South Korea to offer $1M aid to earthquake-hit Syria

The South Korean government will provide $1 million of humanitarian aid to Syria, a country gravely affected by the Feb. 6 earthquake. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to offer humanitarian aid to Syria, which has no diplomatic relations with South Korea, via the United Nations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a regular press briefing on Thursday. Alongside Turkey, Syria’s northwest was hit hard by the 7.8 magnitude quake and subsequent aftershocks. Rescue efforts

Feb. 16, 2023

Waitingi Day celebrations in Korea

The New Zealand Embassy in Seoul commemorated Waitangi Day at the ambassador’s residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. Waitangi Day is celebrated as New Zealand's national day to commemorate the first signing of New Zealand's founding document, known as the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the British Crown and about 540 Maori rangatira on Feb. 6, 1840. The commemoration was followed by a reception to bid farewell to friends in Seoul for New Zealand ambassador to Korea Phillip Turner.

Feb. 16, 2023

S. Korean vice minister visits US for talks on Inflation Reduction Act

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's First Industry Vice Minister Jang Young-jin arrived in the United States on Wednesday for talks on a wide range of issues that he said require close cooperation between the allies. Jang said topics of discussion with his US counterparts will include the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the US import quota on South Korean steel products. "While negotiating these issues, we will also be discussing technology cooperation," he told reporters shortly afte

Feb. 16, 2023

US takes N. Korea as serious as all other challenges: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States considers and is dealing with North Korea issues with the same level of urgency as all other challenges facing the country and its allies, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson, Ned Price, insisted the US simply did not have the "luxury of being able to prioritize" the challenges. "All of these issues are important," Price told a daily press briefing. "All of these same issues are made of the same plot. All of th

Feb. 16, 2023

S. Korea shifts to rebuilding in Turkey

Helping rebuild Turkey following last week’s earthquakes that killed at least 35,000 people is the new priority for South Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, moving away from the role of first responders to helping Ankara set “long-term recovery goals.” Seoul is to field a second rescue team Thursday night. “It’s all about reconstruction now, rather than rescue,” a senior ministry official told reporters following a multiagency meeting chaired by Forei

Feb. 15, 2023

S. Korea asks Pacific island nations to support World Expo bid

A senior South Korean government official held a meeting with ambassadors from six Pacific island nations and asked them to support Seoul's bid to bring the 2030 World Expo to the southeastern port city of Busan, officials said Wednesday. The meeting was held Tuesday in New York between Bang Moon-kyu, minister for government policy coordination, and UN-based envoys from Nauru, Maldives, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu and Fiji, the minister's office said in a statement. "As 2030 is the fir

Feb. 15, 2023

Turkish Embassy in Seoul declines used goods and warns of fake news

The Turkish Embassy in Seoul is asking Koreans not to donate used goods, and are warning against fake news about donations. The embassy announced Sunday that it would not be accepting any used materials to send to Turkey, citing a lack of infrastructure at the goods' destination. The earthquake has destroyed public health infrastructure, leaving the Turkish authorities in affected regions unable to sterilize the donated goods before they are distributed. Following the decision by the embass

Feb. 14, 2023

Three-way talks back checks on N. Korea, China

First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and his US and Japanese counterparts reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearizing North Korea while countering China to curb its “destabilizing activities” at a meeting in Washington on Monday. The gathering, which last took place in October 2022 in Tokyo, chiefly addresses North Korea and China. Pyongyang fired off a record number of missiles last year and Beijing has recently been accused of sending what Washington says is a spy balloon ov

Feb. 14, 2023

S. Korea, Japan seek ways to mend ties in bilateral talks

WASHINGTON -- Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held rare bilateral talks in Washington on Monday, seeking to mend ties soured by the prolonged issue of Japan's wartime forced labor. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said the sides will continue to hold discussions but that they have yet to reach any conclusion. "We are still trying to find common ground," he told reporters when asked about his bilateral meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Ministe

Feb. 14, 2023

US, S. Korea and Japan will jointly deter N. Korean threat: Wendy Sherman

WASHINGTON -- The United States, South Korea and Japan will work together to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Monday. The US diplomat also insisted that trilateral cooperation among the US and its two allies is only getting stronger. "The DPRK continued to threaten the ROK, Japan and its neighbors and the world with the launch of an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles last ye

