US to replace washed-out Korean flag: Seoul ministry

The United States has informed South Korea that it will replace a washed-out Korean national flag used in last week's airport welcoming ceremony for President Moon Jae-in, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. A US honor guard held up the Korean flag, along with an American flag, on April 10 when they lined up at the Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, DC to welcome Moon's visit for talks with US President Donald Trump. (Yonhap)The flag caused a stir in South Korea as the blue color of the

April 16, 2019

President to visit 3 Central Asian countries this week

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will embark on a week-long trip this week to three Central Asian countries to boost economic ties and to garner support for peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula, his office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.Moon will leave home on Tuesday to make state visits to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan -- in that order -- over eight days. It will be his first visit to the region since taking office in 2017.President Moon Jae-in speaks with US President Donald Trump (ou

April 14, 2019

Moon to comment on US summit, NK leader's speech: official

President Moon Jae-in will likely comment on his recent summit with US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's policy speech made last week, a senior presidential official said Sunday."President Moon will make a comment on his recent summit with Trump and Chairman Kim's policy speech tomorrow," the official said on condition of anonymity. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook to the White

April 14, 2019

US lawmakers introduce resolution recognizing Korea's 1919 provisional gov't

US lawmakers this week introduced a resolution recognizing the establishment of Korea's provisional government in China in 1919. The resolution was submitted to both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday ahead of the 100th anniversary of the April 11 launch of the government-in-exile in Shanghai during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. (Yonhap)The US Congress "recognizes the formation of the Provisional Government 100 years ago as fundamental to the vibrancy, success, and

April 11, 2019

Seoul cancels construction permit for new Japanese Embassy building

The construction permit for a new Japanese embassy building in central Seoul has been revoked, as Tokyo failed to break ground for four years after winning the permit, municipal officials said Wednesday.Seoul's Jongno Ward Office said it notified the Japanese Embassy on March 4 of the cancellation of the building permit issued in 2015, officials said.The revocation came as the Japanese government has delayed the start of construction work for a new embassy building in the South Korean capital fo

April 10, 2019

Ministry plans to strengthen implementation of UN sanctions resolutions

The Foreign Ministry is looking to increase its workforce dealing with the implementation of UN Security Council sanctions resolutions as part of its revamp plan, ministry officials said Tuesday.The Sanctions and Export Control Team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to be raised to the status of division by the end of May.  (Yonhap)With the boost, an undisclosed number of staff will join the group that currently has three regular officers and two members on temporary loan from anoth

April 9, 2019

Chilean president to make state visit to Seoul later this month

(Wikipedia)Chilean President Sebastian Pinera will make a state visit to South Korea later this month for summit talks with President Moon Jae-in, Seoul's presidential office said Friday.Pinera will visit Seoul on April 28 for a two-day stay, during which he will hold a summit with Moon, according to Yoon Do-han, the senior secretary to the president for public relations.His trip to Seoul will mark the first of its kind since his travel here in March 2012.The two are expected to discuss a wide r

April 5, 2019

Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic gaffes continue

An incorrect geographic term used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs triggered a complaint from the Latvian Embassy in Seoul last month, in what appears to be the latest in a string of diplomatic blunders. In an English version of its press release published on March 19, the ministry incorrectly referred to the three Baltic States --the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Estonia – as “the Balkan states.” Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)The ministry did not

April 3, 2019

Korea-ASEAN, Mekong summits set for November in Busan

Summit conferences among South Korea, ASEAN members and countries along the Mekong will be held in Busan in November, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday. The presidential office also said the suggestion of inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the event has been reviewed, and that Seoul is discussing the matter with ASEAN nations.  Yoon Do-han, the senior secretary to the president for public relations, announces the plans for the summit conferences in Seoul on Monday. YonhapAccording to Seoul

April 1, 2019

Sweden willing to play facilitating role in nuclear diplomacy: Swedish ambassador

Sweden stands ready to assume a discreet facilitating role in nuclear diplomacy with North Korea to contribute to building peace on the Korean Peninsula, Swedish Ambassador to Korea Jakob Hallgren stressed at a meeting hosted by Seoul Cyber University last week. Swedish Ambassador to Korea Jakob Hallgren (Seoul Cyber University)“We have played a role as a facilitator in relations with North Korea and we are happy to continue in that role,” said Hallgren, citing north European countries’ history

