Senior US diplomat to visit Seoul this week

A senior US diplomat for East Asia is scheduled to visit South Korea on Wednesday, during which he is expected to meet the South Korean presidential candidates of the two major parties. 　 Daniel Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is on his first Asia trip since taking office in September. He will arrive here on Wednesday after a four-day stay in Japan, according to the State Department. 　 In Seoul, Kritenbrink is expected to meet officials, in

Nov. 8, 2021

Senior US diplomat for East Asia policy to visit Seoul from Nov. 10-12

The US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs plans to visit Seoul next week as part of his first Asian trip since taking office in September, the US State of Department said Friday Daniel Kritenbrink will arrive in Japan on Sunday (local time) on the first leg of his six-day regional trip and then move to South Korea on Nov. 10 to stay there for three days, the department said. "During his visits, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink will meet with senior government o

Nov. 5, 2021

Police drop defamation probe over Japanese diplomat's disparaging remarks against Moon

Police have dropped a defamation probe into a senior Japanese diplomat accused of making disparaging remarks against President Moon Jae-in's efforts to improve relations with Tokyo, considering his diplomatic immunity, officials said Friday. Hirohisa Soma, former deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, came under fire after he told a South Korean reporter during a lunch meeting in July that Moon's efforts to improve ties with Tokyo were tantamount to "masturbation."

Nov. 5, 2021

S. Korea's vice foreign minister to visit three African nations to bolster ties

South Korea's vice foreign minister will embark on a nine-day trip to three African nations this weekend to strengthen ties and draw their support for Seoul's greater role in international organizations, his ministry said Friday. Choi Jong-moon, second vice minister of foreign affairs, will travel to Uganda, Rwanda and Cameron from Nov. 6-14, which will mark the first trip in a decade by a Korean diplomat in the rank, according to the ministry. During the trip, Choi will meet with the foreign

Nov. 5, 2021

US remains committed to UN sanctions on N. Korea: State Dept.

The United States remains committed to implementing UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price said the United States also urges all other UN members to do the same to prevent North Korea from further advancing its nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities. "We do remain committed to the sanctions regime. We call on all UN members to fulfill their sanctions obligations under existing UN Security Council resolutio

Nov. 5, 2021

Moon optimistic about European battery partnerships

President Moon Jae-in expressed high hopes for battery partnerships with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia at a first business forum held between South Korea and the Visegrad Group nations in Budapest on Wednesday. The forum was held on the sidelines of Moon’s state visit to Hungary and a series of summit meetings with the leaders of the four Central European nations during his stay. “The Visegrad Group has become South Korea’s largest investment destination

Nov. 4, 2021

S. Korea, Hungary FMs discuss bilateral ties, strategic partnership

The top diplomats of South Korea and Hungary held talks in Hungary to discuss ways to boost cooperation in various areas, with their relationship elevated to a strategic partnership, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, in Budapest on Wednesday (local time), accompanying President Moon Jae-in on his state visit to the European nation. In their summit, Moon and Hungarian President Janos Ader dec

Nov. 4, 2021

S. Korea ships 290,000 more doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam

South Korea shipped 290,000 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam on Thursday, in addition to its earlier donation of 1.1 million doses last month, Seoul's foreign ministry said. An airplane carrying the vaccine departed from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier in the day and will arrive in Vietnam on the same day, the ministry said. It is on top of 1.1 million bottles of the AstraZeneca vaccine sent to Vietnam last month to help protect Korean nationals living

Nov. 4, 2021

S. Korea, Hungary agree to upgrade ties as bilateral trade grows

President Moon Jae-in held a summit with Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday and agreed to upgrade relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership as two-way trade grew at a solid pace despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade reached a new high last year,” Moon said during a joint press briefing after the talks, adding that he hopes the two nations will step up cooperation in electric cars and batteries. The two side

Nov. 3, 2021

Moon to hold summit with Visegrad Group

President Moon Jae-in arrived in Budapest on Tuesday to hold a series of summit talks with the leaders of the so-called Visegrad Group: Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. It will be the second gathering between South Korea and the four Eastern European countries. On Thursday, the president will hold multilateral and bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of the Visegrad nations. On the sidelines of the meetings, a business forum, a first of its kind, also will be held to explo

