Kurt Campbell picked to guide Biden's Asia policy: report

US President-elect Joe Biden has picked Kurt Campbell, an assistant secretary of state under former President Barack Obama's administration, to lead his Asia policy, including strategy on China, according to a media report on Thursday. The spokesperson of Biden's transition team confirmed Wednesday that Campbell, the former top diplomat for East Asia policy, will be the "coordinator for the Indo-Pacific" on the White House National Security Council, Reuters reported. Campbell is know

Jan. 14, 2021

Outgoing US Amb. Harris says S. Korea, US are 'friends, partners, allies and family'

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris will leave office next week, his spokesperson said Wednesday, a departure that will coincide with the change of government in Washington. Harris, who took office in July 2018, will stay in the ambassadorial post until next Wednesday, and Rob Rapson, the deputy chief of mission, will serve as Charge d'Affaires ad interim until a new envoy arrives, the spokesperson said. In an impassioned message to Korean citizens, Harris stressed that relations between

Jan. 13, 2021

S. Korea, Iran agree to continue talks on ship seizure, frozen assets after little progress

South Korea and Iran will continue talks for the early release of a seized Korean ship and to resolve the issue of Tehran's frozen assets here, Seoul officials said Wednesday, amid little signs of progress on those issues in their recent high-level meetings in Tehran. A South Korean delegation, led by First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, wrapped up its three-day visit to Tehran on Tuesday (Tehran time) as tensions have flared up after Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps seized a South

Jan. 13, 2021

Prospects appear murky for early release of seized S. Korean oil tanker in Iran

The prospects for the early release of a South Korean oil tanker and its sailors seized by Iran appeared murky Tuesday, as Tehran's emphasis on a judicial process over the vessel's alleged oil pollution has dampened Seoul's hope for a diplomatic solution. During his visit to Tehran since Sunday, Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with senior Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, and his

Jan. 12, 2021

Foreign ministry seeks probe into top envoy in Nigeria over alleged unfair hiring

The foreign ministry has filed a complaint with the prosecution seeking a probe into allegations that the South Korean ambassador in Nigeria was involved in the unfair hiring of a former embassy employee, officials said Tuesday. A local newspaper reported that the ministry filed the complaint after finding substantial grounds to believe that Ambassador Lee In-tae gave undue favors to the Korean employee in the course of recruitment in 2019. The embassy staff member in question quit the job aft

Jan. 12, 2021

Seoul, Tehran still deadlocked over seized tanker

South Korea and Iran remain at odds on the issue of a Korean tanker in Iranian custody despite senior diplomats’ efforts to negotiate the release of the vessel, as well as the matter of Iranian funds frozen in Korean banks. 　 Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran to discuss pending bilateral issues on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. 　 Choi’s meeting came days after Iran’s Revol

Jan. 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Vice FM heads to Iran for talks to free seized tanker

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun left for Iran Sunday to seek the release of an oil tanker and its crew that were seized by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf last week. 　 Choi left early Sunday and was to arrive in Tehran via Doha the same day. He is expected to meet with counterparts and other high-level officials at the Iranian Foreign Ministry to negotiate the return of the ship and its crew members, along with a government delegation that has already been in Tehran s

Jan. 10, 2021

New S. Korean envoy to Japan vows efforts to improve ties with Tokyo

Kang Chang-il, South Korea's new ambassador to Japan, vowed Friday to do his utmost to help improve the country's relations with Tokyo amid increased tensions after a local court ordered Tokyo to pay damages to Korean wartime sexual slavery victims. "I hold a tremendous responsibility to normalize the frayed relationship between Korea and Japan. I feel heavyhearted and heavy-shouldered," he told Yonhap by phone, hours after his appointment became official. "I will make every eff

Jan. 8, 2021

S. Korean delegation heads to Iran for talks to free seized tanker

A South Korean government delegation arrived in Iran on Thursday for talks to seek the release of an oil tanker and its crew seized by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf earlier this week. 　 “I plan to meet my counterpart at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, and will meet others through various routes if that will help to resolve the issue of the ship’s seizure,” Koh Kyung-sok, director-general for African and Middle Eastern Affairs at the Foreign Ministry who is leading the dele

Jan. 7, 2021

FM Kang calls for continued intl. support for peace efforts on peninsula

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has called for steadfast international support for South Korea's efforts to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, her office said Thursday. Kang made the remarks during Wednesday's virtual session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a multilateral forum on nuclear arms control issues. "Minister Kang explained our government's efforts for the Korean Peninsula peace process fo

