Park administration kept parts of ‘comfort women’ agreement secret

The Park Geun-hye administration kept parts of the 2015 Korea-Japan agreement on Japan’s wartime enslavement of Korean women in the dark, a South Korean task force confirmed Wednesday. The administration also pushed the deal despite the pact falling short of fundamentally resolving related issues. A group of activists address the 2015 "comfort women" agreement outside the Central Government Complex in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)“A victim-centered approach, which has become the norm when it come

Dec. 27, 2017

Task force says comfort women deal lacked victims' views, confirms existence of secret agreements

South Korea's previous government of ousted President Park Geun-hye kept part of a 2015 deal with Japan on resolving the issue of wartime sexual slavery secret from the public in order to avoid criticism of concessions made secretly to Tokyo, a task force said Wednesday.After months of looking into how the unpopular deal was reached, the foreign ministry task force also said that the Park administration failed to make adequate efforts to listen to victims before reaching the agreement. It called

Dec. 27, 2017

Seoul to hold talks with victims on ‘comfort women’ deal

The 2015 deal on Japan’s wartime sexual slavery of Korean women lacked a “victim-oriented approach” and Seoul will further communicate with the victims and civic groups before making a final decision, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Tuesday.  South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers reporters during a press briefing held at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)“It is fundamentally a human rights issue,” Kang told a group of reporters. “There a

Dec. 26, 2017

Korea to listen to victims before deciding on controversial comfort women deal

South Korea's foreign minister said Tuesday that the government will make its final decision on a controversial deal with Japan over its wartime sexual slavery of Korean women after listening to opinions from victims and civic groups.Kang Kyung-wha said during a press meeting in Seoul that the previous government seemed to have not made sufficient efforts to gather opinions before reaching the so-called comfort women deal in December 2015.Her remarks came a day before a task force is to announce

Dec. 26, 2017

Korean president calls for enhanced ties with Vietnam

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for efforts Thursday to further improve the relationship between his country and Vietnam while promising additional support for the Southeast Asian nation.The pledge came in a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, according to Moon's top press secretary Yoon Young-chan."President Moon expressed the hope to continue developing the countries' mutually beneficial and future-oriented cooper

Dec. 21, 2017

PM meets with Vietnamese deputy PM, discusses ways to bolster cooperation

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon met with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on Thursday and discussed ways to bolster all-round cooperation between the two countries, his office said.Minh, who doubles as foreign minister, has been on a three-day visit to South Korea since Tuesday at the invitation of Seoul's foreign ministry.During Thursday's meeting, Lee said that Vietnam has great potential for rapid development and expressed hope that South Korea's government and companies will be able

Dec. 21, 2017

Korea to give advance briefing to Japan ahead of review of their comfort women deal: FM

TOKYO -- South Korea will give an advance briefing to Japan on the result of Seoul's investigation of a controversial history dispute settlement between the countries before its official release next week, the South Korean foreign minister said Wednesday. "(South Korea) will give details to the Japanese side before the announcement of the result of a task force review of the South Korea-Japan deal on comfort women mobilized by Japanese soldiers. I think it's diplomatic etiquette," Foreign Minist

Dec. 20, 2017

Trump names Thornton top diplomat for East Asia

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has named a career diplomat as his top diplomat for East Asian and Pacific affairs, the White House said Tuesday.Susan Thornton has been nominated assistant secretary of state for the region, it said in a press release, after having served in an acting capacity since March. This EPA file photo shows Susan Thornton (L), nominee for U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. (Yonhap)Her portfolio includes the two Koreas.Thornton jo

Dec. 20, 2017

Korea to unveil review of 2015 sex slavery deal with Japan next week

South Korea plans to unveil next week the result of its five-month review of a controversial agreement with Tokyo aimed at settling the dispute over Japan's wartime sexual slavery.A task force set up to assess the December 2015 agreement will submit their report on Dec. 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.With the deal the two countries agreed to put an end to the dispute and Japan pledged to contribute 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) to a South Korean foundation dedicated to supporting the vi

Dec. 19, 2017

Korea, Japan FMs reaffirm partnership ahead of Seoul's review of comfort women deal

SEOUL/TOKYO -- The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan reaffirmed Tuesday their close partnership in curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile development as the Seoul-Tokyo relationship still remains chilly over their historical feud. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono "reaffirmed their common goal of peacefully resolving the North Korean nuclear issue" during their talks in Japan earlier in the day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "Th

