US envoy for N. Korea expected to visit Seoul this week

Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, is expected to visit Seoul later this week, fanning speculations of a possible trilateral session among Seoul, Washington and Moscow.  Kim is expected to arrive here on Saturday for a four-day stay, about two months after his first visit in June, local media outlets reported on Monday.  During Kim’s stay, Russia’s nuclear envoy, Igor Morgulov, could also visit Seoul, raising possibility of a trilateral session with

Aug. 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon orders all-out efforts for safe evacuation of Koreans from Afghanistan

President Moon Jae-in instructed his government Monday to do its best for the safe evacuation of South Korea's diplomatic officials and residents in Afghanistan. He told relevant authorities to make all-out efforts so that every single South Korean national there can be evacuated to safety, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The president has been receiving real-time reports on recent security situations in the nation, where the Taliban has taken control, she added. Moon

Aug. 16, 2021

S. Korea decides to temporarily close Afghan embassy, evacuates most diplomatic staff

South Korea has decided to temporarily close its embassy in Afghanistan and evacuated most of its diplomatic staff to a third country in the Middle East, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The decision came as the Taliban militant group reportedly entered the Afghan capital of Kabul and sought a "peaceful transfer of power" over the weekend, just weeks before the US completes the pullout of its troops to end nearly 20 years of war. A few embassy personnel, including the ambassador, re

Aug. 16, 2021

Harvard professor Ramseyer denies Japanese military's forced mobilization of comfort women

NEW YORK/SEOUL -- A Harvard professor has claimed that Japan did not force Korean and other women into sexual slavery during World War II, renewing his much-denounced claims that the victims were actually prostitutes. J. Mark Ramseyer of the Harvard Law School made the claim in the preface to a recently published book on the victims, saying Japan's military did not need to forcibly mobilize what he characterized as prostitutes and had little room to do so. Authored by Tetsuo Arima, a social sc

Aug. 15, 2021

S. Korea voices deep regret over Suga's offerings, other leaders' visits to Yasukuni

South Korea on Sunday expressed deep regret over Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's sending of offerings and other leader's visits to Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of World War II. "The government voices its deep disappointment and regret over Japanese leaders repeating the sending of offerings and visits to Yasukuni Shrine that beautifies Japan's past war of aggression and enshrines war criminals," Choi Young-sam, foreign ministry spokesperson, s

Aug. 15, 2021

Foreign ministry summons Japanese diplomat over Yasukuni visit by defense minister

The foreign ministry called in a senior Japanese diplomat on Friday to protest Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi's visit to a war shrine in Tokyo seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Lee Sang-ryeol, director general for Asia Pacific affairs, lodged a stern protest when he met with Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, the ministry said in a release. Kishi, along with Yasutoshi Nishimura, economic and fiscal policy minister, visited the controver

Aug. 13, 2021

S. Korea extends advisory against overseas travel amid pandemic

The foreign ministry on Friday extended the special advisory against overseas travel for another month, citing the continued spread of the coronavirus pandemic and virus variants. The advisory, effective until Sept. 13, calls for South Koreans not to go abroad unless the trip is essential, and for those staying outside of the country to take extra precautions for safety. The measure can be extended again. The extension takes into account the importance of citizens refraining from overseas trav

Aug. 13, 2021

S. Korea, US join hands to bolster multilateralism

South Korea and the United States on Friday agreed to join forces in reinforcing multilateralism and resolving other pending global trade issues. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a virtual meeting with his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, to discuss ways to cope with the changing global trade environment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, the two officials vowed to make efforts to restore the multilateral trade regime by normalizing the function of the G

Aug. 13, 2021

S. Korea raises travel alert for Ethiopia's South Wollo, East Gojjam

South Korea on Thursday raised the travel alert for two areas in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region amid escalating armed clashes in the country, recommending citizens cancel or delay plans to travel there. The foreign ministry issued the Level 3 travel alert for South Wollo and East Gojjam -- the second highest in the four-tier system, which asks citizens to cancel their travel plans and those already in the areas to move to safe places. The ministry said that it would continue to review whet

Aug. 12, 2021

Pandemic demands revamped, inclusive international order

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the fragility of the US-led liberal international order, says professor John Ikenberry of Princeton University, but the world should rebuild the system and improve it. Ikenberry, a prominent US scholar whose focus is the liberal international order, acknowledged that the liberal order had been “breaking up” for years and said the pandemic had revealed the system’s limits and the need for international cooperation. “But it’s no

