Rescuers resume search for 4 Korean climbers, 3 Nepal guides

KATHMANDU (AP) -- Rescuers took advantage of improved weather on Nepal's Mount Annapurna to press ahead with a search for four South Korean climbers and three Nepali guides and have a possible location for them, officials said Wednesday. Nine soldiers and seven civilian rescuers were digging through ice and snow on the Annapurna trekking trail and had made progress in determining their possible whereabouts, said army spokesman Bigyan Dev Pandey. Snow and bad weather on Tuesday stalled the rescue

Jan. 22, 2020

US welcomes S. Korea's troop dispatch to Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON -- The United States said Tuesday it welcomes South Korea's decision to send troops to the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard its citizens and vessels passing through the strategic waterway.South Korea's defense ministry announced earlier that it will expand the operational area of its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden to cover the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.The 300-strong Cheonghae Unit will operate independently of the US-led International Mar

Jan. 22, 2020

S. Korean envoy to Nepal calls for continued search efforts for 4 missing in Himalayas

KATHMANDU/SEOUL -- South Korea's top envoy to Nepal has asked Nepalese authorities to continue efforts to find four South Koreans missing after an avalanche in the Himalayas, amid slow progress in search operations owing to bad weather. Monday's air and ground searches for the four people missing at the Annapurna trekking site were called off for the day as unfavorable weather conditions blocked officials from approaching the scene where the missing people are believed to be trapped. The school

Jan. 21, 2020

[Newsmaker] US envoy say it's his mustache; South Koreans say otherwise

SEOUL (AP) -- The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he's faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan's former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seou

Jan. 21, 2020

Trump's defense suggests US troop presence in S. Korea is form of foreign aid

US President Donald Trump appeared to suggest Monday that the stationing of American forces in South Korea is a form of foreign aid, rejecting the long-held view that the troop presence serves both countries' interests.Trump's lawyers made the case in the 110-page Trial Memorandum for the Senate's impeachment proceedings against the president. The trial is set to begin in earnest Tuesday, with Trump facing charges of abusing his power by asking Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival J

Jan. 21, 2020

S. Korea protests Japanese FM's claim to Dokdo

The foreign ministry issued a strong protest on Monday over Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi's parliamentary speech that renewed Japan's claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.During his speech on foreign policy, Motegi claimed that the East Sea islets are inherently Japan's territory, remarks that overshadowed budding efforts to defuse a row between Seoul and Tokyo over wartime history and trade."The government strongly protests the fact that the Japanese government,

Jan. 20, 2020

Washington Post criticizes Pompeo-Esper column on defense cost-sharing with S. Korea

The Washington Post has criticized last week's joint column by the US secretaries of state and defense about defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea as "conversations that typically happen behind closed doors."In Sunday's article that rebuked US President Donald Trump's "strong-arm" foreign policy tactics, the US daily took issue with the rare commentary that Secretaries Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday to call for Seoul to pay m

Jan. 20, 2020

Heavy snow hampers search for missing S. Korean, Nepal trekkers

KATHMANDU (AFP) -- Avalanches, heavy snow and poor visibility hampered the search Sunday for four South Koreans and three Nepalis caught in an avalanche in the popular Annapurna region of the Himalayas, officials saidRelatives of the missing Koreans have arrived in Kathmandu alongside several officials sent by Seoul to help with the emergency rescue efforts, Ang Dorjee Sherpa of the Korean Alpine Federation told AFP.The missing group was near the Annapurna base camp around 3,230 metres (10,600 f

Jan. 20, 2020

Four Koreans still missing after Annapurna avalanche

Six people, including four South Koreans, remain missing in Nepal’s northwestern Himalayan region after an avalanche hit the area on Friday, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. The Nepali authorities said they have mobilized an additional six to 10 specialized police officers for a search mission that is underway. But heavy snowfall and rough weather conditions are making the search difficult. 　Three search teams consisting of 13 locals who are familiar with the terrain and se

Jan. 19, 2020

Heavy snowfall hinders search efforts for 4 missing S. Korean trekkers in Himalayas

SEOUL/KATHMANDU -- Heavy snowfall is delaying Nepalese rescue workers' efforts to save four South Korean school teachers who went missing while trekking a circuit route of Annapurna in the Himalayas, officials here said Sunday.The four South Koreans who went missing in an avalanche during a Annapurna Base Camp trek Friday morning remained unaccounted for as of Sunday even as South Korean and Nepalese authorities try to expand their search efforts.  Nepalese rescue workers have rampped up th

