Therefore, while we will continue our own efforts for direct dialogue between the two Koreas, it is also in South Korea’s interest to support the U.S. president in fulfilling his role as a ‘peacemaker’ on the Korean Peninsula.”
He added that other stakeholders such as China and Russia remain important for achieving “peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula” and highlighted Beijing’s own interest in maintaining regional stability, but stressed that the U.S. is the most crucial player.
U.S. President Donald Trump writes a message for South Korean President Lee Jae-myung before their summit in Gyeongju. | Image: ROK Presidential Office (Oct. 29, 2025)
Ward said China could potentially act as an intermediary for dialogue between North Korea and the U.S., which remains stalled despite speculation that Trump would seek a meeting with Kim during his visit to the South.
“If Donald Trump were to ask, I imagine that the Chinese Foreign Ministry and high-level Chinese officials would probably try and facilitate it,” he said. “But they would do so as a favor and they would expect something in return.”
Ward added that Beijing has “serious leverage” as North Korea’s biggest trading partner and may be tempted to use Trump’s interest in a summit with Kim to improve Sino-American relations. However, he questioned whether this would have any effect as long as Pyongyang remains opposed to talks with Washington.
“They’re not going to use that leverage to force Kim Jong Un to talk to Donald Trump, let alone the United States,” he said.
Edited by Bryan Betts
6. Seoul's US$200 bln investment in U.S. will first go to S. Korean companies: minister
Summary:
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said South Korea’s planned $200 billion U.S. investment will prioritize Korean firms operating there, guided by joint committees with Washington. The funds, part of a $350 billion tariff-reduction deal, aim at profitable, mutually approved projects. Officials stressed safeguarding domestic “mother factory” capacity while advancing bilateral industrial cooperation.
(2nd LD) Seoul's US$200 bln investment in U.S. will first go to S. Korean companies: minister | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Na-young · November 3, 2025
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251103005252320?section=economy-finance/economy
(ATTN: ADDS more info in last 5 paras, photo)
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Seoul's envisioned US$200 billion investment in the United States will first flow into South Korean companies operating in the country, the industry minister said Monday.
"The $200 billion cash investment is not just money we are giving to the U.S.," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said during his meeting with chief executive officers (CEOs) of medium-sized enterprises, referring to the details of Korea's investment commitment to the U.S. under the tariff deal reached between the two countries last week. "The benefits will be structured to give priority to our companies entering the U.S. market."
Kim explained investments will be made on projects agreed upon by both sides through a joint investment committee that will be chaired by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and a cooperation committee headed by himself.
"The $200 billion investment will be made based on commercial rationality. Simply put, it will be directed to businesses capable of generating cash flow," he said.
On Wednesday, Seoul and Washington finalized an agreement on the details of Seoul's $350 billion investment pledge made in exchange for the lowering of U.S. tariffs.
Under the final terms, the investment will consist of $200 billion in cash installments and $150 billion allocated for bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, with an annual cap set at $20 billion.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan speaks at a meeting with chief executive officers of medium-sized enterprises held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel in central Seoul on Nov. 3, 2025. (Yonhap)
Kim said the two countries have nearly completed a memorandum of understanding and a joint fact sheet on their recently finalized tariff deal.
"Until now, Korean companies had to finance themselves to start a business in the U.S., but they will have another option (with the tariff deal)," he stressed, calling on medium-sized firms to actively consider utilizing the envisioned Korea-U.S. investment fund.
Regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that he was a "very tough" negotiator, Kim said he considers it an "honor for my family," noting he has been called tough "by the toughest person in the world."
Trump made the remarks during his special address for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju last week.
Meanwhile, Vice Industry Minister Moon Shin-hak said in a separate press briefing that the government is working to assess the potential impact of Seoul's massive investment plan in the U.S.
"Korean conglomerates have been executing their 'mother factory' strategy well, but we will have to see if they can maintain and develop the strategy," Moon told reporters, referring to concerns Seoul's investments in the U.S. may weaken the companies' domestic investments.
Mother factory strategy refers to a tactic where businesses operate a main factory for the technological development and production of high-value products in their home country, while outsourcing less important projects to their overseas plants.
On the ongoing discussions between the government and petrochemical companies on an industrial restructuring plan, Moon said his ministry will finalize the plan by the end of this year.
In August, the government announced its road map on helping the ailing petrochemical sector's "voluntary" restructuring efforts aimed at tackling the industry-wide crisis stemming from a global oversupply.
This file photo provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources shows Vice Industry Minister Moon Shin-hak presiding over a meeting on export trends at the government complex in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
nyway@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Na-young · November 3, 2025
7. S. Korea, U.S. expected to complete documents on trade, security agreements this week: presidential office
The devil is in the details
Summary:
South Korea and the U.S. plan to finalize a memorandum of understanding and joint fact sheet this week on their new trade and security agreements, following Seoul’s $350 billion investment pledge tied to tariff reductions. Seoul also gained U.S. approval to produce nuclear fuel for submarines, citing North Korea’s advances.