Jan. 7, 2021

S. Korean delegation departs for Iran to negotiate release of seized oil tanker

A government delegation left for Iran on Thursday to negotiate an early release of the South Korean oil tanker and its crew seized by Iranian authorities earlier this week. The delegation, led by Koh Kyung-sok, director-general of the foreign ministry's Africa and Middle Eastern affairs, boarded a plane early Thursday and is set to arrive in Iran via Qatar, foreign ministry officials said. On Monday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seized the MT Hankuk Chemi carrying 20 crewme

Jan. 7, 2021

Seoul considers legal action against Iran after tanker seized

South Korea is considering legal action against Iran after its forces seized a Korea-flagged tanker and its crew, while Tehran insists the issue is “completely technical” on environmental concerns, rejecting allegations it is holding the vessel hostage for its $7 billion in funds frozen in Seoul.   　 The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, in a report submitted to the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said it is preparing legal procedures, checking whether the seizure was d

Jan. 6, 2021

Seoul demands release of S. Korean tanker seized by Iran, sends military

Seoul is scrambling to respond to the seizure of a South Korea-flagged tanker by Iran, sending a Navy unit to the Strait of Hormuz and summoning Tehran’s envoy to Seoul demanding the immediate release of the vessel and its crew. 　   　 South Korea’s Foreign Ministry is to dispatch a delegation to Iran soon for talks to free the tanker and its sailors, while First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun is planning to visit Tehran early next week.　   　 Cheong Wa Dae’s Nati

Jan. 5, 2021

US urges 'immediate release' of Korean tanker from Iran

WASHINGTON -- The US State Department on Monday called on Iran to immediately release a South Korea-flagged tanker it detained. The State Department argued Iran's detention of the South Korean tanker may be part of an attempt to force the international community to remove its sanctions on the country. "The United States is tracking reports that the Iranian regime has detained a Republic of Korea-flagged tanker," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency, referring to South Ko

Jan. 5, 2021

Court ruling on ‘comfort women’ cases imminent

 A South Korean court is set to rule on two lawsuits filed against the Japanese government by Korean women who were forced to work in Japan’s military brothels during World War II, with the decision likely to impact the already fragile state of bilateral relations. 　 The Seoul Central District Court is set to decide Friday on a case filed against the Japanese government by 12 plaintiffs -- Korean victims and victims’ bereaved family members -- demanding 100 million won ($92,50

Jan. 4, 2021

S. Korea condemns deadly airport attack in Yemen

South Korea strongly condemns a terrorist attack presumed to have taken place at a southern airport in Yemen and expresses support for international efforts to end the conflict in the region, the foreign ministry said Monday. "Our government strongly condemns the presumed terrorist attack at the Aden International Airport that occurred at an important juncture in which the agreement on the formation of a new Yemeni government is being implemented," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam

Jan. 4, 2021

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy appeals S. Korean court's asset seizure order

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has appealed a South Korean court's order to seize its assets held in South Korea soon after the relevant legal process to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor took effect late last month, judicial officials said Monday. The public notifications to Mitsubishi Heavy went into force last Tuesday and Wednesday, after the company failed to carry out a 2018 order by the Supreme Court to compensate five plaintiffs, including a 91-year-old victim. The

Jan. 4, 2021

New S. Korean, Japanese envoys expected to take office next month: sources

South Korea and Japan are expected to inaugurate their new ambassadors to Tokyo and Seoul, respectively, next month after they recently endorsed each other's designations, multiple sources said Thursday. Last week, Tokyo gave diplomatic consent to Seoul's designation of Kang Chang-il, a former four-term ruling party lawmaker, while its nomination of Koichi Aiboshi, the current ambassador to Israel, has also been endorsed by Seoul, the sources said. The diplomatic green light came as Seoul seek

Dec. 31, 2020

Foreign Minister Kang hopes NK joins new regional health initiative

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed hope for North Korea to join a new regional cooperative initiative on public health, noting Pyongyang’s participation could lay the foundation for peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.  She made the remarks during the inaugural session of the Northeast Asia Conference on Health Security on Tuesday evening. The forum is based on President Moon Jae-in’s proposal at the United Nations in September to launch a “Nort

Dec. 30, 2020

S. Korea, Japan on smooth course to replace ambassadors, source says

South Korea is expected to get Japan's formal diplomatic consent in the near future for its pick of Kang Chang-il, a former four-term lawmaker, as new ambassador to the neighboring country, an informed source said Tuesday. In late November, President Moon Jae-in picked Kang as Seoul's new top envoy in Tokyo, saying his wide web of Japanese contacts will help improve bilateral relations badly frayed over wartime forced labor and Tokyo's export curbs. But Japanese media reported that some rulin

Dec. 29, 2020