US deserves an A for effort to denuclearize N. Korea but needs to make first concession: US experts

WASHINGTON-- The United States is right in pursuing a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but needs to consider changing methods to achieve its objective, US experts said Tuesday. They argued the US could, or should, consider removing sanctions on the impoverished North to induce dialogue. "Let me start with US policy objective. I've given that an A minus," Robert Gallucci said in a webinar, titled "A Mid-Term Report Card for Biden's North Korea Policy.&q

Feb. 22, 2023

Iran repeats S. Korea should make up for Yoon’s ‘enemy’ remarks

Iran repeated its demand that South Korea make up for remarks that President Yoon Suk Yeol made during his mid-January trip to the United Arab Emirates, where he referred to Iran as “the enemy” of Abu Dhabi, Tehran’s state-run news outlet IRNA said Monday, quoting Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman. At a regular briefing, spokesman Nasser Kanaani called Yoon’s comments unprofessional and suggested the diplomatic row would not be forgotten unless Korea makes up for th

Feb. 21, 2023

US calls for UNSC action against N. Korean missile tests, again to no avail

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Monday called on the United Nations Security Council to hold North Korea to account for its recent missile provocations but to no avail due to opposition from two veto-wielding members of the council -- China and Russia. The US' call came in the first UNSC meeting of the year to be held on North Korea. "The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the DPRK's February 18 and February 19 launches of three ballistic missiles," US

Feb. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] Mongolian PM wants to use Busan as outlet for trade corridor

Mongolia wants South Korea's largest port city, Busan, to become an integral part of a trade corridor for the landlocked country, its Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene told The Korea Herald in an interview Friday. Mongolia currently relies on the sea ports of Russia and China to import foreign goods and sell products to other countries. This means international sanctions imposed on Moscow and Beijing, as well as port lockdowns due to internal policies like zero-COVID, often led to fr

Feb. 19, 2023

Foreign Minister presses Tokyo to make decision on forced labor issue

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met with his Japanese counterpart, urging Tokyo to make a “political decision” over wartime forced labor to mend ties soured by the long-running historical dispute, officials said Sunday. Park held a talk with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday. In the 35-minute meeting, Korea’s top diplomat called for Tokyo to decide on restitutions for Koreans forced to wo

Feb. 19, 2023

S. Korean minister urges Japan to make 'political decision' over forced labor issue

MUNICH -- South Korea's top diplomat met with his Japanese counterpart and called for Tokyo to make a "political decision" to resolve the issue of how to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor under 2018 rulings by Seoul's Supreme Court. Foreign Minister Park Jin had the one-on-one talks with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Munich on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Following the 35-minute meeting, Park told reporters tha

Feb. 19, 2023

South Korea's 2nd relief team arrives in Turkey

A second South Korean relief team has arrived in southeastern Turkey on Friday to replace the first team which has assisted the aid and rescue efforts in region for over a week. The second team arrived at Adana Airport around 6 a.m. on Friday, having departed from Incheon Airport on Thursday night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. While the first relief team consisted mostly of rescue workers from the military and South Korean National Fire Agency, the second team is made up of 21 publ

Feb. 17, 2023

S. Korean, Dutch foreign ministers discuss cooperation on chips, nuclear energy

The top diplomats of South Korea and the Netherlands had their inaugural "strategic dialogue" on bilateral cooperation in a follow-up to a summit deal in November last year, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Foreign Minister Park Jin had the meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, in The Hague on Thursday. They discussed such issues as promoting the strategic partnership of the two nations and strengthening cooperation in the fields of semiconductors and nuclear pl

Feb. 17, 2023

ASEAN-Korea Center kicks off annual council meeting

The ASEAN-Korea Center kicked off its annual council meeting in Seoul to review programs hosted in the fiscal year 2022 and discuss the budget for this year. Held after 3 years due to the pandemic, the offline meeting was attended by high level officials from governments, academia and the media of 10 ASEAN member countries. According to the AKC, the annual meeting is significant for ASEAN countries and Korea to bolster international cooperation efforts in the post-COVID era. The center will

Feb. 16, 2023

ASEAN-Korea Center kicks off annual council meeting

The ASEAN-Korea Center kicked off its annual council meeting in Seoul to review programs hosted in the fiscal year 2022 and discuss the budget for this year. Held after 3 years due to the pandemic, the offline meeting was attended by high level officials from governments, academia and the media of 10 ASEAN member countries. According to the AKC, the annual meeting is significant for ASEAN countries and Korea to bolster international cooperation efforts in the post-COVID era. The center will pl

