[Newsmaker] Chinese envoy’s anti-THAAD campaign double-edged sword

For Seoul, this week’s visit by Wu Dawei, special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs at Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, is timely and weighty, coming amid spiraling concerns over North Korean provocations and shortly after a US-China summit. Yet as soon as he wrapped up his first day with business-as-usual diplomatic consultations, Wu embarked on a mission that may possibly serve what critics say is the real purpose of the trip: meeting with South Korean presidential candidates to appeal ag

April 11, 2017

S. Korea, US reaffirm unity against N. Korea

South Korea and the United States agreed Tuesday to maintain their firm unity against North Korea's military threats, a show of their robust alliance in the wake of the latest US-China summit talks.David F. Helvey, US assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, briefed Wee Seung-ho, South Korea's deputy defense minister for policy, by phone on the results of the Florida meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, according to Wee's mi

April 11, 2017

Russian Navy vessels make port call in Korea for friendship visit

BUSAN -- Two vessels belonging to the Pacific Fleet of the Russian naval forces made a port call Tuesday at the South Korean coastal city of Busan as part of a regular exchange program with the South Korean Navy.The call at the port of South Korea's Naval Operations Command by the guided-missile cruiser Varyag and the tanker Pechenga, both 11,000-ton vessels, was the second this year to be made by Russian warships. The guided-missile cruiser Varyag of the Russian Pacific Fleet enters a port in S

April 11, 2017

Sao Paulo designates Aug. 15 'Korean Culture Day'

SAO PAULO -- Brazil's largest city Sao Paulo has designated August 15 as "Korean Culture Day," raising the prospect of enhancing the Korean community's image in the South American country and boosting the city government's financial support for Korean culture-related events, South Korean officials said Monday.The designation of Korean Culture Day came after a Koreatown was formed in 2010 in Bom Retiro, a densely populated area in Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo's Mayor Joao Doria (L) and South Korean Consu

April 11, 2017

Seoul believes US won't unilaterally act against North without 'cooperation' with ally

South Korea's defense ministry said Tuesday the Donald Trump administration won't take any substantive military action against North Korea without "close cooperation" with Seoul.It cited the spirit of the bilateral alliance that dates back to the 1950-53 Korean War."(Such a military operation, if any,) will be conducted under the robust South Korea-US combined defense posture based on their close cooperation," the ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a press briefing.South Korean Defense

April 11, 2017

N. Korea, Syria vow close ties amid US missile attack

North Korea and Syria have reaffirmed efforts to step up relations in their recent exchanges of congratulatory messages on key anniversaries as the recent US strike at a Syrian air base alarmed the countries.North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent two congratulatory messages to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasions of the 105th birthday of national founder Kim Il-sung and the 5th anniversary of the current leader's elec

April 11, 2017

Hwang urges 'calm, consistency' amid concerns over NK provocations

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday urged "calm and consistency" amid growing concerns that North Korea could stage provocations in time for its key political events this month.During a Cabinet meeting, Hwang also stressed the need to strengthen the country's vigilance posture against the North "based on the South Korea-US security alliance."Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (3rd from R) speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the central governm

April 11, 2017

S. Korea, US, Japan arrange meeting to discuss NK issue

South Korea, the United States and Japan are arranging a meeting to coordinate their joint response toward North Korea's nuclear and missile threats amid growing concerns that Pyongyang might carry out a major provocation, a foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.A Japanese media report said earlier that top nuclear envoys of the three countries are planning to hold a trilateral meeting in Tokyo later this month, citing multiple government officials.  Kim Hong-kyun (L), South Korea's chief

April 11, 2017

Chun Doo-hwan said a few nukes enough to induce NK to talks: diplomatic dossier

In the mid-1980s, then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan said that owning only a few nuclear weapons could be enough to induce North Korea to talks aimed at easing growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, declassified diplomatic documents showed Tuesday.Chun made the remarks in his meeting with Edward Rowny who came to Seoul on Oct. 15, 1986, as a USenvoy. Rowny made a visit to brief the Seoul government on Washington's arms reduction negotiations with Moscow, according to the documents.Form