S. Korea, U.S. expected to complete documents on trade, security agreements this week: presidential office | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Eun-jung · November 3, 2025
By Kim Eun-jung
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251103009700315?section=national/politics
SOEUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States are expected to complete a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and a joint fact sheet this week on their recently finalized trade negotiations and security agreements, a senior presidential official said Monday.
Seoul and Washington finalized an agreement last week on the details of Seoul's US$350 billion pledge made in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs during summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, with final coordination under way to release joint documents.
"The fact sheet is expected to be completed this week as there are no major differences between the two nations," Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, told reporters.
Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 3, 2025. (Yonhap)
When asked how the office evaluates the outcome of tariff negotiations, which set $200 billion cash investment out of the $350 billion pledge with an annual limit of $20 billion, Kang said, "We are not satisfied," adding Lee has not given a positive assessment.
In regard to Trump's accepting Lee's request of U.S. approval to produce nuclear fuel for a nuclear-powered submarine, Kang said it is the result of diplomatic efforts to persuade both Washington and Beijing amid North Korea's advancing nuclear capabilities.
"It came as a result of convincing China and the U.S. that we needed to be better prepared and equipped after North Korea announced its development of a nuclear-powered submarine," he said, declining to elaborate on the details of the diplomatic discussions.
In March, the North's state media reported leader Kim Jong-un inspected a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, marking the first time Pyongyang publicly revealed such a development.
President Lee Jae Myung (R) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 29, 2025. (Yonhap)
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · Kim Eun-jung · November 3, 2025
8. New Zealand sends plane to monitor North Korean sanctions evasion from Japan
Despite Russian and Chinese complicity in sanctions evasion we need to continue to pressure the regime. And we should not overlook the international contribution to these operations.
Summary:
New Zealand deployed a P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft from Japan’s Kadena Air Base to monitor North Korea’s sanctions-evading ship-to-ship transfers. It marks Wellington’s eighth mission since 2018 and second this year. The operation supports U.N. resolutions targeting Pyongyang’s WMD programs, though North Korea is likely to condemn it as provocative military interference.
New Zealand sends plane to monitor North Korean sanctions evasion from Japan
P-8A Poseidon long-range patrol aircraft will track illicit ship-to-ship transfers in second such mission this year
Shreyas Reddy November 3, 2025
https://www.nknews.org/2025/11/new-zealand-sends-plane-to-monitor-north-korean-sanctions-evasion-from-japan/
The Royal New Zealand Air Force's P-8A Poseidon aircraft | Image: New Zealand Defence Force
New Zealand has deployed a long-range patrol aircraft to monitor North Korea’s illicit ship-to-ship transfers in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, Japan’s foreign ministry announced on Friday.
In a press release, the ministry stated that a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon aircraft is operating out of Japan’s Kadena Air Base from early to mid-November, the eighth time the RNZAF has contributed to monitoring North Korea’s illegal maritime activities since 2018.
Tokyo welcomed New Zealand’s efforts toward ensuring the effective implementation of Security Council resolutions aimed at realizing the “complete, verifiable and irreversible” dismantlement of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
New Zealand last dispatched a surveillance plane in support of the multilateral sanctions monitoring efforts in April, the RNZAF P-8A aircraft’s second DPRK surveillance operation after its inaugural mission a year earlier.
After the April 2024 operation, the New Zealand military announced in a press release that the deployment observed four ship-to-ship transfers and 30 “vessels of interest,” as well as 33 other vessels “suspected of violating UNSC sanctions.”
“Vessels were observed conducting ship-to-ship transfers, potentially of banned goods such as oil and coal — which are key enablers that allow North Korea to continue its weapons program,” the unit’s leader, Wing Commander Mark Whiteside, said.
North Korea is known to rely on maritime smuggling to trade prohibited goods such as oil and coal beyond U.N.-designated limits, and the U.S. and other countries have also accused it of using sanctioned vessels to supply weapons and troops to Russia.
In the past, surveillance visits like New Zealand’s latest deployment contributed to reports published by the U.N. Panel of Experts tasked with implementing DPRK sanctions.
However, a Russian veto last year led to the panel’s dissolution, and the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team that succeeded it — of which New Zealand is a member — has not made use of maritime smuggling evidence in either of its two reports so far.
Wellington’s latest P-8A deployment could draw condemnation from Pyongyang, which officially rejects international sanctions as infringing on its sovereignty and frequently denounces other countries’ monitoring activities.
After the Poseidon’s first mission last year, North Korea’s foreign ministry slammed New Zealand and other countries for “escalating the military tension in the region” by dispatching “warships and warplanes” to the waters around the Korean Peninsula.
