Korea, Kazakhstan agree to boost ties in Seoul summit

President Moon Jae-in and visiting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan on Tuesday held summit talks and pledged to further expand the strategic partnership between the countries. The Kazakh president arrived in Seoul on Monday for a two-day state visit, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also a return visit for Moon’s visit to the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan in 2019. “This is the first state visit since

Aug. 17, 2021

Last remaining S. Koreans leave Afghanistan: foreign ministry

All of four last-remaining South Koreans in Afghanistan, including the country's ambassador, have left the country, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. A plane carrying the four -- three diplomats and one civilian -- departed from the Kabul airport at around 9 a.m. (Seoul time) and is expected to land in a third country in the Middle East, the ministry said. The three embassy officials, including Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, had stayed behind in Afghanistan even after all other embassy staff evacua

Aug. 17, 2021

Vice FM Choi meets Moroccan FM on bilateral cooperation

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has met Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to discuss bilateral ties and cooperation in trade, development, health and other areas during his trip to the African country, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Choi was in Morocco on Sunday and Monday in the first leg of his Africa trip, which includes Senegal and Nigeria, to cement the two countries' partnership ahead of the 60th anniversary next year of the establishment of bilateral relations. Dur

Aug. 17, 2021

Kazakh president arrives in S. Korea to become first foreign leader to visit amid pandemic

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in South Korea on Monday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit here in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He embarked on the two-day state trip at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in, during which they are scheduled to hold summit talks. He was greeted by South Korea's Commerce Minister Moon Sung-wook at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. He is the first Kazhak president to travel to South Korea in five years. In their s

Aug. 16, 2021

S. Korea protests Japan's repeated claims to Dokdo in defense white paper for children

South Korea strongly protested Japan's renewed claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its newly created defense white paper for elementary and junior high school students, the foreign ministry said Monday. Lee Sang-ryeol, the director-general for Asia Pacific affairs, and Kim Yong-gil, minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, lodged a protest to Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and Taisuke Mibae, deputy director-general of the Japan

Aug. 16, 2021

Moon sends condolences to earthquake-hit Haiti

President Moon Jae-in sent a condolence letter to Haiti's leader Monday over massive damage from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the message to Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Moon expressed his sympathy for the people of the Caribbean country and hope for an early recovery from the damage. He added that the South Korean government will take active part in the international community's efforts to provide emergency assistance, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-me

Aug. 16, 2021

South Korea temporarily closes embassy in Afghanistan and evacuates staff

South Korea temporarily shut its embassy in Afghanistan on Sunday and evacuated most of its diplomatic personnel to a third country in the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.   　 The decision was made amid surging chaos and uncertainty, as Taliban forces entered the capital city Kabul and effectively took control of Afghanistan on Sunday, after US-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Many countries have temporarily closed diplomatic missions and have been scrambling

Aug. 16, 2021

Moon leaves door open for dialogue with Japan

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday reiterated Korea was open to dialogue with Japan but no specific offers were made, signaling no immediate breakthrough in the strained relationship between the two neighbors. “Our government has always kept the door open for dialogue to jointly respond not only to our two countries’ pending issues but also threats facing the world, including COVID-19 and the climate crisis,” the president said in a speech marking the 76th anniversary of Korea&rs

Aug. 16, 2021

US envoy for N. Korea expected to visit Seoul this week

Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, is expected to visit Seoul later this week, fanning speculations of a possible trilateral session among Seoul, Washington and Moscow.  Kim is expected to arrive here on Saturday for a four-day stay, about two months after his first visit in June, local media outlets reported on Monday.  During Kim’s stay, Russia’s nuclear envoy, Igor Morgulov, could also visit Seoul, raising possibility of a trilateral session with

Aug. 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon orders all-out efforts for safe evacuation of Koreans from Afghanistan

President Moon Jae-in instructed his government Monday to do its best for the safe evacuation of South Korea's diplomatic officials and residents in Afghanistan. He told relevant authorities to make all-out efforts so that every single South Korean national there can be evacuated to safety, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The president has been receiving real-time reports on recent security situations in the nation, where the Taliban has taken control, she added. Moon

