Korea positively reviewing extent of Afghans’ stay

The South Korean government is positively reviewing plans to allow Afghan nationals in Korea to stay beyond the expiration of their current visas until the country regains stability, according to government sources. “Although it has not been confirmed yet, we are positively reviewing extension of their stay like we did for the Burmese,” one source from the justice ministry said. In March, the government decided to implement a special stay for about 25,000 Myanmar people. The mo

Aug. 20, 2021

Gov't dismisses media criticism on P4G climate summit

The South Korean government on Thursday defended the outcome of a multilateral climate change summit it hosted in May, amid media criticism that it failed to receive endorsement from some advanced countries and international organizations.    The Chosun Ilbo reported earlier that Britain, Germany, the European Union, the United Nations and others did not sign the Seoul Declaration, adopted after the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) summit held in Seoul at the en

Aug. 19, 2021

Korea, Colombia to hold summit in Seoul next week

President Moon Jae-in and Colombian President Ivan Duque will hold summit talks next week in Seoul to further boost bilateral ties between the two nations, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday. The Colombian president will visit Seoul for three days, from Aug. 24-26. The summit talks will be held Aug. 25 and a dinner banquet will follow later in the day. The upcoming visit will be the second state visit to Seoul since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, following this week’s visit by Kazak

Aug. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] COVAX allocates 3m Sinovac vaccines to North Korea

The UN-backed vaccine-sharing program COVAX has allocated around 3 million doses of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to North Korea, but it remains to be seen whether the reclusive regime will accept them. 　 According to Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Edwin Salvador, head of the World Health Organization office in Pyongyang, said the program allotted 2.97 million shots of China’s Sinovac to the North during the latest round of vaccine allocation. COVAX is a multinational program that distri

Aug. 19, 2021

Chief of S. Korean peacekeeping unit in Lebanon dismissed over corruption allegations

The commander and two other officers of South Korea's peacekeeping unit in Lebanon have been relieved of duty and ordered to return home amid a probe over suspected embezzlement and other irregularities, military sources said Thursday.    The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) made the decision after holding a deliberation session earlier in the day on corruption allegations against the Army colonel heading the Dongmyeong Unit and three other officers.    The 300-strong Dongmye

Aug. 19, 2021

Court orders seizure of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy's assets in S. Korea over forced wartime labor

A South Korean court has ordered the seizure of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.'s assets here to provide compensation to forced wartime labor victims' families, according to judicial sources Thursday. According to Haemaru Lawfirm, the Anyang branch of Suwon District Court, just south of Seoul, recently ordered the seizure of about 850 million won ($725,000) worth of bonds the Japanese company owns in LS Mtron, Ltd, a South Korean industrial machinery manufacturer. The value is the eq

Aug. 19, 2021

Seoul to continue monitor situation in Afghanistan: Korean ambassador

South Korea will continue to monitor the situation in Afghanistan, including the formation of a new government, following the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the country, according to the South Korean ambassador to Afghanistan on Wednesday.  “The embassy will continue to monitor the situation in Afghanistan, including how the international community will respond to the formation of the government, and jointly respond with the international community,” Choi Tae-ho, Korea&rsqu

Aug. 19, 2021

Russian warship fires warning shots at S. Korean fishing boat

A Russian naval vessel on Wednesday fired warning shots at a South Korean fishing boat operating in waters off Vladivostok, Seoul's oceans ministry said. There were no reports of injuries or damage. The Russian warship broadcast a warning when the 77-ton fishing vessel was catching squid at around 3:27 a.m. in waters some 138.9 kilometers south of Vladivostok, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The captain of the Korean ship explained the situation to a Russian border patrol of

Aug. 18, 2021

S. Korea dismisses Japan's renewed claims to Dokdo

South Korea on Wednesday rejected Japan's protest over an opposition lawmaker's visit to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, saying Tokyo should never lay territorial claims to the East Sea outcroppings. Japan made the protest after Rep. Hong Suk-joon of the main opposition People Power Party visited Dokdo on Sunday in time for Liberation Day, marking the end of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. A foreign ministry official in Seoul said the government rebutted Japan

Aug. 18, 2021

No plan to pull troops from Korea: US

The White House said it does not intend to pull out troops from either South Korea or Europe, as the US exit from Afghanistan calls into question the credibility of Washington’s security commitment to its allies.   　 US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday in the US made the remark when asked whether Washington would withdraw troops from its allies, including South Korea, like it has done in Afghanistan.   　 “So, the president, as he has said repeatedly, ha

