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Quotes of the Day:
"To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference."
– Marcus Aurelius
"Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some are not."
– Epictetus
"It is doubtless impossible to approach any human problems with a mind free from bias,"
– Simone de Beauvoir
1. Collective security in the Indo-Pacific: Rethinking the United Nations Command
2. U.S. official briefs U.N. on N.K. sanctions monitoring report
3. U.S. official renews 'ironclad' security commitment, but calls on S. Korea to beef up its own defense
4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan reaffirm 'strong' N.K. deterrence in high-level diplomatic talks
5. N. Korea temporarily suspends foreign tourist entry to Kalma beach resort
6. South Korea Pulls Plane Crash Report After Victims’ Families Protest
7. U.S. stresses commitment to combating maritime N.K. sanctions evasion activities
8. Cardinal You’s DMZ Visit Faces UN Command Obstacle
9. U.S. promotes 'free and open Indo-Pacific' with Japan, S. Korea leaders
10. Unification Church scandal expands with raids at more than 10 locations
11. President Lee appoints ex-chief of Doosan as special envoy to U.S.
12. Delusion and demagoguery: Dangerous alliance undermining Korea’s democracy
1. Collective security in the Indo-Pacific: Rethinking the United Nations Command
There are few people (if any) who understand the United Nations Command more than Shawn Creamer.
This is a provocative and innovative thought piece about the future potential of the UNited Nations Command.
See his previous deep analysis of the UN Command as well as the entire Korean theater command and control architecture.
The United Nations Command and the Sending States
https://icks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2017FW-4.pdf
Theater-level Command and Alliance Decision-Making Architecture in Korea
https://icks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1498534150_add_file_3.pdf
Conclusion:
The authoritarians are growing in strength, aligning, and collectively placing increasing pressure on the rules-based international system. The free world must stand up to coercion and aggression. Collective security works but is most effective when it is put in place pre-war. Europe, despite NATO’s major shortcomings, has a reasonably effective collective security mechanism in place. Much work is required to return European military power and NATO to its Cold War status. The Indo-Pacific—the decisive region for the twenty-first century—does not have a multilateral collective security mechanism in place, at least not one that is militarily capable. The next National Defense Strategy must address global unified command and put in place a winning command and control architecture for the Indo-Pacific.
The UNC offers the free world a standing collective security mechanism that can be combat credible, providing peace and security for the free world’s northern flank in the Indo-Pacific. The sobering truth is life is not fair, but it is just. What one sows, one will reap. Those who sow carelessly end up paying the price for wishing away reality. Now is the time to move out on collective security in the Indo-Pacific. The UNC is one option available and returning it to a multinational warfighter should be seriously considered. For those who disagree, forward a better alternative so the free world can realize collective security in the Indo-Pacific and protect the rules-based international system.
Collective security in the Indo-Pacific: Rethinking the United Nations Command
atlanticcouncil.org · by aroh · July 17, 2025
Indo-Pacific NATO Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Security & Defense Security Partnerships United States and Canada
Issue Brief July 17, 2025 • 9:00 am ET
By Richard D. Butler, Shawn P. Creamer
Bottom lines up front
- The Indo-Pacific theater is too large and complex to be managed by a single US command without a collective security counterpart.
- The US-led UN Command in South Korea and Japan provides the means to create a NATO-like structure in the Indo-Pacific.
- Complementary US command-and-control reforms in the Indo-Pacific will provide the necessary focus to deter and, if necessary, fight the three regional adversaries threatening international peace and security.
The international system forged after 1945 is being tested by an increasingly aligned confederation of authoritarian states. For decades, rules and norms upheld global order, but inaction, complacency, and institutional stagnation now threaten their collapse. Authoritarian aggression cannot be appeased—only deterred through credible military power, strong economies, and united diplomacy. The United States cannot shoulder this responsibility alone. The broader free world must strengthen regional defenses and support global collective security. Yet current mechanisms face two flaws: widespread disarmament among free world nations and outdated collective security institutional structures.
The next National Defense Strategy needs to address the seriousness of the situation by resourcing a multi-theater war strategy centered on the Indo-Pacific. This strategy must set the goal of completing the pivot to the Indo-Pacific by the end of the current US administration’s term. Key to completing the pivot will come through implementing a reverse of the Guam doctrine, which will require America’s European allies to take the lead in their own defense. The next defense strategy should avoid the mistake of focusing the pivot only to the west of the international date line.
For the pivot to be successful, the Western Hemisphere must be made more secure—politically, economically, and militarily—by rebooting the Monroe Doctrine to reenable the Organization of American States as an economic security bloc and the reshoring of supply chains to the hemisphere, and to revitalize the Rio Pact to defend the Americas against twenty-first century imperialist coercion and aggression.
Lastly, the next National Defense Strategy must squarely take on the topic of global unified command and implement a winning command and control architecture to ensure the United States military is organized to fight a multi-theater, large-scale war.
The state of collective security
Europe relies on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for its security. NATO, a once-capable alliance, has lapsed, and presently suffers from a diminished martial culture and a state of unpreparedness. NATO relies on Russian weakness rather than allied strength, underscoring its vulnerabilities. More must be done in Europe to strengthen NATO, and, while the United States has a role, most of the heavy lifting must be carried out by Europe because the Indo-Pacific requires much more attention by the United States.
At present, the Indo-Pacific lacks a security system—even one as fragile as NATO. The nexus of China, North Korea, and Russian Far East power poses an increased risk to peace and security across East Asia and the Indian Ocean region and beyond the second island chain of the Western Pacific. American bilateral alliances, along with multilateral security partnerships like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) team, provide cooperative frameworks, strategic alignment, and some deterrence, but they remain fragmented and inadequate against aligned authoritarian strategies.
Historically, the free world attempted collective defense in Asia through the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and the United Nations Command (UNC). SEATO failed due to its weak regional foundations and colonial baggage. The UNC, however, successfully coordinated international resistance against North Korean aggression and Chinese intervention. Though still operational, UNC was relegated to a diminished support role in 1978 when warfighting responsibilities transitioned to the Republic of Korea—United States Combined Forces Command (CFC).
What the UN Command is, and what it is not
On June 25, 1950, Communist North Korea invaded the United Nations (UN) recognized democratic South Korea. In response, the US president authorized the US Far East Command (FECOM), under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, to provide material support to the beleaguered South Korean government. The president then directed US forces to intervene in the conflict to repel the invasion. Other nations (the United Kingdom and Australia) also provided forces to assist the Korean government alongside the United States before the UN acted.