Aug. 12, 2021

Kazakh president to visit Seoul next week

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will make a two-day state visit to Seoul next week, marking the first presidential visit to the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday. Kazakhstan, the largest economy in Central Asia, is one of the key partners in the nation’s New Northern Policy, which seeks to strengthen cooperation with Central Asian countries under a vision of peace and prosperity in Eurasia. The Kazakh president is expe

Aug. 12, 2021

Court rules against forced Korean labor victim in suit against Japan's Mitsubishi Materials

A South Korean court on Wednesday ruled against a victim of forced wartime labor in Japan in a damages suit launched against Japan's Mitsubishi Materials Corp. The Seoul Central District Court ruled against the surviving family of the late victim, surnamed Lee, who demanded 100 million won (US$87,000) from Mitsubishi Materials for the late Lee's forced labor in Japanese coal mines from 1941 to 1945. Lee claimed that he was forced to work in Japanese coal mines during those five years. The surv

Aug. 11, 2021

Senior Japanese diplomat returns home after disparaging remarks against Moon

A senior Japanese diplomat stationed in Seoul returned home Wednesday, about a month after he came under fire for his remarks disparaging South Korean President Moon Jae-in's efforts to improve relations with Tokyo. Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, took a flight home from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier in the day, according to diplomatic sources. Soma has been criticized after telling a South Korean reporter during a lunch meeting

Aug. 11, 2021

Chinese Ambassador Xing calls for concerted efforts for peninsula peace at 'complicated juncture'

Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming called Wednesday for concerted efforts to foster peace on the Korean Peninsula at a "complicated" juncture amid renewed inter-Korean tensions over the ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Xing made the remarks at a forum, after North Korea repeatedly bashed the South and the United States for pressing ahead with their annual drills, calling the maneuvers the "most vivid expression" of the US' hostile policy to it and warning of a &

Aug. 11, 2021

US holds no hostile intent toward N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States holds no hostile intent toward North Korea, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday, in reaction to a statement by North Korea denouncing the US and South Korea over their joint military exercises. The spokesman, Ned Price, said he had no comment on the statement issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, but insisted that the joint military drills are purely defensive in nature. "First, let me reiterate that the joint military exerc

Aug. 11, 2021

S. Korea, US begin preliminary training ahead of main summertime exercise

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday began a preliminary training in the runup to next week's annual summertime military exercise amid the North's warning it will take a toll on inter-Korean relations, sources said. The four-day crisis management staff training is aimed at checking the military's response to unexpected situations before a war breaks out. It will be followed by the main computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training scheduled for Aug. 16-26, according to the sources.

Aug. 10, 2021

'Nothing has changed' about need for joint exercise on Korean Peninsula: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- Nothing has changed for the need to maintain the joint defense readiness of South Korea and the United States, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, emphasizing the importance of the allies' joint military exercises. John Kirby also reiterated any decision on the countries' joint military drills will be made jointly by the allies. "Nothing's changed about our need for readiness on the Korean Peninsula and our desire to work in lockstep with our ROK allies on a training regimen t

Aug. 10, 2021

Blinken says open to 'different options' in renewed call for NK dialogue: official

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken showed a willingness to consider different "options" and "possibilities" with North Korea in a renewed call for its return to dialogue during a regional forum last week, a Washington official said Monday. Kin W. Moy, a senior official for the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, made the remarks during a telephone press conference on Blinken's attendance at a series of forums led by the Association of Southeast Asi

Aug. 9, 2021

FM to court ASEAN countries amid thaw with N. Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is expected to meet virtually with Southeast Asian foreign ministers Friday and ask for their support in building lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, as the two Koreas seek to repair ties over recently reconnected hotlines. North Korea is also attending the ASEAN Regional Forum, which brings together top envoys from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations and their counterparts from 17 countries, including the US and EU. But North

Aug. 6, 2021

Top diplomats of S. Korea, US agree on efforts for NK engagement in phone talks

SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to make continued efforts to engage with North Korea and foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula during their phone talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. The talks came after last week's restoration of inter-Korean communication channels fueled hopes for the resumption of nuclear diplomacy with North Korea, though growing optimism for dialogue was tempered by the North's warning that the

Aug. 6, 2021