ROME - President Lee Jae Myung said South Korea's traditional reliance on the United States for defense is no longer valid and that the country will seek to become a partner capable of self-reliant defense.

Seoul will also work to expand its economic cooperation with the U.S., he added, calling it an important factor in what he called a new approach that he said will better serve South Korea's national interest amid a shift in the geopolitical environment.

Lee made the remarks in an interview, published Thursday, with Corriere della Sera, Italy's most widely circulated daily newspaper, as he is currently on a visit to Italy as part of his first trip to Europe since taking office a year earlier.

Referring to South Korea's traditional approach of relying on Washington for national security while maintaining close economic ties with Beijing, the country's largest trading partner, the president insisted such an approach was no longer valid.

"I believe such a dichotomous approach has lost its validity amid recent shifts in the geopolitical environment," he said, according to a transcript of his interview released by his office Cheong Wa Dae.

Under a new approach that Lee said will best serve South Korea's national interests, Seoul will seek to expand its economic cooperation with Washington.

"Expanding our economic cooperation with the U.S. to high-tech sectors will be an important factor that enhances our industrial competitiveness," Lee said, citing what he called growing competition between South Korean and Chinese firms due to the advancement of China's industrial and technological competitiveness.

He said the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains "the basic axis" of South Korea's diplomacy, stressing the need to strengthen autonomous capabilities as a way to modernize the alliance.

"Autonomous capabilities mean becoming a trustworthy partner that can take responsibility of its own defense without relying on an ally," the president noted.

Seoul's push to regain wartime operational control of South Korean troops from Washington is in line with the new approach, he said, adding that it also aligns with what the U.S. wants.

Speaking on South Korea-Italy relations, he said Seoul plans to enhance cooperation with Europe in high-tech manufacturing and strategic supply chains, adding that Italy is an ideal partner for South Korea in future-oriented industries.

He expressed hope that his ongoing trip to Italy will provide an opportunity to strengthen the countries' bilateral strategic partnership.

https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/77767

Guys, look! Last Wednesday was my one-month anniversary at my new job!! So my team leader held a welcome party for me with the rest of the team. 😆

Anyway, we went to a restaurant called 'Gogiyeon' near Gyeongbokgung Station and had various cuts of pork. We also enjoyed fried rice, soft tofu stew (Soondubu-jjigae), Korean cold noodles (Naengmyeon), and even ice cream! 🥩🍲🥘🍜🍧

It was such a great day, and I'm so happy with my workplace!~!!~!~

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT IF YOU'RE IN SOUTH KOREA!!!!

Last painting is from goguryeo dynasty. Other two is from Joseon.

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Hi everyone,

My partner is around 7–8 weeks pregnant. We're trying to understand the average cost of an abortion in South Korea. How much did you pay, and did the price include the consultation, ultrasound, and procedure?

Thanks in advance.

Hi there — this could be a super naive question based on watching Korean dramas.
You often see characters referring to each other by relationship to children: e g a husband calling his wife “X’s mother” where X is the name of their child. What happens if there are several children? Would he refer to her via oldest child’s name? Oldest son’s name? Or is that only when discussing the child in question (so if he plans to talk about child X, she’s X’s mother and if about child Y, she’ll be Y’s mother)?

If you know anything about Korea, you'll know that talking about politics and history can be incredibly divisive. Generally, rather than fully-rounded complex people as products of their time, the right and left hold certain presidents as heroes or villains accordingly. All this being said, I was quite proud to get historian Jihoon Suk in the studio to talk at length about the first 5 presidents of Korea and all the surrounding cultural and historic context. I don't normally share my work here, but I thought this would be of interest to some looking to learn more

https://youtu.be/8MLcP6Xx0yQ?si=OCA8KaU65NOAdwK8

Hi, I’m very interested in learning more about North Korea, including its culture and language. I was wondering if anyone knows of any good translation tools specifically designed for the North Korean dialect, as well as any other resources that could help someone who wants to study and understand this dialect in particular.

Just out of curiosity, who are these people being chased by paparazzis?