Seoul to host third Democracy Summit: Yoon, Biden

South Korea will host the third Summit for Democracy, an annual virtual summit organized by the US, next year, the leaders of the two countries said Wednesday. The decision was announced just before the second Summit for Democracy kicked off with the participation of leaders around the world. “The United States and the Republic of Korea share deep bonds, rooted in our common democratic values and respect for human rights, and we are committed to further strengthening our robust political,

March 29, 2023

Yoon taps US envoy as new national security adviser

President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Cho Tae-yong, Korean ambassador to the US, as his new national security adviser shortly after his predecessor, Kim Sung-han, offered to resign on Wednesday afternoon. The announcements came amid rumors that Kim could be replaced due to a protocol blunder ahead of the upcoming summit between South Korea and the US in April. Cho's successor will be appointed "swiftly," and will ask for agreement from the US, Yoon's senior press secretary Kim

March 29, 2023

UN envoy slams China, Russia for NK falsehoods

Joint efforts by South Korea and the US for North Korea’s denuclearization have been disrupted in part by China and Russia -- the North’s supporters who “wrongly blame” the South and the US for little headway, according to South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations. At a press briefing Wednesday held on the sidelines of an annual meeting meant to update the foreign minister on the latest issues, Hwang Joon-kook, the envoy, said Seoul has to fight back against th

March 29, 2023

Japan’s textbook revisions threaten thaw in ties

South Korea on Tuesday called in Japan’s deputy chief of mission in Seoul over textbook revisions stating that Japan did not force Koreans to provide labor during its 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula and that the Dokdo islets controlled by Seoul belong to Tokyo. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul summoned Naoki Kumagai, the deputy chief at the Japanese Embassy, and formally lodged a complaint about the textbook changes affecting students entering elementary school in April 2024, sayin

March 28, 2023

[Photo News] Iftar dinner in Seoul

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin holds an Iftar dinner commemorating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday. Iftar is a meal taken by Muslims at sunset to break the daily fast during Ramadan. The event invited some 170 guests, including members of the diplomatic corps from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Foreign Ministry has held Iftar dinners since 2004 to enhance mutual understanding between different cultures. (Sanjay Kumar/

March 28, 2023

[Herald Interview] Korea should use new gas deposits in Peru: ambassador

South Korea should partner with Peru to utilize new gas deposits, said Paul Duclos, the newly appointed Peruvian ambassador to Korea, in an interview with The Korea Herald. Peru is seeking investment for a new gas field with the potential to match the needs of the Camisea gas project, said Duclos, urging Korea to build new infrastructure to tap, extract and export gas. Peru's Camisea gas project extracts gas in the Amazon basin and transports it to the coast via two pipelines hundreds of ki

March 28, 2023

US goal remains 'complete denuclearization' of Korean Peninsula: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States' goals remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a state department spokesperson said Monday after Pyongyang threatened to use its nuclear weapons should the US continue to push for such an objective. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, also reaffirmed US commitment to engaging in dialogue with North Korea. "We are committed to diplomatic approach with the DPRK and we harbor no hostile intent,"

March 28, 2023

Japan’s right wing ‘changing’: envoy

Japan is moving toward accepting South Korea as a partner that Tokyo can work with following Seoul’s decision to put behind their historical dispute, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said Monday in an annual meeting meant to update the foreign minister on the latest issues. The ambassador was referring to a March 6 decision that essentially skips Japan’s official apology for and direct compensation to Korean victims forced to work for Japanese companies during Japan&rsquo

March 27, 2023

Foreign minister puts exports at heart of diplomatic strategy

Foreign Minister Park Jin said Monday diplomatic missions will be key in pushing for exports as South Korea looks for greater economic might amid rising US-China geopolitical tensions. At an in-person meeting in Seoul with 166 mission chiefs, the first in five years over COVID-19 travel curbs, the top South Korean diplomat called safeguarding economic interests a matter of “security.” “What’s more important than efficiency is reliability and stability. Seeking a united fr

March 27, 2023

Unification minister discusses cooperation on N. Korea with top Japanese officials

