Moon’s ‘telephone diplomacy’ continues in wake of pandemic

President Moon Jae-in continued telephone conversations with foreign leaders on Tuesday, in a sign of the bolstered profile of the country amid the deepening global COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, he spoke with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and President Andrzej Duba of Poland, continuing the series of telephone conversations. Moon has spoken with leaders of 19 countries since Feb. 20, when he held a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The other leaders include

April 7, 2020

Cheong Wa Dae still seeks Xi Jinping's 'early visit' to S. Korea: official

South Korea said Tuesday it is continuing consultations with China on an "early visit" here by President Xi Jinping, dismissing a news report that the two sides have retracted a related accord amid the prolonged coronavirus outbreak. Xi has agreed to travel to South Korea in the first half of the year for talks with President Moon Jae-in. The exact schedule has not been announced yet. The Chosun Ilbo, a major Seoul-based daily, reported that Xi would postpone the trip to the latter

April 7, 2020

Peru seeks S. Korea's coronavirus test kits: Cheong Wa Dae

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra said Monday his country is in urgent need of South Korea's coronavirus test kits and pledged to make every effort for the health and safety of South Koreans there, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Speaking over the phone with President Moon Jae-in for about 20 minutes, Vizcarra said Peru is suffering "the most difficult situation" in fighting the virus, and a tougher road may lie ahead. Citing South Korea's quarantine-related decisions, he said, "We

April 6, 2020

Chinese visitors avoid South Korea amid virus crisis

Chinese travelers were totally absent from South Korean airports Saturday, amid toughened entry restrictions due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. 　 According to immigration data released by the Justice Ministry, not a single Chinese national went through immigration for the first time in 28 years. The two countries established bilateral relations in August 1992. 　 The average number of Chinese entering Korea per day was around 15,000 until January, when it began declining. It reached 464 on

April 6, 2020

Taiwanese woman deported for refusing to stay at quarantine facility

A Taiwanese woman has been deported from South Korea after refusing to stay at a quarantine facility, the justice ministry said Monday, reflecting the government's "zero-tolerance" approach against quarantine violators as infections here continue to rise. The woman, whose identity was withheld, was deported to Taiwan late Sunday after she disagreed with paying expenses to stay at a government-designated quarantine facility, according to the Ministry of Justice. To contain imported c

April 6, 2020

Some Koreans online criticize Vietnam‘s request for cooperation in virus fight

Critical comments online are accumulating after Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposed bilateral cooperation to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic with President Moon Jae-in on Friday. In phone talks with Moon, Phuc proposed coordination in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Vietnamese leader told Moon that South Korea’s diagnostic testing on the coronavirus is drawing global attention as a model, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Phuc also

April 4, 2020

S. Korea, Germany vow cooperation in fighting coronavirus

South Korea shared its experience in fighting the coronavirus pandemic with Germany via a teleconference on Friday, Seoul's foreign ministry said. During the two-hour session, South Korean officials explained the country's anti-virus program, characterized by fast tracking, testing, quarantine and treatment, on the back of its advanced medical and communications infrastructure. The nation's containment efforts have recently gained international recognition due to a slowdown in new COVID-19

April 3, 2020

S. Korean diplomat charged with sexual assault in New Zealand: report

A New Zealand court has issued an arrest warrant for a South Korean diplomat on charges of sexual assault, a media report said Friday. The diplomat is suspected of assaulting a staff member at the South Korean Embassy in Wellington three times in late 2017, according to the New Zealand Herald. The warrant was issued on Feb. 28. The diplomat denied any wrongdoing during the embassy's internal probe, the report said. He left the embassy in 2018 and is now working as consul general in an Asia

April 3, 2020

Officials from S. Korea, Germany to hold videoconference on coronavirus response

South Korean officials will hold a videoconference with their German counterparts Friday to share the country's experience in battling the new coronavirus, a foreign ministry official said. The session, set to begin at 5 p.m. (Korea time), comes after the German government voiced hope to send a delegation to take a first-hand look at South Korea's containment efforts, which have recently gained international recognition due to a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases and a relatively low fatality rate.

