South Korea and Vietnam have pledged to boost annual trade to $150 billion by 2030, signing 10 cooperation deals as new U.S. tariffs disrupt global supply chains.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary To Lam in Seoul on Monday, marking his first state guest since taking office in June. The two leaders avoided public mention of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new levies — 15% on South Korean exports to the U.S. and 20% on Vietnamese goods — but emphasised the need to safeguard bilateral trade and investment.
Vietnam’s trade with South Korea was worth about $86.8 billion in 2024, official figures show. Lam said he welcomed further South Korean investment, noting that some 10,000 Korean companies are already operating in Vietnam. Lee said those firms “contribute to Vietnam’s economic development and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.”
The governments signed 10 memoranda of understanding covering nuclear and renewable energy, finance, science and technology, and infrastructure such as high-speed rail. Lam, addressing Yonsei University in Seoul, urged South Korean firms to expand their presence in Vietnam and warned of the risks from fragmenting supply chains.
He called for joint development of semiconductors and new materials, and for South Korea to help train Vietnamese workers in sectors including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and shipbuilding.
Major South Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, have long used Vietnam as a manufacturing and export hub, benefiting from lower labour costs, tax incentives and Hanoi’s network of free trade agreements. Potential areas for future investment include nuclear energy, LNG power plants and high-speed rail projects, Vietnamese officials said.
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The foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand have told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that they are willing to pursue a ceasefire, as tensions flared along parts of the two countries’ shared border.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s first official visit to Japan marks a notable moment in relations between the two countries, reflecting a shared interest in deepening cooperation.
The United States has suspended the Diversity Visa Lottery programme, commonly known as the Green Card lottery, after a deadly shooting at Brown University.
The European Union is facing mounting political pressure over its ability to keep Russian sovereign assets frozen, as internal divisions, leadership changes and war fatigue reshape decision-making across the bloc.
European Union leaders have agreed to raise up to €90 billion through joint borrowing to support Ukraine’s defence in 2026 and 2027, opting not to use frozen Russian state assets amid legal and political concerns.
Petroleum products are being transported by rail from Azerbaijan to Armenia for the first time in decades. The move is hailed as a tangible breakthrough in efforts to normalise relations between the long-time rivals.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned that attempts to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine are being undermined by Russia’s continued refusal to engage meaningfully in negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a wide-ranging address from the White House in which he sought to highlight what he described as his administration’s achievements while laying the groundwork for his plans for the year ahead and beyond, on Wednesday (18 December).
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held a phone conversation with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil at the latter’s request.
Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile bid on Wednesday (17 December), citing insufficient financing guarantees.
Ford Motor Company said on Monday it will take a $19.5 billion writedown and scrap several electric vehicle (EV) models, marking a major retreat from its battery-powered ambitions amid declining EV demand and changes under the Trump administration.
Iran has rolled out changes to how fuel is priced at the pump. The move is aimed at managing demand without triggering public anger.
U.S. stock markets closed lower at the end of the week, as investors continued to rotate out of technology shares, putting pressure on major indices.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% following its two-day policy meeting, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday, 10 December.
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