Theme: South Korea

The Cheonghae unit, currently in the Gulf of Aden, will have its area of operation extended northeast to waters south of Oman, in the Arabian Sea, officials told The Korea Herald, roughly doubling its radius to about 1,930 kilometers. The expansion adds 75 troops to the unit, bringing its strength to 395. A Defense Ministry official said operations will stay limited to open waters south of Oman and that the P-8A maritime patrol aircraft will be barred from watching Iranian territory or waters or the interior of the Strait of Hormuz. The government plans to send the revised mandate motion to the National Assembly after Cabinet endorsement next week, and South Korean law requires parliamentary consent to expand overseas missions.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is pushing for a centralized cybersecurity agency after passport details and other personal information of 168 people, including the president, his wife and senior security officials, were reported to be accessible online for nearly five months, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Technology experts warn that creating a new organization alone does little to address the deeper problem of complacency, with businesses and government agencies viewing tighter cybersecurity as an unnecessary expense until a serious breach occurs.

The Seoul High Court on Wednesday upheld the sentence invalidating former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 2022 election victory and exposing the People Power Party to returning 39.7 billion won ($27 million) in campaign expenses: 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for false campaign statements — denying he introduced a lawyer to the former Yongsan tax chief and saying he never met shaman Jeon Seong-bae with his wife, Kim Keon Hee — with the invalidation taking effect if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling.

North Korea fired multiple missiles on Wednesday toward the sea off its east coast, marking Pyongyang’s fourth such weapons launch in a month, from the Sondok area, an eastern coastal region. Multiple missiles were launched from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province, with no information on the type or exact launch time, and there will be no customary third update with maximum altitude and range, while South Korean and US authorities analyze the specifications, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed.

Asian stocks fell on Wednesday along with the dollar, as Democrats gained in the US midterm elections, gains analysts said could lead to gridlock on Capitol Hill. The Nikkei 225 fell 3.6% to 60,835.36, its lowest level since early May, with SoftBank Group down 8% and Kioxia Holdings down 10.8%. The Kospi fell 3.2% to 5,466.83, with SK Hynix down 3.2% and Samsung Electronics down 1.8%. The dollar fell to 158.06 yen from 158.75 on Tuesday, and the euro rose to US$1.1249. Investors see the Democratic wave bringing tighter regulatory scrutiny, particularly of artificial intelligence companies.

North Korea launched an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs did not immediately disclose the number of projectiles, their flight distances or other specifications. If confirmed as ballistic, it would be the North’s 19th such launch of the year, following the firing of more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on October 29.

The presidents Lee Jae Myung and Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed in Seoul to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and defense, signing a memorandum on financing for nuclear power projects to support the participation of South Korean companies. According to Lee, cooperation on Turkey’s Sinop nuclear power plant project “has been progressing smoothly.” On defense, the two countries agreed to expand joint production and technological cooperation and to explore opportunities for companies from both sides to enter third-country markets together. Bilateral trade reached a record $10.7 billion last year.

An unprecedented leak exposed the personal information of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, first lady Kim Hea Kyung, senior aides, bodyguards and journalists accompanying them overseas. The breach, reported by local broadcaster KBS on Monday, exposed sensitive personal information belonging to 168 people aboard the presidential aircraft over a period of about five months, including passport numbers and issue dates. The government has launched an investigation and moved to reissue passports for Lee and the first lady, and the presidential office ordered a sweeping review of security protocols for presidential overseas trips. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry is examining the possibility that the leaked document originated from its protocol office, which is responsible for the presidential aircraft’s passenger list.

Samsung Electronics will use its second semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas, to produce base dies for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AMD and Nvidia, according to South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper, which cited industry sources, in a Reuters report published by WHTC. Construction is due to start formally this month, with the plant having secured orders for its entire output, most of it for AMD. The facility will use 2-nanometer technology and cover about 2.7 million square feet, roughly 1.5 times the size of the first plant, which has a contract with Tesla. Equipment is expected to be installed from February 2029, with mass production in 2030.

