Philadelphia council resolution condemns Harvard professor for defending Japan's wartime sexual slavery

Philadelphia council resolution condemns Harvard professor for defending Japan's wartime sexual slavery The Philadelphia City Council has adopted a resolution condemning a professor of Harvard University for describing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery as prostitutes in an academic paper. "On behalf of the survivors, and for women and girls around the world, we must continue to push back on dangerous attempts to minimize historical atrocities and ensure they never happen again,&qu

March 6, 2021

Blinken, Austin to visit Korea after flying to Japan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with South Korean counterparts in mid-March following a three-day trip to Japan, in what is seen as part of their Asian tour to solidify a coalition to deal with the rise of China, sources said Friday, adding the meeting would fall on March 17-18. “We’re still coordinating with the US and nothing is definitive yet,” a Foreign Ministry official said. The meeting will mark the first senior level ta

March 5, 2021

S. Korea, US seeks 'two plus two' gathering of foreign, defense ministers: sources

South Korea and the United States are in talks to arrange a "two plus two" meeting of their foreign and defense ministers later this month, sources said Friday, as the allies seek to ensure policy coordination on North Korea's denuclearization and other issues. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to visit South Korea on March 17-18 after a three-day trip to Japan as part of their first Asia swing since the Jan. 20 launch of the Joe Bide

March 5, 2021

Korea-American lawmaker named co-chair of US congressional study group

A Korean-American member of the US House of Representatives has been named a co-chair for a US congressional study group on Korea, an association of former US lawmakers said Thursday. Young Kim (R-CA) will serve as co-chair of the Congressional Study Group on Korea along with Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), according to the Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC). "As a Korean American, I am excited to be able to facilitate important, bipartisan discussions with Co-Chair Rep. Bera and my co

March 5, 2021

KOICA to establish Iraq’s first critical care hospital by 2023

The Korea International Cooperation Agency has broken ground on the first hospital specializing in critical care in Iraq slated for completion in 2023, the state-run overseas aid agency said Thursday.  The four-story Iraq-Korea Critical Care Specialty Hospital will be built on a 7,000-square-meter site in the country’s capital, Baghdad, with the KOICA injecting a total of $39.5 million for the project.  Once completed, the hospital will be equipped with eight operating ro

March 4, 2021

Top negotiator expects prompt defense cost-sharing deal with US

Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea’s chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks, raised expectations that a deal with the US will come soon, as he departed for Washington on Thursday for a new round of negotiations. 　 Jeong and his US counterpart, Donna Welton are set for talks in the US capital Friday to negotiate the cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of the roughly 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The two last held talks via video li

March 4, 2021

KOICA to build Iraq's first intensive care hospital by 2023

South Korea's overseas aid agency said Thursday that it will construct the first intensive care hospital in Iraq by 2023, as part of efforts to help the Middle East country strengthen its medical services. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) said that under a support project worth $39.5 million, it plans to build the four-story Iraq-Korea Critical Care Specialty Hospital on a 7,000-square-meter site in Baghdad. On Wednesday, the agency held a groundbreaking ceremony for the hosp

March 4, 2021

S. Korea to provide food aid to 6 pandemic-hit countries

South Korea said Thursday it has decided to donate 50,000 tons of rice to six countries suffering from deepening poverty amid the prolonged new coronavirus pandemic. The rice will be sent to refugees and other vulnerable people in Yemen, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Syria and Laos under cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Seoul kicked off the rice aid program following its 2018 accession to the Food Assistance

March 4, 2021

N. Korea poses 'most immediate threat' to US: Indo-Pacific commander

WASHINGTON -- North Korea will continue to be the "most immediate threat" to the United States until it agrees to full denuclearization, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command said Wednesday. Adm. Phil Davidson also said the North continues to develop its ballistic missiles despite its ongoing moratorium on long-range missile testing. "Until the nuclear situation is resolved on the Korean Peninsula and Kim Jong-un agrees to complete denuclearization, North Korea will remai

March 4, 2021

Biden says will empower diplomats to reduce threat from N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States will empower its diplomats to reduce threats posed by North Korea, President Joe Biden said in his interim national security strategic guidance published Wednesday. "We will empower our diplomats to work to reduce the threat posed by North Korea's growing nuclear and missile programs, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Republic of Korea and Japan," the US president said in his guideline, referring to South Korea by its official name. The guidance e

