N. Korea slams Park's Cheonan speech

North Korea blasted South Korean President Park Geun-hye Sunday over her recent speech made at a ceremony to mark Pyongyang's torpedoing of a South Korean corvette in 2010 that killed 46 sailors.  Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the tragedy Wednesday, Park said she "hopes North Korea abandons its reckless provocations and belief that nuclear weapons can protect the country." She, however, did not directly accuse the North of downing the South Korean ship Cheonan in the speech.  She was payi

March 29, 2015

President Park attends Lee Kuan Yew's funeral in Singapore

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Sunday attended the funeral ceremony of Lee Kuan Yew, founder of Singapore.  It marked the first time for Park to attend a funeral of an overseas political leader since taking office in 2013.  Park arrived at the service held at the University Cultural Center around 12:50 p.m. and stayed there for more than four hours, according to her office, Cheong Wa Dae.   Dressed in a black pantsuit, Park was joined by former and current heads of state in mourning Lee

March 29, 2015

S. Korea welcomes U.N. move to adopt resolution on NK human rights

South Korea on Friday welcomed a U.N. decision to adopt a resolution that calls for improvement in the human rights situations in North Korea.Earlier, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted the resolution, criticizing the communist country for violating the human rights of its citizens. It was proposed by the European Union and Japan during a session in Geneva, with such issues as political prisoners and discrimination based on family background also touched upon. "We welcome the adoption of the

March 28, 2015

Seoul’s AIIB entry to enhance ties with China, Asian states

South Korea’s decision on Thursday to join a China-led infrastructure investment bank is expected to enhance its ties with China and underdeveloped countries in Asia, potentially including North Korea, which the bank is expected to support, analysts said Friday.They also noted the decision may not hurt Seoul’s long-standing alliance with Washington, given that there has been progress in the efforts to ease the U.S.’ concerns over transparency and the governance structure of the bank. The U.S. ha

March 27, 2015

S. Korea appoints ex-security adviser as new envoy to China

South Korea on Friday formally appointed Kim Jang-soo, a former national security adviser, as its new ambassador to China amid a growing need to cooperate in the fields of peace and security in the region.The 67-year-old Kim, also a former defense minister, will replace predecessor Kwon Young-se, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.It marks the first time that an official with a military background has served as Seoul's ambassador to China after Seoul and Beijing established diplomatic ties in

March 27, 2015

Beijing welcomes S. Korea's decision to join China-led bank

China on Friday welcomed South Korea's decision to join a Chinese-led development bank to fund infrastructure projects in Asia, widely viewed as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank. South Korea announced its decision on Thursday, becoming the latest U.S. ally to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), despite U.S. concerns about the bank's governance structure and decision-making process. "The Chinese side welcomed South Ko

March 27, 2015

S. Korean, U.S. military chiefs hold talks on security issues

The top military officers of South Korea and the United States held talks on bilateral security issues on Friday amid swirling speculation they could discuss the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system here.Adm. Choi Yun-hee, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Martin Dempsey began their 90-minute meeting in Seoul "to deal with a wide range of issues, including how to deal with North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats and their prep

March 27, 2015

S. Korea to seek AIIB stake commensurate with its economic size

South Korea will seek a stake in the China-led investment bank that matches the country's economic size and capability and maximizes its national interest, the finance ministry said Friday.After eight months of deliberation, Seoul announced late Thursday it will join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.The basic rule is for stakes to be distributed according to the GDP of member states and contributions to the eventual authorized capital set at $100 billion.The ministry

March 27, 2015

‘Korea should preserve tradition for tourism’

Despite Korea’s obsession with doing things at breakneck speeds, French Ambassador Jerome Pasquier thinks Koreans should slow down and appreciate finer things in life ― traditional houses, bucolic roads and national parks. Speaking at the second anniversary of the 5.4 Club, Pasquier said for Korea to take the next qualitative leap forward to become an attractive tourism destination, “You don’t need to modernize too much.”“French people like tradition and traditional places,” Pasquier told The Ko

March 22, 2015

S. Korea, China, Japan vow efforts to hold summit at early date

The top diplomats of South Korea, China and Japan agreed on Saturday to continue efforts to hold a trilateral summit of their leaders at an early date as they seek to revive cooperation amid history and territorial rows.The pledge came at a meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida. The trilateral meeting was held for the first time in almost three years."The three ministers decided to continue their efforts to

March 22, 2015

Seoul, Beijing FMs don't discuss THAAD: official

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China held bilateral meetings in Seoul on Saturday, but Beijing did not bring up the controversial issue of Washington's possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system on Korean soil, a Seoul official said.The meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came as Seoul's diplomacy has been put to the test amid a mounting Washington-Beijing row over a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (TH

March 21, 2015

Seoul FM set to have bilateral talks with China, Japan

South Korea's foreign minister was to hold bilateral meetings with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts in Seoul on Saturday on the sidelines of their trilateral talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se was scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japan's top diplomat Fumio Kishida in Seoul ahead of the three-way meeting, the ministry said.Wang and Kishida flew into Seoul on Friday for a three-day stay to attend a trilateral foreign ministers' meetin

March 21, 2015