Edited by Bryan Betts
9. First Australia, then South Korea...who Next Wants to be in the SSN Club?
Fear of missing out?
Summary:
The U.S. plans to share nuclear submarine propulsion technology with South Korea, allowing Seoul to build SSNs at the Philadelphia Shipyard owned by Hanwha. The move deepens U.S.–ROK industrial integration and alarms China. Critics question South Korea’s strategic need for SSNs—but note joining the “SSN club” reflects ambition, rivalry, and prestige.
CDR Salamander
First Australia, then South Korea...who Next Wants to be in the SSN Club?
nations have FOMO too
CDR Salamander
Nov 03, 2025
https://substack.com/home/post/p-177850051
The growing intermeshing of American and South Korea maritime industrial capacity is, rightfully, back in the news.
Last week we discussed South Korea leaning in to help build auxiliaries. That’s solid JV ball, but news came out last week that they’ve managed to negotiate an opportunity to play on the varsity.
Via Philadelphia Today.
President Donald Trump announced last month on social media that the United States will share its nuclear submarine propulsion technology with South Korea, which plans to construct its submarines at the Philadelphia Shipyard, writes Justin Katz for Breaking Defense.
“South Korea will be building its Nuclear Powered Submarine in the Philadelphia Shipyards, right here in the good ol’ U.S.A.,” wrote Trump. “Shipbuilding in our Country will soon be making a BIG COMEBACK.”
Philly Shipyard was acquired by South Korea-based Hanwha last year from a Norwegian investment group in a strategic bid by the Asian country to advance its business with the US Navy.
…
Establishing a shipyard in Philadelphia capable of building nuclear submarines would be a huge undertaking that would take many years, if not decades, to accomplish.
Given that South Korea and the United States have a history of war against the People’s Republic of China on the Korean peninsula, the Chinese reaction is not surprising.
Via Choe Sang-Hun at NYT,
“South Korea has long balanced its security dependence on the United States with its economic interdependence with China,” said Seong-Hyon Lee, a senior fellow at the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.–China Relations. “That equilibrium has effectively ended.”
The submarine deal, if followed through, “marks Seoul’s transition from a balancing actor to a fully embedded partner within the U.S. framework,” he added.
…
The submarine agreement, coupled with South Korea’s massive investment pledge in the U.S., “signals a deep, structural integration of South Korea into America’s security and industrial ecosystem,” said Mr. Lee of the George H. W. Bush Foundation.
China has already expressed its discomfort. On Friday, Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said South Korea and the United States should “do what is conducive to regional peace and stability, not otherwise.”
I’m still trying to see how everyone gets there from here, but on balance, it is good news for all.
For those who are familiar with the South Korean K1/K2 tank development, it might give you pause, but this is for South Korea and is worth the risk.
South Korea has been wanting to get in the SSN club for a long time. Good on them for their persistence.
I’m not sure how this will work out. The Philadelphia Shipyard, even at its heyday, never built nuclear powered ships of any kind.
The South Koreans build a solid conventional submarine, the KSS-III that they offered to Canada recently, but nuclear submarines are at another level. Besides the infrastructure issues specific to nuclear shipbuilding at the shipyard that would need to be addressed, there is the fact that the U.S. nuclear workforce and hardware providers are already behind schedule with expected demands. While another yard is great, whoever is going to successfully solve those two structural issues needs superhuman abilities and one heck of a funding line.
Besides bragging rights, should South Korea invest in nuclear submarines? As always, let’s go to the chartroom.
The South Korean landmass is not large. It is roughly the same size as the U.S. state of Indiana but packs in the combined populations of California and New York. She does not have any overseas holdings. She does not have a desire/requirement to have global power projection abilities. She does not have ready access to the open seas. Her historical enemies are all located across coastal seas inside a couple of hundred nautical miles.
She wants nuclear submarines, but a quick review of some fundamentals does not scream out a requirement for an SSN. Just the opposite, she seems to be a natural conventional submarine power, like the Italians. That is a lot of investment for something that may not be in the top-10 military requirement, but she clearly wants to be in the club.
Does she, geography aside, look like a nation that could support a nuclear submarine program?
Let’s do a little benchmarking.
Six countries confirmed to have nuclear submarines; the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and India. Via AUKUS, we know Australia will…soon…sometime.
Let’s call it seven. Throw in South Korea, and you have eight. For conversational reasons, we’ll just look at population, GDP, and military budgets to see if this is a club the South Koreans could play in.
Let’s rack-n-stack-em.
She can clearly make the observation that if Australia can do it, then can’t she?
Our friends have a combination of FOMO and sibling rivalry. Having said that, you know who the 800-pound gorilla in this formula is on who should or should not be in the SSN club?
Of course, it is the 800-pound sumo: Japan.
If South Korea is going to get SSNs, for over a thousand years of reasons, Japan will want to play as well.
How does she rack and stack if she was brought into the club?
