[Newsmaker] USFK begins issuing furlough notices to Korean employees

US Forces Korea began notifying 5,000 South Korean employees Wednesday that they would be furloughed starting next month, officials said, as defense cost-sharing talks between the two countries remain stalled. The two sides have been negotiating a new Special Measures Agreement that stipulates how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK. Salaries of about 9,000 South Korean employees are also funded under the agreement. The latest round of negotiations took place last w

March 25, 2020

Trump requests S. Korea’s medical device support to fight COVID-19 in phone summit with Moon

US President Donald Trump expressed hope Tuesday, in a phone conversation with President Moon Jae-in, that South Korea could provide medical equipment support, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon replied that his government would provide "maximum support" if available, as the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. He then pointed out that approval by the Food and Drug Administration might be required. In response, Trump said he

March 25, 2020

Trump boasts US has tested more people for virus than S. Korea

US President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday that the United States has tested more people for the coronavirus in eight days than South Korea did in eight weeks. Trump sounded jubilant after Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, shared the statistics during a virtual town hall hosted by Fox News at the White House. The lack of testing and test kits has added to criticism of the Trump administration's response to the fast-growing pandemic in the country. "And I

March 25, 2020

Moon, Trump discuss joint efforts against COVID-19 in phone conversation

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump exchanged views over the phone Tuesday on bilateral cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the 23-minute conversation, made at Trump‘s “urgent request,” Moon said the two countries’ recent currency swap agreement, worth $60 billion, was a “very timely” measure to help stabilize the international financial market. Held two days ahead of the Group of 20 sp

March 24, 2020

Moon expects ‘unified message’ by G-20 members over COVID-19 response

South Korean President Moon Jae-in stressed the need for a “unified message” from this week‘s teleconference by the leaders of the Group of 20 nations on the coronavirus pandemic, during his telephone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday. He held out expectations for in-depth discussions on international cooperation in both quarantine and the economy during the “special summit” to be held on Thursday, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon

March 24, 2020

Moon to Saudi leader: G-20 teleconference plan timely amid COVID-19 crisis

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday the Group of 20 leaders will hold a “timely” teleconference on the coronavirus crisis, as international coordination is urgently needed to tackle the pandemic. In phone talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Moon said the Middle Eastern nation is credited with a “speedy response” to set up the session slated for Thursday. It holds the G-20 presidency this year. “Now that the coronavirus is spre

March 24, 2020

US ambassador working from home, in line with social distancing guidelines

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday he is working from home in accordance with the host government‘s social distancing guidelines. “I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to all South Koreans on the front line, who are working tirelessly to flatten the curve of coronavirus. Let me just say that we are all in this together,” he said in the message posted on his Twitter account. Behind him in the video were desktop monitors in what appeared to be his pri

March 24, 2020

FM Kang to explain S. Korea's anti-coronavirus efforts in WEF videoconference

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will explain South Korea's efforts to fight the new coronavirus and call for global solidarity in ending the pandemic in a videoconference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week, her office said Tuesday. On Wednesday (Korea time), Kang is set to join a video-linked session related to the COVID-19 Action Platform, a WEF initiative launched earlier this month to galvanize collective action in responding to the virus. "Minister Kang plans to explain the

March 24, 2020

FM Kang discusses anti-virus efforts with Dutch counterpart

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke by phone with her Dutch counterpart, Stef Blok, Monday and discussed ways to cope with the global spread of the new coronavirus, her ministry said. 　 In the telephone talks, made at the Netherlands‘ request, Kang explained that although Korea has seen a marked decline in daily new infection cases, the country has been actively taking measures to prevent the inflow of COVID-19 from overseas and community transmission. 　 Blok praised Korea’s effec

March 23, 2020

Ministry official hints at possibility of imposing quarantine costs for arrivals from overseas

A foreign ministry official on Monday left open the possibility of a change in South Korea's policy to shoulder all coronavirus quarantine costs for people flying from overseas, as more countries quarantine inbound travelers at their own expense. The South Korean government has so far covered all the costs of its beefed-up quarantine program for both citizens and foreigners, fueling criticism that the efforts to curb imported infections could chip away at state coffers. "We are closely m