Aug. 18, 2021

Vice FM meets Senegalese leader, discusses bilateral cooperation

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has met with Senegal's President Macky Sall and discussed efforts to boost bilateral cooperation in health security, economy and other areas, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Choi paid the courtesy call on Sall while visiting the African nation Tuesday and Wednesday in the second leg of his weeklong trip that includes Morocco and Nigeria. At the meeting, Sall asked South Korea to make special efforts to ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccin

Aug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Last remaining Koreans evacuate Afghanistan

The last remaining South Koreans, including the country’s ambassador, were evacuated from Afghanistan on Tuesday, following the Taliban’s abrupt takeover of the country. 　 South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said four Korean nationals -- three diplomats and one civilian -- left the Kabul airport at around 9 a.m. Seoul time, and safely arrived in a third country in the Middle East. 　 　 The three embassy personnel, including Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, had remained in Afghani

Aug. 17, 2021

Korea, Kazakhstan agree to boost ties in Seoul summit

President Moon Jae-in and visiting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan on Tuesday held summit talks and pledged to further expand the strategic partnership between the countries. The Kazakh president arrived in Seoul on Monday for a two-day state visit, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also a return visit for Moon’s visit to the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan in 2019. “This is the first state visit since

Aug. 17, 2021

Last remaining S. Koreans leave Afghanistan: foreign ministry

All of four last-remaining South Koreans in Afghanistan, including the country's ambassador, have left the country, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. A plane carrying the four -- three diplomats and one civilian -- departed from the Kabul airport at around 9 a.m. (Seoul time) and is expected to land in a third country in the Middle East, the ministry said. The three embassy officials, including Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, had stayed behind in Afghanistan even after all other embassy staff evacua

Aug. 17, 2021

Vice FM Choi meets Moroccan FM on bilateral cooperation

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has met Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to discuss bilateral ties and cooperation in trade, development, health and other areas during his trip to the African country, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Choi was in Morocco on Sunday and Monday in the first leg of his Africa trip, which includes Senegal and Nigeria, to cement the two countries' partnership ahead of the 60th anniversary next year of the establishment of bilateral relations. Dur

Aug. 17, 2021

Kazakh president arrives in S. Korea to become first foreign leader to visit amid pandemic

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in South Korea on Monday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit here in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He embarked on the two-day state trip at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in, during which they are scheduled to hold summit talks. He was greeted by South Korea's Commerce Minister Moon Sung-wook at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. He is the first Kazhak president to travel to South Korea in five years. In their s

Aug. 16, 2021

S. Korea protests Japan's repeated claims to Dokdo in defense white paper for children

South Korea strongly protested Japan's renewed claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its newly created defense white paper for elementary and junior high school students, the foreign ministry said Monday. Lee Sang-ryeol, the director-general for Asia Pacific affairs, and Kim Yong-gil, minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, lodged a protest to Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and Taisuke Mibae, deputy director-general of the Japan

Aug. 16, 2021

Moon sends condolences to earthquake-hit Haiti

President Moon Jae-in sent a condolence letter to Haiti's leader Monday over massive damage from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the message to Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Moon expressed his sympathy for the people of the Caribbean country and hope for an early recovery from the damage. He added that the South Korean government will take active part in the international community's efforts to provide emergency assistance, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-me

Aug. 16, 2021

South Korea temporarily closes embassy in Afghanistan and evacuates staff

South Korea temporarily shut its embassy in Afghanistan on Sunday and evacuated most of its diplomatic personnel to a third country in the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.   　 The decision was made amid surging chaos and uncertainty, as Taliban forces entered the capital city Kabul and effectively took control of Afghanistan on Sunday, after US-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Many countries have temporarily closed diplomatic missions and have been scrambling

Aug. 16, 2021

Moon leaves door open for dialogue with Japan

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday reiterated Korea was open to dialogue with Japan but no specific offers were made, signaling no immediate breakthrough in the strained relationship between the two neighbors. “Our government has always kept the door open for dialogue to jointly respond not only to our two countries’ pending issues but also threats facing the world, including COVID-19 and the climate crisis,” the president said in a speech marking the 76th anniversary of Korea&rs

Aug. 16, 2021