The UNC emerged from four key United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR)—82 through 85—adopted in 1950. These resolutions authorized a US-led unified command to repel North Korean forces and coordinate humanitarian efforts. While the Security Council requested that the United States lead the international response and authorized the unified command to fly the UN flag, the resolutions did not establish UN oversight. The US government retains full executive control, with the UNC still led by a senior US general.
The UNC was established to separate and compartmentalize the aforementioned UNSCR actions in support of the defense of South Korea from unilateral US government actions in East Asia being exercised by FECOM.
The UNC is not a neutral party nor a peacekeeper. It is a belligerent in the Korean conflict, formed to repel North Korean forces, later joined by Chinese forces, that were both being supported by the Soviets.
In 1953, the UNC became a party to the Korean Armistice Agreement with the opposing side’s belligerents, the Korean People’s Army (KPA) of North Korea and the thinly veiled Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As a party to the armistice, the UNC is responsible only for friendly force compliance. The UNC is not responsible for keeping North Korean forces compliant, nor is it a referee between the two Koreas.
The confusion surrounding the UNC stems from its name and authorization to fly the UN flag. Originally embraced as a symbol of global unity, the naming convention reflects post-WWII idealism. In military doctrinal terms, the UNC is a lead nation multinational command. Once dominated exclusively by a US staff, the UNC headquarters expanded to include international staff contributions from the contributing nations—the “sending states”—and maintains an active political apparatus through the resident ambassadors in South Korea.
The UNC also maintains a rear command in Japan, managing designated UN bases under a multinational Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the government of Japan. These bases are critical to future multinational deployments, granting strategic depth and legal protections to non-US UNC forces. Since 2010, the rear command has been led by a multinational officer, reinforcing the UNC’s international character.
While the CFC is now the responsible command for the defense of Korea, the UNC’s role has evolved toward armistice maintenance and multinational integration. Since 2015, revitalization efforts have improved staff capacity and multinational coordination, though more is needed to address the expanding regional threat.
UN Command’s ‘credible legacy’ complements other forces in the region
Given the fractured state of Indo-Pacific security architecture, the region lacks a robust collective defense mechanism. Bilateral alliances and multilateral partnerships like AUKUS and the Quad are insufficient. A future war would be difficult to organize amid crisis. Thus, enhancing an existing structure like the UNC, with its historical legitimacy and multinational foundation, is the pragmatic choice.
The UNC already boasts a credible legacy, a seventeen-nation multilateral presence in Korea and Japan, access to bases, and international agreements to permit military support. These assets make it uniquely positioned to transform the command back into a multinational warfighting headquarters.
The Korean Peninsula has historically served as the competition space and battleground of the great powers. Korea remains the strategic high ground of Northeast Asia, and Northeast Asia is the decisive security and economic terrain for East Asia and the greater Indo-Pacific. Northeast Asia is a position of strength for the free world in the Indo-Pacific, and it should be reinforced as such to maintain it as a strong point—with strategic, operational, and tactical implications for both China and Russia.
Skeptics will argue that the 1950 UNSCRs limit the UNC to the defense of South Korea. Yet UNSCRs 83 and 84 both emphasize the objective to “restore international peace and security to the area.” Korean security is inseparable from broader East Asian stability. With China and North Korea both supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, the linkages between regional and global conflicts are becoming clearer.
A resumption of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula can be expected to draw in regional powers, including China and Russia—both security treaty allies of North Korea. Moreover, any war in East Asia is likely to involve the Korean Peninsula. South Korea’s strategic location and hosting of sizable US forces make it an unavoidable, even if reluctant, actor in future conflicts.
The UNC’s transformation back into a multinational warfighter does not alter the CFC’s mission and role as the designated alliance warfighter for the defense of South Korea. The UNC would be positioned to martial and organize free world military and humanitarian contributions, ready to intervene and reinforce the CFC to repel authoritarian aggression and return peace and security to the area. A militarily capable UNC would relieve the CFC from managing a wide range of sending-state contributions, allowing each command to focus on specific missions and improve overall 360-degree combat readiness.
Restoring the UNC to its collective security roots would also push necessary reforms in Northeast Asia’s security posture. South Korea and the United States must conclude additional foundational agreements, such as a SOFA (or visiting force agreement), for non-US sending-state forces. Past agreements granting SOFA-like privileges and immunities—such as the 1952 Meyer agreement—must be updated or reaffirmed to ensure legal clarity for free world powers contributing military forces. The UN SOFA with Japan should also be expanded from the nine current signatories to include all seventeen non-US sending states.
In parallel, South Korea needs to continue developing its military’s operational capabilities, completing its obligations under the bilaterally agreed Conditions-based Operational Control Transition Plan (COTP). Doing so best protects South Korean sovereignty in a very dangerous neighborhood, and paves the way for greater Korean leadership within its alliance with the United States and across the region. A more militarily capable and operationally focused UNC would help facilitate this transition by reducing administrative and operations burdens on the CFC.
Returning the UN Command to ‘warfighter status’
One option to seriously consider is to move the UNC’s main headquarters back to Japan (where it resided from 1950-1957), with a small residual forward headquarters in Korea to provide day-to-day oversight over the command’s armistice functions. Stationing the UNC in Japan would better position the command to exercise the designated UN bases and reinvigorate the reception, staging, and onward movement planning and preparations at and through the designated UN bases.
Having the UNC in Japan would catalyze the deployment of free world military forces to the region for training and exercises, a critical function for testing the validity of operational plans and for deterrence. Doing so positions the UNC to become the multinational offshore balancer for the Korean Peninsula, serving as a threat in the strategic calculus of the North Korean regime—and its Chinese and Russian patrons.
Beyond warfighting, the UNC can serve as a framework for broader international cooperation. Nations with limited military capabilities can contribute to non-combat roles, such as humanitarian relief or logistics. Germany’s recent joining of the UNC speaks to the command’s potential to expand beyond countries that were involved in the Korean War.
Returning the UNC to warfighter status and positioning the command in Japan would necessitate internal US force posture reforms. The hard truth is the Indo-Pacific is too large a theater for a single unified command—United States Indo-Pacific Command—to manage in time in space. If the Indo-Pacific was too large a theater for the likes of Nimitz, MacArthur, Slim, and Stilwell to singly manage during World War II, what makes the United States think its current crop of flag officers can handle it from Hawaii? Furthermore, the US force posture in Northeast Asia is divided, duplicative, and too narrowly focused, leaving immense gaps and seams for the authoritarians to exploit.
