S. Korea not considering pulling out diplomats from Wuhan

Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday it is not considering evacuating its diplomats from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan as more than 100 South Koreans are still residing in the affected area. "There are still South Korean residents in Wuhan, who have been staying in the city on a long-term basis," an official from South Korea's foreign ministry said. "Those people are calling for further support." A total of 701 South Koreans were evacuated from the Chinese city

Feb. 2, 2020

FM holds dinner talks with EU diplomats on fight against coronavirus, bilateral ties

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a dinner meeting with Seoul-based diplomats from the European Union this week to discuss efforts to stem the spread of a new coronavirus, bilateral ties and other issues, the foreign ministry said Friday. On Thursday, Kang hosted the gathering with more than two dozen diplomats, including EU Ambassador to South Korea Michael Reiterer, and voiced hope for close cooperation between South Korea and the EU through high-level exchanges. In particular, Kang use

Jan. 31, 2020

S. Korea to send 2nd evacuation flight to Wuhan Friday night

South Korea will send a second chartered flight to the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan late Friday to evacuate some 350 South Korean nationals out of the region under lockdown, the foreign ministry said. A Korean Air passenger jet is set to depart from Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul with a quick response team of around 20 medical and quarantine officials on board. It is expected to take off at 8:45 p.m. "We have received approval for the operation of a chartered plane

Jan. 31, 2020

Vice FM discusses coronavirus outbreak with new Chinese ambassador

Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young met with new Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming on Friday and discussed joint efforts to fight the new coronavirus and other bilateral issues, the foreign ministry said. Their first meeting came after a South Korean chartered flight brought home earlier in the day 368 nationals from China's Wuhan city, the epicenter of the highly contagious disease. Seoul is seeking to send another plane later tonight to evacuate the remaining 350. The new top

Jan. 31, 2020

S. Korea in talks with China to send new evacuation flight Friday night to virus-hit Wuhan

South Korea is in talks with Chinese authorities over its plan to send another flight to the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday night to bring home its remaining citizens there, a foreign ministry official said. Kang Hyung-shik, head of the ministry's international safety management bureau, made the remarks hours after the first evacuation plane carrying nearly 370 South Koreans from the epicenter of the deadly virus arrived in Seoul. Currently about 350 citizens are awaiting evac

Jan. 31, 2020

S. Korea to erect monument in Vladivostok to remember independence fighter

South Korea plans to establish a monument in Russia's eastern port city of Vladivostok in the first half of the year to pay tribute to an independence fighter during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, South Korean officials said Thursday. The South Korean Consulate in the Russian city said the erection of the monument to Yi Dong-hwi, who served as the first prime minister of the Korean Provisional Government, will take place near the city's Pokrovsky Cathedral on June 26 in coopera

Jan. 30, 2020

New Chinese ambassador pledges efforts for 'great' development of S. Korea-China ties

New Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming pledged Thursday to strive hard for the "great" development of relations between the two countries amid their efforts to address lingering tensions over the installation of a US missile defense system here. Xing, a former Chinese ambassador to Mongolia, made the remarks upon arriving in South Korea to fill the ambassadorial post that was left vacant after his predecessor Qiu Guohong left the country late last month after nearly six y

Jan. 30, 2020

S. Korean envoy departs for Europe for talks on denuclearization, peace efforts

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, embarked on a trip to Europe on Wednesday for talks with senior officials there over ongoing efforts for denuclearization and a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul officials said. Lee's trip to Belgium and Germany came as Seoul has been striving to secure global support for its push to bolster inter-Korean cooperation projects, such as individual tours to the communist state, and move forward stalled nuclear negotiations between Washingt

Jan. 29, 2020

Top diplomats of S. Korea, China discuss response to coronavirus

The top diplomats of South Korea and China discussed over the phone ways to cooperate in dealing with the new strain of coronavirus on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had a 30-minute telephone call late Tuesday to discuss ways to protect Korean nationals in China against the outbreak of coronavirus as well as other issues like planned bilateral summit talks, according to the ministry. During the talks, Kang ask

Jan. 29, 2020

Senators urge US to reconsider demands in defense talks with S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- Two influential US senators have written a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, urging the administration to reconsider its demands for a hefty increase in South Korea's contributions to shared defense costs. The letter, penned by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jack Reed (D-RI), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, underscored concerns that the failure to reach a