April 1, 2019

Foreign minister says Seoul, Washington want to keep momentum of US-North Korea dialogue

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Sunday that Seoul and Washington are on the same page in wanting to maintain the momentum of United States-North Korea talks.　Kang returned home after holding talks with her US counterpart Mike Pompeo in Washington D.C. It was their first meeting since the no-deal summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi last month. South Korea`s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)　“South Korea and the US share

March 31, 2019

S. Korea, US aligned on end goal on N. Korea: FM Kang

South Korea and the United States are completely aligned on their end goal when it comes to their diplomatic efforts with North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Friday after talks with her American counterpart.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Washington earlier in the day for her first meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since the no-deal summit last month between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.At a press conference after the talks, Kang said the

March 30, 2019

Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet with China's Xi Jinping next week

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was recently named chief of South Korea's pan-national body on fine dust air pollution, is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, sources here said Friday.Ban has been staying in Boao, Hainan Province, in southern China for the Boao Forum for Asia since Tuesday. He will later visit Gansu Province in western China and then head to Beijing to meet with Xi, according to sources. In this file photo taken on March 28, 2019, former UN Secr

March 29, 2019

S. Korean foreign minister heads to US for talks with Pompeo

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left for the United States on Thursday to attend a UN forum and hold talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.It would be their first meeting since the sudden collapse of a Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump a month earlier.Some media here raised the possibility of a rift between Seoul and Washington on a post-summit strategy, especially related to inter-Korean economic cooperation. (Yonhap)"(We) plan t

March 28, 2019

S. Korea, China discuss fine dust issue in prime ministerial talks

South Korea and China agreed to strengthen cooperation against fine dust during their prime ministerial talks here Wednesday.In a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon pointed out that, "Air pollution, including fine dust, is a pressing national task (to resolve) for both countries." South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang ahead of the annual Boao Forum, held in southern island province of Hainan. (Yonhap)Th

March 27, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, US to hold talks in Washington this week

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Washington later this week to discuss diplomacy with North Korea following last month's unfruitful summit between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are set to meet Friday (Washington time) after Kang attends a U.N. ministerial meeting on peace-keeping in New York the same day. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)Kang a

March 27, 2019

S. Korea denounces Japan for Dokdo claim in textbooks

South Korea strongly condemned Japan on Tuesday for approving new elementary school textbooks with intensified claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Japan to retract the measure, emphasizing that the islets in the East Sea belong to South Korea. (Yonhap)"The government strongly condemns the Japanese government's authorization of the elementary school textbooks, including its unjustifiable claim to Dokdo, which is clearly our indi

March 26, 2019

Gov't holds interagency meeting on Brexit

South Korea on Friday held an interagency government meeting on Britain's planned exit from the European Union (EU) after leaders of the regional bloc agreed to extend the deadline for withdrawal.Officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and trade, as well as the Korea Customs Service, attended the meeting to discuss how to minimize any negative ramifications that could arise should Britain leave the EU. British Prime Minister Theresa May holds a press conference on March 22 at t

March 22, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae holds special NSC meeting over inter-Korean dialogue

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting of its National Security Council on Friday, hours after North Korea pulled out its officials from a joint liaison office with South Korea in its border town of Kaesong.The NSC meeting, held at Cheong Wa Dae, was chaired by Chung Eui-yong, the top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Chung Eui-yong (Yonhap)"The standing members of the NSC discussed the North's withdrawal from the joint liai

March 22, 2019

'Made by war criminals': plan for Japanese labels in S. Korea

South Korea's foreign minister has intervened over a provincial proposal to apply stickers to some Japanese-made items in schools as "made by a Japanese firm responsible for war crimes".South Korea and Japan are both democracies and US allies faced with an increasingly assertive China and the long-running threat of nuclear-armed North Korea.But their own ties have remained icy for years due to bitter disputes over history and territory stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean pe

March 22, 2019