Jan. 19, 2020

US reaffirms support for improved inter-Korean relations: Seoul official

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The United States has reaffirmed its support for improved inter-Korean relations, a Seoul official said Friday, amid bilateral consultations on how to pursue South-North cooperation projects. Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's chief nuclear envoy, arrived in Washington earlier this week to coordinate the allies' approach to North Korea with his American counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.At the Thursday meeting, Lee said the two sides discussed ways to bring North Kor

Jan. 18, 2020

S. Korea's options on Hormuz strait appear shortlisted

The South Korean government has yet to complete a review of options on how to contribute to security in the Strait of Hormuz, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Saturday amid reports that a final decision on whether to send troops there may be imminent. "As you know, we will have to make a decision in consideration of the people's life and security as well as oil supply," the official said, adding relevant options are "still being reviewed."Consultations with Iran are under way as

Jan. 18, 2020

Indonesia releases ship with S. Korean crew members after 100 days of detention

Indonesia released a ship carrying South Korean crew members Friday after about 100 days of detention for violating territorial waters, diplomatic sources said.The Panama-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier, named DL Lily, was seized by Indonesia's Navy on Oct. 9. Aboard were a South Korean captain and eight South Korean and eight Indonesian sailors.The captain got back related documents, including passports, and was granted approval for departure by Indonesian authorities, according t

Jan. 17, 2020

S. Korea lowers travel alert level for Hong Kong

South Korea on Friday lowered its travel alert level for Hong Kong, the foreign ministry said, amid signs of stability in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory plagued by clashes between pro-democracy protesters and police.The ministry downgraded the alert level to "caution," the lowest of the four-tier warning system. In November last year, it raised the level by one notch to "restraint" due to increasingly violent confrontation between the two sides."In line with this

Jan. 17, 2020

Pompeo, Esper issue joint appeal to South Korea to pay more for US troop presence

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have made an emphatic call for South Korea to pay more for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops stationed in the country.They made the appeal in a rare joint commentary in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday (US time), after the two sides ended their sixth round of talks in Washington to negotiate the Special Measures Agreement, the cost-sharing deal for the stationing of the US Forces Korea.t the SMA talks on Tuesday and Wednes

Jan. 17, 2020

S. Korea, US agree to closely coordinate on inter-Korean projects: nuclear envoy

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to coordinate closely on possible inter-Korean projects amid stalled nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul's chief nuclear envoy said Thursday.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark to reporters after holding talks with his US counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, in Washington.The pair met after President Moon Jae-in expressed a desire ea

Jan. 17, 2020

Pentagon claims shared defense costs benefit S. Korean economy

The Pentagon claimed Thursday that much of the costs shared between South Korea and the United States to station American troops on the peninsula directly benefits the South Korean economy.The comment by Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman comes a day after the allies concluded their sixth round of defense cost-sharing negotiations without an agreement due to wide differences over how much of the burden Seoul should carry.Washington has demanded a significant increase in Seoul's financial contri

Jan. 17, 2020

US envoy surprised that N. Korea didn't give 'Christmas gift'

SEOUL (AP) -- The US ambassador to South Korea said Thursday he was surprised and pleased that North Korea did not give the US an unwelcome "Christmas gift" because of stalled nuclear disarmament talks, and that President Donald Trump is still confident it will denuclearize.North Korea had warned that its "Christmas gift" to the US would depend on what action Washington took in the talks, leading to concerns that it might conduct a major weapons test. It has not conducted any

Jan. 16, 2020

S. Korea, US end 2nd day of defense cost-sharing talks

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States ended their second day of talks Wednesday on sharing the cost of the upkeep of some 28,500 American troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula.Details of the outcome were not immediately available as both sides kept the negotiations tightly under wraps, but no additional meetings were scheduled for the current round.The two teams, led by Jeong Eun-bo on the South Korean side and James DeHart on the US side, held their sixth round of negotiations in W

Jan. 16, 2020

2 ships with S. Korean crew members held in Indonesia for violating territorial waters

SEOUL/JAKARTA -- Two ships with South Korean crew members have been held in Indonesia, one for more than three months, for violating territorial waters, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. On Oct. 9, Indonesia‘s Navy seized a Panama-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier, which was en route to Singapore.Aboard were a South Korean captain and eight South Korean and eight Indonesian sailors.  Last Thursday, Indonesian authorities also impounded a South Korean cargo ship at the s

Jan. 15, 2020