Jan. 29, 2020

S. Korea to send $1 million in aid, delegation to help Australia recover from bushfires

South Korea plans to send $1 million in humanitarian aid and a government delegation to Australia to help the country recover from devastating bushfires, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The Seoul government will offer the aid through the Australian Red Cross to help console victims of the fires that killed 33 people and destroyed some 3,000 homes, the ministry said. It also will dispatch the delegation -- consisting of officials from the ministries of foreign affairs and defense and th

Jan. 28, 2020

S. Korea issues travel alert for China amid fears over deadly Wuhan coronavirus

South Korea's foreign ministry issued a travel alert for all of China except for Taiwan on Tuesday, amid stepped-up efforts to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus that first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last month. It applied the alert level of "restraint," the third highest in its four-tier travel warning system, for the entire country, including Hong Kong and Macau, while maintaining the second-highest level of "withdrawal recommendation" for

Jan. 28, 2020

FM could meet with Pompeo in Munich next month

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is considering traveling to Germany next month for an international security conference, officials said Monday, raising the possibility she could meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss Seoul's push for greater exchanges with North Korea. Kang's attendance at the Munich Security Conference set for Feb. 14-16 is expected to naturally lead to a one-on-one meeting with Pompeo, as the top American diplomat is also expected to attend the conference tog

Jan. 27, 2020

Search operations for S. Koreans missing in Himalayas suspended due to bad weather

The search for four South Koreans missing after an avalanche in the Himalayas were called off Thursday (Nepal time) as worsening weather continued to hamper operations. Nepalese authorities and a voluntary South Korean rescue team have been conducting the search since Friday's accident that left four Koreans and three Nepalese guides missing after an avalanche struck the popular trekking route on Mount Annapurna in northwestern Nepal. South Korea's quick response team dispatched to the site said

Jan. 23, 2020

Poll: 51.9% of S. Koreans back troop dispatch to Strait of Hormuz

A majority of South Koreans support the government's decision to dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz for a maritime security operation, a poll showed Thursday.Earlier this week, the Ministry of National Defense announced that the country's anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit, operating in the Gulf of Aden, would expand its mission to the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.The move represents Seoul's efforts to play a bigger role in global issues and keep its alliance with Washington

Jan. 23, 2020

China in close communication with S. Korea, other countries on new virus: embassy

WASHINGTON -- The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Wednesday that Chinese authorities are in close communication with South Korea, the United States and other nations to help fight the spread of a deadly new virus.The embassy wrote on Twitter that China's National Health Commission is "maintaining close communication with counterparts in Thailand, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States and other countries as well as their embassies in China, sharing the latest information while h

Jan. 23, 2020

Rescuers resume search for 4 Korean climbers, 3 Nepal guides

KATHMANDU (AP) -- Rescuers took advantage of improved weather on Nepal's Mount Annapurna to press ahead with a search for four South Korean climbers and three Nepali guides and have a possible location for them, officials said Wednesday. Nine soldiers and seven civilian rescuers were digging through ice and snow on the Annapurna trekking trail and had made progress in determining their possible whereabouts, said army spokesman Bigyan Dev Pandey. Snow and bad weather on Tuesday stalled the rescue

Jan. 22, 2020

US welcomes S. Korea's troop dispatch to Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON -- The United States said Tuesday it welcomes South Korea's decision to send troops to the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard its citizens and vessels passing through the strategic waterway.South Korea's defense ministry announced earlier that it will expand the operational area of its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden to cover the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.The 300-strong Cheonghae Unit will operate independently of the US-led International Mar

Jan. 22, 2020

S. Korean envoy to Nepal calls for continued search efforts for 4 missing in Himalayas

KATHMANDU/SEOUL -- South Korea's top envoy to Nepal has asked Nepalese authorities to continue efforts to find four South Koreans missing after an avalanche in the Himalayas, amid slow progress in search operations owing to bad weather. Monday's air and ground searches for the four people missing at the Annapurna trekking site were called off for the day as unfavorable weather conditions blocked officials from approaching the scene where the missing people are believed to be trapped. The school

Jan. 21, 2020

[Newsmaker] US envoy say it's his mustache; South Koreans say otherwise

SEOUL (AP) -- The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he's faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan's former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seou

Jan. 21, 2020