Moon set for China trip to meet Xi, Abe and join trilateral summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed to China on Monday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, seeking to strengthen partnerships on the Korea peace process and address various other issues.Moon is due in Beijing for a summit with Xi on his way to the southwestern city of Chengdu to participate in an annual trilateral summit among the three Northeast Asian countries.It would be their first talks in half a year following the previous session held

Dec. 23, 2019

Foreign ministry welcomes Senate confirmation of Biegun as deputy secretary

South Korea's foreign ministry on Friday welcomed the Senate confirmation of the top US envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, as deputy secretary of state, voicing hope for his role in solidifying the alliance with Seoul and peace efforts with Pyongyang.On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Biegun in a 90-3 vote. He is expected to remain the top negotiator in nuclear talks with Pyongyang even if officially appointed as the State Department's No. 2 official. "We expect that Special Representati

Dec. 20, 2019

Moon to hold bilateral summit with Abe in China on Tuesday : Cheong Wa Dae

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold one-one-one talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in China next week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday, saying their meeting is "of great significance."Their Christmas Eve meeting in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, will be first official summit in 15 months between the leaders amid soured Seoul-Tokyo ties over a trade fight stemming from a historical issue.They plan to "exchange opinions on pending issues" related to bilateral rel

Dec. 20, 2019

US Senate confirms Biegun as deputy secretary of state

The United States Senate on Thursday confirmed Stephen Biegun, Washington's top envoy for North Korea talks, as deputy secretary of state.Biegun's confirmation by a 90-3 vote came as the special representative has been in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials over North Korea.He has repeatedly expressed his intent to remain the lead negotiator for dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program even if appointed as the No. 2 official at the Department of State. Korea watchers have been divide

Dec. 20, 2019

Moon to hold summit with Xi next week amid stalled NK nuke talks

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold a summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, next week when he visits China for annual trilateral talks with Chinese and Japanese leaders, Moon's office said Thursday.  The Moon-Xi summit will take place on Dec. 23 in Beijing, where the two leaders will discuss ways to promote bilateral ties and the Korea peace process, according to Cheong Wa Dae.  The meeting comes as North Korea has threatened to take a "new way"

Dec. 19, 2019

Top US negotiator says US 'not focused on' initial $5 billion demand anymore

The top US negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea said Wednesday that his team is "not focused on" its initial demand for a five-fold increase to $5 billion in Seoul's financial contributions to the upkeep of American troops here.In an interview with the Korean press corps, James DeHart also pointed out that South Korea's weapons purchases from the United States are an "important consideration for us in the burden-sharing context." DeHart and his South

Dec. 18, 2019

FM Kang meets Saudi King in Riyadh

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has paid a courtesy call on Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and discussed bilateral ties, her ministry said Wednesday. Kang met the king at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh as part of her three-day trip to the Middle Eastern nation this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a release. During the meeting, Kang expressed satisfaction that the bilateral relations between the two sides have further deepened into a wider range of areas, especiall

Dec. 18, 2019

South Korea-US defense cost-sharing meeting ends inconclusively

South Korea and the US failed to conclude their talks on determining how much Seoul will pay for the upkeep of the 28,500 US Forces Korea next year during their meetings in Seoul. “The two sides are expanding their mutual understanding through discussions despite the differences in their positions on various issues, and decided to continue close consultations to draw up a mutually acceptable agreement,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. The ministry did no

Dec. 18, 2019

Korea, Sweden seek closer cooperation in economic, social issues

President Moon Jae-in and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Thursday held a summit meeting in Seoul, discussing ways to improve ties as well as economic and political cooperation. According to Seoul’s presidential office, Moon and Lofven agreed to strengthen Korea-Sweden cooperation in trade, investment, defense, science and technology, and to expand cooperation in responding to the “fourth industrial revolution.”　 “(I) hope the bilateral cooperation to go beyond st

Dec. 18, 2019

Moon to hold bilateral summit with Abe in China next week

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold his first one-one-one summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 15 months next week, when they visit China for an annual group meeting involving a Chinese leader, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday.The summit plan raises expectations for a possible breakthrough in efforts to end a monthslong trade fight between the two sides.The trade spat is attributable to deepened disputes over a historical issue.Abe earlier broke the news, sayin