The presidents of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, and of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signed in Seoul a memorandum on cooperation in financing nuclear projects to support the participation of South Korean companies in Turkey’s new nuclear power projects. Lee said cooperation on the Sinop plant project, including site assessments and the work of a joint working group, was “progressing smoothly” under the memorandum on nuclear energy cooperation signed in November 2025. The project aims to build Turkey’s second nuclear power plant, on its northern Black Sea coast, with the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation seeking to participate. The two countries also agreed to deepen defense cooperation by expanding joint production and technological cooperation and jointly exploring opportunities for companies from both countries in third-country markets. The governments also signed an agreement on natural resources and mining and plan an intergovernmental channel to diversify critical mineral supply chains. Bilateral trade reached a record US$ 10.7 billion last year, according to Lee, after surpassing US$ 10 billion for the first time in 2023, a decade after the free trade agreement took effect in 2013.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew up a cooperation blueprint in Seoul covering areas from nuclear energy, the defense industry and infrastructure to advanced technologies, biotechnology and energy. “Today, our two countries drew up a blueprint for mutual prosperity across diverse areas,” Lee said. Erdogan called the bilateral relationship a “blood alliance,” recalling Turkey's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. The two countries mark 70 years of diplomatic relations in 2027.

North Korea tested on November 2 a dispersal warhead for a strategic cruise missile, according to state media. The KCNA claimed the middle-sized dispersal warhead can turn a target area of 5 to 6 hectares into ashes, in a November 2 launch that came a day after the cluster-bomb warhead test, amid rising tension with Seoul after a landmine blast wounded three South Korean soldiers at the border.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) delivered the first two FA-50 light combat aircraft to Malaysia under a 2023 contract to supply 18 jets to the Southeast Asian country. The two FA-50M aircraft departed KAI's headquarters in Sacheon on Thursday and arrived at Malaysia's Kuantan Air Base on Sunday.

South Korea is seeking to finalize by the end of this year a comprehensive agreement with the US on relocating jointly used air bases across the country, including facilities in the southwestern city of Gwangju, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it is consulting with the US side to include the temporary relocation of US military facilities inside Gwangju Air Base in the agreement on relocations now under negotiation.

Ukraine has formally denied considering severing diplomatic relations with South Korea in the dispute over the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war, and spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said remarks by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at a parliamentary hearing were a hypothetical response and that both countries are working to avoid further escalation, according to UPI.

A South Korean army staff sergeant died after suffering external injuries at a frontline unit in Cheorwon near the North Korean border on Monday morning, Seoul's Defense Ministry said. A South Korean sergeant was killed on the border with external wounds, as tensions with the North escalate.

North Korea condemned the bilateral Iron Mace exercise, which integrates United States (US) nuclear capabilities with South Korean conventional forces, and vowed to accelerate its nuclear arsenal as an “immutable” policy. In a statement signed by Kim Jong-sik, the country also took aim at the Hoguk, Freedom Flag and Keen Sword exercises, the last a joint US–Japan exercise.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry says it launched a new drone headquarters on Monday and plans to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable combat drones, while accelerating the Korean Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (K-LUCAS) program, according to the Korea Herald.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said South Korea could become a partner in developing the planned Sinop nuclear power station, according to Reuters, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. Erdogan called South Korea an important potential partner in the project and called for broader bilateral cooperation in advanced technologies, defense, logistics and other sectors, according to Yonhap.

United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after a meeting with Group of Twenty (G20) foreign ministers in Atlanta that President Donald Trump remains open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but no meeting has been scheduled. North Korea denounced the combined South Korea–US Iron Mace exercise, which integrates South Korean conventional and US nuclear capabilities. The exercise was a tabletop simulation at the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul, from September 29 to October 2, to deter North Korean threats. Pyongyang said its nuclear deterrence will grow stronger at an ever faster pace.

North Korea’s Missile Administration tested on Saturday a cluster-bomb warhead for tactical ballistic missiles, assessing the warhead’s combat adaptability and power, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Research institutes under the administration said the Standard Type 2 cluster-bomb warhead is capable of turning into ashes a target area of 12 to 13 hectares with its highest-density power, according to KCNA. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday that the missile was fired toward the Yellow Sea from an area around the northwestern county of Chongju, and that, under information sharing with the United States, it tracked relevant activities before the launch and maintained a readiness posture.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard secured a US$269 million contract to build a Landing Ship Medium (LSM) for the US Navy and Marine Corps, according to gCaptain. The deal marks a milestone in the South Korean company's push into US naval shipbuilding. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027, with the program's first vessel scheduled for delivery in 2030.

