S. Korea's spy chief meets Suga amid protracted dispute over wartime forced labor

TOKYO/SEOUL -- South Korea's National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo on Tuesday, a senior Japanese official said, amid strained relations between the two countries over wartime history and trade. Tokyo's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular press briefing that Park paid a courtesy call on Suga, in the first high-level meeting between the two countries since Suga took office in September after his predecessor,

Nov. 10, 2020

Court public notice takes effect for compensation of wartime forced laborers

A public notice by a court went into effect on Tuesday to proceed with a stalled legal process to liquidate the assets of a Japanese firm and compensate wartime forced laborers. The Daejeon District Court in central South Korea has served the notice to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) to institute the compensation process, as the Japanese company failed to respond to a ruling by South Korea's Supreme Court to compensate five forced laborers and their families who suffered during World War

Nov. 10, 2020

S. Korea considering arranging Moon-Biden phone talks at 'appropriate time': foreign ministry

South Korea is considering arranging phone talks between President Moon Jae-in and US President-elect Joe Biden at an "appropriate" time, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Lee Jae-woong, the ministry's deputy spokesman, made the remarks as speculation has grown over when Moon will hold his first phone conversation with Biden as President Donald Trump has refused to concede defeat in last week's election. "We are considering holding diplomatic events with the US president-elect,

Nov. 10, 2020

S. Korea to continue consultation with Japan on wartime forced labor amid legal compensation process: ministry

South Korea will continue close consultations with Japan over the long-simmering issue of Tokyo's wartime forced labor, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, as a legal process to compensate victims took a step forward with no diplomatic solution in sight. A district court in the central city of Daejeon has served Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a public notice related to the victims' request to sell off local assets of the Japanese firm. The notice took effect at the start of Tuesday. The public not

Nov. 10, 2020

Kang, Pompeo reaffirm close cooperation on peninsular affairs

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed their commitment for their countries to closely cooperate on ensuring the stable management of the Korean Peninsula situation. 　 Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the top diplomats of the two countries held talks during a luncheon in Washington on Monday, discussing pending bilateral and regional issues. 　 Kang and Pompeo agreed on continuing efforts to develop South Korea-US relations a

Nov. 10, 2020

Kang, Pompeo reaffirm efforts to ensure peace on Korean Peninsula

WASHINGTON -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula, both sides said, as they held talks two days after Joe Biden was elected the next US president. "During the meeting, Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Kang discussed bilateral and regional priorities, including coordination on ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and expanding cooperation through the US Indo-

Nov. 10, 2020

Senior diplomats of S. Korea, China hold virtual talks ahead of ASEAN summits

Senior diplomats of South Korea and China held video talks on Monday to discuss upcoming summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other bilateral issues, the foreign ministry said. Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn met virtually with his Chinese counterpart, Luo Zhaohui, ahead of the ASEAN Plus Three summit involving their countries and Japan and the East Asia Summit to be joined by 18 countries including the United States, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and Indi

Nov. 9, 2020

S. Korea, Caribbean countries to hold annual forum to discuss health care, food security

South Korea and Caribbean countries will hold their annual high-level forum later this week to discuss cooperation on health and medical care, and food security in the post-coronavirus era, the foreign ministry said Monday. The 10th High-Level Forum on the Korea-Caribbean Partnership is scheduled to take place in Seoul on Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to strengthen cooperation with the region in various areas, such as responses to pandemics and climate change, and energy. The ministry will host th

Nov. 9, 2020

USFK veterans' association holds alliance conference for junior American soldiers

An association of American veterans who served in South Korea said Monday that it held a conference to help junior US service members better understand the alliance between the two countries and security situations surrounding the Korean Peninsula. The conference took place at Camp Humphreys in the city of Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday and brought together around 80 junior members of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and officers from the Eighth Army, according to the Kore

Nov. 9, 2020

Kang says Biden won’t return to ‘strategic patience’ with Pyongyang

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha predicted that the incoming Joe Biden administration would not return to the Obama-era policy of “strategic patience” in dealing with a nuclear-armed North Korea.  Kang made the remarks to reporters on Sunday (US time) after visiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington. Seoul’s top diplomat is in the US capital through Wednesday for talks with her counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, about pending bilateral a