Dec. 18, 2019

S. Korea, US to hold last day of defense cost talks

South Korea and the United States began the last day of defense cost-sharing talks on Wednesday, but chances of a deal appear to be low as the two sides remain far apart over how much more Seoul should pay.Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, James DeHart, met in Seoul to continue the two-day talks on renewing the Special Measures Agreement, the cost-sharing deal.This week's negotiations will likely be the last round of talks before the current SMA expires on Dec

Dec. 18, 2019

US Senate passes defense bill with provision against troop drawdown in S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States Senate on Tuesday passed a defense bill containing a provision restricting the drawdown of American troops in South Korea.The Senate voted 86-8 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which authorizes $738 billion in funding for the Department of Defense.The bill will be sent to US President Donald Trump to be signed into law, which Trump said last week he will do "immediately." The new legislation prohibits the use of fu

Dec. 18, 2019

Biegun wraps up trip to S. Korea with his call for NK dialogue unanswered

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun on Tuesday wrapped up his three-day visit to Seoul and departed for Japan, with his emphatic call for dialogue with North Korea unanswered. His high-profile trip focused on efforts to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, as it has been pressuring Washington to make concessions by the end of the year, with hints that it could engage in provocative acts such as a long-range rocket launch.Appearing at Gimpo International Airport in

Dec. 17, 2019

[Feature] ‘Donated funds won’t resolve forced labor dispute’

South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang is planning to introduce bills he contends will work to restore strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo over local court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to compensate Koreans forced to work for them during World War II Korea’s two Supreme Court rulings a year ago plunged Seoul-Tokyo ties to a fresh low as Japan responded with outrage, saying the 1965 agreement -- which normalized bilateral relations following

Dec. 17, 2019

S. Korea, US open new round of defense cost talks

South Korea and the United States opened another round of talks Tuesday on the sharing of the cost of stationing American troops here, with the current deal due to expire in two weeks amid few signs of progress. This week's negotiations, set to run until Wednesday, will likely be the last round of talks before the current cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, expires on Dec. 31. The two sides are led by Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, J

Dec. 17, 2019

S. Korea, UAE agree to boost cooperation for regional peace

The defense ministers of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates agreed Monday to strengthen cooperation for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East, the defense ministry here said.South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his UAE counterpart, Mohammad Ahmed Al Bowardi, made the pledge during their meeting in Seoul earlier in the day. "Minister Jeong explained the government's efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of a peace re

Dec. 16, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan hold talks in Spain

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan held one-on-one talks on the sidelines of a multilateral meeting in Spain on Sunday (Spain time) and discussed key bilateral issues related to the ongoing row over trade and wartime history, Seoul's foreign ministry said. During the 10-minute talks, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told her Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, that South Korea welcomes the meeting that trade officials of the two countries plan to hold in Tokyo on Monday (Seoul time)

Dec. 16, 2019

Senior diplomats of S. Korea, China, Japan met ahead of trilateral summit

BEIJING -- Senior diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan met in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu last week to prepare for the countries' trilateral summit later this month, China's foreign ministry said Sunday.During the talks Friday among Seoul's Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn, Beijing's Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and Tokyo's Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, the officials exchanged opinions regarding the preparations for the upcoming summit, according to the mini

Dec. 15, 2019

One-on-one talks between S. Korean, Japanese FMs in Spain seem unlikely: officials

One-on-one talks between S. Korean, Japanese FMs in Spain seem unlikely: officialsA bilateral meeting between the top diplomats of South Korea and Japan is unlikely to take place on the sidelines of the multilateral gathering in Spain this week as they have yet to arrange their schedule, officials said Sunday. The two countries have been working to set up a one-on-one meeting between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, on the margins of the foreign mi

Dec. 15, 2019

N. Korea conducts 'another crucial test' at satellite launch site

North Korea said Saturday that it will use the new technologies it recently tested to develop a strategic weapon to counter the US nuclear threat, escalating tensions with the US ahead of its year-end deadline.Pak Jong-chon, chief of the North Korean military's General Staff, also said North Korea has "stored up a tremendous power" and the military is fully ready to put into action any decision of leader Kim Jong-un."The priceless data, experience and new technologies gained in th

Dec. 14, 2019