The United States, South Korea and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to the “complete denuclearisation” of North Korea at a meeting on Friday on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers’ gathering in Atlanta. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi pledged full implementation of Security Council resolutions, according to the US State Department.

Hanwha Defense USA has secured a $269-million-dollar deal to construct a medium landing ship for the US Navy and Marine Corps at its Philly Shipyard, according to the Korea Herald. It is the Hanwha Group's first order to build a new US Navy vessel since it acquired Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania in 2024.

Seoul is seeking a way out of its diplomatic dispute with Kyiv, which began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed in his September 23 address to the United Nations General Assembly the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, a transfer Seoul says it had asked to keep confidential. A senior presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government did not believe it was desirable for the issue to drag on and that discussions were under way to find a way out, according to the Korea Herald. The official also denied that Seoul was tilting toward Moscow, saying relations with Russia operate under international sanctions and restrictions and that the country continues to take part in international efforts to support Ukraine.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States (US) and Japan will meet in the US on Friday to discuss Korean Peninsula issues, economic security cooperation and the response to Pyongyang, officials cited by Yonhap said — the discussion covers the North's latest missile launches and closer Pyongyang-Beijing ties following Kim Jong-un's recent visit to China. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet in Atlanta on Friday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, the Korea Herald reported, as Seoul seeks to manage sensitive issues in its alliance with Washington.

A bipartisan group in the United States House introduced legislation that would streamline the transfer to Ukraine of certain US-origin munitions through South Korea and other allies, according to The Korea Herald. The bill covers 155-millimeter artillery shells, Excalibur extended-range artillery shells and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munitions, according to The Korea Herald.

North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, launched at around 12:30 p.m. local time from the Wonsan area and flew about 250 km, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, according to G1. The South Korean Joint Chiefs said further analysis of other specifications was under way in coordination with the United States, according to Yonhap. The launch came about a week after Seoul proposed holding military talks with Pyongyang, as tensions have heightened since the Sept. 21 land mine blast that injured three South Korean soldiers, Yonhap reported.

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul met on Thursday with his Singaporean and Vietnamese counterparts to discuss expanding defense cooperation, his ministry said, according to the Korea Herald. The ministers agreed to expand cooperation in personnel exchanges, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

Kim Ju-ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is consolidating her status as his designated successor, and Pyongyang is increasingly portraying her as a future military leader, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) in a Thursday statement reported by the Korea Herald.

A South Korean special prosecutor demanded the death penalty on Thursday for ousted president Yoon Suk-yeol, ahead of an appeal court verdict on rebellion charges over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024, the South China Morning Post reported. Yoon is appealing the life sentence handed down in February by the Seoul Central District Court, and the Seoul High Court has yet to set a date for a verdict, according to the Associated Press (AP). South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, effectively maintaining a moratorium on capital punishment, according to the same newspaper.

South Korea and Germany agreed Thursday to upgrade their bilateral ties to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, under which the two countries will deepen cooperation in security and future technology, according to Yonhap.

North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South Korean military said it detected the launches from the Wonsan area at around 12:30 p.m. Japan’s government said the suspected North Korean missile has already fallen, according to Kyodo News.

South Korea’s Supreme Court held a hearing on Tuesday to decide whether to issue a new arrest warrant for jailed former first lady Kim Keon Hee, according to Yonhap. The hearing was set for 2:30 p.m. after special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team requested the warrant for Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the agency reported. Xinhua reported that the court issued an additional arrest warrant for the former first lady.

Pyongyang has sent a letter to the UN Security Council accusing Seoul of fabricating a landmine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers, according to North Korea’s state Korean Central News Agency, as cited by Al Jazeera. The letter was delivered on Sunday by the country’s permanent representative to the UN and describes the incident as “a sinister obstructive move to brand as a ‘military invasion’”, saying that South Korea’s claims are a “farce to evade the responsibility for the ever-escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula”. Last week, South Korea’s foreign ministry had sent a letter to the Security Council president calling on the North to take responsibility for the landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone, the Korea Herald reported. Seoul blames a September 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone on North Korean mines.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crossed into China on Saturday over the new Yalu River bridge, entering the border city of Dandong on an unannounced visit confirmed by South Korea's Unification Ministry, according to the Korea Herald. It is Kim's first trip to China since September 2025, when he attended a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported his arrival in Dandong over the new bridge, according to Kyodo News.

