S. Korea to set up task force on new US-led economic framework

South Korea will set up a task force to deal with its potential participation in a US-led economic framework, as the United States has accelerated preparations to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday. The Joe Biden administration has sought to launch the IPEF for deeper cooperation with partner nations in the Asia-Pacific region on digital trade, supply chains and other major emerging trade issues amid an intensifying Sino-US rivalry. The Seoul

April 20, 2022

Yoon likely to meet Biden virtually first before meeting in person late May

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to meet US President Joe Biden at the global COVID-19 summit virtually first, and the two are expected to meet face-to-face around May 20 in Seoul to strengthen their alliance against North Korea and China. The US will co-host the second global COVID-19 summit on May 12, a virtual gathering intended to build momentum for vaccine donations, attended by leaders of major countries to jointly respond to the coronavirus pandemic. This summit follows the fi

April 19, 2022

US authorities lower COVID-19 travel alert on S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Monday shifted its travel advisory on South Korea to the lowest tier of Level 1, a sharp change from the highest warning of Level 4 that was issued in February. The announcement followed reports that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lowered its own travel recommendation on South Korea by a notch from the "Do Not Travel" level. South Korea is reportedly among around 90 nations and other regions that dropped to "Level 3:

April 19, 2022

US will listen to N. Korea's concerns but only through dialogue: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is willing to listen to any concerns North Korea may have but only if North Korea engages in dialogue, a Department of State spokesperson said Monday, urging Pyongyang to return to diplomacy. Ned Price also reiterated the North will continue to face consequences until it ceases its escalatory actions. "We are willing to listen to the full range of the DPRK's concerns, but this can only happen through dialogue and the DPRK has not yet given any concrete indica

April 19, 2022

Nuclear envoys of South Korea, US condemn NK missile provocations

Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States condemned the series of missile tests by North Korea while urging the communist regime to return to the “path of dialogue,” in Seoul on Monday. South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk said he reaffirmed the strong alliance with the United States, with his US counterpart Sung Kim traveling to Seoul to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula. “As North

April 18, 2022

Appeasement policy for NK needs to change, foreign minister nominee says

It’s time for a new policy approach to North Korea from the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration’s Korean Peninsula Peace Process, Rep. Park Jin, the nominee for foreign minister, said Monday. Making his first trip to the preparation office for the parliamentary confirmation hearing, Park of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s People Power Party also denounced Pyongyang’s recent missile launches, calling them a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea h

April 18, 2022

Malaysia drums up support for S. Korea's bid to join CPTPP

Malaysia on Monday expressed support for South Korea's bid to join a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's trade ministry said. Malaysia's Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali has voiced support for Seoul's envisioned entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) during a virtual meeting with South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo. Last week, South Korea announced its decision to join

April 18, 2022

Pope urges peace for Ukraine in this 'Easter of war'

      VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday called for peace in Ukraine during this "Easter of war" as he delivered the traditional Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi address on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.    "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," the pontiff said.    "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter

April 17, 2022

Ukraine defiant as key port Mariupol teeters on brink

KYIV, Ukraine -- The battered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege, a development that what would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following a botched attempt to storm the capital and the loss of the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship.    The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket

April 17, 2022

President-elect Yoon to send delegation to Japan for policy consultation

South Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol plans to send a delegation to Japan later this month for policy consultations on North Korea and pending bilateral issues, his transition team said Sunday. Led by Rep. Chung Jin-suk of Yoon's People Power Party, the delegation will visit Tokyo from April 24-28 to meet officials from the Japanese government and legislature as well as those from business circles, media and academia, according to the transition team's spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin. The seven-

April 17, 2022

S. Korea decides to join CPTPP trade agreement

South Korea decided Friday to join a mega free trade agreement involving 11 Asia-Pacific nations as the country seeks to diversify its export portfolio amid heightened economic uncertainty. Late last year, the country launched the process to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The plan to join the CPTPP was approved at an economy-related ministers' meeting Friday, and the government will submit an official application after completing domestic p