Especially with her defense budget increasing up to 2% of GDP in the next few years and her first-tier nuclear and conventional submarine industry…if she wanted to, I have no doubt it would be a competitive bet that Japan could build a domestic SSN faster than U.S.-South Korea would be able to build an SSN in the Philadelphia Shipyard.
This isn’t the nuclear proliferation we usually think of, but AUKUS seems to have kicked it off anyway.
NB: the numbers above are estimates and can slightly vary from source. However, I may have made a typing or transpositional error. If you see one, let me know in comments and I will correct later.
10. Xi-Lee Summit Centers on Repairing Diplomatic Ties
Summary:
At their first summit in 11 years, Xi Jinping and Lee Jae-myung prioritized trade and currency cooperation over security, sidestepping North Korea’s nuclear threat and shifting responsibility to Washington. The two leaders signed six economic MOUs, including a major won–yuan swap, while avoiding any joint statement on security—highlighting China’s hands-off stance on Pyongyang.
Politics
Xi-Lee Summit Centers on Repairing Diplomatic Ties
Shifting Kim’s nuke threats to Trump
Nov 03, 2025
By: Shim Jae Hoon
https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/xi-lee-summit-centers-repairing-diplomatic-ties?utm
After you, Mr Chairman. Photo from Yonhap News Agency
At their first summit talks in 11 years, China and South Korea skirted their mutual security agenda, dealing with North Korea’s growing nuclear threats, making it clear their first priority lies in boosting economic and trade ties, not dealing with security concerns and passing that problem to the Americans.
On security, currency, and trade issues, both sides were making it clear that, despite the pyrotechnics of the Trump machine’s scramble through Asia last week, there were two Asian countries making decisions outside a weakening Washington’s orbit. At their 90 minutes of talks inside a serene museum chamber in the ancient city of Gyeongju on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit forum over the weekend, the two hammered out agreements on bilateral trade, and currency swaps that left the US dollar out of the picture.
In a striking dearth of comments regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime’s growing nuclear arsenal, which South Korean officials claim is now capable of producing 15 to 20 atomic bombs a year, both Chinese leader Xi Jinping and South Korea’s freshly elected Lee Jae Myung claimed that the issue is primarily an American concern.
“The situation has changed much,” Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, the leading Chinese official handling the North’s denuclearization talks years ago, was quoted as saying. It now appears Beijing regards the denuclearization issue to have passed beyond reversal. Lee and Xi are taking their hands off the issue, with both saying it has become primarily a concern of the Donald Trump administration.
President Lee’s top security adviser, Wi Sung Lac, said no detailed discussion took place on securing a dialogue with Pyongyang. Wang Yi, according to South Korean news reports, said the nuclear issue has now passed beyond the purview of Chinese concern, evidently meaning that although Beijing remains keen to help maintain peace on the Korean peninsula, the task remains essentially an American one.
At the end of their talks, Xi and Wang appeared so circumspect that they even failed to issue a joint communique on what each side holds on the critical issue of security, earning criticism from the conservative opposition People Power Party, whose spokesman issued a statement describing the outcome as “an empty carriage, carrying nothing.”
The failure to delineate where each side stands on the key issue of the peninsula’s security represents a sharp departure from the 2014 Sino-Korean summit, in which Beijing “reaffirmed” its opposition to the development of nuclear weapons, albeit in a frame ostensibly meant to apply to both sides of the Korean peninsula. It was clearly a Chinese face-saving formula, as South Korea doesn’t possess nuclear weapons.
Why is China taking its hands off the North’s ever-expanding nuclear weapons program? According to Chung Dong Young, Seoul’s Unification Minister, North Korea today represents the third most dangerous country capable of attacking the US mainland, behind China and, of course, Russia. The Kim regime is now developing intercontinental missiles capable of hitting New York, courtesy of Putin’s help in exchange for supplying troops to help reclaim the Kursk region of Ukraine.
The security picture has now changed, according to one of the few comments attributed to Wang Yi, a participant in the earlier round of talks to denuclearize North Korea. He apparently thinks Kim’s nuclear program has grown so advanced that it is too late to arrest it. On the other hand, China’s hands-off posture, claiming it is now mainly the Trump administration’s task, may have something to do with China’s own response to Seoul’s recent decision to acquire a set of nuclear-powered submarines from the United States. That would also complicate Beijing’s security calculations.
US President Donald Trump, before leaving Gyeongju, declared the US would provide Seoul with nuclear-powered submarines on condition that they would be built in the United States at the South Korea-owned Philly Shipyard recently acquired by Seoul’s Han Hwa Ocean. But some experts say the facility is much too small to construct a sophisticated nuclear-operated submarine. Seoul wants to build them in Korea, evidently to acquire technology.