Feb. 14, 2023

S. Korea redoubles push for forced labor deal, but Japan unmoved

The South Korean government is increasing its efforts to end the long-running historical dispute with Japan over restitution to Koreans forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II, but Japan shows little sign of offering what the victims have long sought: a direct apology and compensation. Cho Hyun-dong, Korea’s first vice foreign minister, was less optimistic of a “quick resolution” to the dispute than before, saying Sunday it was “too early to tell”

Feb. 13, 2023

South Korea's dilemma over sending arms to Ukraine

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been under growing pressure from allies in the West to provide arms support to Ukraine in its war against the invader Russia, particularly after his attendance at the NATO summit last year and a visit by the US-led military alliance in Europe to Seoul last month. In a speech at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul on Jan. 30, hours before the two met, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged Yoon to “step up” to meet Ukraine’s p

Feb. 13, 2023

S. Korea, Japan continuing to narrow differences over forced labor issue: Vice FM

WASHINGTON-- South Korea and Japan are continuing to consult on ways to resolve their differences over how to resolve the issue of Japan's wartime forced labor, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said Sunday. Cho made the remarks after arriving in Washington for a trilateral meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, as well as bilateral talks with his US and Japanese counterparts. "We have been consulting for quite some ti

Feb. 13, 2023

Iranian envoy hopes to mend ties with Korea

Iranian Ambassador Saeed Badamchi Shabestari has called on the South Korean government and people to work toward better bilateral ties, stressing stagnant political and economic relations between the two countries in recent years. Speaking at a celebration event held for the 44th Islamic revolution on Thursday, the ambassador said he feels "regretful" over the current status of the bilateral relationship despite the countries' ties in modern history, as well as in ancient times, d

Feb. 12, 2023

Korean rescuers free 3 more survivors

A Korean team of rescuers found three more survivors in quake-hit Turkey, raising the number of people rescued by the team to eight, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Sunday. They pulled a 65-year-old woman at 2:02 p.m. from the rubble in Antakya with her dead husband. A few hours later they also rescued a 17-year-old man and his 51-year-old mother from the same building in the city Saturday at 7:18 p.m. and 8:18 p.m., respectively, aided by use of a sound detector and a rock drill. The woman&r

Feb. 12, 2023

S. Korean team rescues two more survivors in quake-hit Turkey

South Korea's disaster relief team operating in quake-struck Turkey has rescued two more survivors, bringing the total number of people it saved to eight, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday. The team pulled to safety a 17-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman from the same building in Antakya at 7:18 p.m. and 8:18 p.m. on Saturday, respectively. The man was unconscious while the woman was in good condition, according to the ministry. "The South Korean team will continue a high-

Feb. 12, 2023

S. Korea resumes issuing visas for China as COVID-19 cases drop

South Korea will restart issuing short-term visas for travelers from China on Saturday, ending a monthlong suspension prompted by a rise in COVID-19 infections in China. Beijing had immediately retaliated with the same suspension, calling it a “countermeasure” and urging Seoul to lift its restrictions first. Kim Sung-ho, the vice interior minister in charge of disaster and safety management, said Friday that the latest shift in policy came in light of the fact that fewer arrivals fro

Feb. 10, 2023

US offer for dialogue remains on table, but will not reduce sanctions on N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain open to dialogue with North Korea but will not reduce sanctions on the reclusive country just to bring Pyongyang back to the dialogue table, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. On the same token, the department spokesperson said the US will not reduce its joint military exercises with allies. "We have an offer on the table to the DPRK for dialogue right now. This is an offer that the DPRK could have accepted over the course of n

Feb. 10, 2023

Finnish minister visits Seoul to discuss technology cooperation with S. Korea

The Finnish minister of transport and communication visited Seoul to expand technological exchanges with South Korea in the fields of 6G, quantum computing and space, the Finnish Embassy in Seoul said Tuesday. Minister Timo Harakka, addressing the previous cooperation between the two countries on 5G network development at a roundtable held under the theme of "Building Digital Capability," said Finland has already taken steps toward 6G. The minister joined discussions with representativ

Feb. 9, 2023

Foreign aid hits record high on Indo-Pacific strategy

South Korea will spend more this year on official development assistance to the world’s poorest countries, a record on-year rise in foreign aid that also makes the total expenditure its biggest ever, amid Seoul’s push to leave a bigger global imprint. Since December last year, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has been looking for ways to deliver on its signature foreign policy, the Indo-Pacific Strategy, as Korea tries building on the plan to recast its image as a major player that i

Feb. 9, 2023