Aug. 16, 2021

S. Korea decides to temporarily close Afghan embassy, evacuates most diplomatic staff

South Korea has decided to temporarily close its embassy in Afghanistan and evacuated most of its diplomatic staff to a third country in the Middle East, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The decision came as the Taliban militant group reportedly entered the Afghan capital of Kabul and sought a "peaceful transfer of power" over the weekend, just weeks before the US completes the pullout of its troops to end nearly 20 years of war. A few embassy personnel, including the ambassador, re

Aug. 16, 2021

Harvard professor Ramseyer denies Japanese military's forced mobilization of comfort women

NEW YORK/SEOUL -- A Harvard professor has claimed that Japan did not force Korean and other women into sexual slavery during World War II, renewing his much-denounced claims that the victims were actually prostitutes. J. Mark Ramseyer of the Harvard Law School made the claim in the preface to a recently published book on the victims, saying Japan's military did not need to forcibly mobilize what he characterized as prostitutes and had little room to do so. Authored by Tetsuo Arima, a social sc

Aug. 15, 2021

S. Korea voices deep regret over Suga's offerings, other leaders' visits to Yasukuni

South Korea on Sunday expressed deep regret over Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's sending of offerings and other leader's visits to Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of World War II. "The government voices its deep disappointment and regret over Japanese leaders repeating the sending of offerings and visits to Yasukuni Shrine that beautifies Japan's past war of aggression and enshrines war criminals," Choi Young-sam, foreign ministry spokesperson, s

Aug. 15, 2021

Foreign ministry summons Japanese diplomat over Yasukuni visit by defense minister

The foreign ministry called in a senior Japanese diplomat on Friday to protest Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi's visit to a war shrine in Tokyo seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Lee Sang-ryeol, director general for Asia Pacific affairs, lodged a stern protest when he met with Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, the ministry said in a release. Kishi, along with Yasutoshi Nishimura, economic and fiscal policy minister, visited the controver

Aug. 13, 2021

S. Korea extends advisory against overseas travel amid pandemic

The foreign ministry on Friday extended the special advisory against overseas travel for another month, citing the continued spread of the coronavirus pandemic and virus variants. The advisory, effective until Sept. 13, calls for South Koreans not to go abroad unless the trip is essential, and for those staying outside of the country to take extra precautions for safety. The measure can be extended again. The extension takes into account the importance of citizens refraining from overseas trav

Aug. 13, 2021

S. Korea, US join hands to bolster multilateralism

South Korea and the United States on Friday agreed to join forces in reinforcing multilateralism and resolving other pending global trade issues. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a virtual meeting with his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, to discuss ways to cope with the changing global trade environment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, the two officials vowed to make efforts to restore the multilateral trade regime by normalizing the function of the G

Aug. 13, 2021

S. Korea raises travel alert for Ethiopia's South Wollo, East Gojjam

South Korea on Thursday raised the travel alert for two areas in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region amid escalating armed clashes in the country, recommending citizens cancel or delay plans to travel there. The foreign ministry issued the Level 3 travel alert for South Wollo and East Gojjam -- the second highest in the four-tier system, which asks citizens to cancel their travel plans and those already in the areas to move to safe places. The ministry said that it would continue to review whet

Aug. 12, 2021

Pandemic demands revamped, inclusive international order

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the fragility of the US-led liberal international order, says professor John Ikenberry of Princeton University, but the world should rebuild the system and improve it. Ikenberry, a prominent US scholar whose focus is the liberal international order, acknowledged that the liberal order had been “breaking up” for years and said the pandemic had revealed the system’s limits and the need for international cooperation. “But it’s no

Aug. 12, 2021

Kazakh president to visit Seoul next week

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will make a two-day state visit to Seoul next week, marking the first presidential visit to the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday. Kazakhstan, the largest economy in Central Asia, is one of the key partners in the nation’s New Northern Policy, which seeks to strengthen cooperation with Central Asian countries under a vision of peace and prosperity in Eurasia. The Kazakh president is expe

Aug. 12, 2021

Court rules against forced Korean labor victim in suit against Japan's Mitsubishi Materials

A South Korean court on Wednesday ruled against a victim of forced wartime labor in Japan in a damages suit launched against Japan's Mitsubishi Materials Corp. The Seoul Central District Court ruled against the surviving family of the late victim, surnamed Lee, who demanded 100 million won (US$87,000) from Mitsubishi Materials for the late Lee's forced labor in Japanese coal mines from 1941 to 1945. Lee claimed that he was forced to work in Japanese coal mines during those five years. The surv

Aug. 11, 2021