Yoon Suk Yeol

Major arms exporter South Korea is not ruling out providing weapons directly to Ukraine, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday, signaling a possible shift in Seoul's stance on the issue.

Yoon also revealed he had discussed North Korea with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump in a phone conversation that laid the groundwork for a meeting in the "near future."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that North Korea's potential deployment of troops to Ukraine in support of Russia would mark a major escalation in the ongoing conflict. He shared this message on the social media platform "X."

South Korea has claimed that North Korea has sent troops to support Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine, which it views as a "serious threat" to global security. The South Korean presidential office, as quoted by Reuters, stated that Seoul will respond with all available measures.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would face the end of his regime if he ever used his isolated country's nuclear weapons against the South, Seoul's president said on Tuesday.

Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will head to Seoul on Sept. 6 for a two-day visit to meet South Korea's leader after the pair worked to significantly boost bilateral ties.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will travel to Washington next week for a NATO summit where he is expected to sound the alarm on Russia and North Korea's recent military cooperation, his administration announced on Friday.

South Korea, the United States and Japan kicked off major new military exercises on Thursday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, as the allies seek to counter growing threats from Pyongyang.

The drills, dubbed "Freedom Edge", will focus on ballistic missile and air defences, anti-submarine warfare and defensive cyber training, among other areas, the JCS said in a statement.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol fully suspended on Tuesday a 2018 tension-reducing military deal with the North in response to a bombardment of trash-carrying balloons sent by Pyongyang last week.

Top leaders from South Korea, China and Japan discussed regional stability in their first meeting in five years on Monday, as they vowed to ramp up three-way cooperation.

South Korea's president reportedly called for a greater Chinese role in addressing concerns about North Korean nuclear threats during a meeting with the visiting Chinese premier on Sunday, on the eve of a trilateral meeting involving Japan's leader.