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  South Korea, Japan agree to launch joint response body for common challenges President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru shake hands after a press release/ Yonhap SEOUL, August 23 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru agreed Saturday to establish a bilateral consultative body to address shared challenges including low birth rates, aging populations, and disaster management following their summit meeting in Tokyo. The leaders also committed to close coordination on North Korea policy and strengthening August 23, 2025
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  Lee pledges support for Korean diaspora during Tokyo visit SEOUL, August 23 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held his first official meeting with Korean residents in Japan at a Tokyo hotel luncheon on Saturday, praising their contributions to Korea-Japan relations and promising expanded government support. The president described their historical struggles as foundational to both countries' development, citing their perseverance through colonial rule, national division, and life as overseas residents. Lee acknowledged the August 23, 2025
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  South Korea's Lee departs for Japan-US diplomatic tour SEOUL, August 23 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed Seoul Airport on Saturday morning for a six-day diplomatic visit to Japan and the United States, accompanied by First Lady Kim Hea Kyung. The tour includes summit meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump as part of Lee's "national interest-centered practical diplomacy" centered on the Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance. Lee arrived in Tokyo on Saturday morning a August 23, 2025
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  Elderly caregiver released after attempted murder of wife with dementia SEOUL, August 22 (AJP) - A 70-year-old South Korean man who admitted to trying to kill his wife, reportedly overwhelmed by the strain of caregiving, has been released from custody. The case underscores the growing toll that eldercare is taking in a country where the number of caregiving-related crimes has steadily risen. The Seoul Northern District Court on Thursday dismissed a request for the man’s arrest warrant, ruling he posed no risk of flight or evidence destruction. H August 22, 2025
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  Modern take on Joseon royal ritual staged in Seoul SEOUL, August 22 (AJP) - When the lights go down, more than 40 dancers move in unison across a massive stage. As they perform, audiences are immersed in "One Dance" ("Ilmu" in Korean), the ceremonial dance of the royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine, accompanied by music dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. With minimal stage props, the stage is filled only by the flowing sleeves of dancers dressed in white, orange, green, and blue hanbok, traditional South K August 22, 2025
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  South Korean officials in Washington to finalize tariff talks before Lee-Trump summit SEOUL, August 22 (AJP) - South Korea's top trade officials met with their U.S. counterparts in Washington on Thursday, just four days ahead of the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to fine-tune key trade issues, particularly those tied to last month's tariff agreement. Yeo returned to the U.S. less than a month after concluding a deal on July 30, narrowly beat August 22, 2025
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  Lee to put past deals on historical issues to rest ahead of summit with Japanese PM SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung said he will respect past deals with Japan on wartime forced labor and former sex slaves, in an interview with Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun published on Thursday, ahead of his trip to Tokyo later this weekend. Lee said that for many South Koreans it would be "very difficult to accept" but "undesirable to overturn" them, referring to a murky deal struck by the former Park Geun-hye administration in 2015 to settle August 21, 2025
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  President Lee Jae Myung meets Bill Gates, discusses SMR and global health cooperation SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation and co-founder of Microsoft, at the presidential office near central Seoul on Thursday. Lee and Gates' conversation focused on collaboration in global public health, next-generation nuclear energy, and South Korea’s role in emerging industries. Gates, visiting South Korea for the first time in three years, opened the meeting by wishing President Lee well in hi August 21, 2025
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  Ex-first lady's detention period extended to late this month SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - Independent prosecutors investigating multiple allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee can now hold her longer, as her detention period has been extended until the end of this month. In a press statement on Wednesday, prosecutors said the Seoul Central District Court had extended her detention for another 10 days until Aug. 31, as her detention period was set to expire this week. Kim has been detained at a remand prison in southern Seoul sinc August 20, 2025
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  Nonagenarian ex-North Korean soldier attempts to return home after decades in South Korea SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - A handful of surviving former North Korean soldiers have recently expressed their willingness to return to the North, with one of them attempting to cross the border in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday. The Unification Ministry here said earlier this week that six former North Korean soldiers have recently requested repatriation. Now in their 80s and 90s, they spent decades in prisons here after refusing to abandon communist ideologies and pledge their a August 20, 2025