Iran likely to release seized S. Korean tanker, captain as early as next week: source

Iran is likely to release a seized South Korean oil tanker and its captain as early as next week, a diplomatic source said Friday, noting "considerable progress" in the negotiations to end nearly three months of the seizure. In early January, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps seized the vessel, MT Hankuk Chemi, and its 20-member crew over alleged oil pollution. In February, the Iranian authorities agreed to set free all sailors except for the captain for the ship's management.

April 2, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae seeks Moon-Biden summit in April: sources

South Korean President Moon Jae-in may hold his first face-to-face summit talks with US President Joe Biden as early as this month, an informed source here said Friday. Moon and Biden plan to attend a Group of Seven (G-7) summit to be held in Britain in June, which would set the stage for their meeting. But the two sides are "in close consultations" to arrange the first Moon-Biden summit ahead of the G-7 session, according to the source privy to the matter. If agreed, chances are hi

April 2, 2021

FM Chung departs for China for talks with Wang

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong arrived in China on Friday for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss bilateral ties, the Korean Peninsula situation and regional and global issues, his office said. The ministers are set to hold their first in-person meeting in their current capacities in the southeastern city of Xiamen on Saturday, amid renewed tensions caused by North Korea's recent missile launches and an escalating Sino-US rivalry. The talks come after Chung met separately

April 2, 2021

US 'very much open' to feedback from allies on N. Korea policy

The United States is open and prepared to take feedback from key allies on its new approach to dealing with a nuclear-armed North Korea, a senior US administration official said Thursday. The remarks came one day before National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is set to host his South Korean and Japanese counterparts -- Suh Hoon and Shigeru Kitamura -- for discussions on a wide range of issues that will include the ongoing review of US policies toward North Korea. "This is the most senior

April 2, 2021

Japan’s bigger presence adds complexity to NK nuke talks

Japan is rising as a possible fourth player in North Korean denuclearization issues, boosted by the new US administration’s emphasis on South Korea-US-Japan ties, but the changes are likely to bring complications for Seoul, experts say. The three nations are holding a series of high-level talks. Following the new US security team’s trip to Seoul and Tokyo in March, their top security advisers plan to hold a face-to-face meeting Friday as part of Washington’s ongoing policy r

April 1, 2021

S. Korea discusses upcoming NPT review meeting with Britain, EU

A foreign ministry official has held separate video talks with his counterparts from Britain and the European Union (EU) to discuss an upcoming conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the ministry said Thursday. Park Il, director general for nonproliferation and nuclear affairs, spoke via video links Tuesday with Samantha Job, director for defense and international security at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the ministry said. He also had video talks with Marj

April 1, 2021

Diplomats from S. Korea, Japan hold talks amid rows over wartime history, trade

TOKYO/SEOUL -- Diplomats from South Korea and Japan held talks in Tokyo on Thursday, a source said, as they seek to address protracted spats over wartime history and trade amid the United States' calls for stronger trilateral cooperation with its Asian allies. The closed-door meeting between Lee Sang-ryol, director general for Asian and Pacific affairs at the foreign ministry, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came a day after Foreign Minister Chung-Eui-yong renewed Seoul's desi

April 1, 2021

S. Korea's national security adviser arrives in US for talks

South Korea's national security adviser, Suh Hoon, arrived in the United States on Wednesday for talks with his US and Japanese counterparts on how to deal with North Korea. Suh arrived in New York, and is expected to travel to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where the three-way security dialogue will be held on Friday. Seoul's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, earlier said Suh will also hold bilateral talks with his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and Japan's Shigeru Kitamura.

April 1, 2021

S. Korea, Japan to have working-level talks amid protracted row over history, trade

South Korea and Japan will hold working-level diplomatic talks this week to discuss the protracted row over wartime history and trade, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Lee Sang-ryol, director general for Asian and Pacific affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, left for Tokyo earlier in the day for talks with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, the ministry said. The previous working-level talks took place via video links in January. This week's talks, slated for Thursday, come as S

March 31, 2021

Foreign minister calls for talks with Japanese counterpart

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Wednesday expressed hopes of meeting with his Japanese counterpart at an early date in an effort to repair bilateral ties that have long been strained over economic and historic disputes.   　 “Personally, I hope for the foreign ministerial talks between Korea and Japan to take place at an early date,” Chung told a press conference held at the Foreign Ministry, saying he was intent on meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu M

