https://www.scmp.com/rss/522481/feed The latest news and top stories on Chang Yong-seok. Known for his expertise in Korean unification, he is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University. Dr Chang holds a doctorate in comparative politics from Sungkyunkwan University. His extensive career includes significant roles within the South Korean government, such as assistant director of North Korea-related Intelligence Analysis at the National Intelligence Service, Secretary... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea is bracing for prolonged US tariff pressure after last week’s emergency talks in Washington failed to yield a breakthrough, exposing the growing uncertainty that has come to define trade ties under US President Donald Trump. Korean Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan returned home empty-handed on Sunday after two rounds of meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, fuelling concern in Seoul that negotiations could drag on until the US midterm elections later this year. Trump... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342130/tariff-pain-looms-south-korea-after-us-talks-hit-deadlock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342130/tariff-pain-looms-south-korea-after-us-talks-hit-deadlock?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea is watching with mounting alarm as tensions between China and Japan escalate over the Taiwan Strait, a development that threatens to test Seoul’s pragmatic diplomacy and its balancing act between Beijing and Washington, observers warn. The dispute is unfolding just as Seoul has worked to stabilise long-strained relations with both regional powers, raising fears that renewed rivalry could force South Korea into unwelcome geopolitical crossfire, they add. Analysts say the flare-up is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333739/china-japan-row-escalates-south-korea-fears-being-dragged-unwanted-flare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333739/china-japan-row-escalates-south-korea-fears-being-dragged-unwanted-flare?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 02:30:16 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Washington’s approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines has become a turning point in the alliance, analysts say, one that is already pushing Seoul towards a more explicit role in the United States’ broader Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China. As the US military reframes the region around a “strategic triangle” linking South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, observers say Washington has begun naming its price for its endorsement of the submarine project – pressing Seoul to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333124/nuclear-submarines-deal-south-korea-falling-too-far-us-indo-pacific-embrace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333124/nuclear-submarines-deal-south-korea-falling-too-far-us-indo-pacific-embrace?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:24 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee has again made headlines after revelations that she sat on a royal throne during a private palace visit – triggering ridicule that she must have fancied herself a queen, given her oversized influence over her husband. Kim reportedly sat on the throne during a private tour of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal compound of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), while accompanied by government officials in 2023. Professor Lee Jun-han of Incheon National... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330003/south-koreas-former-first-lady-draws-outrage-sitting-royal-throne?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330003/south-koreas-former-first-lady-draws-outrage-sitting-royal-throne?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 03:10:16 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong A plan to construct South Korea’s first civic nuclear bunker in the country’s capital has raised eyebrows, as critics question both its practicality and potential to inflame public anxiety amid growing threats from the nuclear-armed North. Seoul Metropolitan Government’s plan reflects both the growing unease over Pyongyang’s advancing nuclear arsenal and broader global instability, analysts say. City officials have confirmed that the underground fallout shelter will be built beneath a new public... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3328962/seoul-build-its-first-public-nuclear-fallout-shelter-north-koreas-threats-grow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3328962/seoul-build-its-first-public-nuclear-fallout-shelter-north-koreas-threats-grow?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:39:01 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea, Japan and the United States will hold a trilateral military drill this month, in what analysts describe as a display of allied cohesion led by Washington to counter the perceived show of solidarity by regional rivals. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday that the “multi-domain” exercise, known as Freedom Edge, would take place in international waters east and south of Jeju Island from September 15 to 19. “The drills are an annual exercise aimed at responding to North... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324466/south-korea-japan-us-bolster-first-island-chain-defence-freedom-edge-drills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324466/south-korea-japan-us-bolster-first-island-chain-defence-freedom-edge-drills?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:08:16 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong The United States has urged South Korea to “modernise” their bilateral military alliance and ensure a timely response to threats from Pyongyang and beyond the peninsula, in comments seen as pressuring Seoul to shoulder a greater security burden. US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander General Xavier Brunson, in his first press conference with local reporters since taking command in December, said modernising the bilateral military alliance was essential to keep it “ready, relevant and able” to respond... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321635/us-pressures-south-korea-redefine-alliance-pivot-away-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321635/us-pressures-south-korea-redefine-alliance-pivot-away-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong The Korean peninsula has once again become a fulcrum of global anxiety, as South Korea grapples with intensifying pressure from its US ally to take sides in Washington’s deepening rivalry with China, all while North Korea rattles its sabres on Seoul’s doorstep. Analysts warn that Seoul must tread this delicate geopolitical tightrope with unequalled agility to avoid being drawn into a major-power confrontation. “As tensions escalate between superpowers, South Korea must retain strategic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320497/shrimp-among-whales-south-korea-faces-us-vs-china-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320497/shrimp-among-whales-south-korea-faces-us-vs-china-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 00:00:15 +0000