US Vice President Pence arrives in Seoul

US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in South Korea on Sunday for a high-stakes three-day visit to reaffirm the robust security alliance and warn against North Korea's possible provocations, Seoul officials said.After touching down at a US air base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, Pence headed to a Seoul national cemetery in a symbolic gesture to highlight the alliance forged during the 1950-53 Korean War. His visit to South Korea, his first Asian trip since his inauguration in Jauna

April 16, 2017

Top diplomats of Korea and Angola to meet next week to discuss cooperation

Top diplomats of South Korea and Angola will have talks next week to discuss cooperation in a wide range of areas, including the economy and security, the foreign ministry in Seoul said Friday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with his Angolan counterpart Georges Chikoti on Tuesday, according to the ministry.  South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (Yonhap)They will exchange views on regional and global issues and discuss cooperation in economy, security and other areas, t

April 14, 2017

Korea to attend IHO meeting in Monaco to promote use of East Sea

South Korea will attend the International Hydrographic Organization meeting to be held later this month in Monaco to promote the use of "East Sea" in naming the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the foreign ministry said Friday.South Korea will send a delegation consisting of 30 government officials and private-sector experts to the IHO's 19th general assembly to be held in Monaco from April 24-28, according to a ministry official. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson C

April 14, 2017

Speculation lingers over Chinese envoy's trip to NK

China's top nuclear envoy has apparently pushed to visit North Korea following his trip to South Korea, but Pyongyang has not answered his request, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Friday.Wu Dawei is to leave for Beijing on Friday after a five-day stay in Seoul during which he met senior government officials and presidential candidates to discuss North Korea and its nuclear and missile threats.Wu Dawei (L) meets with Lee Hee-ho, the wife of late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, in Se

April 14, 2017

[Election 2017] Kaesong issue resurfaces in presidential race

The following is the second and last of a two-part series on major presidential candidates’ stances on security and diplomatic issues confronting South Korea. -- Ed.With persistent controversy over the shutdown of an inter-Korean factory complex, most of the top five presidential candidates remain resistant to its immediate reopening without tackling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The Kaesong industrial park was closed in February 2016 as part of the Park Geun-hye government’s respo

April 13, 2017

Pence to send clear message over N. Korea, THAAD during Seoul visit: official

US Vice President Mike Pence will send a clear message on stepping up joint efforts to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions and provocations when he visits South Korea this weekend, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.Pence is to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day visit aimed to reaffirm the Donald Trump administration's continued commitment to the US-South Korea alliance. Following South Korea, he will also travel to Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Hawaii. US Vice President Mike Penc

April 13, 2017

Korean rice to be sent to developing countries via int'l aid program

SEJONG -- South Korean rice will be sent to Southeast Asian developing countries through an international food aid program for the first time in history, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a panel of the ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve approved South Korea's plan earlier this week to offer 750 tons of rice to the food aid program.(Yonhap)Launched in 2013 by 10 countries of the ASEAN, South Korea, Japan and China, APTERR is aime

April 13, 2017

Hwang urges Japan to show sincere remorse over shared history

South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn urged Japan Thursday to squarely face history and show sincere remorse over its past occupation of the Korean Peninsula.Hwang made the call in an address marking the 98th anniversary of the establishment of Korea's provisional government in Shanghai, China, in 1919. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45. Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn delivers an address to mark the 98th anniversary of the establishment of Korea's provisional government i

April 13, 2017

US will not bypass Seoul when dealing with N. Korea: FM

The United States will first consult with South Korea before taking any serious measures, including a pre-emptive strike, against North Korea to punish the communist state for possible provocations, Seoul's top diplomat said Thursday.Yun Byung-se refused to speculate whether Washington was preparing to pre-emptively strike following additional provocations from the communist North but insisted the US will not take such measures without first consulting with Seoul."In fact, the US is working to r

April 13, 2017

Trump says China's Xi wants to help

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to help the US with the problem of North Korea."President Xi wants to do the right thing. We had a very good bonding. I think we had a very good chemistry together. I think he wants to help us with North Korea," Trump said during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, referring to his first meeting with Xi last week. US President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi

April 13, 2017

White House: US strikes on Syria show Trump's policy on N. Korea will be different

WASHINGTON -- Last week's US missile strikes on Syria show President Donald Trump will also be different from his predecessors in dealing with North Korea, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday.Spicer made the remark during a discussion at the Newseum in Washington after MSNBC's Greta Van Susteren asked how different Trump's handling of North Korean threats will be compared with his predecessors, who failed to keep the regime from moving forward with its nuclear programs.(Yonhap

April 13, 2017

Amid tension, security creeps up election agenda

Propelled by North Korea’s rising threats and heightened military tension, foreign and security policy is rapidly ascending the agenda for next month’s presidential election. While the economy and welfare remain atop the agenda, all five major contenders are striving to flaunt their credentials to be a strong commander-in-chief, lambasting North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and warning against unilateral US military action.Presidential candidates and National Assembly officials head to a

April 12, 2017

Korea's finance minister meets with acting US ambassador to South Korea

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister on Wednesday met with the acting US ambassador to South Korea to discuss ways to bolster cooperation between the two countries ahead of the scheduled visit by US Vice President Mike Pence, his office here said.In a meeting with Marc Knapper, who is acting as the ambassador after Mark Lippert stepped down, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said the South Korean government is hoping to build a stable and reciprocal economic and trade relationship with the new US g

April 12, 2017

China envoy discusses THAAD with Korean politicians for second day

A senior Chinese diplomat on Wednesday held a second round of talks with South Korean politicians on the bilateral dispute over the deployment of a US missile defense system here.Wu Dawei, Beijing's chief negotiator on North Korea's nuclear program, met with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, election committee chief of the splinter conservative Bareun Party.He arrived in Seoul Monday for a five-day visit amid growing signs of Pyongyang preparing new nuclear and missile tests.Rep. Kim Moo-sung of the Bareun Par

April 12, 2017

China shuts out Korean cable TV channels over THAAD row: report

China has shut out all South Korean cable TV channels in the country in apparent retaliation against the planned deployment of an advanced US missile defense system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, in South Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday.Because of the THAAD issue, the Chinese authorities have closed cable TV channels dedicated to South Korean news and dramas in Yanji, Jilin Province, the US-based media outlet reported, citing an ethnic Korean source in the area. Alm

April 12, 2017

Despite growing tension, experts see slim chance of US pre-emptive strike on N. Korea

North Korea's threat of impending nuclear and missile tests and the US escalation of saber-rattling in response have raised tensions around the Korean Peninsula. But most experts here agree that chances are low that Washington will deliver on its threat of a pre-emptive attack, which would lead to a catastrophic war. The recent US missile strikes on Syria carried a clear warning for North Korea, but the dangerous regime armed with nuclear bombs and various missiles is a different case from Syria

April 12, 2017

White House: Trump puts North Korea on notice

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has put North Korea "clearly on notice," and if he decides to take action, it will be "decisive and proportional" as seen in the US airstrikes on Syria, the White House warned Tuesday.White House press secretary Sean Spicer made the remark, referring to Trump's tweet earlier in the day that the US will solve the problem of North Korea on its own unless China helps with it. Trump also said the North is "looking for trouble." White House press secretary Sean

April 12, 2017

Carl Vinson Strike Group's dispatch illustrates US seriousness about NK threats: US lawmaker

WASHINGTON -- The US dispatch of an aircraft carrier strike group to waters off the Korean Peninsula is a warning to North Korea that the US takes seriously threats from the communist nation, a US congressman said Tuesday.The US Pacific Command has redirected the strike group led by aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to head toward the Korean Peninsula, rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia, amid heightened concern the North could undertake additional provocations. (Yon

April 12, 2017

China's envoy says Beijing will 'actively' work for talks between US, NK

China's top nuclear envoy said Tuesday that he will work hard to bring the United States and North Korea to the negotiating table for direct talks aimed at resolving the North's nuclear stalemate.Wu Dawei made the remarks in a meeting with Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party. During the 40-minute-long meeting, the two discussed North Korea's nuclear program and other issues of mutual concerns, according to Sim, who shared what was discussed in a press briefing.  China's chi

April 11, 2017