A consolidated command for Northeast Asia should be considered, merging US Forces Korea and US Forces Japan under a single commander. The consolidated command could be a unified or a sub-unified command. Headquarters consolidation in Northeast Asia would force further conversations within the US Department of Defense to establish additional unified/sub-unified commands to cover the operational flanks in the Southwest Pacific area, South Asia, and the communication zone between the West Coast and the second island chain, similar to how the US military organized itself in WWII.
Finally, a restored, combat-capable UNC would provide strategic flexibility to the free world to meet aggression across the breadth and depth of the Indo-Pacific by serving as a standing multinational unified command. During an East Asian crisis that does not immediately involve the Korean Peninsula—beyond the scope of UNSCR 83-85—the command could reflag under a new multinational banner, exercising collective defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. In such a situation, the UNC main headquarters in Japan could temporarily transfer its UNSCR 83-85 and armistice responsibilities to the UNC forward headquarters in Korea for the duration of the crisis. In this way, the reflagged UNC staff—already trained and functioning as an operational warfighter—could once again be committed to defeat aggression, if required.
Conclusion
The authoritarians are growing in strength, aligning, and collectively placing increasing pressure on the rules-based international system. The free world must stand up to coercion and aggression. Collective security works but is most effective when it is put in place pre-war. Europe, despite NATO’s major shortcomings, has a reasonably effective collective security mechanism in place. Much work is required to return European military power and NATO to its Cold War status. The Indo-Pacific—the decisive region for the twenty-first century—does not have a multilateral collective security mechanism in place, at least not one that is militarily capable. The next National Defense Strategy must address global unified command and put in place a winning command and control architecture for the Indo-Pacific.
The UNC offers the free world a standing collective security mechanism that can be combat credible, providing peace and security for the free world’s northern flank in the Indo-Pacific. The sobering truth is life is not fair, but it is just. What one sows, one will reap. Those who sow carelessly end up paying the price for wishing away reality. Now is the time to move out on collective security in the Indo-Pacific. The UNC is one option available and returning it to a multinational warfighter should be seriously considered. For those who disagree, forward a better alternative so the free world can realize collective security in the Indo-Pacific and protect the rules-based international system.
About the authors
Richard D. Butler is a retired US Army colonel. His last active duty posting was as the inaugural director for the China Landpower Studies Center, which conducts research, analysis, and education on the rise of China from a military perspective. Originally commissioned in 1995 as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy, Butler deployed worldwide on multiple destroyers and commanded USS Firebolt (PC 10) during two tours early in the Iraq War. During a joint assignment with III Corps, US Army, he deployed two more times to Iraq as a lead planner. In 2010, he changed his commission to the United States Army, where he performs duties as a strategist. He served in Jerusalem working the two-state solution and has over twelve years of experience in the Indo-Pacific, serving in various capacities as plans chief, strategy chief, and senior strategist at US Army, Pacific; Indo-Pacific Command; and Combined Forces Command.
Shawn P. Creamer is a retired US Army colonel. He served as an infantry officer for thirty years, with more than fourteen years assigned to or directly working on Indo-Pacific security issues, including assignments to US Forces Korea, the ROK/US Combined Forces Command, the United Nations Command, commanding a battalion in Korea and a brigade in Hawaii. He was a US Army War College Fellow with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program. In retirement, Creamer is serving as a fellow with the Institute for Corean-American Studies and as a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative and the GeoStrategy Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
The Tiger Project, an Atlantic Council effort, develops new insights and actionable recommendations for the United States, as well as its allies and partners, to deter and counter aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Explore our collection of work, including expert commentary, multimedia content, and in-depth analysis, on strategic defense and deterrence issues in the region.
2. U.S. official briefs U.N. on N.K. sanctions monitoring report
Excerpts:
The MSMT was established after a U.N. expert panel, tasked with monitoring sanctions enforcement, was disbanded in April last year due to Russia's veto of a resolution to extend its mandate. The new group consists of 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada.
"Director Bailey detailed evidence of North Korea's arms and materiel transfers to Russia, Russia's transfer of military technology to North Korea, and Russia's training of North Korean troops in Russia," the department said in a media note.
"Director Bailey shared that the United States continues to support the complete denuclearization of North Korea and is determined to hold it accountable for its U.N. sanctions violations," it added.
The diplomat also noted that the MSMT aims to continue publishing "timely, globally relevant and fact-based" reports on North Korea's U.N. sanctions violations across a range of topics.
U.S. official briefs U.N. on N.K. sanctions monitoring report | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 18, 2025
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. diplomat briefed U.N. member states on a recent report by an international North Korea sanctions monitoring team at the U.N. in New York on Thursday, focusing on military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, the State Department said.
Seth Bailey, the department's director for Korean and Mongolian affairs, gave the briefing on the first report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a group established in October last year to monitor and report violations and evasions of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
The MSMT was established after a U.N. expert panel, tasked with monitoring sanctions enforcement, was disbanded in April last year due to Russia's veto of a resolution to extend its mandate. The new group consists of 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada.
"Director Bailey detailed evidence of North Korea's arms and materiel transfers to Russia, Russia's transfer of military technology to North Korea, and Russia's training of North Korean troops in Russia," the department said in a media note.
"Director Bailey shared that the United States continues to support the complete denuclearization of North Korea and is determined to hold it accountable for its U.N. sanctions violations," it added.
The diplomat also noted that the MSMT aims to continue publishing "timely, globally relevant and fact-based" reports on North Korea's U.N. sanctions violations across a range of topics.
Released in late May, the first MSMT report found that Russia has provided the North with air defense systems, electronic warfare jamming devices and other military support since late last year in violation of U.N. sanctions
Thursday's briefing came as Russia and North Korea have been deepening bilateral cooperation as seen in a recent visit to Pyongyang by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the North's reported decision to send additional military personnel to Russia.
The State Department in Washington (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 18, 2025
3. U.S. official renews 'ironclad' security commitment, but calls on S. Korea to beef up its own defense
South Korea must demonstrate it owns its burden for defense. It must also demonstrate that it is committed to a free and open Asia-Indo-Pacific and is willing to use all instruments of national power to defend ROK interests in the region and around the world both unilaterally and in conjunction with its friends, partners, and allies.
But those who call for South Korea to "beef up" its own defense must first understand the extent to which the ROK is committed to its defense. I do not think that those who make such calls are really sufficiently informed about ROK defense capabilities and commitments.
(Yonhap Interview) U.S. official renews 'ironclad' security commitment, but calls on S. Korea to beef up its own defense | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 19, 2025
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, July 18 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. diplomat on Friday reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad" security commitment to South Korea, but called on the Asian ally to make the "highest-level" efforts to strengthen its own defense capabilities.