Nov. 9, 2020

FM Kang arrives in US for talks with Pompeo after Biden victory

WASHINGTON -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Washington on Sunday for talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about pending bilateral and regional issues. Kang's visit came shortly after US Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the presidential election in a move sure to bring sweeping changes to how the United States deals with South Korea and other allies and how it will approach the daunting issue of North Korea. The top South Korean diplomat noted the US' approach t

Nov. 9, 2020

Seoul eyes bolstering ties with new Biden administration

With Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential race, South Korea will seek to forge ties with the new administration to further bolster the alliance and make progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula. 　 South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to US President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, hours after major media outlets in the US announced Biden’s win over incumbent President Donald Trump. 　 “Congratulati

Nov. 8, 2020

Foreign Ministry vows continued efforts with incoming Biden government for stronger alliance

South Korea's foreign ministry said Sunday it will continue efforts with the incoming government of US President-elect Joe Biden to strengthen the bilateral alliance and achieve progress in efforts for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. The ministry's statement came as Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left for Washington for talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, congressional people and academics, which observers predict could include those close to Biden. "The foreign ministry

Nov. 8, 2020

Biden victory signals stronger alliance with S. Korea, different approach to N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Joe Biden is widely expected to restore and strengthen the alliance with South Korea while taking a different and more principled approach toward North Korea than President Donald Trump's top-down diplomacy. "Biden has declared that he would not engage in photo-op summits as Trump did. Instead, Biden would return to 'bottom-up' diplomacy which first requires progress toward a denuclearization agreement during working-level diplomat meetings," said Bruc

Nov. 8, 2020

S. Korea opens consulate office in Da Nang

South Korea opened a consulate general in Da Nang on Friday as part of efforts to meet the growing needs of its people traveling the eastern city of Vietnam. The Consulate General of South Korea in Da Nang held a ceremony to mark the launch of the diplomatic mission at the Hilton Hotel in the Vietnamese city and went into operation. The ceremony was attended by Park Noh-wan, the South Korean ambassador to Vietnam, and other diplomats from the two countries. The opening has been needed to meet

Nov. 6, 2020

Diplomats of S. Korea, US hold talks ahead of FM Kang's visit to US

Diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss pending bilateral and regional issues, the foreign ministry said, ahead of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's trip to Washington next week. The meeting between Koh Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Marc Knapper, deputy US assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, came just days after the US presidential election. Kang plans to visit the US from Sunday through Wed

Nov. 6, 2020

S. Korea calls for US-N. Korea talks in high-level security consultations

A top South Korean national security official stressed the need Friday for the resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States, pointing out that the US presidential election has come to an end. Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, made the call during a virtual consultation session with his American and Japanese counterparts, Robert O'Brien and Shigeru Kitamura, Cheong Wa Dae said. They had discussions on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, e

Nov. 6, 2020

Jeju Gov. Won urges Japan to treat Fukushima water as 'human, environmental security issue'

SEOUL/JEJU -- Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong called Friday for Japan to deal with the contaminated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant as a "human, environmental security issue." The governor made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, amid public concerns over Tokyo's possible discharge of the tritium-laced water in the ocean. "On Japan's decision to release radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, I urge Japa

Nov. 6, 2020

Korea names new ambassadors to 11 nations

South Korea on Thursday appointed new ambassadors to 11 nations, including Germany and Switzerland, in a regular reshuffle, the foreign ministry said. Roh Tae-kang, former vice culture minister under President Moon Jae-in from 2017-2019, was appointed ambassador to Switzerland, the ministry said. The ministry said Roh "has the experience that will enable him to seek a higher level of cooperation with the host nation, which is ahead in the cultural and tourism sectors." Cho Hyun-

Nov. 5, 2020

Foreign ministry denies report on S. Korean minister's withdrawal of WTO chief bid

South Korea's foreign ministry denied a news report Thursday that Seoul's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee will soon drop out of the race for the new director-general at the World Trade Organization. The Chosun Ilbo reported earlier in the day that the government had made the decision to have Yoo withdraw her candidacy and that she will be making an official announcement in due course. Yoo fell behind her Nigerian rival, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in the final round of consultations among the 164 memb

Nov. 5, 2020