Chinese foreign minister's visit to S. Korea on hold: source

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will not visit South Korea this month due to conflicting schedules, a diplomatic source said Monday. According to the source, Seoul and Beijing have been in talks to have Wang travel to Seoul sometime next week, but the potential trip has been pushed back indefinitely. There was speculation that US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's cancellation of his visit to Seoul could have affected Wang's decision to put the Seoul trip on hold.    But the sourc

Oct. 6, 2020

Moon seeks Brazil's support for S. Korean trade minister's WTO chief bid

President Moon Jae-in requested Monday that Brazil throw its weight behind South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's bid to become the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Cheong Wa Dae said, in the latest diplomatic push in pursuit of the top post. Moon delivered the message during his 20-minute phone conversation with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Moon took note of Brazil's contributions to the development of the WTO, as Robe

Oct. 6, 2020

Defense minister, US ambassador vow to strengthen alliance

Defense Minister Suh Wook and US Ambassador Harry Harris agreed Monday to work together to strengthen the alliance between the two countries, calling it a "linchpin" of regional security, the defense ministry said. Their meeting marked the first time since Suh took office as defense minister about two weeks ago. "Minister Suh and Ambassador Harris agreed that the ironclad South Korea-US alliance is the linchpin of Northeast Asia's security, peace and prosperity and vowed to clo

Oct. 5, 2020

Illegal Chinese fishing in S. Korea grows increasingly unrestrained: lawmaker

HONGSEONG -- Illegal fishing by Chinese boats in South Korean waters has grown increasingly rampant, with reported cases more than doubling from 2017 to 2019, according to a lawmaker Monday. The number of cases of either arrest or expelling of Chinese fishing boats operating in South Korea's western waters reached 6,543 in 2019, according to Rep. Hong Moon-pyo of the main opposition People Power Party. The tally represents a 113 percent hike from the 3,074 in 2017. The lawmaker cited data sub

Oct. 5, 2020

[News Focus] Foreign minister in hot water over husband's US trip to purchase yacht

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has been hit by controversy over her husband’s recent trip to the US presumably to purchase a yacht, with political parties lambasting the excursion as “inappropriate,” saying it went against her own recommendation that people refrain from overseas travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.   　 Local broadcaster KBS on Saturday reported that Lee Yill-byung, a professor emeritus of computer science at Yonsei University, was spotted at Incheon Airpo

Oct. 5, 2020

Pompeo asks for S. Korea's understanding over postponed trip to Seoul

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and asked for understanding of the postponement of his planned trip to Seoul originally set for this week, the foreign ministry said. Pompeo called off his visit to Seoul as he cut short his East Asia trip after US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last week. "Secretary Pompeo explained that his visit to South Korea, planned for this week, has been delayed for the US si

Oct. 5, 2020

FM Kang's spouse makes personal trip to US despite travel advisory

The spouse of South Korea's top diplomat has traveled to the United States, presumably for a yacht tour, despite a government travel advisory asking people to avoid making overseas trips due to COVID-19 concerns, a broadcaster has reported. Public broadcaster KBS on Saturday reported that Lee Yill-byung, the husband of South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and professor emeritus of computer science at Yonsei University, departed for America via Incheon International Airport for personal

Oct. 4, 2020

Pompeo cancels visit to S. Korea after Trump's virus diagnosis

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a planned visit to South Korea, the State Department announced Sunday, after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19. The State Department released an update on Pompeo's planned Asia visit, which included a single travel itinerary to Tokyo from Sunday to Wednesday. The update did not include the previously announced trips to South Korea and Mongolia. The State Department earlier said the top US diplomat would visit South Korea for a two-

Oct. 4, 2020

Moon expected to meet top Chinese, US diplomats in October

President Moon Jae-in is likely to meet the top diplomats of China and the United States when they visit Seoul in October, as he strives to prevent North Korea's fatal shooting against a South Korean government official from escalating tensions and undermining efforts to reactivate the Korea peace process. Moon is seeking ways to improve inter-Korean ties with a view of declaring a formal end to the Korean War and helping advance denuclearization talks. Seoul and Beijing are in "continued

Oct. 1, 2020

Moon, Merkel set for phone talks to discuss bilateral cooperation

President Moon Jae-in will have a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, Cheong Wa Dae said. During the phone talks scheduled for 6 p.m., the two leaders are expected to delve into their countries' collaboration in their COVID-19 response, the presidential office here said. Moon also plans to request Germany's support for South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's bid for the top post of the World Trade Organizatio