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, State Department deputy spokesperson Mignon Houston made the remarks amid expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration might request South Korea to bolster its defense spending and military capabilities as it prioritizes deterring threats from an assertive China.
Houston also pointed out that addressing North Korea's nuclear quandary remains a "priority" issue that Washington has "not taken our eyes off of," while underscoring that the Trump administration is looking forward to working "very closely" with the government of new South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
"South Korea is a strong and capable partner. President (Trump) believes that South Korea has the ability to ensure at the highest level that their defense capabilities are refined and strong. This is something we know we need," she said.
"The United States is going to meet with our military capabilities, with our force readiness as some of the best in the world. We will make that commitment, but we also want to see our partners do the same as it relates to bringing in the highest level of support and commitment they can for their defense capabilities," she added.
Deputy State Department spokesperson Mignon Houston speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the department in Washington on July 18, 2025. (Yonhap)
She was responding to a question about whether there will be a renegotiation of a defense cost-sharing deal that Seoul and Washington signed last year, given that the Trump administration has called for allies and partners to raise their defense spending.
"We will continue with our military cooperation in a defensive capacity, being transparent, being appropriate with our risk measures, but we want to see countries meet us at the same place," she said. "That's the only solution to ensuring that we have the highest standards for defense measures in place so that we can deter any threat before it arises."
Her remarks came as the Pentagon has demanded that Asian allies should also move toward the hefty target of spending 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) -- a goal that North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states recently agreed to achieve by 2035 following Trump's demand.
South Korea's defense budget this year stands at around 61.2 trillion won (US$43.9 billion), which is about 2.32 percent of its GDP, according to Seoul's defense ministry.
Houston brushed aside concerns that the North Korean nuclear conundrum might be nudged onto the back burner as the Trump administration focuses on countering the "pacing threat" from China and addressing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
"This is something that we have not taken our eyes off of ... We are very clear that we want to see the complete denuclearization of North Korea," she said.
"I think that this administration has been, by far, very transparent with our support for the Korean Peninsula, with our support for this region, and that's not going to change."
Touching on the importance of cooperation between South Korea and Japan, and the trilateral partnership involving the U.S., the deputy spokesperson accentuated Washington's commitment to close cooperation with the new South Korean government.
Three-way cooperation has gained traction as Seoul and Tokyo have made efforts in recent years to improve their relations long strained over historical and territorial feuds.
"We are looking forward to working very closely (with the Seoul government). Secretary (Marco Rubio) has been very clear that we want to work very closely with South Korea and the new leadership," she said. "This is a priority for this administration, and one we feel very strongly about."
Security cooperation aside, the diplomat underlined the "vital" importance of economic collaboration with South Korea in terms of the Asian ally's technological expertise and its role in creating jobs for American workers, not to mention global supply chain resilience.
"South Korea's resources as it relates to global supply chains, minerals, processing experience, refining experience," she said. "This is going to be critical to our ability in the Indo-Pacific to increase and secure supply chains that are global and diverse, ensuring that we are not relying on one country for the refining and processing of minerals that are so critical and important for the U.S."
Houston signaled her cautious optimism over the prospects of reaching trade deals with South Korea and other partners, reiterating that the Trump administration is pursuing "fair" and "balanced" trade that benefits American workers and businesses.
South Korea, Japan and other nations are striving to reach deals with Washington over its proposed "reciprocal" tariffs and other duties as well as non-tariff and economic cooperation issues, before Aug. 1 when the reciprocal tariffs are set to kick in.
"We look forward to the next couple of weeks for discussions across the Indo-Pacific and across the world on tariffs. We know we can reach agreements," she said.
"We heard from the secretary of treasury, of commerce speaking about some of the conversations they're having. We want trade agreements to be fair and benefit both sides in a way that's robust and helps our citizens in both of our countries really succeed."
She went on to say that Washington's trade policy is not a "step to change the diplomatic, political relationship" with allies and partners, but a step to ensure what it terms fair trade.
Asked if there is any progress on efforts to arrange the first summit between Lee and Trump, she said there is nothing to announce from the State Department.
Deputy State Department spokesperson Mignon Houston speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the department in Washington on July 18, 2025. (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 19, 2025
4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan reaffirm 'strong' N.K. deterrence in high-level diplomatic talks
Additional statements from State.
Excerpts:
In a separate readout, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that the three diplomats discussed North Korean threats and other regional security challenges as well as a deepening military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.
"The Deputy Secretary reiterated the United States' ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK, backed by America's unmatched military strength," Bruce said. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"The three reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and expressed serious concerns about its increasing military cooperation with Russia. They discussed the importance of strengthening deterrence and resilience against regional security threats," she added.
In addition, the spokesperson said that the three sides agreed that South Korean and Japanese participation in the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference sent a "strong signal about the importance of energy security underpinned by unleashing American liquefied natural gas." The conference took place in Anchorage last month.
(3rd LD) S. Korea, U.S., Japan reaffirm 'strong' N.K. deterrence in high-level diplomatic talks | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 19, 2025
(ATTN: ADDS State Department's readout in paras 20-23; RECASTS dateline)
By Kim Seung-yeon
TOKYO/SEOUL/WASHINGTON, July 18 (Yonhap) -- Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan reaffirmed Friday the need to maintain "strong" deterrence against North Korea's nuclear threats and agreed to continue efforts to advance their trilateral cooperation, Seoul officials said.
They shared the view during the three-way dialogue in Tokyo, where First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo was joined by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and their Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi.
It marked the first vice foreign ministerial talks since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung government and the second Donald Trump administration.
"The vice foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining strong deterrence against North Korea's nuclear threats through trilateral cooperation amid the evolving security environment," South Korea's foreign ministry said in a release.
"They agreed to continue enhancing trilateral security cooperation based on the solid bilateral alliances ... and to work closely together to make progress on North Korea-related issues," it said.
Park used the talks to explain Seoul's efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and resume dialogue under the Lee government, the ministry said.
Friday's meeting followed the three-way dialogue that took place among Park, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on the sidelines of ASEAN-related foreign ministers meetings in Malaysia last week.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi and South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo (from L to R) pose for a photo ahead of their trilateral talks in Tokyo on July 18, 2025. (Yonhap)
Recalling the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Park stressed that trilateral cooperation among the three nations is expanding beyond a single field to encompass security, the economy and technology.
Park noted that the three countries have much to achieve together in the years ahead, adding that they share the responsibility to turn the potential of their cooperation into tangible outcomes.
