Lifting of missile guidelines leads to no change in US defense commitment: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- The United States' commitment to the defense of South Korea remains unaffected following the lifting of decades-old guidelines on South Korean missiles, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. John Kirby also said the removal of the missile guidelines will not lead to any change to the South Korea-US alliance. "Nothing about this changes the alliance between South Korea and the United States or our commitments to that alliance, which...is a defensive alliance," the departmen

June 2, 2021

Foreign ministry calls in Japanese diplomat over Dokdo claim on Tokyo Olympic map

The foreign ministry called in a senior Japanese diplomat Tuesday to lodge a protest after a map on the Tokyo Olympic website showed South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as part of Japanese territory. Lee Sang-ryeol, director-general for Asia and Pacific affairs, was expected to express regrets when he meets with Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, later in the day, ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said. "We will strongly protest Japan's unf

June 1, 2021

P4G summit ends with Seoul redoubling climate role

A global climate summit wrapped up its two-day run Monday, with host nation South Korea pledging stronger environmental action and a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, as the country seeks a bigger role in the global fight against climate change. 　 The Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, or P4G, summit brought world leaders together to discuss public-private partnerships toward carbon neutrality and sustainable growth. 　 Due to the coronavirus situation, the meeting w

June 1, 2021

[Herald Interview] Swedish envoy touts first-mover advantage in green transition

Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is now a global initiative, and those realizing that ambition earlier than others will see more than clear air, clean water and nice nature, the Swedish ambassador to Korea says. “It’s not only the government, civil society and individual consumers, but actually driven these days very much by enterprises by the private sector because they see that there is a gain in being a first mover,” Ambassador Jakob Hallgren said during an inter

June 1, 2021

Global leaders pledge inclusive green recovery at P4G summit

Foreign leaders and heads of international organizations on Monday pledged an inclusive green recovery for carbon neutrality and urged joint efforts to help developing countries join the initiative. The unified message came as the P4G summit wrapped up its two-day run in Seoul. It was the first time South Korea had hosted a multilateral international meeting on the environment. “We reaffirm that the fight against COVID-19 leaves important lessons for the global response to the climate

May 31, 2021

Thai Embassy to promote esports on Thailand Game Day

  The Thai Embassy in South Korea will broadcast a special esports friendly match live on Facebook for Thailand Game Day on June 11. The event -- the first of its kind to promote Thailand’s gaming industry in Korea -- will feature a League of Legends: Wildrift friendly match between two up-and-coming esports teams from Thailand and Korea. Thailand and Korea both have large domestic game markets. In 2020, Korea’s market was estimated to be worth $16 billion -- the fourth-highe

May 31, 2021

S. Korea, Denmark forge 'comprehensive green strategic partnership' in virtual summit

South Korea and Denmark agreed Sunday to elevate their ties to a "comprehensive green strategic partnership" as part of efforts to further deepen cooperation on the climate and environment. The accord was reached during virtual summit talks between President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen held just before the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit opens. It marks South Korea's first bilateral green partnership with a foreign country. The two sides commemorate the 10th anniversary

May 30, 2021

P4G climate summit opens in Seoul

The P4G summit kicked off in Seoul on Sunday, bringing together top government officials and heads of international organizations around the world to discuss climate change and ways to achieve green growth at a critical time when there are growing calls for a sustainable, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is hosting the two-day event, vowed to take on a larger role in fighting climate change as he attended the opening ceremony held at Dong

May 30, 2021

S. Korea to receive J&J vaccine for 1m people from US this week: PM

South Korea will receive the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine for 1 million people from the United States this week following Washington's pledge to donate vaccines for Korean troops, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday. It is nearly double the volume that US President Joe Biden vowed to provide, during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in earlier this month, to fully inoculate all 550,000 South Korean service members. "Our military aircraft will bring the vaccine home

May 30, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korea-US alliance should not take aim at China: Chinese envoy

South Korean diplomacy in recent years has been increasingly complicated by a tough balancing act: Weighing the demands of its security ally the US against its top trading partner China.  Seoul’s strategic dilemma was showed again recently when the joint Korea-US statement -- issued following the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart, Joe Biden -- triggered a sharp response from Beijing. Despite relatively toned-down language and no direct refer