Nov. 3, 2021

Foreign Ministry criticized for delay in conveying foreign governments’ condolences to Roh’s family

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is facing criticism for allegedly delaying the delivery of remarks of mourning issued from leaders of other countries upon the death of former President Roh Tae-woo. The Foreign Ministry officially delivered the statements to the bereaved family of Roh on Monday, days after remarks started flying in from global leaders after Roh’s death on Oct. 26. Remarks of condolences came from leaders of China, Japan and Vietnam, the ministry said. Ministry spokesperso

Nov. 2, 2021

Nuke envoys of S. Korea, Japan discuss Korea peace process

The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea and Japan held phone talks Tuesday to explore measures for progress in stalled denuclearization efforts, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his Japanese counterpart Takehiro Funakoshi shared their assessments of the regional security situations and discussed ways to achieve lasting peace, according to the ministry. The two sides agreed to closely work together for

Nov. 2, 2021

Top S. Korean, British discuss bilateral cooperation, peninsula issue

The chief diplomats of South Korea and Britain discussed bolstering bilateral cooperation in various areas, such as tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, as they met on the sidelines of a major UN climate conference, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong sat down for talks with his British counterpart, Liz Truss, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday (local time) on visits there for the 26th Conference of the Parties, according to the ministry. During their meeting, the tw

Nov. 2, 2021

Moon to report Seoul’s emissions goal at UN climate summit

President Moon Jae-in plans to report South Korea’s raised goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at U.N. climate talks on Monday, as the COP26 talks opened with a sense of urgency regarding the need to limit global warming.  More than 100 heads of state, including Moon, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, gathered in Glasgow, Scotland‘s biggest city, for the U.N. climate summit, which came a day after leaders of G-20 major economies stopped s

Nov. 1, 2021

Nuke envoys of S. Korea, China discuss end-of-war declaration for NK dialogue

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and China held a videoconference Monday to discuss measures for an early resumption of the Korean peace process, including the proposed declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held the virtual talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu Xiaoming to explain Seoul's efforts to revive stalled dialogue with North Korea and requested

Nov. 1, 2021

Moon urges solidarity to tackle global supply chain crisis

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday attended a global supply chain summit that was convened by US President Joe Biden in an apparent move to rally allies in reshaping the global supply ecosystem less dependent on China. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the gathering of the G-20 leaders in Rome. A total of 14 countries, mostly the US’ key allies like Italy, Germany, Canada, India and Australia, attended the meeting, with China being absent.  Biden stressed the urgent need for a

Nov. 1, 2021

At G-20, Moon pledges to complete phaseout of coal power plants by 2050

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday pledged that South Korea will compete the phaseout of coal-fired power generation by 2050 and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality on a global level.  Moon made the remarks as the leaders of the Group of 20 countries gathered for the second day of the Rome summit, their first in-person gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic, with attention focused on whether they will reach a meaningful agreement on how to fight global warming.  "In line with

Oct. 31, 2021

S. Korea, US discussing Washington's nuke policy review on 'various occasions': Seoul official

South Korea and the United States have been discussing the latter's nuclear policy review on "various occasions," a Seoul official said Sunday, amid reports that Washington is mulling a policy shift feared to weaken military deterrence. The Financial Times reported Saturday that US allies have been lobbying President Joe Biden not to alter America's policy on the use of nuclear weapons, amid speculation he is considering a "no-first-use" approach that critics say could embol

Oct. 31, 2021

CIA ran previously undisclosed office in Seoul until last year: sources

The US Central Intelligence Agency ran a previously undisclosed office in Seoul until last year, legal sources said Sunday. The existence of the office, which was used to collect open-source intelligence on South Korea as part of the CIA's Open Source Enterprise, became known after three former employees sued the US government for firing them, according to the sources. The plaintiffs, all South Koreans, were hired between 2005 and 2009 and laid off around February and March of last year. They

Oct. 31, 2021

Moon, EU leader agree to bolster vaccine supplies for developing nations

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed Saturday to step up efforts to boost the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to developing nations, the presidential office said. Moon met with the European Union leader on the sidelines of this year's summit of the Group of 20 major economies that opened in the Italian capital on Saturday for a two-day run. The two leaders agreed to jointly take steps to increase the supply of vaccines to developing natio

Oct. 31, 2021