South Korea's unification minister had discussions with top Japanese government officials on ways to bolster cooperation over North Korea's nuclear and missile problems and the issue of those abducted by the North decades ago, according to his office Friday. Kwon Young-se had talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in Tokyo on Thursday, the second day of his four-day trip to Japan, it said. At a meeting with Hayashi, Kwon prop

March 24, 2023

Unification minister meets top Japanese officials in Toky

South Korea's unification minister met with Japan's foreign minister and its chief cabinet secretary on Thursday to discuss North Korea's threats and other pending issues, according to his office. Kwon Young-se had talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in Tokyo on the second day of his four-day trip to Japan, the unification ministry said. What was discussed included security situations on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul-

March 23, 2023

PM meets with speaker of Czech Parliament's lower house

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo met with the visiting speaker of the Czech Parliament's lower house Thursday and they exchanged opinions on bilateral ties, Han's office said. Marketa Pekarova Adamova, the speaker of the Czech lower house of parliament, told Han that the Czech Republic expects to bolster cooperation with South Korea in the fields of energy and public health. Han asked Pekarova Adamova to help South Korean firms join a project to build new nuclear power plants in the eastern

March 23, 2023

Democracy Summit 'not' excluding particular countries: Yoon's office

The presidential office said Thursday that the upcoming Summit for Democracy to be attended by South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol is not meant to exclude any particular country, when asked about China's potential opposition to Taiwan's participation in the meeting. A senior official told reporters that the selection of participating countries goes through a process in which the host country, the US, reviews various factors and finalizes them through discussions with the other co-host

March 23, 2023

US sees no imminent sign of nuclear weapons use by N. Korea: Kirby

WASHINGTON -- There is no indication that North Korea may use its nuclear weapons to attack the United States or its allies in the near future, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council said Wednesday. John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, made the remarks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly stressed the need for the country's military to take an "immediate and overwhelming nuclear counterattack" when necessary. "There is no indica

March 23, 2023

S. Korean president to host Summit for Democracy meeting on economic growth

WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will host a leader-level discussion on economic growth and shared prosperity during the Summit for Democracy next week, the US state department announced Wednesday. The meeting will be one of five leader-level plenary sessions to be held virtually during the two-day summit. The upcoming summit will mark the second of its kind, following the first summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in December 2021. "The United States launched the sum

March 23, 2023

S. Korea plans big to mark 70 years of US ties amid threats

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration is preparing for joint forums and military exercises starting next month to commemorate 70 years of relations with the US, as South Korea looks to cement ties with its biggest ally to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats and a more assertive China. Seoul-Washington ties date back to October 1953, when they signed a mutual defense treaty following the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas are still technically at war, having signed a cease-fire bu

March 22, 2023

US report flags concern on S. Korea's freedom of expression

The United States Department of State expressed concern about the issue of restricted freedom of expression in South Korea through a report on human rights practices released on Monday. The report also highlighted other human rights problems in South Korea, including government corruption; the lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence; and laws criminalizing consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex in the military. According to the 2022 Country Reports on

March 21, 2023

Korea readies to normalize GSOMIA

South Korea has informed Japan of completely normalizing a military intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries, which had been operated conditionally since 2019, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Seoul sent an official letter to the neighboring country on fully restoring the pact known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, which follows a list of agreements unveiled after last week's bilateral summit held in Tokyo. The pact had been suspended in 2019 by the

March 21, 2023

Yoon says S. Korea-Japan relations must leave past behind

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan must leave the past behind and move forward, as he faces a growing backlash at home over a recent summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "Korea-Japan relations must move beyond the past," Yoon told a Cabinet meeting. The main opposition Democratic Party and other critics have blasted Yoon for cozying up to Japan at the expense of South Korea's national interests, after the gover

March 21, 2023

Impunity for human rights violations, corruption remains widespread in N. Korea in 2022: US report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to show no respect for basic human rights and freedoms of its people in 2022 while impunity for corruption continued to remain widespread, an annual US report said Monday. The 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said the country had dozens of other human rights issues, ranging from unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government, torture, total state control of expression and media and serious restrictions on freedom of movement and residence to tr

March 21, 2023