Moon greeted by Abe in G-20 opening ceremony

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the host of this week's G-20 summit, greeted South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the official welcoming ceremony Friday amid no announcement yet of any schedule on their formal talks.Having entered the summit venue of INTEX Osaka, Moon walked toward Abe and shook hands with him.They then posed for photos, briefly smiling.It was their first meeting since the UN General Assembly session in New York last September.Abe was welcoming the guests at the two-day G20

June 28, 2019

US nuke envoy Biegun to hold talks with S. Korean officials ahead of Trump's visit

Top US nuclear envoy Stephen Biegun held talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on Friday, a day before President Donald Trump's trip to the Asian ally aimed at boosting efforts to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table.US Special Representative for North Korea Biegun met Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, to discuss joint efforts to resume the stalemated nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang and move the Korean Peace pro

June 28, 2019

Moon, Xi discuss NK, agree to seek more cooperation

OSAKA, Japan -- President Moon Jae-in on Thursday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, to discuss bilateral and Korean Peninsula issues, including Xi’s recent visit to Pyongyang. The meeting with Xi, Moon’s first engagement in Japan, comes less than two weeks after the Chinese leader’s trip to Pyongyang amid hints from US President Donald Trump that denuclearization dialogue could resume.  According to Cheong Wa Dae, Mo

June 27, 2019

US nuke envoy Biegun set to visit S. Korea ahead of Trump's trip

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was set to visit South Korea on Thursday ahead of President Donald Trump's trip to the Asian ally aimed at exploring ways to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table.On Friday, Biegun is expected to meet his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, to discuss the nuclear issue and the North Korea portion of the agenda for Sunday's summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump. The US president is set to arrive in Seoul on S

June 27, 2019

Woman injured in snatch theft incident in Spain

A South Korean woman, who was on an official government trip to Spain, was injured after trying to avoid robbery on a street in Barcelona, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.  The woman, who is known to be an official of a Korean government advisory committee, was sent to a hospital after she injured her head when she fell down on Sunday night. The unconscious woman was treated at the scene, according to Spanish media. After failing to snatch the victim’s belongings, the su

June 26, 2019

Korea, Saudi seek closer cooperation, sign MOUs, deals worth $8.3b

President Moon Jae-in and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in a wide range of areas. The crown prince arrived in Seoul earlier in the day and was met by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon before moving on to Cheong Wa Dae for a welcoming ceremony followed by a meeting with Moon and his top aides. At the meeting, Moon stressed the importance of Korea-Saudi relations, highlighting economic projects between the two cou

June 26, 2019

Japan unlikely to invite S. Korea to fleet review: Japanese media

Japan is unlikely to invite South Korea to attend a fleet review set to be held in October amid frayed relations between the two countries over history and other issues, Japanese media reported Wednesday.According to the Yomiuri Shimbun report, Japan's self-defense force plans to send invitations to the United States, Australia, India and China, but not to South Korea, for the Oct. 14 fleet review to be held in Sagami Bay, near Tokyo.Japan holds such a review every three to four years. The last

June 26, 2019

US marks Korean War anniversary, says it should not be forgotten

The United States on Tuesday marked the 69th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, calling it a history that should be taught, not forgotten.The three-year conflict, which ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty in 1953, has sometimes been referred to as "The Forgotten War" in the English-speaking world because it received less public attention than World War II, which preceded it, or the Vietnam War, which succeeded it."The Korean War anniversary is a reminder of al

June 26, 2019

No summit between S. Korea, Japan at G-20: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korean President Moon Jae-in won't meet bilaterally with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Group of 20 summit this week, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Tuesday amid a drawn-out spat between the neighboring countries over their shared history.South Korea is "always" ready for such a separate summit, but Japan doesn't seem to be, the official told reporters in a briefing on Moon's schedule for the two-day G-20 session to open in Osaka, Japan, on Friday.It is Cheong Wa Dae's

June 25, 2019

[News focus] North Korea, historical issues hang over Moon as he heads to G-20 Summit

For President Moon Jae-in, the G-20 Summit -- set to be held in Osaka, Japan, later this week -- will be an opportunity to further his agenda on dealing with North Korea and to strengthen and mend ties with G-20 countries.Moon has a number of bilateral summit talks scheduled on the sidelines of the event, including meetings with leaders of Canada, China, Indonesia and Russia.  The meetings with Chinese and Russian leaders come at a critical point, as Moon hopes to establish permanent peace

