Japan in final consultations to recommend Sado mine as UNESCO heritage site: report

Japan is in "final consultations" internally to press ahead with a plan to recommend a local gold and silver mine as a candidate for UNESCO world heritage despite South Korea's strong opposition, according to a news report Friday. The Japanese government is nearing a decision to recommend the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture, where thousands of Koreans were forced into hard labor during the 1910-45 colonization of the peninsula, as a candidate for the 2023 world heritage site, just day

Jan. 28, 2022

S. Korea calls for swift revision of Trump-era steel tariffs

South Korea's top trade official called on the United States on Friday to swiftly begin talks to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports, the trade ministry said Friday. In 2018, the US waived the tariffs on South Korean steel products, but it was in return for a yearly import quota of 2.63 million tons of steel, or 70 percent of Seoul's average steel products export volume over the past three years. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to US Trade Repr

Jan. 28, 2022

Market access may make US-proposed IPEF more attractive: S. Korean trade minister

Increased market access may make a US-envisioned new economic framework in the Indo-Pacific region more attractive, South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said Thursday. Yeo said the US-proposed Indo-Pacific economic framework (IPEF) may provide common goods by setting rules and standards, especially for newly emerging industries, such as digitalization, but insisted many countries would consider increased market access as a return for taking part in such an initiative. "I think market a

Jan. 28, 2022

US equally focused on N. Korea as all other threats: Pentagon spokesman

The United States is equally focused on dealing with the threat posed by North Korea just as it is with all other major security issues, US Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby said Thursday. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday (Seoul time), marking its sixth missile launch since the start of this month. "Just because right now one issue obviously is certainly capturing the attention of the world community doesn't mean that we are not equally pursu

Jan. 28, 2022

S. Korea holds talks on joining DEPA pact

South Korea held talks Thursday with the three member states of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) to join the world's first plurilateral digital pact. The DEPA, which came into effect in January last year, is an agreement signed by Singapore, New Zealand and Chile to establish key rules on digital trade issues, such as digital identities, cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence. South Korea said the pact could serve as an extensive platform for establishing a global

Jan. 27, 2022

Many 'promising things' can happen if N. Korea comes to dialogue table: Lambert

Many promising things can happen for North Korea if Pyongyang returns to the dialogue table with the US, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Japan and Korea Mark Lambert said Wednesday. The US diplomat also stressed that the US has "no reservations" regarding dialogue with North Korea. "We have made it very clear to Pyongyang. We will go anywhere. We will talk about anything. There are no reservations we have," he said in a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and

Jan. 27, 2022

S. Korea, UAE hold high-level talks on forming joint bidding team for nuclear energy projects

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates held a high-level meeting on Wednesday and agreed to establish a joint bidding team for nuclear energy projects in third-party countries, the foreign ministry said. The agreement was reached in the fourth session of their high-level consultation on nuclear energy, led by Seoul's Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon and Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the UAE minister of energy and industry, held through video links, according to the ministry. Both

Jan. 26, 2022

Seoul advises Korean nationals in 15 Ukraine regions to leave

South Korean government advised its nationals residing in 15 regions in Ukraine to leave amid heightened fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. 　 The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday additionally placed 12 provinces located in the eastern and northern regions of Ukraine, including capital Kyiv, Rivne, Sumy and Odessa, under the elevated travel alert, advising South Korean nationals to swiftly exit the region. 　 Fifteen out of Ukraine’s 25 provinces are now under a Level 3 travel ad

Jan. 26, 2022

US remains prepared to engage in dialogue with N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy and dialogue, state department press secretary Ned Price said Tuesday. The spokesperson also reiterated that the US harbors no hostile intent toward North Korea. "We have no hostile intent. We harbor no hostile intent towards the DPRK. We are open to dialogue. We're open to diplomacy," Price said in a press briefing, referring to North Korea by its official nam

Jan. 26, 2022

Professor slams Japanese Embassy’s refusal to Moon’s gift over Dokdo

Seo Kyung-duk, a well-known professor at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, on Monday slammed the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for rejecting President Moon Jae-in’s Lunar New Year gift that bears an image resembling the Dokdo islets on the gift box, saying it was an attempt to make the island an area of conflict. 　 Cheong Wa Dae had sent a gift box with chestnuts, traditional liquor and other items to all the foreign ambassadors, including Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi, ahead