The three countries exchanged views on regional developments and agreed to continue efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Recognizing economic security as an area where the people of the three countries can directly feel the benefits, they agreed to further enhance practical cooperation in key and emerging technologies, especially in critical minerals, supply chains and artificial intelligence.
They also noted developments in their trilateral partnership framework, such as the launch of the trilateral secretariat, and agreed to sustain momentum in the partnership through regular dialogue.
The last vice foreign ministers' meeting among the three countries took place in Seoul in October last year.
On the margins of the trilateral talks, Park separately met with Landau and discussed bilateral relations and ongoing tariff negotiations, the ministry said.
They committed to "making diplomatic efforts and providing support to achieve mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes in the ongoing tariff negotiations," the ministry said.
During the talks, Park expressed hope that the allies would work together to further deepen and develop the alliance across a wide range of areas, including diplomacy, security, the economy and trade, as well as advanced technologies.
Landau, in turn, reaffirmed the U.S.' ironclad commitment to the alliance and to the Indo-Pacific region, expressing his desire to continue working closely with Park going forward.
They also reaffirmed their shared goal of the complete denuclearization of North Korea and agreed to maintain close communication and cooperation to make progress on North Korea-related issues.
Park went on to stress the importance of continued consultations at all levels, including at the leaders' level, to address bilateral issues. Agreeing to Park's point, Landau said he will make every effort in that regard.
In a separate readout, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that the three diplomats discussed North Korean threats and other regional security challenges as well as a deepening military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.
"The Deputy Secretary reiterated the United States' ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK, backed by America's unmatched military strength," Bruce said. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"The three reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and expressed serious concerns about its increasing military cooperation with Russia. They discussed the importance of strengthening deterrence and resilience against regional security threats," she added.
In addition, the spokesperson said that the three sides agreed that South Korean and Japanese participation in the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference sent a "strong signal about the importance of energy security underpinned by unleashing American liquefied natural gas." The conference took place in Anchorage last month.
Ahead of his talks with his U.S. counterpart, Park met one-on-one with Funakoshi to discuss bilateral relations and other related issues, including North Korea.
Park told Funakoshi that South Korea will continue to build a "firm and mature relationship with Japan based on mutual respect and trust," the ministry said.
They agreed on the need for closer coordination in addressing various common issues amid the complex international landscape and to explore ways to produce tangible outcomes in their cooperation as they continue the positive momentum in bilateral ties.
This photo, provided by Seoul's foreign ministry, shows a general view of the trilateral talks among the vice foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan, held in Tokyo on July 18, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 19, 2025
5. N. Korea temporarily suspends foreign tourist entry to Kalma beach resort
On again. Off again. The regime must still fear that it cannot control the information from foreign engagement.
N. Korea temporarily suspends foreign tourist entry to Kalma beach resort | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · July 18, 2025
SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has abruptly suspended the entry of foreign tourists to its newly opened Kalma beach resort area on the east coast, a North Korean website showed Friday, without providing a clear reason.
"The Kalma coastal tourist zone in Wonsan is temporarily not receiving foreign tourists," DPR Korea Tour, a tourism promotion website operated by the North's National Tourism Administration, said in a notice dated Wednesday.
The website shared the information while introducing the July 1 launch of the beach resort site, but it did not provide any reasons for the restriction on foreign tourists.
North Korea had initially promoted the resort as open to both domestic and foreign tourists. Russia's Tass news agency earlier reported a group of Russian tourists had planned to visit the tourist zone in early July.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui both met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Kalma beach resort area during his visit to North Korea last week.
The abrupt suspension of foreign tourist entry may be related to the high cost of trips to the resort or potential issues discovered during the brief period of operation so far.
The British broadcaster BBC has reported a weeklong trip to North Korea, including four days in the Kalma tourist zone, costs about US$1,800, equivalent to nearly 60 percent of the average monthly salary of Russian workers.
The North Korean regime may have ordered measures to address these issues, as demand from foreign tourists likely turned out to be lower than expected.
This image of tourists at the Kalma coastal tourist zone in Wonsan is captured from the Korean Central Television on July 16, 2025. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution)
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · July 18, 2025
6. South Korea Pulls Plane Crash Report After Victims’ Families Protest
South Korea Pulls Plane Crash Report After Victims’ Families Protest
Relatives of the Jeju Air disaster victims objected to the report in a stormy scene at a news conference, complaining that it blamed the pilots prematurely.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/world/asia/jeju-air-crash-report-canceled.html
Firefighters and investigators at the scene of the deadly Jeju Air crash in Muan, South Korea, in December.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
By John Yoon
John Yoon has been reporting regularly from Muan, South Korea, since the day of the plane crash.
July 19, 2025, 8:53 a.m. ET
South Korean officials on Saturday abruptly canceled the release of an intermediate report into the deadly crash of a Jeju Air passenger jet, after relatives of the victims disrupted a news conference, saying that the report was inadequate.
The confrontational scene unfolded after officials had earlier briefed the families privately on the latest stage of the investigation. The officials were planning to publicly release some findings from an analysis of the engines on the Boeing 737-800 that crashed on Dec. 29, killing 179 of the 181 people on board.
A lawyer for the relatives, who saw the officials’ presentation in the private meeting, said that the investigators had found no fault with the engines and instead appeared to blame birds, which struck the engines minutes before it made an emergency landing, and the plane’s pilots prematurely.
“The families did not get an adequate explanation,” said Pillkyu Hwang, the lawyer, speaking at a lectern in the Muan International Airport where the investigators of the crash had been expected to give their report. “In fact, depending on how you look at it, it kind of puts all the blame on the dead birds and the dead pilots,” he said, without specifying what details officials gave about the pilots’ actions.
“Of course, that may be the outcome of the investigation. But that requires tremendous rigor and very careful wording. And something came out that wasn’t careful at all,” Mr. Hwang said.
The relatives’ delegation said in a statement that the framing of the report could imply that final conclusions had been reached, when the crash was still under investigation. Many relatives said they feared the report could be misconstrued by the news media as being more definite than it truly was.
The Transport Ministry distributed copies of its report to journalists as they waited in a meeting room for the news conference to begin. Kim Byung-chae, a ministry spokesman, said that the report would not officially be made public until the start of the briefing.
But after the families burst in, shouting objections, the news conference was canceled. Officials took the copies back, declaring that the report had not been issued.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 landed on its belly after reporting a bird strike and issuing an emergency call. The plane overran the runway and struck a concrete berm that housed navigation aids, bursting into a deadly fireball. Only two people — flight attendants at the back of the plane — survived.
