South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping as he seeks to reset frayed ties with his country's biggest trading partner. Regional security and Beijing's unofficial ban on Korean pop culture are also on the agenda for Monday's meeting, which is their second summit since November, when Xi visited South Korea.

The projectiles, launched off the North Korean east coast, are believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

North Korea on Sunday launched what it claimed to be hypersonic missiles into the Sea of Japan in a firing drill. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who stated that nuclear deterrence is necessary due to the “recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events,

Seoul-based Kiwoom Securities analyst S.J. Park said Monday that Hanwha Aerospace led the local defense stocks' gains because of continued market expectations for the company to secure solid new contract wins from Poland and Middle East countries in dire need of self-propelled K9 howitzers, surface-to-air missiles, and armored vehicles.

The author, a frequent contributor to the Herald and a world traveler, recently went on a 24-day tour of Japan and South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will highlight China’s role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula during a January 4–7 state visit aimed at restoring Seoul–Beijing relations. The visit comes as South Korea seeks balanced diplomacy amid rising regional tensions involving China,