Trump says he plans to invite S. Korea to G7 summit in September

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he plans to invite South Korea to a Group of Seven summit in September. South Korea is not a member of the G7, which comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, but the country has drawn widespread praise from around the world for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. "We want Australia. We want India. We want South Korea. And what do we have? That's a nice group of countries right there,&q

May 31, 2020

Hungary awards S. Korean rescue officials medals for search efforts in Danube boat sinking

Hungary awarded 38 South Korean divers and other rescue officials medals of merit for their efforts and service in search operations for Korean and other victims in last year's boat sinking in Budapest, its embassy in Seoul said Friday. A ceremony was held at the Hungarian Cultural Institute in central Seoul on Friday to present the medals of meritorious service to the rescue officials, the Hungarian embassy said, including Song Shun-keun, a former defense attache at the South Korean Embassy

May 29, 2020

Democracies better handle COVID-19; Korea is example: Nye

The view that authoritarian states will do a better job of responding to the coronavirus than democracies has been proven wrong, said renowned US scholar Joseph Nye -- best known for pioneering the “soft power” theory -- pointing to South Korea as a positive example. “Authoritarian leaders have used COVID-19 as an excuse to deepen their power and control,” Nye said in an online forum broadcast live on YouTube on Wednesday, whereas in “notable democracies” su

May 28, 2020

Moon's adviser says antagonizing China will start new Cold War

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's alliance with the United States is more important than its strategic partnership with China, but antagonizing Beijing will start a new Cold War on the Korean Peninsula, a special security adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday. Speaking from Seoul, Moon Chung-in was addressing the dilemma Seoul faces in its diplomatic relations with Washington and Beijing, as tensions between the two have intensified amid the coronavirus pandemic. "South Korea is an

May 28, 2020

Belgium hopes to introduce S. Korea's virus contact tracing system

South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook and Queen Mathilde of Belgium held telephone talks on Wednesday and discussed ways to boost cooperation in tackling the new coronavirus, the presidential office said. During the 50-minute conversation, Mathilde praised South Korea's response to COVID-19 and expressed hope to adopt its contract tracing system in preparation for a possible second wave of the pandemic, according to a press release by Cheong Wa Dae. Kim, in response, briefed the queen on how

May 27, 2020

S. Korea shares K-quarantine info with Latin American countries via online seminar

South Korea shared its experience and quarantine process in tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic with Latin American countries through an online seminar Wednesday. The Special Webinar on COVID-19 for Policy and Technology event, hosted by the International Quarantine Cooperation task force, comes as many countries in Central and South America have reported a large number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths. These countries have expressed interest in South Korea's handling of the virus outb

May 27, 2020

US nuclear forces are ready and deter all adversaries, including N. Korea: Pentagon official

WASHINGTON -- The United States' nuclear forces are ready and deter all adversaries, including potentially North Korea, a Pentagon official said Tuesday after the communist nation vowed to build its nuclear deterrence. Drew Walter, currently performing the duties of deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters, said the US is aware of the size of North Korea's nuclear stockpile and it is not as large as those of other nuclear-armed nations. "I think the Department (of Defens

May 27, 2020

China shares info on proposed Hong Kong security law with S. Korea: embassy official

China has shared information with South Korea on its push for a controversial security law for Hong  Kong, a Chinese Embassy official said Tuesday, in an apparent move to seek Seoul's backing for the proposal. The proposed law, seen as a bid to tighten Beijing's control over the semiautonomous territory, has triggered fears from Washington and democracy advocates that the legislation would erode Hong Kong's autonomy and civil liberties. "(China) has shared information related to the

May 26, 2020

S. Korea to send 50,000 tons of rice aid to Mideast, Africa

SEJONG -- South Korea will provide 50,000 tons of rice to four nations in the Middle East and Africa as part of its overseas food aid program, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday. Seoul plans to deliver 19,000 tons of rice to Yemen, 16,000 tons to Ethiopia, 10,000 tons to Kenya and 5,000 tons to Uganda through the World Food Program (WFP), according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It marks South Korea's third round of rice aid to the famine-stricken countries. Seoul s

May 26, 2020

S. Korea to host online seminar on virus responses for S. American countries

South Korea is hosting an online session this week to share its know-how and experience in tackling the coronavirus pandemic with foreign partners in South America, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The web seminar, set to take place early Wednesday, is the third of its kind to be arranged by the government since Seoul launched the task force late last month to respond to growing foreign requests for Korea to share its policy measures against COVID-19. South Korea's swift response system h