The cause of the disaster, the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil, is still being investigated, hampered by the absence of a crucial piece of evidence: Flight recorders, known as black boxes, stopped recording for about the final four minutes of the flight.
Investigators have previously disclosed that bird feathers were found in both engines of the plane, but have not addressed their role in the disaster. The report expected Saturday was about the engines, which were manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between G.E. Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
Image
Memorial flowers outside Muan International Airport in South Korea in December, where 179 of 181 people on board Jeju Air Flight 2216 were killed. Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
The start of the news conference was repeatedly postponed as reporters were told investigators were still speaking to the relatives in the nearby terminal building.
After about an hour of postponements, chaos erupted in the room where the reporters waited. Some members of the relatives’ delegation who had been speaking to the investigators stormed in, shouting.
“This briefing is not happening. Everyone get out!” one bereaved woman yelled. “They’ve just blamed it all on the pilots!” a man cried out.
Officials from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, dressed in black uniforms, entered the room. One began speaking into the microphone, saying over the shouting relatives that he was going to start the news conference. A group of relatives swiftly pushed him out of the room.
Mr. Kim, the ministry spokesman, said that the news conference was canceled, and that investigators would consult further with the relatives. The report about the engine analysis could be rescheduled, he added.
Kim Yu-jin, the president of the relatives’ delegation, said that the families did not disagree with the report’s findings, but felt the presentation was unsatisfactory.
“When the investigators take a position, it should be accompanied by a number of documents that support their position and convince the bereaved family that their conclusions are inevitable,” she told reporters. “But we were only given their conclusions and told they couldn’t disclose the process or evidence that led them to those findings.”
In the families’ meeting with officials, she said that the delegation had requested the original findings of the analysis of the engine, which was conducted by American, French and South Korean investigators in France, where Safran, one of the engine manufacturers, is based.
“We have repeatedly asked them to be careful about these disclosures because the way that the results of the investigation are communicated can have an impact on the compensation that families receive,” she told reporters. “What we heard today did not take into account those things.”
More about the Jeju Air disaster
How the Jeju Air Plane Crashed: Timeline, Maps and Photos
Airport Was Repeatedly Warned on Bird Strikes Before Deadly South Korea Crash
April 15, 2025
Jeju Air Disaster Prompts a Reckoning Over Runway Safety
May 1, 2025
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
7. U.S. stresses commitment to combating maritime N.K. sanctions evasion activities
U.S. stresses commitment to combating maritime N.K. sanctions evasion activities | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 19, 2025
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, July 18 (Yonhap) -- The United States on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to addressing maritime activities that evade sanctions against North Korea, as it co-hosted a maritime security conference in Cote d'Ivoire this week.
The State Department reiterated the commitment after it, the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa and Cote d'Ivoire's Ministry of Transport co-hosted the Global Maritime Security and Sanctions Enforcement Conference in Abidjan on Wednesday and Thursday.
The conference brought together global maritime industry leaders from 25 countries to strengthen due diligence practices, and enhance enforcement of sanctions to prevent North Korea, Iran and other countries from exploiting commercial maritime supply chains to advance proliferation activities, according to the department.
"The DPRK circumvents U.S. and U.N. sanctions through the export of coal and iron ore to generate revenue to support the development of its WMD and ballistic missile programs," the department said in a media note on the conference. DPRK and WMD are short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and weapons of mass destruction, respectively.
"The United States is committed to combating maritime sanctions evasion activities and illicit maritime trade," it added.
The department also accused Iran of continuing to use the commercial shipping industry to transport proliferation-related items and export oil to generate revenue for its global "malign" activities.
The conference was designed to share challenges, lessons learned, and best practices to improve U.S. sanctions enforcement globally, prevent illicit maritime activity that threatens U.S. interests, and ultimately increase global maritime security, it said.
The State Department in Washington (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · July 19, 2025
8. Cardinal You’s DMZ Visit Faces UN Command Obstacle
Curious. What is the reason for denying the request?
The minefields are more than physically on the DMZ - they are in the political realm as well.
Can the UN Command get out ahead of this or will the opposition control the narrative?
Excerpt:
At his confirmation hearing on July 14, Unification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young criticized the policy, saying, “The area south of the MDL within the DMZ is clearly South Korean territory. It is unacceptable that the South Korean government must seek the UN Command’s permission for peaceful, nonmilitary activities on its own land.”
Cardinal You’s DMZ Visit Faces UN Command Obstacle
https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20250719/5734009/1
Posted July. 19, 2025 07:20,
Updated July. 19, 2025 07:20
Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik’s planned visit to the Demilitarized Zone during his trip to South Korea was canceled after the United Nations Command denied access, government sources said.
Multiple ruling party officials confirmed Friday that the cardinal had intended to tour the DMZ with Catholic representatives this month. The visit was scrapped after the UN Command did not approve the request.
The decision could reignite political debate over the UN Command’s control of access to the zone. Under the armistice agreement, South Korean citizens and goods must receive UN Command authorization to enter the DMZ or cross the Military Demarcation Line.
At his confirmation hearing on July 14, Unification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young criticized the policy, saying, “The area south of the MDL within the DMZ is clearly South Korean territory. It is unacceptable that the South Korean government must seek the UN Command’s permission for peaceful, nonmilitary activities on its own land.”
Cardinal You, currently in Korea during a summer break from the Vatican, met with President Lee Jae-myung on July 7 and with Chung on July 15. President Lee told the cardinal he hopes the Vatican will play a special role in improving inter-Korean relations. He also mentioned the possibility of Pope Leo XIV visiting North Korea during his expected trip to South Korea for the 2027 World Youth Day.
Oh-Hyuk Kwon hyuk@donga.com
9. U.S. promotes 'free and open Indo-Pacific' with Japan, S. Korea leaders
World News July 18, 2025 / 3:14 PM
U.S. promotes 'free and open Indo-Pacific' with Japan, S. Korea leaders
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/07/18/world-Landau-meets-Japan-South-Korea/7091752859515/
State Department official meets with counterparts in Japan in effort to strengthen trilateral partnership.
By Lisa Hornung
President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., this past February. On Friday, ministers from the United States, Japan and South Korea met to discuss keeping the Indo-Pacific region safe and stable. File photo by Anna Rose Layden/UPI | License Photo
July 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau discussed security and commerce when he met with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Funakoshi Takehiro and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoonjoo in Osaka, Japan, on Friday.
The goal of the meeting was to advance the countries' trilateral partnership, which is "critical for the safety, security, and prosperity of our three countries," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a press release.