Although Xi and Wang have refrained from publicly commenting on the issue, Seoul’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines – presumably in multiple numbers – does represent a significant game-changer strategically. The sea around the Korean peninsula has long been prowled by Chinese and Russian nuclear subs, prompting concern not only in South Korea but also in Japan. Seoul’s decision has been partly prompted by its own concern over China’s expanding naval power lapping ever closer to the Yellow Sea boundary.
In recent days, Seoul has made several representations over China’s placing floating markers ever closer to the maritime border between the two countries. That topic was taken up at the summit level this time.
In a related development, China has also sanctioned Han Hwa Ocean for helping US shipping liners. While that has added another source of strain in the bilateral ties, the two countries have just been recovering from the strains produced by Seoul’s 2016 decision to allow the basing of US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles on its soil.
Although the THAAD deployment is aimed at countering North Korea’s potential missile attacks, Beijing has regarded it as a threat aimed at China. With Beijing’s official spokesman calling the episode a case of “a small country challenging the security of a big power,” it triggered tension between Seoul and Beijing, prompting China to start imposing trade restrictions.
The THAAD crisis escalated further over the Covid-19 pandemic, with many Koreans blaming the spread of contagion on China. In the public mind, China’s refusal to aid North Koreans escaping from their country also fueled the animosity that China basically remains a hostile communist dictatorship.
Although tourism has recovered in recent months, Seoul remains alert to any sign of assertive Chinese domination of the South Korean economy. A recently enforced law prohibits foreigners, mostly meaning Chinese, from acquiring properties for the purpose of investment.
But the issue of bilateral trade remains an entirely different matter. Discussion inside the serene museum chamber in the ancient city of Gyeongju was almost entirely taken up with the promotion of economic and trade relations. The two sides signed six “memoranda of understanding” on boosting trade and other economic sectors, among them a five-year won-yuan currency swap deal worth 400 billion yuan and 80.206 trillion won, the equivalent amount of Korean currency, to help ease payment and promote trade. Specifically, this makes wider use of the yuan as a payment medium for bilateral trade as China continues its effort to supplant the US dollar with the yuan as the world’s reserve currency.
The 95-minute summit talks were almost entirely taken up in discussion of growing two-way trade that reached beyond US$300 billion last year, placing China as the top destination for Korean goods. The two actually joked about cyber-espionage, usually a sore subject, when Xi gifted Lee with Chinese-made phones with Korean-language displays. Despite occasional political tension, China makes an exception for the simple fact that it depends on Korea for parts and components needed to produce finished goods for export.
“Our trade has benefitted both sides,” said President Lee, mentioning that Chinese markets have helped Korea to grow, while helping China to increase its exports, a win-win game helping both sides, a favorite phrase of South Korean leaders. The only question mark on the horizon is the unpredictable factor of North Korea, troubling Beijing as much as it does Seoul.
Kim Jong Un’s presence last September, standing next to Xi Jinping together with Vladimir Putin for the celebration of the end of World War II, was emblematic of China’s political balancing act. Xi would happily hand over Kim’s burden to Trump. In a rare convergence of interests, Seoul’s Lee seems to have agreed.
11. President Lee’s approval rating rises to 53%, says Realmeter
Does this include an "APEC bump?" Or will we see that in the next poll?
President Lee’s approval rating rises to 53%, says Realmeter
en.asiatoday.co.kr
Monday, Nov, 3, 2025
Nov 03, 2025, 09:45 am
https://en.asiatoday.co.kr/view.php?key=20251103000944221
0President Lee Jae-myung delivers a toast during the state banquet for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sono Calm Hotel in Gyeongju on November 1. / Source: Yonhap News
President Lee Jae-myung’s job approval has edged up to 53 percent, according to a new Realmeter poll released on November 3, marking a modest rebound after three weeks of decline.
The survey, conducted by Realmeter for Energy Economy News between October 27 and 31 among 2,517 eligible voters nationwide, showed a 1.8-point increase in positive evaluations of Lee’s performance compared to the previous week. Negative assessments fell by 1.6 points to 43.3 percent, widening the approval gap to 9.7 points.
Realmeter attributed the uptick to recent improvements in key economic indicators, including the KOSPI index surpassing 4,000 and stronger third-quarter growth figures.
The poll has a margin of error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 5.1 percent. Detailed results are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.
#Lee Jae-myung #Realmeter #approval rating #KOSPI #economic growth
12. President Lee's foreign policy outline emerges after Trump, Xi summits at APEC
Still the shrimp among whales. POTROK is trying to walk the tightrope.
Summary:
President Lee Jae-myung’s emerging foreign policy anchors South Korea’s security in its U.S. alliance while revitalizing economic ties with China. His APEC summits produced a trade and defense deal with Trump, including nuclear submarine fuel approval, and seven MOUs with Xi, renewing the won–yuan swap—reflecting Lee’s pragmatic “security with America, economy with China” strategy.