South Korea proposed military talks with North Korea to verify the location of the demarcation line and avoid accidental clashes, according to Kyodo News. The proposal includes confirming the military demarcation line, restoring communication lines and discussing measures against border clashes, after landmine blasts injured three South Korean soldiers, according to the AP, which adds that the South is also open to three-way talks involving the US-led United Nations Command.

South Korea sent a letter to the president of the United Nations (UN) Security Council over last month’s land mine explosion near the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers, according to Yonhap. The letter says the explosion was caused by a land mine planted by North Korean troops and violated the Korean War Armistice Agreement, also according to Yonhap.

North Korea warned that new counter means will stand ready along the entire southern border line and the loudspeakers against South Korea will be ready within days, according to Kyodo News. In a separate statement on Wednesday, the loudspeakers for psychological warfare will be in operation along the whole border by the end of October.

South Korea’s defence ministry urged North Korea to hold urgent military talks to ease frontier tension and prevent accidental military clashes, shortly after Pyongyang severed the cross-border military hotline and declared it will no longer seek dialogue or unification with its foe, TRT World reported. Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said propaganda loudspeakers aimed at the South will be ready to restart within days along the entire border, according to the Guardian. TRT World reported that she also said “our new counter means will get into the alert for duty at all the southern border line” and that the loudspeakers “will be on standby in a matter of days”.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Thursday that North Korea will place anti-South Korea loudspeakers on standby along the entire border “within days” and warned Seoul of “the most horrible and distressing situation” if it continues what Pyongyang calls interference, according to Reuters, in a report published by The Hindu. “Our new counter means will get into the alert for duty at all the southern border line and the loudspeakers against the ROK will be on standby in a matter of days,” she said in a statement carried by state media KCNA. On Wednesday evening, October 21, she had already said the country would activate the loudspeakers across the border by the end of October. South Korea says North Korean mines caused a border blast last month that seriously wounded two soldiers; North Korea denies responsibility, calling the incident a South Korean fabrication.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Wednesday that North Korea had moved new units into “firing positions” at the border, according to AFP, in an article republished by the Kuwait Times. She also said Kim Jong Un had “issued an order to fortify the border with an enemy state to be eternally impregnable”. Jin Yong-sung, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, ordered the military to “respond with firm resolve” if the North used Seoul’s actions as a pretext for aggression.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reiterated Monday that Seoul should retake wartime operational control (OPCON) at an early date, Yonhap reported. The Pentagon told the outlet that the transition “remains a conditions-based process mutually agreed upon by the United States and the Republic of Korea”. US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said that “conditions have changed”, citing North Korea's recent missile launches, and indicated that the change called for new standards for the transfer.

South Korea's foreign ministry said it will withdraw some staff from its embassy in Ukraine amid the dispute over North Korean prisoners of war, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), in a text republished by Arab News — the announcement came more than a week after the South Korean ambassador returned home following President Volodymyr Zelensky's disclosure of the transfer, and President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an official apology, according to the same agency.

South Korea's top military officer ordered troops on Tuesday to sternly respond to any enemy provocations, a day after North Korea threatened to deploy more weapons along the inter-Korean border, according to Yonhap.

Kim Yo-jong said North Korea’s military leadership is considering increasing the deployment of tactical strike means near the entire southern border and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts against South Korea, as “preemptive and suppressive” measures for any contingency, the Korea Herald reported. She accused the South Korean military of 2,870 warning broadcasts and of firing warning shots on 201 occasions between Aug. 1 and Oct. 17. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the warnings are delivered through smaller speakers installed at South Korean guard posts and used for military operations toward North Korea.

South Korea launched on Monday the annual Hoguk exercise, with joint drills with US forces in the country, including joint operations of ground, naval and air forces, as well as opposing-forces operations and simulated combat training, according to Sputnik, citing South Korean television.

South Korea said it is deeply disappointed over Takaichi’s ritual offering to the Yasukuni shrine, according to Kyodo News.

