At least 1,500 Koreans forced into labor at Japan's UNESCO

South Korea said Wednesday at least 1,500 Koreans were forced into labor at industrial sites, for which Japan has been pushing to win UNESCO world heritage status.Japan has sought to win UNESCO's recognition for 23 locales, including mines, shipyards and factories in eight of its prefectures, claiming they have helped lay the groundwork for its modernization that began in 1910. South Korea's Prime Minister's Office, however, said 1,516 Koreans were forced to carry out dangerous tasks in poor wor

June 17, 2015

Korea, U.S. sign atomic energy pact

South Korea and the U.S. officially signed a revised civil atomic energy cooperation agreement in Washington on Monday, wrapping up government-level finalization procedures some 50 days after the deal’s preliminary signing.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz signed the revision to the 1974 agreement, which was first signed in 1956. The preliminary signing was done in Seoul on April 22, ending four and a half years of tough negotiations.After the deli

June 16, 2015

Hopes grow over sex slavery settlement

President Park Geun-hye positively evaluated the ongoing negotiations with Tokyo over the issue of its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, in an interview last Friday, saying the talks have made “considerable progress” and are now at the final stage. Her remarks raised hopes that Seoul and Tokyo could break their impasse over the thorny issue and move their relationship forward. But some critics in Japan took her comments with a grain of salt, suspecting she was pressuring Tokyo to make

June 14, 2015

Yun steps up diplomacy against Japan’s heritage bid

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se went on a vigorous diplomatic campaign over the weekend to persuade the international community to oppose Japan’s bid to put its “industrial revolution” sites on the World Heritage Sites list without revealing the dark side of their history.On Saturday, Yun visited Croatia and held talks with his Croatian counterpart Vesna Pusic to underscore that nearly 57,900 Koreans were forced to work during Japan’s colonial rule at seven of the 23 sites of “Japan’s

June 14, 2015

Navy chiefs of S. Korea, China vow 'pragmatic' cooperation

The navy chiefs of South Korea and China held talks this week during which they voiced their willingness to forge "pragmatic" cooperation to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia, according to China's military on Saturday. Adm. Chung Ho-seop, the South Korean Navy's Chief of Staff, met with Adm. Wu Shengli, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) navy, in Beijing on Thursday, the PLA Daily, the Chinese military's official newspaper, reported late Friday. During the talks

June 13, 2015

U.S. moves closer to THAAD's permanent stationing in Guam

The U.S. Army has completed an environmental assessment of its proposal to permanently station a THAAD missile defense unit on Guam, and plans to hold public hearings later this month to collect views from residents, officials said Friday.The environmental analysis has found that a permanent THAAD battery "will not have a significant environmental impact on the human and natural environment, either by themselves or cumulatively with other actions," according to the report."After thoroughly consi

June 13, 2015

Park, Obama agree to reschedule postponed summit in U.S.

President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed Friday to reschedule their postponed summit as soon as possible as Seoul seeks to forestall any fallout from her last-minute cancellation of her trip to Washington. They had a phone conversation two days after Park decided to delay her visit, which Cheong Wa Dae said was aimed at focusing on coping with the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic here. As the outbreak continued to spiral, controversy erupted over whether she

June 12, 2015

Civic group blames gov't for failure to hold joint summit event

A South Korean civic group argued Friday that the government is partly to blame for the failure to organize a joint summit anniversary event.  Civic groups from South and North Korea have failed to agree on any joint ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of the June 15 inter-Korean summit as the North abruptly proposed to hold it separately.  In a statement, the preparatory group in the South expressed regret over what it called the Park Geun-hye administration's confrontational policy toward th

June 12, 2015

Obama says he fully understands Park's decision to delay U.S. trip: Cheong Wa Dae

U.S. President Barack Obama said he fully understands the decision by President Park Geun-hye to delay a trip to Washington over the MERS virus, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.  Obama also said during his telephone conversation with Park that he supported her decision and leadership, the presidential office said in a statement.  The U.S. president also said he is ready to provide all necessary aid to South Korea to help its Asian ally contain the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus,

June 12, 2015

FM Yun due in Berlin against Japan's UNESCO bid

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se left Thursday for Germany in a campaign against Japan's bid to gain UNESCO world heritage status for some early industrial sites tied to Korean slave laborers.  Germany is the chair of the 21-member World Heritage Committee, which will decide in the coming weeks whether to accept Tokyo's bid.  Tokyo is seeking to have 23 mines, shipyards and other locales registered as world heritage sites. Seven of them used nearly 60,000 Koreans as slave workers.  "Minister Yun is

June 11, 2015

Lippert says U.S. 'understands' Park's cancellation of D.C. trip

The South Korea-U.S. alliance won't be affected by President Park Geun-hye's cancellation of a trip to Washington this month, the top U.S. envoy here said Thursday.  "We are very understanding of the decision," Amb. Mark Lippert said in an interview with MBC radio.  He reaffirmed that President Barack Obama is looking forward to meeting Park at a "mutually convenient time."  Park announced Wednesday that she would delay her visit to the U.S. capital for summit talks with Obama, which was initial

June 11, 2015

S. Korea, Japan in talks over joint anniversary event

South Korea and Japan may exchange visits of government delegations this month to commemorate a key anniversary on their relations, a South Korean diplomat said Thursday.  Lee Sang-deuk, the Foreign Ministry's director-general of the Northeast Asia affairs bureau, said the two sides will continue consultations over the issue, raising hopes of a breakthrough in efforts to warm their icy ties.  The Northeast Asian neighbors mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties on June

June 11, 2015

S. Korea, Iran discuss boosting ties amid nuclear talks

South Korea and Iran held talks here Thursday on enhancing two-way cooperation in light of international negotiations aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.  The annual policy meeting, led by Kwon Hee-seog, director-general of the Africa and Middle East affairs bureau, and his Iranian counterpart, Abdolrassoul Mohajer, came just weeks before the June 30 target date for the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of the United States, Britain, China, Russia

June 11, 2015

Royce expresses understanding of Park's decision to postpone U.S. visit

The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday he understands South Korean President Park Geun-hye's decision to postpone her trip to Washington.  Park had planned to visit the U.S. next week, but put it off at the last minute earlier Wednesday in order to oversee South Korea's response to the massive outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome that has sickened 108 people and claimed nine lives.  The decision reflected her commitment to containing the viral disease ami

June 11, 2015

Foreign minister mulls Japan visit

South Korea is considering sending a high-level official, potentially Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, to Japan to explore ways to enhance bilateral ties and to mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of their relationship, Seoul officials said Wednesday.“On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of the bilateral relationship, we are considering sending an ‘appropriate’ high-level official to Japan,” an official at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said on condition of anonymity.

June 10, 2015