US remains committed to peace, stability of Indo-Pacific: Pentagon

The United States continues to be committed to the peace and security of its allies in the Indo-Pacific region, a Pentagon official said Monday. The remarks come amid an ongoing review of the US defense posture that the Pentagon official said will determine where more US troops are needed or less. "We will continue to maintain our security commitments to our allies and partners there," Press Secretary John Kirby said when asked if the ongoing defense posture review would lead to an i

Feb. 9, 2021

Korean students at Harvard demand professor's apology over controversial claims on comfort women

Korean students at Harvard University have strongly criticized a professor over his controversial claim that Japan's wartime sexual slavery was actually voluntary prostitution, demanding its immediate withdrawal and his official apology to victims. Harvard Korean Society made the demand in a statement on its website after Harvard Law School Japanese legal studies professor J. Mark Ramseyer caused controversy with his recently published paper titled "Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War.&

Feb. 8, 2021

Ruling party to seek parliamentary resolution condemning military coup in Myanmar

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will seek the passage of a parliamentary resolution condemning the recent military coup in Myanmar, the party's floor leader said Monday. DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon also expressed deep regret and concerns over the coup d'etat that took place a week earlier, while disclosing the plan for the parliamentary resolution during a top party council meeting. "The coup by the Myanmarese military is an act of serious provocation that fundamentally threatens

Feb. 8, 2021

FM Kang leaves office after years of daunting diplomatic tasks

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left office Monday after nearly four years at the helm of South Korea's diplomacy grappling with a host of daunting challenges ranging from North Korea's nuclear quandary to historical spats with Japan and an escalating Sino-USrivalry. Having led the ministry since June 2017, Kang described her stint as the nation's first female foreign minister as "most honorable" in her work life and voiced hope that her successor, Chung Eui-yong, will reinvigorate th

Feb. 8, 2021

Moon appoints new foreign minister

President Moon Jae-in appointed Chung Eui-yong as his new foreign minister on Monday, Cheong Wa Dae announced.   　 Chung, former director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, will begin his tenure Tuesday. He replaces Kang Kyung-wha, the nation’s first female foreign minister and the longest-serving minister in Moon’s Cabinet.   　 Earlier in the day, the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly, in which the ruling Democratic Party holds a maj

Feb. 8, 2021

S. Korea working to bring home seized sailors in Iran as early as this week

South Korea plans to help crew members aboard an oil tanker seized by Iran to return home as early as this week after Tehran's announcement that it will set most of them free, diplomatic sources said Sunday. Last week, Teheran said it will free the crew members detained aboard the MT Hankuk Chemi, except for the captain, about a month after its military seized the vessel with its crew in the country's waters for allegedly polluting the ocean. Officials at the South Korean Embassy in the Middle

Feb. 7, 2021

Korean Harvard students decry professor's claims on sex slaves as 'incorrect and misleading'

A group of Korean students at Harvard Law School has decried a professor's recent controversial claims that victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery were willing prostitutes as "factually incorrect and misleading." On Thursday, the Korean Association of Harvard Law School issued a statement criticizing a recent article by J. Mark Ramseyer, Mitsubishi professor of Japanese Legal Studies at the Harvard school, which is titled "Contracting for sex in the Pacific War." The art

Feb. 5, 2021

Foreign ministry restores phrase 'closest neighbor' describing Japan in white paper

The foreign ministry has restored the expression "closest neighbor" to refer to Japan in its latest white paper published this week, as Seoul pushes to improve ties with Tokyo frayed over wartime issues. "Japan is South Korea's closest neighboring country that we should work with not only for bilateral relations but also for the peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world," according to the 2020 white paper released Friday. In the 2019 version, Japan was described

Feb. 5, 2021

Foreign minister says vaccine hoarding will only lengthen pandemic

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Friday that the hoarding of vaccines by a few countries would only undermine the public interest and lengthen the pandemic. “It is especially important to keep a distance from ‘vaccine nationalism’ and guarantee fair provision of vaccines to everyone at affordable costs,” Kang said during a congratulatory speech at a sustainable development forum hosted by Yonsei University. “We need to invest in bolstering the national health

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea, Georgia sign air service agreement

South Korea and Georgia have signed an air services agreement that would lay the foundation for operations of direct flights traveling between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Friday. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Georgian Ambassador to South Korea Otar Berdzenishvili formally inked the agreement Thursday, after the two countries reached the agreement through aviation talks in July 2019. The agreement is to take effect on the 30th day from the two countries' mutual notificati