Feb. 16, 2023

South Korea to offer $1M aid to earthquake-hit Syria

The South Korean government will provide $1 million of humanitarian aid to Syria, a country gravely affected by the Feb. 6 earthquake. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to offer humanitarian aid to Syria, which has no diplomatic relations with South Korea, via the United Nations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a regular press briefing on Thursday. Alongside Turkey, Syria’s northwest was hit hard by the 7.8 magnitude quake and subsequent aftershocks. Rescue efforts

Feb. 16, 2023

Waitingi Day celebrations in Korea

The New Zealand Embassy in Seoul commemorated Waitangi Day at the ambassador’s residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. Waitangi Day is celebrated as New Zealand's national day to commemorate the first signing of New Zealand's founding document, known as the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the British Crown and about 540 Maori rangatira on Feb. 6, 1840. The commemoration was followed by a reception to bid farewell to friends in Seoul for New Zealand ambassador to Korea Phillip Turner.

Feb. 16, 2023

S. Korean vice minister visits US for talks on Inflation Reduction Act

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's First Industry Vice Minister Jang Young-jin arrived in the United States on Wednesday for talks on a wide range of issues that he said require close cooperation between the allies. Jang said topics of discussion with his US counterparts will include the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the US import quota on South Korean steel products. "While negotiating these issues, we will also be discussing technology cooperation," he told reporters shortly afte

Feb. 16, 2023

US takes N. Korea as serious as all other challenges: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States considers and is dealing with North Korea issues with the same level of urgency as all other challenges facing the country and its allies, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson, Ned Price, insisted the US simply did not have the "luxury of being able to prioritize" the challenges. "All of these issues are important," Price told a daily press briefing. "All of these same issues are made of the same plot. All of th

Feb. 16, 2023

S. Korea shifts to rebuilding in Turkey

Helping rebuild Turkey following last week’s earthquakes that killed at least 35,000 people is the new priority for South Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, moving away from the role of first responders to helping Ankara set “long-term recovery goals.” Seoul is to field a second rescue team Thursday night. “It’s all about reconstruction now, rather than rescue,” a senior ministry official told reporters following a multiagency meeting chaired by Forei

Feb. 15, 2023

S. Korea asks Pacific island nations to support World Expo bid

A senior South Korean government official held a meeting with ambassadors from six Pacific island nations and asked them to support Seoul's bid to bring the 2030 World Expo to the southeastern port city of Busan, officials said Wednesday. The meeting was held Tuesday in New York between Bang Moon-kyu, minister for government policy coordination, and UN-based envoys from Nauru, Maldives, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu and Fiji, the minister's office said in a statement. "As 2030 is the fir

Feb. 15, 2023

Turkish Embassy in Seoul declines used goods and warns of fake news

The Turkish Embassy in Seoul is asking Koreans not to donate used goods, and are warning against fake news about donations. The embassy announced Sunday that it would not be accepting any used materials to send to Turkey, citing a lack of infrastructure at the goods' destination. The earthquake has destroyed public health infrastructure, leaving the Turkish authorities in affected regions unable to sterilize the donated goods before they are distributed. Following the decision by the embass

Feb. 14, 2023

Three-way talks back checks on N. Korea, China

First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and his US and Japanese counterparts reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearizing North Korea while countering China to curb its “destabilizing activities” at a meeting in Washington on Monday. The gathering, which last took place in October 2022 in Tokyo, chiefly addresses North Korea and China. Pyongyang fired off a record number of missiles last year and Beijing has recently been accused of sending what Washington says is a spy balloon ov

Feb. 14, 2023

S. Korea, Japan seek ways to mend ties in bilateral talks

WASHINGTON -- Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held rare bilateral talks in Washington on Monday, seeking to mend ties soured by the prolonged issue of Japan's wartime forced labor. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said the sides will continue to hold discussions but that they have yet to reach any conclusion. "We are still trying to find common ground," he told reporters when asked about his bilateral meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Ministe

Feb. 14, 2023

US, S. Korea and Japan will jointly deter N. Korean threat: Wendy Sherman

WASHINGTON -- The United States, South Korea and Japan will work together to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Monday. The US diplomat also insisted that trilateral cooperation among the US and its two allies is only getting stronger. "The DPRK continued to threaten the ROK, Japan and its neighbors and the world with the launch of an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles last ye

Feb. 14, 2023