March 4, 2021

S. Korea, Japan are key US partners in dealing with N. Korea: White House spokeswoman

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and Japan are key partners of the United States in dealing with threats posed by North Korea, a White House spokesperson said Wednesday. The remarks from Jen Psaki at a daily press briefing come amid a steady deterioration in ties between the US allies. Asked if there will be any three-way discussion between the countries in the near future, she said, "I am sure at some point there will be. I have nothing to preview for you, but of course, Japan and South Korea a

March 4, 2021

US must use every tool to prevent N. Korea from advancing nuclear capability: Sherman

WASHINGTON -- The United States has to use every tool available, including pressure, to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear capability, a top State Department appointee said Wednesday. Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary-designate, also highlighted the importance of China's cooperation in applying maximum pressure on the North. "Because I have been out of the government, I don't know all that is in place now, but certainly we do want to ensure that North Korea understands that unle

March 4, 2021

Blinken lays out 'most urgent' priorities for US, leaves out N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out eight priorities for American diplomacy on Wednesday but again skirted the issue of how to deal with nuclear-armed North Korea. In his first major public address as secretary, Blinken touched on a wide range of issues ranging from tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting democracy to climate change. "When President Biden asked me to serve, he made sure that I understood that my job is to deliver for you ... I take this respon

March 4, 2021

US will work to promote S. Korea-Japan cooperation: Sung Kim

WASHINGTON -- The United States will work to promote cooperation between South Korea and Japan as it sees trilateral cooperation between the two countries and the US as vital to facing regional challenges such as North Korea, a ranking US diplomat said Wednesday. Sung Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said cooperation between South Korea and Japan is more important to the US than any other relationship. "The Biden-Harris administration is committ

March 4, 2021

‘Comfort woman’ requests meeting with President Moon to take sex slavery issue to ICJ

Lee Yong-soo, one of 15 surviving South Korean “comfort women,” on Wednesday requested a meeting with President Moon Jae-in in order to take the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery to the International Court of Justice for a resolution.  The 92-year-old’s request came during her hourlong meeting with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, in what was the minister’s first meeting with a sexual slavery victim -- euphemistically known as comfort women -- since tak

March 3, 2021

Japan undecided on timing, method of Fukushima water release

Japanese authorities are undecided on how and when to discharge radioactive water from the devastated Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea or air, amid heightened environmental and public safety concerns from its neighboring countries, including South Korea.  “The exact timing on when the government will decide on the method and the period is yet to be decided,” said a Japanese government official Wednesday.  “We are still evaluating the situation. But it’s t

March 3, 2021

FM Chung meets victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with a victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to defuse persistent historical tensions with Tokyo amid Washington's calls for tighter trilateral cooperation with its key Asian allies. The meeting with Lee Yong-soo, Chung's first with a sexual slavery victim since taking office last month, came as the 92-year-old Lee has stepped up calls for the government to bring the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with no diploma

March 3, 2021

US launches probe against Samsung products for possible patent violation

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Tuesday voted to launch an investigation into allegations that mobile communication devices from global firms, including South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., may have infringed on patents held by a US firm. According to a notice of investigation, a complaint was filed by Evolved Wireless LLC of Austin, Texas, on Feb. 2 that certain "LTE-compliant cellular communication devices" infringed on certain US patents. It said the scope of the

March 3, 2021

US willing to talk with Iranians on 'unfreezing of funds' locked in S. Korea: Price

The United States would be willing to discuss with Iran the issue of unlocking its frozen funds in South Korea to achieve the overarching objective of a denuclearized Iran, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday. Ned Price said the US is insistent in achieving its goal, but not on how or where it will discuss the issue with Iran. "I would put that in the context of things we would want to discuss, in the context of prospective talks with the Iranians," the spokesman said when aske

March 3, 2021

US lawmakers seek to facilitate reunion of Korean-Americans with N. Korean family members

A group of US lawmakers has submitted a bill urging the US government to work toward family reunions of Korean-Americans with their loved ones in North Korea. To that end, the bill, authored by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), also calls for the appointment of a special US envoy for North Korean human rights issues, a State Department position that has been vacant since January 2017. "Many Korean Americans with family members in North Korea have not seen or communicated with those family members i

March 3, 2021