May 30, 2021

Moon shares Biden's Twitter message on their summit last week

South Korean President Moon Jae-in publicly thanked US President Joe Biden on Saturday for his note on their White House summit last week. Moon shared Biden's related Twitter message on his Facebook account and also retweeted it. Moon attached a message reading "Mr. President Biden, Thank you." Hours earlier, Biden tweeted, "I was honored to welcome President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea last week at the White House." "The alliance between our nations was forg

May 29, 2021

National Assembly speaker meets Czech leaders, discusses nuclear power plant projects

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has met with political leaders of the Czech Republic to promote Seoul's nuclear power plant solutions, his office said Saturday. Park spoke with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in Prague on Friday (local time) and emphasized that South Korea can be an ideal partner for the Czech Republic's nuclear power projects. "We are stronger than any other nation when it comes to construction time, cost and operation capabilities," Park s

May 29, 2021

Belgium recalls ambassador to Seoul, waives immunity for wife over assault case

Belgium ordered its ambassador to South Korea to leave his post this summer and waived diplomatic immunity for his wife, who stands accused of assaulting two clothing shop employees, its foreign ministry said Friday.  Xiang Xueqiu, the spouse of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier, has been questioned by police here over allegations that she slapped a clothing store employee in the face and another staff in the back of her head in early April. The assaults allegedly happened when the employees m

May 28, 2021

British, French, German leaders to join P4G summit: Cheong Wa Dae

SEOUL -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those who will join a virtual summit of global leaders on climate to be hosted by South Korea, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday. President Moon Jae-in will host the two-day P4G Seoul Summit set to open Sunday with more than 60 leaders and top-level officials of foreign countries and international organizations attending. US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jin

May 28, 2021

Moon-Biden summit further deepens alliance: foreign ministry

The summit talks between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden last week helped the two countries further deepen their alliance in a "comprehensive, constructive and mutually beneficial" manner, the foreign ministry said Friday. The ministry made the assessment in a report to the parliament, saying that the May 21 summit "brought achievements encompassing political, economic cooperation and global issues, while expanding and deepening the realms of cooperation."

May 28, 2021

Seoul to deal with Tokyo's Dokdo claim on Olympic map 'as strongly as possible': FM

Seoul will address Tokyo's renewed claim to sovereignty of South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on the Tokyo Olympic website as strongly as possible, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Friday. Japan described Dokdo as part of its territory on a map posted on the Tokyo Olympic website to show the route of the torch relay, its latest claiming of the islets. The move has prompted mounting calls to revise it and concerns that the inclusion of the islets could undermine the Olympic spirit

May 28, 2021

Chief nuke envoys of S. Korea, US hold phone talks on peninsula denuclearization

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held their second phone talks in less than a week on Friday to discuss cooperation to achieve denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his US counterpart, Sung Kim, discussed follow-up efforts to last week's summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden, where the leaders stressed d

May 28, 2021

S. Korea proposes regional medical supply reserve for health emergencies

South Korea has proposed the establishment of a multinational reserve of medical supplies to respond to future health emergencies during a regional cooperation forum, the foreign ministry said Friday. Seoul made the proposal at the third virtual session of the Northeast Asia Conference on Health Security on Thursday. The forum was launched in December based on an initiative that President Moon Jae-in suggested to foster joint efforts to handle pandemics and other challenges. Diplomatic and hea

May 28, 2021

S. Korea provides 10,000 more face masks to Colombia

South Korea's veterans affairs ministry said Thursday it has provided 10,000 additional face masks to Colombia to express gratitude for the country's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. The masks were delivered Tuesday as Minister Hwang Ki-chul was in the Latin American country to strengthen the bilateral friendship and cooperation, according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. South Korea earlier delivered 140,000 face masks to Colombia to help the country cope with the new

May 27, 2021

Chinese ambassador calls S. Korea-US summit statement 'a bit discouraging'

Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming voiced discomfort again on Wednesday over a joint statement from last week's summit between South Korea and the United States that touched on sensitive issues like the Taiwan Strait. The statement following the first in-person summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden in Washington on Friday made a rare mention of the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of its territory under its One China policy. "We feel it's a bit discouragi

May 26, 2021