Feb. 5, 2021

US begins global defense posture review: Biden

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States will review its global defense posture, a move that could affect the number of US troops stationed overseas, including those in South Korea. "Today, I'm announcing additional steps to course correct our foreign policy and better unite our democratic values with our diplomatic leadership," Biden said in his first speech on national security and foreign policy delivered from the Department of State. "To begin, Defense Sec

Feb. 5, 2021

Moon, Biden signal fresh restart of peace process on Korean Peninsula

President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, held their first phone call Thursday, signaling a fresh restart of the South Korea-US alliance, the most critical strategic partnership in bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula. The phone call, which started at 8:25 a.m. local time and lasted 32 minutes, came two weeks after Biden was sworn in as the 46th US president Jan. 20. “The whole conversation was held in a friendly and professional mood, with the leaders sometimes shari

Feb. 4, 2021

Embassy officials meet sailors aboard seized S. Korean ship in Iran

Officials at the South Korean Embassy in Iran have met with the crew members aboard a Korean oil tanker seized in the country, the foreign ministry said Thursday, a day after Tehran said it will free most of the sailors. On Tuesday (local time), Iran announced it will let the crew members detained aboard the MT Hankuk Chemi, leave, except for the captain, about a month after its military seized them along with the vessel in its waters for allegedly polluting the ocean. The 20 crew members are

Feb. 4, 2021

S. Korea welcomes extension of New START treaty between US, Russia

South Korea welcomes the extension of a key nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, the foreign ministry said Thursday, expressing expectations that it would contribute to global peace and stability. Washington and Moscow extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, which was set to expire Friday, for five years, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday. He said the extension makes "the US, allies and partners, and the world safe

Feb. 4, 2021

South Korean Embassy in US to showcase new documentary on kimchi

WASHINGTON -- The South Korean Embassy in Washington said Wednesday it will soon release a documentary on kimchi, the most well-known traditional Korean dish that is also part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The first of the three-part documentary, "Kimchi Universe," will be released next Friday, Lunar New Year's Day, according to the Korean Cultural Center in Washington. It will be available for anyone to watch at the center's website at http://washingtondc.korean-cultur

Feb. 4, 2021

Moon, Biden to map out 'comprehensive' N. Korea strategy together

SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- The leaders of South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to draw up a joint "comprehensive" strategy on North Korea during their phone talks, Cheong Wa Dae announced. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Joe Biden also agreed to work together for the shared goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and bringing lasting peace to the region, according to Moon's spokesman Kang Min-seok. Moon proposed that the two sides make joint effort

Feb. 4, 2021

Iran agrees to free sailors of S. Korean tanker, but timing uncertain

Iran agreed on Tuesday to free the 19 crew members of a South Korean oil tanker that was seized a month ago, but it is uncertain when the sailors will return home.  Tehran has not yet released the ship or its captain, who is to remain in Iranian custody until the investigation into what the country has described as a breach of its environmental pollution laws is completed.   According to the operator of the MT Hankuk Chemi, at least 13 sailors are required to be on board th

Feb. 3, 2021

Harvard professor invites fury by calling ‘comfort women’ prostitutes

A journal article written by a Harvard professor has provoked fury here for its assertion that “comfort women” were not sex slaves, but prostitutes who chose to work at military brothels under voluntary agreements.  In the paper, titled “Contracting for sex in the Pacific War” and published in the International Review of Law and Economics, Mark Ramseyer, Mitsubishi professor of Japanese legal studies at Harvard Law School, argued that Korean comfort women -- as th

Feb. 3, 2021

Seoul-Tokyo cooperation vital to regional peace: Pentagon

South Korea and Japan are the most important allies to the United States in the region and cooperation between the three countries is a key to regional peace and security, a Pentagon official said Tuesday. John Supple, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, also said the US will continue to seek to expand cooperation between the three countries. "Trilateral cooperation among the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan is vital to the maintenance of regional peace, prosperit

Feb. 3, 2021

Alliances need to be viewed from strategic vantage, not just cost: Hicks

US alliances need to be understood from the strategic value they serve, instead of just how much it costs to maintain them, US Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Kathleen Hicks said Tuesday. The former deputy undersecretary of defense also said she expects President Joe Biden to place strategy at the center of US alliances. "We should always be focused on burden sharing and assuring that allies fulfill their commitments," Hicks said in her confirmation hearing before the Senate Arme

Feb. 3, 2021