President Lee's foreign policy outline emerges after Trump, Xi summits at APEC
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com
Published: 02 Nov. 2025, 17:29 Updated: 02 Nov. 2025, 18:33
Korea JoongAng Daily
President Lee's foreign policy outline emerges after Trump, Xi summits at APEC
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-11-02/national/diplomacy/President-Lees-foreign-policy-outline-emerges-after-Trump-Xi-summits-at-APEC/2434770
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, raises his hand in salute during a welcome ceremony for U.S. President Donald Trump at the Gyeongju National Museum on Oct. 29. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
President Lee Jae Myung’s back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Gyeongju have revealed the contours of his emerging foreign policy — one that anchors South Korea’s security in its alliance with Washington while seeking to revive its economy through improved cooperation with Beijing.
In talks between Lee and Trump on Wednesday, Seoul and Washington broke through months of deadlock to conclude a trade and investment agreement and took a striking step toward deeper military collaboration.
The United States accepted South Korea’s proposal to cap annual investment at $20 billion for the next decade, dropping earlier demands for a much larger upfront payment of $350 billion. Even more dramatically, Trump approved Lee’s request for nuclear fuel for South Korean submarines to track naval activity by North Korea and China, a gesture hailed by Seoul officials as a symbolic reaffirmation of the alliance’s strength.
Though the decision could complicate Seoul’s relations with Beijing, officials said it underscored deepening trust between South Korea and the United States. Seoul officials have also said the allies are preparing a joint policy paper that will codify their expanded defense and economic cooperation.
At a press conference on Saturday, Lee called the United States “crucial” to resolving tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while stressing the need for his “END initiative” vis-à-vis North Korea — Exchange, Normalization and Denuclearization. He also repeated his call for Washington under Trump to act as a “peacemaker” while Seoul seeks to be a “pacemaker.”
Lee is also expected to use an upcoming meeting in Seoul between South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss alliance modernization and reaffirm U.S. support for the transfer of wartime operational control before his term ends.
If Lee’s meeting with Trump underscored the solidity of Seoul’s alliance with Washington, the South Korean president’s subsequent summit with Xi on Saturday highlighted his intent to balance that partnership with pragmatic engagement toward Beijing.
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk through the grounds of Gyeongju National Museum on Nov. 1. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
Their first bilateral summit not only marked Xi’s first visit to South Korea in 11 years, but also signaled an effort to repair ties strained since Beijing’s retaliation over Seoul’s 2017 decision to allow the deployment of a U.S. antimissile system.
Lee called for “strengthened strategic communication” between Seoul and Beijing and expressed hope that China’s recent outreach to the North could “create conditions for dialogue” between the two Koreas. Xi, for his part, described South Korea and China as “inseparable partners in cooperation” and pledged to “jointly address challenges and promote regional peace.”
The two sides signed seven memorandums of understanding, including a renewal of the won–yuan currency swap and a 2026–2030 economic cooperation plan. Other agreements covered innovation, startups, service trade, and joint efforts against online fraud — which Seoul described as pragmatic, “livelihood-oriented” cooperation.
Still, the modest scope of the agreements reflected Seoul’s awareness of the risks of leaning too far toward either the United states or China.
Hwang Ji-hwan, a professor of international relations at the University of Seoul, said the Lee administration’s emphasis on pragmatic diplomacy “shows Seoul broadening its engagement to include China while remaining firmly anchored in the U.S. alliance.”
But he cautioned that “because Washington and Beijing only papered over their immediate trade dispute” during Trump and Xi’s summit on Thursday, while deferring talks on deeper issues like security and Taiwan, “any shift in their relationship will inevitably ripple through both Korea–U.S. and Korea–China ties.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose together ahead of their summit at Gimhae International Airport in Busan on Oct. 30. [AP/YONHAP]
Analysts noted that Lee and Xi sidestepped thornier issues such as Beijing’s curbs on rare earth exports, structures unilaterally built by China in the Yellow Sea and informal restrictions on Korean cultural content.
China, meanwhile, used the APEC gatherings to send a message of its own. According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi said that members should “practice true multilateralism and promote fair and reasonable international governance” — widely read as a subtle rebuke of Trump’s “America First” policies.
Lee’s advisers describe his approach as “security and economy with America, and livelihood-centered cooperation with China,” a reworking of the old formula that divided defense and commerce between the two powers.
The shift reflects an effort to diversify economic dependence while deepening alliance structures with Washington — a balancing act that could become increasingly precarious as U.S.–China rivalry intensifies.
“The summit with China went smoothly, but if U.S.–China tensions flare up again, Korea’s position will inevitably be shaken,” said Kang Jun-young, a professor of international studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. “Unless progress is made on the fundamental issues — the great-power rivalry and North Korea’s nuclear problem — Seoul will continue to face difficult tests of diplomacy.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
13. Some South Korea firms pulled projects after Hyundai immigration raid
The fallout from our "own goal" of the ICE raid debacle.
