The leaders of the rival Koreas exchanged letters expressing hope for improved bilateral relations, which plummeted in the past three years amid a freeze in nuclear negotiations and North Korea’s accelerating weapons development.  North Korea’s state media said leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday received a personal letter from outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in and replied on Thursday with his own letter appreciating Moon’s peace efforts during his term. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said Friday their exchange of letters showed their “deep trust.” Moon in his letter to Kim acknowledged setbacks in inter-Korean relations but insisted that their aspirational vows for peace during their summits in 2018 and an accompanying military agreement aimed at defusing border area clashes remain relevant as a foundation for future cooperation. Moon also expressed hope for a resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang and for Kim to pursue cooperation with Seoul’s next government led by conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, Moon’s spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen since a series of North Korean weapons tests this year, including its first flight-test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 in March, reviving the nuclear brinkmanship aimed at forcing the U.S. to accept it as a nuclear power and to remove crippling sanctions. Also Read: North Korea tests new weapon bolstering nuclear capability South Korea’s military has also detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground it partially dismantled weeks before Kim’s first meeting with then-President Donald Trump in June 2018, a possible indicator that the country is preparing to resume nuclear explosive tests. Staking his single presidential term on inter-Korean rapprochement, Moon met Kim three times in 2018 and lobbied hard to help set up Kim’s meetings with Trump. But the diplomacy never recovered from the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019 in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korea’s demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Kim has since vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent to counter “gangster-like” U.S. pressure and sped up his weapons development despite limited resources and pandemic-related difficulties. North Korea also severed all cooperation with Moon’s government while expressing anger over the continuation of U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which were curtailed in recent years to promote diplomacy with the North, and Seoul’s inability to wrest concessions from Washington on its behalf. KCNA said Moon wrote in his letter to Kim that he will continue to support efforts for Korean reunification based on their joint declarations for inter-Korean peace issued after their meetings in 2018. Kim and Moon shared views that “inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the (Korean) nation if the (North and the South) make tireless efforts with hope,” KCNA said. South Korea’s next leader could take a harder line toward Pyongyang. Yoon, who takes office May 10, has rejected pursuing “talks for talks’ sake” with North Korea and vowed to bolster Seoul’s alliance with Washington and resume their full-scale military exercises to counter the North’s nuclear threat. Analysts say North Korea is also likely to escalate its weapons demonstrations in coming weeks or months to force a reaction from the Biden administration, which has been focused on Russia’s war on Ukraine and a rivalry with China. Also Read: North Korea fires ballistic missile in extension of testing The administration’s actions on North Korea have so far been limited to largely symbolic sanctions imposed over a series of missile tests this year and offers of open-ended talks that were quickly turned down by Pyongyang’s leadership. There are views in Seoul that Washington is slipping back to the Obama administration’s “strategic patience” policy of ignoring North Korea until it demonstrates seriousness about denuclearization, although that approach was criticized for neglecting a gathering nuclear threat. Biden’s special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, traveled to Seoul this week for meetings with senior South Korean officials and said they agreed on the need for a strong response to counter North Korea’s “destabilizing behavior.” After maintaining a conciliatory tone for years, Moon’s government objected more strongly to North Korea’s weapons tests this year, criticizing Kim’s government for ending its self-imposed suspension of long-range missile testing and urging a return to diplomacy. Seoul has also accused North Korea of destroying South Korean-owned facilities at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort where they ran tours together until 2008. Kim in 2019 called the South Korean facilities there “shabby” and ordered them destroyed, though the work was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.    