Dec. 19, 2017

[Newsmaker] S. Korean FM to visit Tokyo as ‘comfort women’ issue looms

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is scheduled to visit Japan on Tuesday with the issues of North Korea and Japan’s wartime sexual slavery of Korean women likely to loom over the entire stay. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)The two-day visit will include a meeting with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. “During the meeting to be held on Tuesday, the two ministers will exchange views on issues of mutual concern, such as South Korea-Japan relations, Nor

Dec. 18, 2017

Hopes for better Seoul-Beijing ties, but challenges linger

President Moon Jae-in’s visit to China presents opportunity for South Korea to mend economic ties following a dispute over its deployment of a US anti-missile system, but challenges remain as Beijing appears to maintain its assertive stance on security issues. 　Wrapping up his four-day state visit on Saturday, President Moon received reassurance from the Chinese leaders that Beijing will resume economic and trade cooperation that has been suspended since South Korea pressed ahead with the much-c

Dec. 17, 2017

Korean FM to visit Japan this week for talks on pending issues

South Korea's top diplomat will visit Japan this week to discuss North Korea and pending bilateral issues, the foreign ministry here said Sunday.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will leave for Tokyo on Tuesday for a two-day stay for talks with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, according to the ministry. It will mark the first visit by a Korean foreign minister to Japan since June 2015.  Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa (Yonhap)"During the meeting to be held on Tuesday, the two ministers will exc

Dec. 17, 2017

Vice Foreign Minister calls on N. Korea to join in PyeongChang Winter Olympics

South Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun called on North Korea to participate in the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics during a ministerial meeting at the United Nations Security Council in New York on Friday local time, the foreign ministry said.(Yonhap)He said the international community and the North should use the global sports event as an opportunity to talk to each other at a time when security concerns have been mounting for months due to the North's repeated provocations

Dec. 16, 2017

S. Korean leader urges increased business cooperation between S. Korea, China

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday vowed efforts to boost his country's economic cooperation with China, saying cooperation between the countries will benefit both.(Yonhap)The president also vowed efforts to link his New North and New South policies with China's One Belt, One Road development policy."At the summit, President Xi and I agreed to actively look for ways of actual cooperation between China's One Belt, One Road initiative with South Korea's New North and New South policies

Dec. 16, 2017

Moon calls for economic cooperation in meeting with China's rising political leader

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for increased cooperation between his country and Chongqing in a meeting with the city's Communist Party leader, who is also China's rising political star."I believe economic cooperation between South Korea and Chongqing will greatly contribute to China's development of the west, as well as balanced development of China, and I promise the South Korean government will do its utmost to boost their cooperation," the South Korean president said while meeting

Dec. 16, 2017

Moon highlights S. Korea-China ties in visit to site of independence movement

South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited the former office of his country's provisional government in Chongqing on Saturday, highlighting the long history of friendship between South Korea and China, and their joint struggle against Japan's past imperialism.(Yonhap)The visit to the office of the provisional government marked the first of its kind by a South Korean president, according to the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The provisional government operated in China during the

Dec. 16, 2017

Mattis: North Korea short of posing imminent missile threat

North Korea's latest missile test, which U.S. experts say indicated an increasing technological sophistication, did not demonstrate an imminent threat of nuclear attack on the United States, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday.Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (Yonhap)“No, not yet,” Mattis said when a reporter asked whether the Nov. 29 test indicated a full capability to strike the U.S.“It has not yet shown to be a capable threat against us right now,”Mattis added. His remark suggested he believ

Dec. 16, 2017

Trump dodges question on talks with N. Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday avoided a direct answer to whether he supports unconditional dialogue with North Korea."Well, we're going to see what happens with North Korea," he told reporters on the White House compound before departing for an official event. "We have a lot of support. There are a lot of nations that agree with us -- almost everybody."US Presidenet Donald Trump (Yonhap)U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier this week that Washington was ready to begin talks

Dec. 16, 2017

N.Korea must 'earn its way back to table,' Tillerson tells UN

North Korea must "earn its way back" to the negotiating table, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday, backing away from an earlier offer of unconditional talks to end the stand-off with Pyongyang.Tillerson told the UN Security Council that a "sustained cessation of North Korea's threatening behavior must occur before talks can begin," apparently after coming under pressure from President Donald Trump's White House to toughen his stance.U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (front) addr

Dec. 16, 2017