March 23, 2020

S. Koreans stranded in Peru to be evacuated this week

Around 200 South Korean nationals stranded in Peru after the country sealed its borders and halted all flights amid the global coronavirus pandemic will be able to return home on a charter flight this week. 　 The flight, operated by Mexican airline Aeromexico, is set to take off from Lima on Thursday afternoon and arrive at Incheon International Airport, according to the Korean Embassy in Peru on Monday. 　 The total number of passengers has yet to be confirmed but is estimated to be around 20

March 23, 2020

S. Korea weighs options for humanitarian support for coronavirus-hit Iran

South Korea is exploring ways to provide humanitarian support to Iran to help its fight against the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said Monday, as the Middle East country struggles with shortages of medical supplies under US sanctions. Seoul's consideration appears to have accelerated after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reportedly sent a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier this month to request 3.2 million COVID-19 diagnostic kits and other quarantine supplies. &quo

March 23, 2020

S. Korea mulling sending chartered flight to South Sudan to bring home some troops

South Korea is considering sending a chartered flight to South Sudan to bring back some of its peacekeeping troops amid coronavirus concerns, the defense ministry said Monday. About 210 rotational troops of the 270-strong Hanbit Unit are expected to return home without replacement, after the African country asked Seoul and other foreign countries not to send fresh troops in the wake of the spread of the COVID-19 virus across the globe. "We have had close consultations with the host natio

March 23, 2020

S. Korea begins coronavirus tests on all flying from Europe

South Korea recorded fewer than 100 new daily virus cases again on Sunday, but health authorities remained on high alert over new cluster infections and imported cases, mainly from Europe. The 98 new COVID-19 cases, which were detected Saturday, brought the nation's total number of infections to 8,897, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The daily infection rate had been in the double digits last week, except for the 152 new cases reported on Wednesday and

March 22, 2020

Moon to Swedish PM: S. Korea to share experience on coronavirus response

South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Friday that his government is willing to share its experience and clinical data related to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Scandinavian country. During a 20-minute telephone conversation, which took place at Lofven's request, Moon stressed the importance of concerted efforts by the international community to combat the crisis, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. "The COVID-19 incident is a chal

March 20, 2020

Vice FM holds conference call with six countries over coronavirus response

First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young held a conference call with his counterparts from six countries Friday, including the United States and Japan, to discuss ways to cope with the new coronavirus outbreak. The talks, arranged at the US' request, were joined by US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba and Secretary Frances Adamson of Australia and the vice foreign ministers of New Zealand, India and Vietnam -- Mark Sinclair, Harsh Shringla an

March 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] S. Korea seeks to arrange 2 chartered flights to bring home citizens from virus-hit Italy

South Korea is seeking to arrange two chartered flights to bring home hundreds of its citizens from Italy, which has been hit hard by the new coronavirus, a senior foreign ministry official said Friday. Italy's COVID-19 death toll had topped 3,400 as of Thursday afternoon -- a tally higher than that of China where the novel virus first emerged in December. As of Friday afternoon, more than 570 people have expressed their wish to return to Korea. "We currently think that two flights are

March 20, 2020

FM Kang calls for efforts to minimize economic, social fallout from coronavirus

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called Friday for joint efforts with China and Japan to minimize the social and economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak as she held a videoconference with her counterparts, her office said.   "I believe the three countries should discuss the need to minimize the economic and social shock, as well as the contraction in people-to-people exchanges and cooperation due to this crisis, along with (efforts to) stem the virus spread," she said

March 20, 2020

US weighs warning against all overseas travel

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration is considering an upgrade to its already dire warning to Americans against all international travel as the coronavirus outbreak spreads. US officials said Thursday the State Department could soon issue a new alert urging Americans not to travel abroad under any circumstances. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because a final decision has not been made and the warning could be tempered, even if approved. At the moment, the department's ad

March 20, 2020

S. Korea, US still have gaps in defense cost-sharing talks: foreign ministry

South Korea and the United States still have gaps over the sharing of the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday, after they wrapped up three days of hard bargaining in Los Angeles. The failure to reconcile their differences added to concerns that Korean workers in the USFK could be forced to go on unpaid leave starting next month, as the US military has repeatedly warned of their furloughs absent a deal to fund their wages. Seoul's top negotiator Jeong Eun

March 20, 2020