The U.S. State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Frank Rose will visit South Korea next Thursday to discuss a range of “strategic issues” including space security, the department said in a press release.His visit here is drawing keen attention due to the possibility of him mentioning Washington’s potential deployment of an advanced missile defense asset, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, to Korea. In May, Rose told a seminar that the U.S

July 3, 2015

In the wake of the U.S. efforts’ to restore full ties with Cuba, South Korea is seeking to put back on track its own relations with the old Cold War foe while renewing hopes for a possible change in North Korea. Washington and Havana have agreed to reopen their embassies in each other’s capitals, following a surprise announcement last December that they will reestablish the bilateral diplomatic relations after 10 months of secret talks.Seoul, which itself has been working to improve its relation

July 2, 2015

Senior South Korean and Japanese diplomats had talks here Wednesday on Tokyo's push for the listing of its early industrial locales, some associated with its wartime use of forced labor, as world heritage.Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun met with his Japanese counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama, according to the Foreign Ministry.The meeting came as the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO will soon make its decision on Japan's bid to have the 23 coal mines, ship yards and other facilities registere

July 1, 2015

President Park Geun-hye warned on Wednesday that North Korea would face harsher sanctions unless it abandons its nuclear weapons programs.  North Korea has long been under an array of U.S. and international sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs. Still, the country has rejected repeated international calls to give up its nuclear program, viewing it as a powerful deterrent against what it claims is Washington's hostile policy against it.  Park also urged North Korea to quickly discard the

July 1, 2015

The Unification Ministry said Wednesday it will actively support a move by the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung to visit North Korea as it could help ease tension on the divided peninsula.  Lee Hee-ho, who was the South's first lady during Kim's five-year tenure until 2003, is seeking to visit the communist nation as early as this month for humanitarian purposes.  Aides to the late president visited the North on Tuesday for discussion on Lee's proposed trip but returned home without finali

July 1, 2015

South Korea vowed Wednesday to step up its diplomatic efforts to improve ties with Japan amid various disputes over their shared history.In a report to the National Assembly's foreign affairs and unification committee, the Foreign Ministry said it will work to sustain the positive momentum in bilateral relations created by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se's visit to Japan last month."The visit will serve to deliver our will to improve relations to the Japanese government and people, as well as an o

July 1, 2015

President Park Geun-hye called on the military Tuesday to maintain its readiness to deter any possible provocation from North Korea amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.  She said South Korea cannot predict what type of provocations the North may stage, citing North Korea's threats and its leader Kim Jong-un's reign of terror.  The North has recently launched a ballistic missile from a submarine and claimed that it has mastered the technology to make nuclear warheads small enough to mou

June 30, 2015

Defense Minister Han Min-koo warned North Korea on Tuesday not to test South Korea's combat readiness, saying it would face "resolute retaliation" in case of any attack.  Han stressed that the likelihood of a provocation by the unpredictable nation is growing, as he presided over a biannual meeting with more than 150 top commanders of the nation's 650,000-strong troops.  The minister ordered the military to make the North "bitterly" pay the price for any "reckless provocation," like the 2002 nav

June 30, 2015

Aides to late former President Kim Dae-jung visited North Korea on Tuesday for talks on a proposed trip there by Kim's widow but returned home without finalizing a specific date.  Lee Hee-ho, who was the South's first lady during Kim's five-year tenure till 2003, is seeking to visit the communist nation as early as next month for humanitarian purposes, a move that may help ease tension on the divided peninsula.  Five representatives from the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center returned home in the afterno

June 30, 2015

The ongoing session of the World Heritage Committee is drawing keen attention here, as it will determine whether to put Japan’s controversial Meji-era industrial sites, linked to wartime slave labor, on its heritage list later this week.The session opened in Bonn, Germany, Sunday amid talks between Seoul and Tokyo over the latter’s bid to put 23 sites of “Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution” on the World Heritage Sites List. The WHC is expected to make its decision over the listing of the sites

June 29, 2015

The U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy will meet with his South Korean counterpart Monday for talks on North Korea and its nuclear weapons program, officials said.  Ambassador Sung Kim will hold a closed-door meeting with Hwang Joon-kook, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, while visiting the country to participate in the Korea Global Forum 2015 hosted by the Ministry of Unification.  His visit comes a month after the two envoys held trilateral talks wi

June 29, 2015

South Korea has approved a civilian group's visit to North Korea this week for discussions on a planned trip there by the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, an official at the Unification Ministry said Monday.  Lee Hee-ho, who was the South's first lady during Kim's five-year tenure till 2003, is seeking to visit the communist nation as early as next month, a move that may help ease tension on the divided peninsula.  The ministry said it gave a nod to the application for five representative

June 29, 2015

Defense Minister Han Min-koo vowed Monday to sternly retaliate against any provocations from North Korea as South Korea commemorates a deadly inter-Korean naval clash that took place more than a decade ago.   Triggered by a North Korean patrol boat crossing the de facto sea border, the Northern Limit Line, in the Yellow Sea, the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong killed six South Korean Navy officers on June 29, 2002, wounding 18 others.   With 13 North Koreans killed in the skirmish, it is remembered

June 29, 2015

South Korea has significant stakes in ensuring freedom of navigation and global commons around the world, including disputed waters in the South China Sea, a former top American diplomat said.   Former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who is now president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency that Seoul and Washington share a vision for "the rule of the road" that should guide behavior in the South China Sea.   Seoul's intere

June 28, 2015

The Japanese embassy will hold a military anniversary event at the Japanese ambassador's residence here to prevent the ceremony from stoking anti-Japanese sentiment, diplomatic sources said Sunday.   The embassy plans to mark the 61st anniversary of the establishment of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in a ceremony at the residence early next month, the sources said on condition of anonymity.   The decision reflects Japan's cautious attitude amid burgeoning signs of a thaw in the countries' bilatera

June 28, 2015