Oct. 1, 2020

Korea to expand support to developing nations for virus prevention: PM

Korea plans to boost its support for developing countries as part of Seoul's contribution to the international fight against COVID-19, its prime minister said Tuesday. "The government will expand humanitarian support and official development assistance (ODA) efforts regarding COVID-19 prevention in developing countries," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in his pre-recorded speech to the virtual meeting of the United Nations' Initiative on Financing for Development in the Era of COV

Sept. 30, 2020

FM Kang calls for Peru's support for Trade Minister Yoo's campaign for WTO chief post

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha asked her Peruvian counterpart to support South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's bid for the top post of the World Trade Organization (WTO) during phone talks Tuesday, the foreign ministry said. Peruvian Foreign Minister Mario Lopez Chavarri took note of Yoo's professionalism and leadership as Seoul's sitting trade minister, pledging to closely cooperate with South Korea on the issue, the ministry said in a press release. During the talks, Kang and Lopez al

Sept. 29, 2020

Biegun says US, S. Korea discuss 'creative ideas' on N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Monday he discussed "creative ideas" on how to move the stalled negotiations with North Korea forward during talks with South Korea's chief nuclear envoy. "The United States and the Republic of Korea remain fully committed to diplomacy as a way to reach an enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula, to achieve denuclearization, to bring about a brighter future for all of the Korean People and to bring about normalcy in t

Sept. 29, 2020

S. Korea, Mekong nations vow closer ties amid COVID-19 pandemic

The top diplomats of South Korea and the five Mekong River nations on Monday vowed to forge deeper economic ties while rolling out joint efforts to fight the new coronavirus pandemic, the foreign ministry said.    Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha participated in the 10th South Korea-Mekong foreign ministers' meeting, held virtually with countries located around the Mekong River: Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.    "Today, we are faced with an unprecedente

Sept. 28, 2020

Vice FM holds talks with Australian ambassador about economic, vaccine cooperation

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun held talks with Australian Ambassador to Seoul James Choi on Monday and discussed bilateral cooperation related to the economy and vaccine development, the foreign ministry said.    In the meeting, they expressed hope that the two countries will continue to enhance cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era, especially in such fields as a hydrogen-based economy, the ministry said in a release.    They also held out expectations that coo

Sept. 28, 2020

The Swedish Red Cross Field Hospital film project

In 2003, I was appointed by the Swedish government as Swedish member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, NNSC, in Panmunjom, South Korea. I served in that position for almost three years during 2004-2006. The NNSC is a body agreed upon in the armistice agreement of July 27, 1953, and my predecessors had their first meeting in Panmunjom on Aug.1, 1953. Arriving in Korea, I learned that we, the Swedes in NNSC, were not the first Swedish unit operating in Korea in connection to the Kore

Sept. 28, 2020

Top nuclear envoy heads to US for talks amid tensions over NK killing of S. Korean citizen

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, left for Washington on Sunday for talks with his counterpart expected to include North Korea's recent killing of a South Korean citizen drifting in its waters. During his four-day visit to Washington, Lee will hold talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who doubles as the point man for North Korea. "We are currently at a critical point in advancing the peace process on the Korean Peninsula," he told reporters before dep

Sept. 27, 2020

Chinese ambassador calls for South Korea to join Beijing's data security initiative

Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming has called for South Korea to join Beijing's global data security initiative seen as a move to counter a US drive to discourage the use of Chinese technology on security grounds. During a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency, Xing delineated the initiative that Beijing's Foreign Minister Wang Yi unveiled earlier this month after Washington rolled out the Clean Network program to rid America's online networks of Chinese tech firms. The two competing schemes c

Sept. 27, 2020

S. Korea, China hold ceremony repatriating 117 sets of Chinese troop remains

South Korea and China held a ceremony Sunday to repatriate 117 sets of the remains of Chinese troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the foreign ministry said. The seventh such repatriation ceremony took place at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, a day after the two countries casketed the remains at a temporary storage facility in Incheon. Of the remains repatriated Sunday, 103 sets were excavated last year from Arrowhead Ridge, a battle site inside the Demilitarized Zone se

Sept. 27, 2020

S. Korea to repatriate 117 sets of remains of Chinese troops

The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were casketed Saturday to be sent back to their homeland the following day, the defense ministry said. In 2014, Seoul pledged to repatriate the remains of fallen Chinese soldiers in a symbolic gesture of friendship, and 599 sets have since been returned, including 10 last year. This year's repatriation ceremony will take place at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Sunday, according to the ministry. Of the total

Sept. 27, 2020