Summary:
Following a massive ICE raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia that detained over 300 Koreans, several South Korean firms have paused or canceled U.S. investments, citing fears over immigration risks and regulatory unpredictability. The fallout threatens Seoul’s $350 billion U.S. investment pledge, despite Trump administration reassurances and recent trade deal progress.
Some South Korea firms pulled projects after Hyundai immigration raid
Reluctance to do business in the United States following immigration raid could make it tougher for South Korea to fulfill its pledge of U.S. investments.
November 1, 2025
Washington Post · Lauren Kaori Gurley
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/11/01/south-korea-investment-america/
Several South Korean firms have pulled or prolonged a pause on investment in U.S. projects after a massive immigration raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia that resulted in hundreds of Koreans arrested.
Despite reassurances from the Trump administration, South Korean investors remain cautious, according to three people that represent South Korean and East Asia-based firms in the United States that paused or retreated from U.S. investment plans.
As of early this week, at least two companies with projects in development had decided against investing in the U.S. and at least four companies have extended pauses on projects put in place back after the Hyundai raid in September, according to two consultants and one lawyer with clients in East Asia.
Tami Overby, an international business consultant who previously headed the U.S.-Korea Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said one Korean firm that had been selecting a site to build in the U.S. decided after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid that “it’s too risky with the unpredictability of the U.S. market right now and determined it’s better to do their expansion in Korea.”
It’s not clear which firms have pulled back, following the Hyundai raid, because neither the consultants nor the lawyers interviewed by The Washington Post were willing to name clients that had changed their minds or paused U.S. investments due to fears of jeopardizing business relationships.
But the reluctance to invest in the U.S. could make it tougher for South Korea to fulfill its pledge of $350 billion in U.S. investments, in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs in a deal negotiated during President Donald Trump’s visit there this week. South Korea has poured billions of dollars into the U.S. in recent years, into autos, semiconductors, shipbuilding and biotechnology, among other industries.
Chris Thomas, an immigration attorney at Holland & Hart in Denver, said that one of his South Korea-based clients that had plans to establish a large presence in the tech industry recently changed course after the Hyundai raid. That firm now plans to grow its presence in South Korea or possibly India. Other companies’ plans for U.S. projects remain on pause, he said.
“We’ve seen fallout from the raid,” Thomas said. “Companies in Japan and Korea and a few other of our clients said, ‘We’re just going to put all this on hold for a little while.’”
Meanwhile, lawyers and consultants representing East Asian firms with investments in the U.S. told The Post that South Koreans and other Asian nationals are still afraid of traveling on business and other employer-sponsored visas to the U.S., fears heightened by the administration’s new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas.
“There’s more reluctance from workers about being sent to the U.S., which complicates companies’ decision-making processes,” said Jonathan Cleave, managing director at Intralink, an international business consultancy that had supported billions in East Asian investments in the U.S.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to The Post that “President Trump is committed to making America the most dynamic, investment-friendly economy in the world.”
“Every member of the Administration is focused on delivering on this priority — which continues to secure trillions in investment commitments to make and hire in America again,” Desai said.
Some South Korean firms that had paused U.S. projects have begun to slowly resume operations, said Overby, who is also a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South Korea.
On Monday, leading up to the trade deal reached with the South Korea, Trump told reporters that he was “very much opposed” to the Hyundai raid carried out by his administration.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday met with leaders of South Korea’s most powerful conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group, at a business roundtable he hosted in Gyeongju, according to BusinessKorea. Lutnick emphasized resolving visa issues for workers of companies that invest in the U.S.
“The discussions over the last few weeks, particularly the deal that was just announced, are going a long way to ease the minds of Korean investors,” Overby said.
Ambassador Kurt Tong, a managing partner at the Asia Group, said that the new trade agreement and specifically the United States’ softened demands around investment would reassure some Korean investors in the U.S. However, “the Hyundai event still leaves a significant bad aftertaste that may be specifically impacting companies who are still scrambling to figure out their exact immigration compliance methodologies,” said Tong, a former U.S. ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Tensions between the U.S. and South Korea escalated in early September when ICE agents shackled and detained more than 300 South Koreans in the U.S. on business travel at a Hyundai-LG Energy Solution joint venture battery plant under construction in Ellabell, Georgia, which Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has touted as the largest in state history.
The worksite ICE raid pushed many Korean firms, including LG Energy Solution, as well as some Japanese firms, to pause work on U.S. projects and business travel, industry experts said, setting some projects back weeks or months.
But much of that activity had resumed with new reassurances from the U.S. government to Korean investors.
And ICE has not conducted any major worksite raids since the Sept. 4 Hyundai operation, despite a flurry of actions earlier this year, experts say.
LG Energy Solution, which has large-scale projects expected to create thousands of jobs in Arizona and Ohio, restarted business trips in October and plans to expand those trips going forward, according to Sophia Kim, a company spokeswoman. But Kim noted that the company would not make its original scheduled completion date of late 2025 for the battery plant in Georgia.
