Other, Policy & regulation, International
432 storiesSouth Korea's Lee orders CPTPP talks restarted from the beginning amid farm concerns
President Lee Jae-myung instructed at a cabinet meeting on Oct 6 that the government should not fix a conclusion on joining the CPTPP and should “restart dialogue from the beginning,” saying the pact's strategic value is cited alongside ver…
Trump says a phone call with Putin is planned “very soon”
US President Donald Trump said a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned and will take place “very soon”. Trump gave no date or agenda. Russian outlets carried the announcement without reporting any Kremlin comment o…
EU ambassadors agree 22nd sanctions package targeting over 1,500 Russian entities
EU ambassadors agreed on a 22nd sanctions package against Russia that adds more than 1,500 individuals and legal entities to the bloc's lists, according to European media cited by Interfax and TASS. Interfax said the bulk of the measures ta…
South Korea: North Korean mines south of MDL breached armistice, minefield cleared
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded that a Sept. 21 landmine explosion on the western DMZ was caused by a North Korean mine placed about 10 metres south of the Military Demarcation Line, an armistice violation, and the military re…
NATO Military Committee members hold talks in Kyiv, Russian outlets report
Members of the NATO Military Committee held talks in Kyiv on Wednesday, according to reports carried by Russian outlets citing the Italian agency ANSA. TASS said the committee “secretly” visited Ukraine, and that its chairman, Italian Admir…
Army study found ICE shock gloves cause pain, compliance and fear, AP reports
A previously unreleased Army study found that shock gloves now purchased by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement caused intense pain, immediate compliance and fear of further shocks during a 2024 military exercise. Records obtained by t…
Lavrov takes part in CIS foreign ministers' council meeting in Turkmenistan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is taking part in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS countries on 7 October. The meeting is being held in Avaza, a centre on the Caspian Sea coast near the city of Turkmenbashi in…
S. Korea farm minister says minor farmland survey violations won't be punished
Agriculture minister Song Mi-ryung told a parliamentary audit on Oct 7 that most ordinary, customary violations found in the government's full farmland survey would not be punished, and that the government has no plan or reason to confiscat…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
FT: EU weighs universal corporate levy to raise taxes on US tech giants
The European Commission is considering a new mechanism to raise more tax revenue from large US technology companies without singling them out as a separate category, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Under discussion is …
Korea's top individual tax delinquent Kwon Hyuk to pay 393.8 billion won
The National Tax Service said on Oct 7 that Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Sido Group and the country's largest individual tax delinquent, has submitted a plan to pay his personal back taxes of 393.8 billion won in full, 15 years after the tax was …
Ukraine criticizes South Korea over reported diesel shipments to Russia
Ukraine's presidential office sanctions adviser, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, publicly criticized South Korea over a Guardian report that seven tankers carried more than 176,000 tonnes of petroleum products, mostly diesel, from South Korean ports to …
Land minister says Gangnam, Yongsan home prices have turned negative
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon told a National Assembly audit on Oct 7 that home prices in Seoul's Gangnam three districts and Yongsan have turned negative, and said price growth should ease with the market stabili…
Japan protests China spokesperson's untitled mention of PM Takaichi
Japan's Foreign Ministry said it lodged a representation with China after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson referred to Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae by name without her title at a press conference in late September. Foreign Ministry …
India proposes three-point ceasefire plan for Russia-Ukraine, Hindustan Times reports
India has proposed a three-point ceasefire plan between Russia and Ukraine, according to Hindustan Times, as relayed by Russian outlets. The plan calls for an end to strikes on energy facilities and other infrastructure, an end to attacks o…
Kremlin says Putin-Trump phone call not yet arranged, would be set up quickly
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a new telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has not yet been substantively arranged, but that it would be agreed promptly if Washington takes the initiative. Peskov was commentin…
South Korea weighs ending military service exemptions for athletes and artists
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on October 6 that it is considering tightening or abolishing the military service exemption granted to athletes and artists, after some Asian Games gold medalists said exemption mattered more to them than…
Kremlin says Europe obsessed with militarising EU, Russia ‘on guard’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarising the EU and turning it from an economic union into a military bloc, calling that path a dead end. He said Russia is ‘on guard’ and is monitoring those plan…
US presses Russia to disclose details of suspected plague pathogen leak at Irkutsk lab
The Trump administration is urging Russia to release more information about a suspected plague pathogen leak at a research institute in Irkutsk, saying it cannot set its response level without the facts. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sa…
Korea to factor Korean proficiency into student visas, tighten screening
South Korea’s Justice Ministry announced plans to weigh Korean-language ability across its foreign student visa system, exempting students with TOPIK level 4 or social integration programme stage 4 from proving financial capacity. Universit…