FM Chung vows efforts to realize 'UN values of peace, liberty, prosperity' on peninsula

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Thursday pledged efforts to realize the United Nations' values of peace and liberty on the Korean Peninsula during a forum marking nearly three decades since the country joined the international body. Chung also reaffirmed the Moon Jae-in administration's "unwavering" efforts for lasting peace on the divided peninsula, as Seoul and Washington seek a diplomatic strategy to resume nuclear diplomacy with a recalcitrant Pyongyang. "The Moon adminis

June 17, 2021

Moon attends Spain's business forum with King Felipe VI

BARCELONA -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a major annual economic forum of Spain with King Felipe VI on Wednesday. Addressing the inaugural dinner of the three-day event in Barcelona, Moon proposed that the two countries spearhead preparations for the post-coronavirus era via a win-win approach. "The two countries have complementary industrial structures," he said. "Synergy through cooperation would be great." He pointed out that Spain is a global leader in

June 17, 2021

Korea-Spain ties elevated to strategic partnership

MADRID/SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday agreed to elevate bilateral ties to the status of a “strategic partnership,” under which the two countries will further enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas such as business and technology.   Moon arrived in the Spanish capital Tuesday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to their joint statement, the

June 16, 2021

Spanish firms to invest $200 m in Korean green energy biz

  　Two Spanish companies will invest a combined $200 million in the renewable energy business in South Korea, Seoul‘s trade ministry said Wednesday. 　 　Madrid-based Ocean Winds decided to make an initial investment worth $100 million to establish an offshore wind power plant in Incheon, west of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　 　Ocean Winds was founded in 2019 as a joint venture of Spanish energy enterprise EDPR and French company ENGIE to invest in wi

June 16, 2021

Peruvian Embassy marks bicentennial with art exhibition

The Peruvian Embassy opened an art exhibition Tuesday to celebrate the bicentennial of the country’s independence. “In Praise of the Shadow” is dedicated to the works of Fernando de Szyszlo, one of Latin America’s most renowned abstract artists. Fernando de Szyszlo was a Peruvian painter, sculptor, printmaker and teacher who gained prominence in the mid-1950s. The often indefinable figures that appear in his works are offset by his love of color, texture and eye-catching

June 16, 2021

EU-KOR FTA stands out as a clear symbol against protectionism: German envoy

The Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement is a symbol that stands against protectionism, and underlines the EU and Korea’s strong commitment to a rules-based international trade order, German Ambassador to Korea Michael Reiffenstuel said Wednesday, at an event marking the 10th anniversary of the trade agreement. The anniversary event was collectively held by Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the German Embassy in Korea and the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea to celebrate the

June 16, 2021

Vice FM stresses human rights-based approach to new digital technologies

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon has stressed the importance of a human rights-based approach to new digital technologies, citing privacy concerns and other side effects, during an international human rights meeting, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Choi made the remarks during Tuesday's virtual panel discussion that South Korea, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Morocco, Singapore and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) co-organized ahead of the 47th regular

June 16, 2021

Both sanctions and diplomacy critical to denuclearizing N. Korea: Kritenbrink

WASHINGTON -- Strict and continued enforcement of sanctions on North Korea while also seeking to engage with the reclusive state diplomatically are important to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the nominee for US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said Tuesday. Daniel Kritenbrink also said he would try to find ways to further strengthen sanctions on the North if confirmed. "As I noted at the outset, the Biden-Harris administration is committed to

June 16, 2021

Indian Embassy gears up for International Day of Yoga

The Embassy of India in South Korea kicked off celebrations on Monday ahead of the seventh International Day of Yoga on June 21. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Be With Yoga, Be at Home,” embassy officials delivered a livestreamed message about the yogic way of life and its effects on physical and mental health. Emphasizing the significance of yoga amid the challenging times brought on by the pandemic and restrictions on social gatherings, Indian Ambassador to Korea Srip

June 15, 2021

Moon, CureVac CEO discuss vaccine partnership

VIENNA/SEOUL – President Moon Jae-in and German pharmaceutical company CureVac’s CEO Franz-Werner Hass discussed ways to bolster vaccine partnership during a virtual meeting Tuesday. No new deal was immediately disclosed. Their 20-minute videoconference came on the heels of Moon’s summit talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G-7 gathering in Cornwall, England on Saturday, during which the leaders agreed to seek synergy between Korea, the world’s second-