May 26, 2020

Hungary to erect monument in memory of S. Korean victims of boat sinking

GENEVA -- Hungary plans to erect a monument in the memory of the 25 South Koreans killed in last year's deadly boat sinking in Budapest as this week marks the first anniversary of the accident, according to the South Korean Embassy in Hungary on Tuesday. The memorial stone will be set up near the accident site in the Danube River, where the Korean tourists aboard a sightseeing boat went missing after the vessel collided with a bigger cruise line on May 29. Bodies of 24 people have been retrie

May 26, 2020

S. Korea, US pushing for defense ministers' videoconference next month

South Korea and the United States are working to set up a videoconference call between their defense ministers next month to discuss defense cost-sharing, North Korea and other pending issues, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The move came as an annual meeting in Singapore of defense ministers in the region, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, has been called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. The South and the US have usually held one-on-one talks on the sidelines of the conference. "

May 26, 2020

US amb. visits site near inter-Korean border to honor fallen American soldiers in Korean War

US Ambassador Harry Harris has visited a memorial site near the inter-Korean border to honor American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as he marked Memorial Day in the United States. Harris on Monday tweeted pictures of himself and flowers he laid at the Monument Dedicated to US Forces in the Korea War during a visit to Imjingak Pavillion in Paju near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. "Today's #Memorial Day in USA. We honor women & men who died in Amer

May 25, 2020

UNC deputy chief thanks S. Korea for providing masks to Korean War veterans

The deputy commander of the US-led United Nations Command has praised South Korea's handling of the new coronavirus and thanked the country for providing masks to Korean War veterans around the world. Vice Adm. Stuart Mayer made the comments as he joined "the COVID-19 Blueberry Challenge" initiated by the city of Pyeongtaek, where the command's headquarters is located. "Now, the ROK has been recognized as a true global leader in the fight against the COVID-19. We are lucky and

May 25, 2020

Over 30,000 S. Koreans return home from abroad amid coronavirus pandemic

Some 30,000 South Koreans living abroad have returned home amid the new coronavirus pandemic, a presidential official said Sunday. As of Friday, 30,174 South Koreans from 103 countries had returned home, Cheong Wa Dae's deputy spokesperson Yoon Jae-kwan said. The number includes overseas residents, as well as students and travelers. Of the total, 1,707 returned on chartered planes, including military aircraft, from China, Japan, Iran, Peru, Italy, Ethiopia and other countries. Yoon said th

May 24, 2020

S. Korea to give 370,000 masks to Koreans adopted overseas

South Korea will provide 370,000 face masks to Koreans adopted overseas to help them fight the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said Sunday. Starting Monday, 210,000, or 60 percent of the total, will be sent to the United States, where the number of Korean adoptees is the largest, and the remainder will be distributed to 13 other countries, according to the ministry. Among some 167,000 Koreans adopted overseas, 110,000 live in the US. Other countries with Korean adoptees include France,

May 24, 2020

S. Korea seeks close ties with central Europe on trust built up over COVID-19 cooperation

South Korea is seeking to expand cooperation with central European countries based on trust built up through joint efforts in tackling the coronavirus outbreak, the foreign ministry here said Friday. In a videoconference with chiefs of South Korean missions in the region, Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn said that Seoul wants closer relations with Visegrad Group countries -- Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic -- to overcome the COVID-19 scourge and ensure the health crisis does n

May 22, 2020

FM Kang pledges to use S. Korea's medical, technological savvy to back UN peacekeeping

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Friday that South Korea will capitalize on its medical and technological savvy to make "substantive" contributions to UN peacekeeping operations. Kang made the remarks during the first session of the government's panel tasked with preparing for Seoul's hosting of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference slated to take place in April next year. "Based on our strength as a technology powerhouse and our status as a medical powerhouse, which

May 22, 2020

US cites partnership with S. Korea in approach to countering China

WASHINGTON -- The United States is building partnerships with South Korea and other allies to counter the damaging effects of China's rising influence in the world, according to a new US government report. The 16-page "United States Strategic Approach to the People's Republic of China" was submitted to Congress this week by President Donald Trump, a requirement under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, the White House said Thursday. The report outlines the T

May 22, 2020

S. Korea, US exchange ideas on economic initiative against China: source

South Korea and the United States exchanged broad ideas about a US initiative to diversify global supply chains away from China last year, but the discussions remained conceptual, a diplomatic source said Thursday. The remarks came a day after Keith Krach, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, said that he and South Korean officials talked about the Economic Prosperity Network (EPN) initiative during the allies' Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) in Seoul in Nove

May 21, 2020