SK On, a South Korean electric-vehicle-battery company with large plants in the works with Ford in Kentucky and Tennessee, and SK Hynix, a South Korean chipmaker with investments throughout the U.S., said that their projects are continuing according to plans.
Hyundai, Samsung, and shipbuilder Hanwha — among the largest Korean companies with U.S. investments — did not respond to questions from The Post about disruptions to their projects or suppliers following the Hyundai raid.
Despite new reassurances and incentives from U.S. officials, many East Asian companies continue to see U.S. as an unpredictable place to do business, experts said.
“The Georgia raid is just one reason firms are hesitating on [investing in] the United States at the moment,” said Cleave, the international business consultant at Intralink. “The key concern among companies is the chaotic nature of governance in the [United States]. … That, I believe, will have the largest negative impact on investments made and jobs created in the U.S. over the coming years.”
Washington Post · Lauren Kaori Gurley
14. US commentary over Silla crown gift to Trump draws backlash in Korea
Blowback.
To my Korean friends please do not take this personally. This is what American satirists do. It should not be taken as an insult but of course I certainly understand why that is.
Summary:
American late-night satire mocking President Lee Jae-myung’s gift of a Silla-era crown replica to Donald Trump sparked backlash in Korea. Many Koreans said the jokes ignored the crown’s cultural symbolism and reflected insensitivity amid tensions over tariffs and labor issues. Seoul officials stressed the gift symbolized heritage, alliance, and shared prosperity, not monarchy.
US commentary over Silla crown gift to Trump draws backlash in Korea - The Korea Times
The Korea Times · ListenListenText SizePrint
By Lee Hae-rin
- Published Nov 3, 2025 7:00 am KST
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20251103/us-commentary-over-silla-crown-gift-to-trump-draws-backlash-in-korea
A wave of satire on American late-night television over President Lee Jae Myung’s gift of a replica Silla-era gold crown to U.S. President Donald Trump has provoked strong reactions in Korea, highlighting lingering sensitivities amid recent strains in the alliance over tariffs and labor issues.
The ornate replica crown, presented during the Korea-U.S. summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, quickly attracted attention from American comedy and talk show hosts.
Desi Lydic, one of the hosts of "The Daily Show," said, "We have been trying real hard over here to gently steer our president away from the whole king thing. And then you come along, hey President Trump, check out this cool crown. Try it on. Take it home with you. Not helping!"
On ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live," host Kimmel said, "I guess they saw millions of us marching to say 'We didn’t want a king!' and thought, 'Hey, great idea for a gift, a bejeweled crown.' It’s so embarrassing how easy he is to manipulate. Maybe he could just stay there and be king of South Korea."
President Donald Trump shakes hands with President Lee Jae Myung as he receives a gift of a gold crown and an award of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, not seen, during a high honor ceremony at Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, South Korea, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap
These jokes, which were clipped as shorts for social media, went viral in Korea over the weekend, sparking outrage and debate.
While most Koreans expressed overall satisfaction with the government’s handling of the large-scale prestigious event and diplomatic exchange, many expressed discomfort and indignation that the American satire missed the historical and cultural context of the gift, flooding the original video to leave comments and discussing issues intensely on Korean online platforms.
"I know it’s satire, but it’s not that funny at all to Korean people," an online user wrote. "We’re trying to survive after Trump kicked Koreans out of factories and slammed us with tariffs, yet Americans make jokes about bribing him with cash. Would you laugh if you were walking on thin ice every day because of these policies?"
Many Koreans accused the American entertainers of misinterpreting the gift's meaning, clarifying that the crown was not a deliberate nod to monarchy — rather, it was a symbol chosen because the summit took place in Gyeongju, where Silla relics are iconic.
The golden crown replica was commissioned from a master artisan a month before the Gyeongju summit, countering the idea that it was a response to the recent "No Kings" protests in the U.S.
The reactions were colored by recent difficulties in Korea-U.S. relations under Trump’s presidency. Trump’s imposition of sweeping tariffs and a hardline stance on Korea’s labor presence in the U.S. have led to considerable resentment.
"Koreans have overthrown their kings twice," an online user wrote on the YouTube video, likely referring to the impeachments of Park Geun-hye in 2017 and Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this year, adding, "Americans have elected their kings twice."
Another wrote, "We already showed you how impeachment works. It’s not Korea’s job to fix the mess created by your votes."
Tak Hyun-min, a former presidential protocol secretary, explained that the gold crown is both a symbol of historic cultural exchange and a message of shared prosperity in the alliance, not an endorsement of royal power.
"The Silla crown represents central values of openness and international exchange," Tak said on a local radio show, referring to the kingdom’s thousand-year longevity based on strategic alliances and cultural creativity.
The Korea Times · ListenListenText SizePrint
15.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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