April 15, 2022

Foreign Ministry to send relief goods for Koreans under lockdown in Shanghai

Seoul will send relief goods for Koreans under a massive mandatory COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. “While Shanghai City announced to ease the lockdown measures, some areas are still in lockdown so we are closely monitoring the situation and putting effort to resolve problems for the people in those neighborhoods,” the Foreign Ministry said. The South Korean consulate general in Shanghai has obtained two vehicle passes from the Chinese g

April 15, 2022

Foreign minister promises humanitarian support to Ukraine in phone talks

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed “serious concerns” over Russia’s alleged killing of civilians in Ukraine and promised to provide humanitarian support during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, his office said Friday. Speaking with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Chung explained how South Korea plans to provide humanitarian assistance of worth $30 million to Ukraine, in addition to the previous $10 million in support. Chung also exp

April 15, 2022

Dossier reveals diplomacy behind two Koreas' simultaneous entry into UN membership in 1991

The South Korean government made public a dossier Friday offering a glimpse into dramatic Cold-War era diplomacy by the two Koreas in connection with their historic simultaneous entry into full membership in the United Nations. The set of documents highlights Seoul's brisk efforts in 1991 to court Moscow and Beijing to support its push to join the world body, which played a key role in mobilizing US-led troops to help the South fight against the invading North in their 1950-53 war. It is part of

April 15, 2022

N. Korean provocations likely to continue for months: Jake Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is currently in a provocation cycle that may last for weeks or even months, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday. Sullivan also said the North will continue efforts to advance its nuclear and missile programs, but that the capability to hit the US mainland has yet to be proven. "A few weeks ago, they tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, which they had not done previously, they had not done since 2017. So yes, they are in a pattern of pr

April 15, 2022

US closely monitoring N. Korea for possible provocation: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is closely monitoring North Korea for possible provocations, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price made the remarks as Pyongyang celebrates the 110th anniversary of the birthday of its late founding leader Kim Il-sung on Friday (Seoul time). "What I can say and what we know is that the DPRK in the past has used the occasion of holidays and other notable occasions within the DPRK to engage in provocations," the spokesperson said in a

April 15, 2022

Yoon says will expand breadth of diplomacy based on stronger alliance with US: report

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's incoming administration will expand the country's diplomatic efforts based on a stronger US-South Korea alliance, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said in an interview published Thursday. Yoon also said he will seek to improve ties with Japan, calling current Seoul-Tokyo relations "the Achilles' heel" of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the US. "The current administration placed too much emphasis on the relationship with North Korea al

April 15, 2022

S. Korean trade chief, British envoy discuss CPTPP, supply chains

South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks on Thursday discussed ways of cooperation on joining a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region and supply chains, Seoul's trade ministry said. During the meeting in Seoul, Yeo asked for Britain's support in South Korea's push for membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Seoul govern

April 14, 2022

Biden looks forward to Asia trip but no details available: Psaki

US President Joe Biden is looking forward to his upcoming trip to Asia but the details of his proposed trip have yet to become available, a White House spokesperson said Wednesday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also declined to comment on Biden's possible visit to South Korea. "Not quite yet," said Psaki when asked if she could confirm Biden's upcoming trip to Asia, including a potential visit to South Korea. "I will tell you that, you know, of course, the president tal

April 14, 2022

[Hwang’s China and the World] Japan’s Indo-Pacific, Vision, Region, or Strategy?

As the recent US-China competition intensifies, the strategic significance of the Indo-Pacific region is also rising. In this situation, major countries are presenting new Indo-Pacific Strategies with the purpose of strengthening their respective political, economic, and military influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The US Biden administration has set its Indo-Pacific vision as its main diplomatic policy in order to maintain the US’ influence within Asia and to check China’s growin

April 13, 2022