April 11, 2017

US congressman calls for shooting down NK ICBM

WASHINGTON -- The United States should be prepared to shoot down a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile in the event the communist regime test-fires one as threatened, a US congressman said Monday.Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) made the remark in an interview with CNN as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are running high with the US sending an aircraft carrier strike group to the waters off the divided peninsula to guard against North Korean provocations."That battle carrier group has been in t

April 11, 2017

US senator calls for post-Kim Jong-un plan

WASHINGTON -- The United States should work with South Korea, Japan and China to come up with a plan for what would happen in North Korea after the fall of Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a US senator said Monday."There is a question of who would follow him (Kim Jong-un), and in the conversations I've had with experts on North Korea I don't think anybody has that answer," Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."(Yonha

April 11, 2017

Korea, China warn of strong response to N. Korea nuke, ICBM tests

South Korea and China agreed on Monday to take strong new measures in line with UN resolutions if North Korea conducts new nuclear and missile tests, a Seoul official said.The warning came after chief negotiators on the North's nuclear program from the two countries met in Seoul amid growing concerns that the North may carry out its sixth nuclear test and launch an intercontinental ballistic missile this month.(Yonhap)"Both the South Korean and Chinese sides shared the urgency and gravity of the

April 10, 2017

French School of Seoul refashioned

Building on years of collaboration between French and Korean institutions and companies, the French School of Seoul in Seorae Village will be revamped and enlarged through renovation that kicked off Friday.The school, which includes a kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school, provides education in the French language. It was originally located in Hannam-dong, Seoul, and moved to the current location in 1985. The construction is expected to be completed by September 2018.“The additional c

April 10, 2017

Austria rings sounds of music, innovation, dynamism

Despite being far away from each other, Austrians and Koreans are kindred spirits sharing unusual passions for the arts, culture and nature, says Ambassador Elisabeth Bertagnoli. Although typically identified as Europe’s crown jewel of art, music and sightseeing, Austria is as much about cutting-edge technology and innovation as Amadeus Mozart or Gustav Klimt, the country’s top envoy to Korea wants people to know. Marking the 125th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations this year, the Ger

April 10, 2017

Japan envoy meets vice foreign minister amid girl statue controversy

Japan's top envoy here met with a senior foreign ministry official on Monday apparently to demand that Seoul fully implement a 2015 deal aimed at resolving a rift over Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, the foreign ministry said.Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine had a closed-door meeting, according to the ministry.Nagamine returned to Seoul from Japan on Tuesday following an almost three-month absence.Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine (Yo

April 10, 2017

Unification minister negative about pre-emptive US strike on NK

South Korea's unification minister on Monday expressed a negative view about the United States' possible pre-emptive strike against North Korea, citing its influence on South Koreans' safety and security.Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo made the remarks amid reports that the US is reviewing "a full range of options" to the nuclear and missile threats North Korea poses to Washington and its allies.The minister said that the government cannot help taking into account repercussions of Washington'

April 10, 2017

China's nuke envoy embarks on S. Korea trip to discuss N. Korea issue

China's top nuclear envoy arrived in Seoul on Monday to discuss the growing threats from North Korea's missile and nuclear capabilities. Wu Dawei landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, for a four- or five-day trip. Upon arrival, he didn't respond to reporters asking for comments, only saying, "Thank you." China’s top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei arrives at Incheon International Airport on Monday for a five-day visit to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. (Yonhap)He is

April 10, 2017

S. Korea plays down possibility of pre-emptive US attack on N. Korea

South Korea played down the possibility of a pre-emptive US attack on North Korea on Monday, saying it wants to settle North Korea's nuclear issue peacefully, and the US supports that position."There's no need to be worried much," Lee Duck-hang, spokesman at the Ministry of Unification, said on the prospect of any pre-emptive US attack on Pyongyang during a press briefing.  Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duck-hang (Yonhap)"The US has said it supports South Korea's policy on North Korea, and

April 10, 2017

Korea hails results of Trump-Xi talks

South Korea on Friday lauded the summit agreement between the US and Chinese leaders to work closely together to convince North Korea to curb its nuclear program."We assess that they were relatively successful talks that laid the groundwork for cooperation between the two leaders and the development of the US-China relationship," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, referring to the talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Cho June-hyuck (Yonhap)In t

April 9, 2017