The three "emphasized their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and discussed efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region," Bruce said.
The security of the region is always tense, thanks to North Korea and its alliances with China and Russia.
Related
On Thursday, a United Nations report showed evidence that North Korea many times shipped arms and material to Russia, which trained North Korean troops for combat against Ukrainian forces, Seth Bailey, the U.S. State Department's director for Korean and Mongolian Affairs, told U.N. members.
At the Osaka meeting, the three reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and expressed serious concerns about its increasing military cooperation with Russia. They discussed the importance of strengthening deterrence and resilience against regional security threats, Bruce said.
One of those threats came last weekend, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited North Korea and expressed support for the hermit country.
"No one is considering using force against North Korea despite the military buildup around the country by the United States, South Korea and Japan," Lavrov said of the joint military exercise that took place in South Korea the day before.
"We respect North Korea's aspirations and understand the reasons why it is pursuing a nuclear development," he said.
Landau, Funakoshi and Park reiterated their commitment to strengthening supply chains and collaborating on emerging technologies to boost their economic cooperation, Bruce added.
They agreed Japanese and Korean participation in the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in June sent a strong signal about the importance of energy security underpinned by unleashing American liquified natural gas.
The U.S.-Japan bond was shaken last week, though, when President Donald Trump said he planned to impose a 25% tariff on Japan starting in August. Though hurt by the statement, Japan said it will continue to negotiate with the president.
"The real climax and critical moment are the three weeks until Aug. 1," Japan's Minister of Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa said. "We would like to support the government's negotiations more firmly than ever before."
The United States has a $57 billion trade deficit with Japan with $84.95 billion exports from the United States and $141.52 billion imports in 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database.
10. Unification Church scandal expands with raids at more than 10 locations
World News July 18, 2025 / 6:02 PM
Unification Church scandal expands with raids at more than 10 locations
Large-scale operation marks a significant escalation in a widening political influence scandal involving the church and top government figures.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/07/18/Unification-Church-scandal-expands-with-raids-at-more-than-10-locations/9461752874293/
By Youngjun Kim
Han Hak-ja attends a Blessing Ceremony in Gapyeong, South Korea, in 2020. At the center of growing focus today is Jung Wonju, Executive Secretary to Hak-ja Han. Though Han remains the official spiritual leader, Jung is widely regarded as the church's de facto second-in-command and is believed to have overseen high-level political outreach and internal consolidation of power. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
July 18 (UPI) -- South Korean prosecutors on Thursday executed coordinated raids on more than 10 locations connected to the Unification Church, including its Seoul headquarters in Cheongpa-dong, the Cheonjeonggung Palace in Cheongpyeong, a foundation office in Mapo, and the private residence of former church executive Yoon Young-ho.
The large-scale operation marks a significant escalation in a widening political influence scandal involving the church and top government figures.
During the raid at Cheonjeonggung, Lee Cheong-woo -- the church's director of central administration and its third-ranking official -- allegedly mobilized approximately 600 young members to physically obstruct investigators. According to JTBC, Lee issued verbal threats and threatened to ram his vehicle into media reporters in an attempt to intimidate and disrupt coverage of the raid.
JTBC also reported that investigators discovered large bundles of cash and high-end luxury items inside a hidden safe, possibly intended for use in lobbying operations.
Prosecutors allege that the Unification Church sought to secure political favors in exchange for luxury goods and financial support, including lobbying for public development assistance (ODA) projects along Cambodia's Mekong River and South Korea's bid to host the United Nations' Fifth Secretariat Office.
The church has denied all allegations, characterizing the investigation as a case of "individual misconduct" by Young-ho Yoon. However, the hierarchical nature of the Unification Church makes it unlikely that Yoon acted alone. Many observers expect the seized materials to provide more definitive evidence implicating higher-ranking officials.
At the center of growing scrutiny is Jung Wonju, Executive Secretary to Chairwoman Hak-ja Han and Vice President of Cheon Mu Won, the Unification Church's highest administrative body. Though Han remains the official spiritual leader, Jung is widely regarded as the church's de facto second-in-command and is believed to have overseen high-level political outreach and internal consolidation of power.
Jung began her rise within the organization as Han's personal hairdresser but gradually leveraged her close relationship with the chairwoman to sideline rival figures and accumulate influence behind the scenes. In recent years, she is believed to have effectively replaced senior leadership, quietly assuming control over key decision-making processes.
She left South Korea for the United States in early June -- more than a month before the July 18 raids -- reportedly citing her husband's illness. Despite being subject to a de facto travel restriction, she has not returned since. Her prolonged absence is widely viewed as compelling circumstantial evidence of her central role in the alleged scheme.
Further intensifying public scrutiny, Jung's family ties have raised concerns over media influence and nepotism. Her husband's younger brother, Tom McDevitt, currently serves as chairman of The Washington Times, a U.S.-based newspaper with long-standing ties to the Unification Church. Additionally, Jung's younger brother, Hee-taek Jung, is CEO of Segye Ilbo, a major South Korean daily also affiliated with the church.
Critics argue that these familial connections have enabled Jung to exert behind-the-scenes influence over both domestic and international media. Just a day before the raids, The Washington Times published a glowing profile of Chairwoman Hak-ja Han, prompting allegations that the outlet -- though publicly operating as an independent journalistic institution -- was being privately leveraged to defend and legitimize church leadership amid mounting legal pressure.
As the investigation widens, calls are mounting for Jung Wonju to return to South Korea and face legal proceedings. Many within the broader religious community argue that assuming responsibility is not only a legal duty but a spiritual obligation.
The special prosecutor's office has indicated that additional indictments and arrests are likely as evidence is reviewed. International cooperation may also be sought if Jung continues to remain overseas.
Read More
11. President Lee appoints ex-chief of Doosan as special envoy to U.S.
Thursday
July 17, 2025
dictionary + A - A
President Lee appoints ex-chief of Doosan as special envoy to U.S.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-07-17/national/diplomacy/President-Lee-appoints-exchief-of-Doosan-as-special-envoy-to-US/2355414
Published: 17 Jul. 2025, 18:03
- SARAH KIM
- kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr
Woo Sang-ho, presidential secretary for political affairs, speaks to reporters at a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
President Lee Jae Myung named Park Yong-maan, the former chairman of Doosan Group, as his special envoy to the United States, the presidential office announced on Thursday, ahead a looming deadline for tariff negotiations.
Park, a former chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), will lead a special delegation also including ruling Democratic Party (DP) Reps. Han Jun-ho and Kim Woo-young, presidential secretary for political affairs Woo Sang-ho said in a press briefing in Seoul.