India nearly halved its export duty on diesel for two weeks, according to OilPrice. South Korea kept its price caps on fuel products unchanged for a fourth consecutive period on Friday, amid elevated international oil prices and continued tensions in the Middle East, according to the Korea Herald.

South Korea will continue supporting Ukraine “as a responsible member of the international community,” despite a diplomatic dispute, according to the South China Morning Post. The dispute involves Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public disclosure of the transfer of North Korean prisoners during his UN General Assembly speech on September 23.

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast on Monday, its fourth launch in a month, and one of the types flew more than 900 km after being launched at around 9:20 a.m. local time from near Pyongyang, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited by the Hindustan Times.

South Korea accused North Korea’s government of deliberately laying the land mine that wounded three South Korean soldiers near the inter-Korean border on September 21, according to Opera Mundi. North Korea rejected the accusation and called the case a ploy to shift the blame.

South Korea said it will recall its ambassador to Ukraine, stepping up its protest against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent revelation of a supposedly secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, The Associated Press reported. South Korea has accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement on their transfer in mid-September, but Kyiv has denied agreeing to such a deal.

A Guardian analysis found more than 176,000 tonnes of fuel, mostly diesel, loaded at South Korean ports onto seven tankers that made 14 voyages to Russia’s far east in July and August. South Korea said it would verify the reported shipments and act in accordance with the law if a violation of domestic rules is established.

South Korea said on Monday that a border blast that seriously wounded two of its soldiers was caused by mines planted by North Korea, according to Reuters, in a text republished by WIFC. Seoul says the mine exploded on September 21 and was believed to have been planted about a year ago, and demands an apology and the removal of the mines. On Friday, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said South Korea’s accusation was “groundless” and dismissed the demand for an apology.

North Korea said it launched an intermediate-range missile from the country’s east on Saturday that hit a target 1,000 km out at sea, in a drill overseen by Kim Jong Un, according to The Hindu, in a Reuters report. South Korea’s military said on Saturday it had detected a ballistic missile launch and assessed the missile had flown more than 700 km toward the sea off its east coast. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the drill was intended to train troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapon system and to assess the reliability, efficiency and mobility of the country’s war deterrent.

North Korea said on Saturday it had tested an intermediate-range missile with built-in artificial intelligence, according to G1. In its statement, Pyongyang said the missile was able to change its trajectory on its own at low altitude. South Korea’s armed forces said the launch flew more than 700 kilometres toward the sea off the east coast. According to Kim Yo-jong, sister of the leader, Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the exercise, in a statement cited by Sputnik.

Japan issued an emergency alert on Saturday about the launch of a suspected North Korean ballistic missile, on the day South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired at least one ballistic missile from the Wonsan area, on the peninsula’s eastern coast, towards the sea. The projectile flew more than 700 km, according to the same Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited by the Yonhap news agency.

US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that South Korea would invest up to $200 billion in energy projects across the US, including a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline in Alaska, according to The Hill. According to Yonhap Infomax, he said that if Seoul does not want to take part, he will charge more: “If they don’t want to do it, that’s fine with me. I’ll just charge them more.” And he sent word: “Tell them that if they don’t sign soon, I will double it.” Asked about a premature announcement, Trump said he was not premature because South Korean representatives were present.

Pyongyang said it will not discuss military sovereignty issues with Seoul, ruled out talks on the demarcation of the borderline and once again rejected South Korea’s demand that it apologize for a recent incident where a landmine exploded, according to TASS. On October 2, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young proposed talks on the situation in the demilitarized zone and the division line.

Three South Korean soldiers were injured by mines about 10 meters south of the military demarcation line, according to DW. South Korea accused the North of sowing mines to the south of the line, a breach of the armistice, and demanded an apology, according to DW. The UN Command said it had determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred. The North dismissed the South’s allegations as a self-staged farce, according to DW.