April 3, 2020

Defense cost-sharing deal still ongoing: US official

Despite earlier reports that a defense cost-sharing deal between South Korea and the US was imminent, a senior US official said Friday the negotiations are still ongoing and reiterated a call for an “equitable” agreement.  “What I can tell you right now is that we are still in talks with each other -- my colleagues in my bureau and then of course at the ministerial level and higher,” R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military, said in a b

April 3, 2020

Vice FM calls for 'criteria' to allow essential business trips despite coronavirus spread

Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young expressed hope Friday for international efforts to craft "criteria" to allow essential trips by entrepreneurs or other entrants despite the spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. Cho's remarks came during a weekly conference call with his counterparts from six countries, including the United States and Japan, as many countries have banned the entry of foreigners and tightened border controls to stop any influx of COVID-19. "

April 3, 2020

S. Korea implements order to restrict foreigners' activities over coronavirus

South Korea's justice ministry said Friday it has implemented an administrative order that restricts the scope of activities for all foreign arrivals for the first time over the new coronavirus pandemic. The restriction order has begun to apply to all foreign entrants who have arrived in South Korea since Wednesday as the government is struggling to curb imported cases of COVID-19. A justice minister can issue an order to limit the scope of activity for foreigners when there is a need to keep

April 3, 2020

Some 100 S. Koreans to return home from coronavirus-hit Morocco

About 100 South Koreans returned home from coronavirus-hit Morocco on Friday on a special flight that the North African nation arranged to transport medical items from South Korea. Morocco had originally planned to send a cargo plane to South Korea to pick up the medical supplies related to COVID-19, but King Mohammed VI agreed to switch to a passenger jet at Seoul's request so as to help South Koreans in the country return home, officials said. The Royal Air Maroc plane carrying 105 people,

April 3, 2020

S. Korean, Danish leaders vow cooperation on coronavirus: Cheong Wa Dae

The leaders of South Korea and Denmark had phone talks Thursday on the coronavirus pandemic and a postponed international summit on climate change, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the conversation with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President Moon Jae-in emphasized the importance of international coordination to terminate the COVID-19 outbreak at an early date, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Moon reaffirmed Seoul's willingness to share its relevant experience and clinical

April 2, 2020

2nd S. Korean chartered flight brings home 205 nationals from virus-hit Italy

About 200 South Koreans returned home from Italy on Thursday aboard a second chartered flight that the government arranged to bring its nationals from the European nation hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The Korean Air plane took off from Rome then made a stopover in Milan to pick up 92 people. It landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at about 4:30 p.m. The government arranged the two special flights to airlift citizens stranded in Italy, a country under nationwide lockd

April 2, 2020

S. Korea seeks ASEAN+3 summit on coronavirus: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea said Thursday it is pushing for a special video conference of the leaders of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) member states over the coronavirus. South Korea is in "close consultations" with relevant nations to arrange the event, deputy presidential spokesman Yoon Jae-kwan said at a press briefing. The APT is comprised of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Korea, China and Japan. The move is in line with President Moon Jae-in's emphasis on &quo

April 2, 2020

In phone summit, Colombia asks for supply of S. Korean medical devices

Colombian President Ivan Duque expressed hope Thursday for the importation of South Korean-made medical products, including respirators, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Cheong Wa Dae said. Speaking on the telephone with President Moon Jae-in, Duque said he is "deeply respectful" of South Korea's handling of COVID-19 and that Colombia desires to learn from it in "the most challenging moment in its history." The virus has sickened more than 900 people in the South Ame

April 2, 2020

8 foreigners denied entry after refusing 14-day quarantine

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice on Thursday said it denied entry to eight foreign nationals who refused to quarantine themselves for two weeks upon arrival here.  “The quarantine office determined it inappropriate for the foreign nationals to enter the country, as they failed to follow the government quarantine measures, despite being notified prior to departure that they would have to self-quarantine,” the ministry said.  Starting Wednesday, Seoul implemented a

April 2, 2020

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US hold phone talks on peace efforts with NK

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held phone talks Thursday over the North Korean nuclear issue and joint efforts for lasting peace on the peninsula, the foreign ministry said. Lee Do-hoon, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea and deputy secretary of state, spoke over the phone in a show of their continued coordination on peace efforts. The conversation

April 2, 2020

S. Korea calls for Japan to exempt essential business travel from planned entry ban

South Korea called Wednesday for Japan to allow essential visits by businesspeople, the foreign ministry said, as Tokyo was set to tighten entry restrictions to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Kim Jung-han, director-general for Asian and Pacific affairs at the ministry, made the call during a videoconference with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeki Takizaki, as Tokyo was set to enforce an entry ban on foreigners from an additional 49 countries and territories, including South Korea and t

April 1, 2020