June 15, 2021

State academy chief calls Japan's cancellation of pull-aside between Moon, Suga 'discourtesy'

Japan committed a "discourtesy" by canceling agreed-upon talks between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the recent Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain, the head of South Korea's state diplomatic academy said Tuesday. Kim Joon-hyung, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, also said on a local radio station that it is "diplomatically impolite" for Japan to press the South to accept its demands in a row over wartime forced

June 15, 2021

S. Korea extends pandemic-driven advisory against overseas travel until July 15

South Korea on Tuesday extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The measure, which calls for citizens to cancel or postpone trips abroad, will remain in effect until July 15. The current advisory was set to expire Tuesday. The extension came as many countries around the world continue to restrict the entry of people arriving from overseas amid the continued spread of COVID-19, the minist

June 15, 2021

US supports provision of COVID-19 vaccine to N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States has no immediate plan to directly provide COVID-19 vaccine to North Korea but supports international efforts to assist the impoverished country cope with the pandemic, the State Department said Monday. "While we have no plans to provide vaccines to the DPRK, we continue to support international efforts aimed at the provision of critical humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable North Koreans," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency, asking not

June 15, 2021

NATO leaders call on N. Korea to engage in dialogue with US

WASHINGTON -- The United States and 29 other member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) urged North Korea on Monday to engage in "meaningful" dialogue with the US toward complete denuclearization. The leaders of the 30 NATO countries also called on North Korea to fully implement its international obligations while also calling on others to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) on North Korea. "We reiterate the Alliance's full support to

June 15, 2021

Moon becomes first Korean president to visit Austria

VIENNA/SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, held a summit Monday to bolster ties as the 130th anniversary of bilateral relationship approaches next year. Moon, coming from the UK after attending the G-7 meeting over the weekend, arrived in Vienna on Sunday. He is the first Korean president to make a state visit to Austria since the two nations established ties in 1892. With the latest visit, the two nations agreed to elevate the relations

June 14, 2021

China not discussed at G-7 meetings South Korea took part in: vice FM

The issue of China did not come up during South Korea's discussions with the Group of Seven (G-7) countries last week, a senior foreign ministry official said Monday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon made the remark during a radio interview, dismissing speculation that attending the gathering in Britain put Seoul in an awkward position as it might appear that South Korea has chimed in with the G-7 countries on their unified front against an assertive China. In the joint communique i

June 14, 2021

Japan unilaterally broke plan for Moon-Suga meeting at G-7

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had agreed to hold talks on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in England, but Japan unilaterally called the meeting off, citing the Dokdo issue, according to the Foreign Ministry on Monday. 　 The two countries had tentatively decided for Moon and Suga to have a pull-aside meeting on the fringes of the summit, which was held Friday through Sunday at Carbis Bay Hotel and Estate in Cornwall, southwestern England, accordin

June 14, 2021

Japan unilaterally cancels plan for talks between Moon, Suga: official

Japan called off agreed-upon talks between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the Group of Seven (G-7) meeting in Britain due to Seoul's regular exercise to defend its easternmost islets of Dokdo, a foreign ministry official said Monday. Seoul and Tokyo had reached a tentative agreement to hold a "pull-aside" meeting between their leaders on the sidelines of the G-7 session in the seaside resort of Carbis Bay in Cornwall, the official said. The thr

June 14, 2021

Ex-deputy foreign minister appointed as ambassador to Iran

Yun Kang-hyeon, a career diplomat known for his expertise on bilateral, multilateral, political and economic affairs, was appointed as new South Korean ambassador to Iran, the foreign ministry said Monday. While serving as the deputy minister for economic affairs from 2017-2020, Yun was in charge of the negotiations with Tehran over Iranian funds frozen at South Korean banks due to US sanctions. Yun had until recently served as ambassador for international relations in the central province of

June 14, 2021

Meeting Suga at G-7 'precious' occasion for new beginning in S. Korea-Japan relations: Moon

President Moon Jae-in has shared his thoughts on meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in person for the first time at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain, describing the experience as "precious" in terms of potentially improving the two nations' frayed bilateral relationship. On Saturday, Moon "exchanged greetings" with Suga just before the start of an expanded session of the G-7 summit at Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate in Cornwall, Britain, according to Cheo

June 14, 2021