US President Donald Trump announced an $8.4bn oil recovery project under the deal with South Korea, according to Middle East Eye. He provided no location or explanation of how the project would operate, according to Middle East Eye. The deal committed South Korea to investing $350 billion in the United States in return for lower US tariffs, according to Yonhap.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung threatened to take unspecified further action if Ukraine does not issue a public apology for revealing that two North Korean prisoners of war had been sent to the South, according to the BBC. The South Korean president expressed anger at Ukraine over comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a speech at the UN that appeared to reveal a secret deal, according to Al Jazeera. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the situation as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and said Kyiv was working to resolve it, according to the BBC.

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, September 30, $200 billion in South Korean energy investments in the United States, including $54 billion toward a long-discussed liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, according to Le Monde, in a report with Agence France-Presse (AFP). The package includes eight new nuclear plants and a large natural gas-fired plant in Texas supported by the South Korean government, the newspaper said. The investments follow a July 2025 trade deal under which Seoul had agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States and boost its purchases of American energy; the deal set 15 percent tariffs on South Korean goods.

South Korea began demanding a formal apology and “responsible measures” from Pyongyang over the September 21 blast in the western Demilitarized Zone, according to The Guardian. The US-led United Nations Command concluded there was an Armistice Agreement violation, according to Al Jazeera. Kim Yo-jong denied that North Korean soldiers had crossed the border and warned border units would carry out “immediate and merciless retaliation” if South Korean troops fired on Northern soldiers. Three South Korean soldiers were injured in the two blasts, according to Al Jazeera.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korean land mines were the highly likely cause of the September 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which injured three soldiers, according to The Korea Times. North Korea denied the claim on Wednesday, accused Seoul of fabricating the findings and warned of “immediate and merciless” retaliation if its troops are fired upon, according to The Korea Herald.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the US approval for South Korea to build its first nuclear submarine is “a dangerous development” that adds new instability to the region, according to Reuters, in a text republished by The Straits Times. According to the ministry, the move is another demonstration of US nuclear proliferation through the AUKUS pact (Australia, United Kingdom and United States). The statement was published by state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo lodged a formal complaint with Ukraine’s acting ambassador, Andrii Vieshkin, and expressed “strong regret” that President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers, which Seoul says was supposed to be a secret, according to the BBC. Seoul summoned the diplomat after Zelensky announced last week that his government had transferred the two soldiers to Seoul, according to the BBC.

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said on Monday that “appropriate, substantial and corresponding” measures would be taken if the explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is confirmed to have been caused by land mines planted by North Korea. Two South Korean soldiers were severely wounded and a third suffered minor injuries, according to Yonhap. Brig. Gen. Hwang Ju-bong, chief of the ground operations division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a regular press briefing that the command received testimony that what the troops saw was similar to a wooden-box land mine.

South Korea demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine for revealing the transfer of the two North Korean prisoners, expressing “strong regret” over the unilateral disclosure, according to Al Jazeera. Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed at the UN General Assembly that Kyiv transferred the two prisoners, captured in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025.

South Korea’s presidential office demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine for disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, according to the Hindustan Times, in a text from the Reuters feed. Seoul says Ukraine repeatedly asked for secrecy through various channels about the operation. The presidential office said Ukraine’s denial that any confidentiality agreement existed was false and had damaged trust between the two governments, according to Nikkei Asia, citing Reuters.

South Korea’s military and the UN Command opened a joint investigation into a landmine explosion near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, Reuters reported, in a text republished by The Hindu. A team of about 40 officials searched an area near the site of the September 21 blast. Three South Korean soldiers were wounded in the explosion on September 21 while clearing a patrol route in the western sector of the demilitarised zone.

North Korea said South Korea would be a decisive target of collective retaliation if it serves as a hub of the United States collective defense system, in an article by Kang Chol Su, a department director at the Institute of Enemy State Studies, according to TASS, reproducing the North Korean state agency KCNA. The article cites remarks by the commander of the two countries’ forces about Seoul as a collective defense hub, also according to the TASS reproduction.

North Korea confirmed on Tuesday that what South Korea identified as two short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday was a test of a “new combat weapon system,” carried out in the presence of Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim called the test “an unquestionable demonstration of advanced defense technology” and “a clear renewal in the modernization of the armed forces,” and said the country’s adversaries would better understand what the technological advance means militarily, according to the state agency. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff had said the two launches, from the Wonsan area about three hours apart, flew roughly 450 kilometers and more than 600 kilometers. The North did not specify what type of weapon was tested.