March 31, 2021

Top security advisers of S. Korea, US, Japan to hold talks in Washington this week: White House

The top national security advisers of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Washington this week for talks on regional and foreign policy issues, the White House has announced, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will join his South Korean and Japanese counterparts -- Suh Hoon and Shigeru Kitamura -- for a trilateral dialogue on Friday (US time) at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, according to a statement on Tuesday. It will be the first such three-way talk

March 31, 2021

FM Chung expresses hope for early talks with Japanese counterpart

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed hope Wednesday for an early meeting with his Japanese counterpart, as South Korea seeks to improve ties with Japan in resuming diplomacy with North Korea amid the US' calls for stronger trilateral cooperation with its two Asian allies. Since his inauguration last month, Chung has not held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi even by phone, let alone a face-to-face meeting, amid tensions between the two countries over wartime history a

March 31, 2021

FM Chung to visit China for talks with Wang this week

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit China later this week for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss bilateral ties, the Korean Peninsula situation and regional and global issues, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Chung and Wang are set to hold their first in-person meeting in their current capacities in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen on Saturday, amid renewed regional tensions caused by North Korea's recent missile launches and an escalating Sino-US rivalry.

March 31, 2021

S. Korea 'strongly condemns' Japan's approval of school texts

South Korea "strongly condemns" Japan's approval of high school textbooks renewing territorial claims to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. A textbook screening committee under Japan's education ministry approved 296 textbooks for first-year high school students, including 30 kinds for social studies subjects, such as history and geography. The books will be used from next year. All of the 30 textbooks contain details about the rocky outcro

March 30, 2021

KOICA to focus on green, digital initiatives

The Korea International Cooperation Agency on Tuesday vowed to focus on digitization, expanding eco-friendly projects in its official development assistance programs, in line with the government’s push for green growth. 　 At the press conference marking KOICA’s 30th anniversary, Sohn Hyuk-sang, president of the state-run overseas aid agency, reflected on the past 30 years of aid history and pointed to three areas the agency would emphasize in order to become a leading global agency

March 30, 2021

Biden doesn’t intend to meet with NK leader: White House

The White House said it is not the intention of US President Joe Biden to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as part of the diplomacy that Biden has said he was prepared for. In response to the question, “Now that the president said he’s ‘prepared for some form of diplomacy,’ does this include sitting with President Kim Jong-un?” at the White House daily press briefing Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I think his approach would be quite differe

March 30, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Green economy common priority for Bulgaria, Korea’

South Korea’s drive to achieve carbon neutrality is an opportunity to create deeper and wider ties between Seoul and Sofia, the Bulgarian ambassador to Korea says. “The shift to a sustainable green economy based on clean energy is a common priority for Bulgaria and Korea,” Petko Draganov, Bulgarian ambassador to Korea, said during an interview with The Korea Herald at his office in Yongsan, Seoul. “Our country promotes the European Green Deal,” he said, referrin

March 30, 2021

Blinken says NK missile launches can't shake shared resolve with S. Korea, Japan against threats

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that North Korea's recent missile launches cannot affect the firm determination shared with South Korea and Japan to reduce regional threats. Blinken made the remark at an online press conference organized by the New York Foreign Press Center, after Pyongyang test-fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast last week in the first such launches since the Joe Biden administration took office in January. "What we're seeing

March 30, 2021

World leaders call for global treaty for pandemic preparedness, response

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other world leaders called for a new international treaty to galvanize concerted efforts to prepare against future pandemics. In an op-ed piece provided exclusively to Yonhap News Agency among South Korean media, the 25 leaders also said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for a "more robust international health architecture" that will protect future genera

March 30, 2021

S. Korea sends naval destroyer to Suez Canal amid ship salvage work

South Korea sent a naval destroyer to the Suez Canal to ensure the safety of its nationals using the waterway, as operations to rescue a stranded giant vessel are under way, the defense ministry said Monday. Last week, the 200,000-ton container vessel got stuck sideways in the canal in northeastern Egypt, blocking off the crucial international waterway. On Monday, it was partly refloated after rescue work, according to foreign media outlets. "The defense ministry moved the Cheonghae Uni

March 29, 2021