The delegation is expected to "explain the change in the situation in Korea since President Lee took office and help with the understanding of various international situations," Woo said, without elaborating further.
Related Article
The announcement comes as Seoul is trying to reach a tariff deal with Washington as U.S. President Donald Trump has set a deadline of Aug. 1 for imposing 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on Korean goods. Seoul, in turn, has been working toward a "package deal" with Washington to comprehensively cover trade and security matters and arranging a first bilateral summit between Lee and Trump.
From left: Park Yong-maan, Han Jun-ho and Kim Woo-young
Woo said that the Park-led special delegation's departure date for Washington has yet to be confirmed. Thus, it is unclear if a U.S. visit will come ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.
Special envoys usually deliver letters from the president during their visit to a country.
Lee is in the process of sending special envoys to 14 countries, and Park is the fifth envoy to be announced so far.
Woo said Park was appointed because he is an "exemplar businessperson from the Korean business community and had a history of serving as the head of a leading Korean economic organization," offering "more natural" means of meeting with the American business community.
Park, drawing from his experience as Doosan head and KCCI chairman, is known to have a strong network in both the U.S. business community and the government and reportedly understands Lee's vision.
President Lee Jae Myung, left, holds a luncheon meeting with Kim Chong-in, right, former interim leader of the conservative People Power Party, at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 17. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
Earlier Thursday, President Lee held a luncheon meeting with Kim Chong-in, a political heavyweight who has previously been floated as a special envoy candidate. The notion of Kim as special envoy to Washington, however, has been met by backlash from liberal lawmakers. Lee reportedly sought Kim's understanding in the personnel change.
Kim, who has been called a kingmaker, has supported both liberals and conservatives with his long experience in engineering campaigns and advising presidential candidates. Kim, who has previously served as both the leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and the interim chief of the liberal DP, had a role overseeing former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election campaign committee in 2022.
During the luncheon, Kim advised Lee on economic issues, emphasizing that economic polarization and the low birthrate are serious problems that require countermeasures, Woo said. Lee, in turn, expressed appreciation for Kim's experience and knowledge and asked for continued advice.
Kim also cautioned Lee to "try not to resolve the current tariff negotiations with the United States too hastily, but rather look to resolve them with a long-term approach," Woo said.
Kim further warned that there are quite a few people in the United States who "mistakenly view President Lee as being pro-China."
Regarding such concerns, Lee replied that he will try to make a "deal on all issues by prioritizing the Korea-U.S. alliance and bilateral relations," as he has done so far, and that he hopes that the United States will not misunderstand his stance, according to Woo.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
12. Delusion and demagoguery: Dangerous alliance undermining Korea’s democracy
As an American, I have only one concern: maintaining the strength of the ROK/US alliance. The Korean people must work out their political issues.
- Opinion
- Editorial
ED Delusion and demagoguery
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/editorial/20250717/ex-us-official-blamed-for-agitating-with-baseless-korea-voter-fraud-claims
- Published Jul 17, 2025 1:01 pm KST
- Updated Jul 17, 2025 1:04 pm KST
Dangerous alliance undermining Korea’s democracy
Rep. Na Kyung-won, left, of the conservative People Power Party, speaks with Morse Tan, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, during a seminar on the Korea-U.S. alliance at the National Assembly in Seoul, March 6. Newsis
Korea’s democracy faces a disturbing and deliberate challenge — not from fringe conspiracy theorists on the internet, but from a trio of actors wielding real political influence: a former U.S. diplomat turned far-right agitator, a disgraced former president on trial for sedition and a political party increasingly aligned with anti-democratic rhetoric. Together, they are fueling a toxic narrative of election denial, legal defiance and political extremism that threatens to destabilize the country’s democratic foundations.
Morse Tan, a Korean American former U.S. State Department official under Donald Trump, arrived in Seoul this week on what can only be described as a political crusade. Claiming Korea’s last presidential election was rigged, insisting that martial law does not constitute an insurrection and undermining the special counsel investigation of the ex-president as a partisan tool of the ruling party — Tan has trafficked in baseless conspiracy theories from the moment he landed.
His assertions are not grounded in evidence, law or democratic principles. Rather, they echo the authoritarian delusions that have plagued American politics since at least the 2020 U.S. election. That Tan was once considered a candidate for U.S. ambassador to Korea makes his conduct not only disgraceful but diplomatically perilous. His open alignment with Korea’s far-right factions — complete with rallies where supporters wave both American and Korean flags and chant messianic slogans — demonstrates an appalling disregard for the sovereignty and stability of the Korean state.
More disturbing, however, is his apparent coordination with Yoon Suk Yeol, the former president now imprisoned and facing trial for his alleged role in planning a constitutional coup. On the very day the special counsel announced a third forced summons for Yoon — after his continued refusal to cooperate with investigators — Tan attempted to visit him in detention. The move was rightly blocked by prosecutors, who had earlier barred all nonlegal visits to prevent outside interference. Still, the timing raises serious concerns about potential collaboration or at least shared political objectives.
Yoon’s behavior since his arrest has only deepened these concerns. After ignoring multiple subpoenas and boycotting court hearings, he filed for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming his detention was unlawful. The irony is staggering: a man who dismissed and undermined legal procedures as president now seeks refuge in the same legal system he scorned. Worse still, his attempt to meet with an uncredentialed foreign provocateur demonstrates a willingness to undermine Korean judicial independence for personal gain.
Equally culpable is the People Power Party (PPP), which continues to lend credibility — whether directly or by omission — to the delusional narrative of electoral fraud. At a recent symposium held in the National Assembly, PPP lawmakers hosted speakers who promoted unsubstantiated election-rigging theories. Among them was Tan. Senior party figures, including acting leaders, attended the sessions before feebly distancing themselves afterward, claiming the events were unofficial. Such excuses ring hollow. Silence in the face of extremism is complicity.
This alliance — between a foreign agitator, a seditious ex-president and a complicit political party — poses a profound threat to Korea’s constitutional democracy. It delegitimizes elections, disrespects the rule of law and encourages radicalized elements to question the very legitimacy of state authority. These actions are not merely controversial; they are dangerous.
At a time when geopolitical tensions demand unity and internal resilience, Korea cannot afford to entertain conspiracy, sedition or foreign interference masquerading as free speech. Democracy cannot be safeguarded by appeasing those who seek to dismantle it from within or without. The Korean public, judiciary and political leadership must treat this coordinated campaign for what it is: an assault on truth, rule of law and the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea.
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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