S. Korea repatriates 6 N. Koreans rescued at sea across eastern maritime border
A wooden boat carrying them, all fishermen, crossed the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, at around 9 a.m., according to an official at South Korea's unification ministry.
The boat headed on its own toward two North Korea ships waiting on the other side, and the three ships subsequently moved northward, the official said.
In May, South Korea rescued four North Koreans aboard a ship who had drifted into the South Korean side of the East Sea, following a similar case in March in which two North Koreans were rescued in the Yellow Sea. All of them expressed a wish to go back to the North.
Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam has cited humanitarian grounds as he reaffirmed the plan to return them safety and promptly earlier this week. All of them reportedly expressed a wish to go back to their home country. (Yonhap)
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![[Editorial] Golden hour](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
32 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Golden hour
US to impose tariffs from Aug. 1; Summit desirable to finish a deal The United States will start imposing 25 percent tariffs on all South Korean products on Aug. 1, US President Donald Trump said in a letter addressed to President Lee Jae Myung on Monday. Trump sent tariff letters to 14 countries, first releasing the letters to South Korea and Japan on his Truth Social platform. He seems to have disclosed tariff letters to the two countries first because of their large trade surpluses with the US — $66 billion for South Korea and $69.4 billion for Japan. Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2. The tariffs took effect on April 9, but he placed a 90-day pause on them that same day to allow time for negotiations. The pause was to expire Tuesday, but Trump signed an executive order Monday extending to Aug. 1 the deadline for negotiations. President Lee dispatched national security adviser Wi Sung-lac and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo to Washington for negotiations, but they failed to draw any agreements on tariffs before the first pause expired. But it is fortunate that the enforcement of the 25 percent tariff was put off to Aug. 1. Trump hinted at opportunities for additional negotiations. "These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country," he said in the letter. The Lee government's task now is to reduce tariffs as much as possible through intensive negotiations for about three weeks. However, Trump drew a line, saying in the letter, "We will charge Korea a Tariff of only 25% ... separate from all Sectoral Tariffs." This is ominous for South Korea, which hopes for tariff exemptions and low tariffs for its major export items. Trump said in the letter, "We ... have concluded that we must move away from these longterm, and very persistent, Trade Deficits engendered by Korea's Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers." With Trump having mentioned Korea's nontariff policies, responses to this issue have become urgent. The US has complained of Korea's ban on imports of US beef from cattle aged 30 months or older, its move to enact digital platform regulations that the US claims would discriminate against Big Tech firms and its negative stance on Google's request for permission to transfer high-precision map data of South Korea for use in its mapping services. Korea must elaborate on its logic of refutation, such as the need to protect domestic tech firms and concerns about national security — and it must present alternatives. Washington has turned up the trade pressure on Seoul. However, there have been few top-level contacts to deal with the trade issues, barring a singular phone conversation between Lee and Trump. Korea's top security adviser Wi met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, but they failed to nail down a US-Korea summit. Trump tends to handle matters in a direct, top-down style. It is desirable to have eleventh-hour negotiations in the form of a summit before reciprocal tariffs take effect. Cooperation in the shipbuilding industry and a defense spending increase could be good leverage to gain tariff reductions. A summit should be held before Aug. 1, but time is running out. Diplomacy from Lee is required more than ever. Separately from pushing for a summit with Trump, he could try phone talks with him. The remaining 22 days are a golden hour in negotiations. Trump highlighted on Tuesday that there will be no deadline extensions. "TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change," Trump wrote on Truth Social, a day after he sent the tariff letters to Korea, Japan and a dozen other trading partners. Considering the weight of exports in Korea's economy, the impact of tariffs will be severe. If Korea-US negotiations fall apart and South Korea is slapped with 25 percent levies as notified, it could flounder in a swamp of zero or minus growth. All-out diplomatic efforts are needed.
Korea Herald
9 hours ago
- Korea Herald
S. Korea proposes trade, security package deal in tariff talks with US
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Korea Herald
10 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Russian foreign minister to visit North Korea this week in latest sign of expanding ties
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to North Korea for a three-day visit beginning Friday in the latest sign of the countries' deepening ties during Russia's war in Ukraine, state media reported. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Lavrov was invited by the country's Foreign Ministry but did not immediately provide further details, including whether he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Lavrov's visit follows a June trip by Russia's top security official, Sergei Shoigu , who met Kim in Pyongyang before saying the North had decided to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region to help rebuild the war-torn area. An assessment by South Korea's spy agency said the dispatch will take place as early as during July or August. Kim has sent thousands of combat troops and large supplies of military equipment to help prolong Russia's war efforts against Ukraine , including artillery and ballistic missiles. The North Korean announcement came as Lavrov was headed to Malaysia for a meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Some South Korean analysts say Lavrov may discuss arranging a visit by Kim to Russia. Lavrov last visited North Korea in June 2024, when he accompanied President Vladimir Putin to a summit with Kim in Pyongyang. The leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement pledging mutual aid if either country faces aggression. Pyongyang and Moscow both denied North Korean involvement in the war in Ukraine until April, when they simultaneously acknowledged North Korean soldiers had fought alongside Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region. The two countries have not disclosed how many North Korean soldiers were deployed in Russia, but South Korea, US and Ukraine officials said North Korea sent about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia in the fall of last year. South Korea said North Korea deployed about 3,000 to 4,000 additional soldiers to Russia earlier this year. US, South Korean and Japanese officials have expressed concerns that Kim could seek major technology transfers from Russia in return, which would potentially enhance the threat posed by his military nuclear program.