June 25, 2019

Moon, Trump to hold summit in Seoul on Sunday

US President Donald Trump will visit South Korea on a two-day schedule from Saturday, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday. The visit was arranged at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in, conveyed during the Moon-Trump summit in Washington in April, Cheong Wa Dae said.  “President Trump will arrive in the afternoon of June 29, and hold a summit at Cheong Wa Dae on the next day,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said. “(Moon and Trump) will hold in-depth discussions on w

June 24, 2019

Moon to meet Chinese, Russian leaders at G-20

President Moon Jae-in will hold summit meetings with leaders of Canada, China, Indonesia and Russia on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit next week, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung, the four summit meetings have been confirmed and the presidential office will announce further meetings if they are arranged.  Moon is set to visit Japan on a three-day schedule from Thursday, a day ahead of the G-20 Summit. “President Moon will stress the need

June 21, 2019

Seoul offers Tokyo a deal: Create joint fund to compensate victims of wartime forced labor

South Korea has approached Japan with a proposal to support the Korean victims of wartime forced labor by encouraging companies in both countries to take part in joint fundraising efforts, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.“This idea has been raised that it is desirable to enable reconciliation between the concerned parties by offering compensation to the victims whose lawsuits have concluded, by creating funds voluntarily offered by companies from both countries, including the

June 19, 2019

S. Korean diplomat elected vice chair of UN body for climate change accord implementation

A South Korean diplomat has been elected as the vice chair of a UN body handling implementation issues related to an international climate change accord, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. On Monday, Yoo Yeon-chul, Seoul's ambassador for climate change, took the vice chairmanship of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. His term lasts for two years.It is the first time that a South Korean official has taken a top SBI post.Yoo's election ref

June 18, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Russia hold talks on N. Korea, bilateral ties

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Russia held talks in Moscow on Monday over issues related to North Korea and bilateral relations, officials said.During the meeting, foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, shared their assessments of the recent situation on the peninsula and discussed ways to boost cooperation for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace, according to the officials."We agreed that now is a very criti

June 18, 2019

[Feature] Experts call for cautious approach to Huawei row

The risks are high for South Korea to just ignore or take sides in the yearlong trade war between the US and China, with the country vulnerable to changes in economic, diplomatic and security ties with the two global powers. Seoul was alarmed by Washington’s recent hard-hitting remarks that called for other countries to join its boycott equipment of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies, amid mounting concerns over the trade conflict’s negative impact on its export-dependent econ

June 17, 2019

Moon back in Korea after Northern Europe trip

Following an eight-day tour of Finland, Norway and Sweden, President Moon Jae-in returned to South Korea on Sunday, where a pile of tough tasks remains unresolved.The keywords of his discussions during the state visits were peace, innovation and inclusive growth.Moon secured firmer support for the Korea peace process from the Nordic nations and paved the way for stronger partnerships during the fourth industrial revolution and discovery of the next economic growth engines, according to his offic

June 16, 2019

Swedish king: Moon's visit to improve bilateral ties

STOCKHOLM, (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's state visit to Sweden is expected to serve as a chance for the two countries to deepen cooperative ties, King Carl XVI Gustaf said Friday. The king greeted Moon at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in a grand welcoming ceremony. Moon rode through the streets in a horse-drawn carriage to reach the palace in accordance with Sweden's tradition and protocol for state guests. Moon then inspected honor guards.Briefly speaking to media later, the

June 14, 2019

Senior diplomats of S. Korea, US hold phone talks over bilateral ties, cooperation

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States held phone talks on Friday to discuss ways to build a lasting peace on the peninsula and other issues of mutual concern, Seoul's foreign ministry said.In the morning, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young and US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan had their first phone conversation since Cho took office last month.They shared the understanding that US President Donald Trump's visit to Seoul, slated for late this month, will serve as a cruci

June 14, 2019

Moon suggests trust-based denuclearization, peace

SSTOCKHOLM, (Yonhap) -- triving to jump-start the slow-going Korea peace process, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called overtly for North Korea's substantive denuclearization on Friday.Addressing the Parliament House in the Swedish capital, he pressed Pyongyang to continue dialogue, either bilateral or multilateral, until it wins the trust of the international community."Peace can be realized only through peaceful means, which is dialogue. It is dialogue, not nuclear arms, that will kee

June 14, 2019