Jan. 24, 2022

Beijing district orders mass virus testing ahead of Olympics

BEIJING -- People in a Beijing district with some 2 million residents were ordered Sunday to undergo mass coronavirus testing following a series of infections as China tightened anti-disease controls ahead of the Winter Olympics. The government told people in areas of the Chinese capital deemed at high risk for infection not to leave the city after 25 cases were found in the Fengtai district and 14 elsewhere. The ruling Communist Party is stepping up enforcement of its "zero toleranc

Jan. 23, 2022

Iran pays delinquent UN membership fee with funds frozen in S. Korea

Iran has paid its dues to the United Nations with the country's funds frozen in South Korea in a move to immediately restore its voting power, Seoul's finance ministry said Sunday. Iran made an emergency request to South Korea on Jan. 13 for the use of Tehran's funds in Seoul to pay its dues after being informed by the UN it would immediately lose its voting rights for the arrears. Iran has more than $7 billion in funds for oil shipments frozen at two South Korean banks -- the Industrial Bank

Jan. 23, 2022

S. Korea not mulling lifting import ban on Japanese seafood to join CPTPP

South Korea is not considering lifting a ban on imports of Japanese seafood to win Japan's support for joining a mega free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's oceans minister has said. South Korea is working to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which involves 11 nations, including Australia and Japan. Japan has long been reluctant to South Korea's joining due mainly to Seoul's ban on Fukushima seafood. Since 2013, South Kor

Jan. 21, 2022

US, 7 other nations urge full implementation of N. Korea sanctions

WASHINGTON -- The United States and seven other members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday called on all UN members to fully implement UNSC sanctions on North Korea. The call came after China blocked a US proposal to impose additional UN sanctions against the North for conducting at least four missile launches since the start of the year. "We also call on all member states to implement Security Council resolutions, to which the Security Council unanimously agreed, and which cal

Jan. 21, 2022

US, Japan reaffirm commitment to complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula

WASHINGTON -- The United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula Thursday, urging North Korea to quickly return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The countries also urged all UN member countries to fully implement UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea. "We are strongly committed to the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all of North Korea's nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and

Jan. 21, 2022

US ready, prepared to talk with N. Korea at anytime: Thomas-Greenfield

WASHINGTON -- The United States is willing and prepared to talk with North Korea at anytime, US ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday, while also stressing that the option has always been on the table for Pyongyang. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, however, also stressed the need to respond to North Korea's recent missile tests that she said jeopardized peace and security in the East Asian region. "We have been clear from day one that we are willing to go to the negotiating table with th

Jan. 21, 2022

US senator highlights need for strengthened deterrence against N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- Sen. James Risch (R-ID) has called on the US government to enhance and improve its nuclear capabilities to provide added deterrence in support of US allies against threats posed by North Korea. The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also highlighted the need for joint military readiness to deter any North Korean aggression. "Our priority needs to be on US and allied cooperation and military readiness through a strong tempo of training and exercises -- n

Jan. 21, 2022

S. Korea‘s nuke envoy holds phone talks with US, Chinese counterparts over North Korea

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy had back-to-back phone talks with his American and Chinese counterparts on Thursday, the foreign ministry said, amid rising tension over North Korea‘s apparent threat of nuclear and long-range weapons tests. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked with his American counterpart, Sung Kim, in their latest emergency consultations, hours after the North hinted at restarting “all temporally-suspend

Jan. 20, 2022

Justice ministry to grant stay visas to more foreign children studying in S. Korea

South Korea will temporarily expand visa issuance for foreign children staying illegally in the country to better guarantee their right to education, the justice ministry said Thursday. Until now, undocumented foreign children eligible for visas have been middle and high school students, as well as high school graduates, who have been living in South Korea for at least 15 years after being born here. But from next month to March 2025, foreign children who have been living here for at least six

Jan. 20, 2022

US supports humanitarian aid for N. Korea, but sanctions must be fulfilled: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States strongly supports humanitarian assistance for the people of North Korea but UN Security Council sanctions must be fully implemented at the same time, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson also noted the North often diverts humanitarian aid. "We strongly support and encourage the efforts of US and international aid and health organizations in seeking to prevent and contain the spread of coronavirus in the DPRK and to provide other

Jan. 20, 2022