Pressure is mounting on South Korean President Moon Jae-in to pardon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, who is back in prison after his conviction in a massive corruption scandal, even though business has rarely looked better at South Korea’s largest company. Lee is just the latest South Korean corporate boss to run his business from behind bars, communicating decisions through visiting company executives. But his imprisonment is causing national handwringing over the future of the technology giant in the country sometimes called the “Samsung Republic.” Many people — from business leaders and editorial writers to even Buddhist monks — have urged Moon to release Lee for the sake of an economy heavily dependent on Samsung’s technology exports. They worry Lee’s imprisonment could compromise Samsung’s speed and decisiveness, hindering its competitiveness in the fast-changing technology business. Lee has been in prison for nearly four months and few expect him to serve his full prison sentence through July 2022. There’s speculation Moon could free him on Buddha’s Birthday, which falls on Wednesday. Read:Samsung Galaxy A72 Full Review: Is it worth buying? There’s also Liberation Day in August, which celebrates Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II. That also has often brought presidential pardons of high-profile politicians and businesspeople. Moon’s office said he will consider both the intensifying competition in the semiconductor market and public feelings about fairness before deciding whether to pardon Lee. Lee runs Samsung as vice chairman. He’s also the country’s richest person. He is serving a 2 1/2-year sentence for bribing then-President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante, who are serving lengthier prison terms, to win government support for a 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates that tightened his control over the corporate empire. Samsung’s latest results suggest it is doing just fine. The company posted a near 50% jump in operating profit and its $58 billion revenue was the highest ever in the first three months of the year. Demand for its mainstay computer memory chips, TVs and other products has surged as the pandemic has forced millions to stay home. And Samsung’s sleek Galaxy smartphones and tablets are the biggest competition for Apple’s iPhones and iPads. Samsung has announced ambitious plans to expand its computer chip manufacturing. Last week it said it will invest 171 trillion won ($151 billion) through 2030 in higher-margin logic chips and its foundry business for contract chipmaking as it expands beyond its dominance in memory chips. The company expects demand for advanced chips to soar in coming years, lifted by emerging technologies such as fifth generation (5G) wireless networks, artificial intelligence and self-driving cars. Still, analysts say Samsung is increasingly falling behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in the race for high-tech chips. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker, TSMC controls 55% of the global foundry business versus Samsung’s 17% share, according to South Korea’s Trade Ministry. Both could be threatened by U.S. efforts to reduce American dependence on Asian supply chains and rebuild the declining U.S. chip industry in response to chip shortages that have hobbled American auto manufacturing in recent months. In a statement to The Associated Press, Samsung said Lee’s role is to “contribute to the company’s overall strategic direction, and make decisions related to the future growth through his insights and global network of business leaders.” The company declined to comment on calls for Lee’s release and also would not say how often company officials are visiting him. “It’s not difficult for Lee to manage the company from prison through his visitors, and it’s not like he had ever run Samsung like an omnipotent king,” said Chung Sun-sup, chief executive of corporate analysis firm Chaebul.com. Even though Lee is the grandson of Samsung’s founder and is the family’s third generation helmsman of the company, important decisions are still weighed by the board, he noted. Read:Facing $11B tax bill, Samsung heirs donate mass art trove “But who knows what Samsung is missing when Lee isn’t visiting business sites or traveling abroad for new opportunities?” he said. Lee’s imprisonment comes at a time when Samsung should be pushing for a major reshaping of its semiconductor business, said Lee Seung-woo, a senior analyst at Seoul-based Eugene Investment and Securities. Samsung’s rise as a global technology powerhouse drew from its dual strength in parts and finished products. But that’s proving a disadvantage in its competition with TSMC as major clients like Apple shift orders to TSMC to avoid relying on chips manufactured by a competitor. Samsung should be considering bold moves, such as splitting its foundry business into a separate company and listing it on the U.S. stock market to ease the concern of clients, Lee said. “Lee Jae-yong clearly has a role to do,” he said. “Lee could be meeting (Apple CEO) Tim Cook asking Apple to invest in the new foundry company.” Samsung’s daily operations are mainly handled by co-CEOs who each lead its semiconductor, smartphones and consumer electronics divisions. Samsung reaped robust profits during Lee’s earlier stints in jail, in 2017 and 2018, when it finalized a deal to acquire American auto electronics firm Harman. That assuaged jitters about a possible void in decision making. Legal troubles have long dogged the company. Lee’s late father, its former chairman Lee Kun-hee, received suspended sentences in 1996 and 2008 for crimes including bribery and tax evasion. The scandal that snagged Lee Jae-yong again underscored traditionally cozy ties between “chaebol,” or South Korea’s family-owned conglomerates, and the government. Park was ousted and jailed in 2017 following months of protests by millions. Moon has been sidestepping the pardon issue for months, having taken office vowing to curb the excesses of chaebol families after winning the presidential by-election following Park’s ouster. South Korea has long been lenient toward white-collar crimes, letting convicted tycoons run their businesses from prison. Officials say that’s best for the economy even though the crimes committed by chaebol bosses usually put their personal interests ahead of corporate concerns. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won held nearly 1,800 meetings with his lawyers and other visitors in 17 months through July 2014 while serving a four-year prison term for embezzlement and other crimes, according Justice Ministry comments to lawmakers. Read:Samsung reports profit jump driven by strong chip deman Hyundai Motor Corp. reportedly set up a “liaison office” nearby to receive guests and staff visiting its former chairman Chung Mong-koo after he was arrested in 2006 on charges of embezzling company funds to bribe officials. Chey and Chung received presidential pardons, as did Lee’s father. The calls for Lee’s release show Samsung still holds excessive influence, said Park Sang-in, a professor of public enterprise policy at Seoul National University. He believes pardoning Lee would damage public trust. “Was there ever a time when pardoning a chaebol boss really helped a company or the Korean economy? No, not even once,” Park said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday condemned the violent crackdown on protests in Myanmar and called for the release of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that he could push for exemptions of U.N. sanctions placed on North Korea as a way to achieve an expansion of inter-Korean ties that he says would help restart nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.

The leaders of South Korea and China said Monday that they look forward to improved ties following a protracted disagreement over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system that Beijing considers a threat.