China awaits AIIB decisions by S. Korea, Japan, Australia

China is awaiting decisions by South Korea, Japan and Australia on whether to join a new Chinese-led Asian infrastructure bank as founding members, China's foreign ministry said Friday. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently gained traction as major Western economies, including Britain, Germany and France, decided to join the Chinese-led bank. Close U.S. allies in Asia -- South Korea, Australia and Japan -- have yet to make their decisions. The end of March is the deadline

March 20, 2015

China cautious on possible 3-way summit with S. Korea, Japan

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan must have a "candid" discussion about their shared history, China's foreign ministry said Friday, expressing caution about the prospects of holding a three-way summit among leaders from the three nations.   Saturday's meeting in Seoul of the three foreign ministers -- Yun Byung-se from South Korea, Wang Yi from China and Fumio Kishida from Japan -- will be the first of its kind since 2012. History and territorial rows have prevented them from

March 20, 2015

China, Japan FMs set to visit Seoul for trilateral talks

The top diplomats of China and Japan were to fly into South Korea on Friday to attend a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting also involving Seoul's top diplomat slated for this weekend, the foreign ministry said.  The meeting scheduled for Saturday in Seoul will bring together South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, the ministry said.  Wang and Kishida are slated to arrive in Seoul late Friday for a three-day stay to join

March 20, 2015

Park to meet with foreign ministers of China, Japan

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will meet with the foreign ministers of China and Japan this weekend, Park's office said Friday.  Park's office did not elaborate on the meeting that will also include South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.  The courtesy call on Saturday by Wang Yi from China and Fumio Kishida from Japan comes amid simmering tensions in the region over an advanced U.S. missile-defense system that Washington hopes to deploy to South Korea, as well as history and territori

March 20, 2015

S. Korean parliamentary speaker asks Vietnam to show N. Korea

South Korean parliamentary speaker Chung Ui-hwa has asked Vietnam to show the reclusive North Korea ways of reforming and opening up, officials said on Thursday.  Chung met Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi Thursday and asked the head of state to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and help the North "quickly become a normal state," according to the South Korean National Assembly officials accompanying Chung.  "North Korea should model itself after Vietnam and its successful 'Doi

March 20, 2015

China appoints new ambassador to N. Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping has appointed a vice minister of the Chinese Communist Party as Beijing's new ambassador to North Korea, according to China's foreign ministry on Thursday.  Li Jinjun, 59, vice minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of China's Communist Party, succeeds Liu Hongcai, who returned home after serving his five-year stint in Pyongyang, the Chinese ministry said in a brief statement posted on its website. Li steps into the new job as political rel

March 19, 2015

Korea likely to join China-led Asia bank

South Korea is forecast to join a China-led investment bank as a founding member this month, despite steadfast U.S. skepticism and following in the steps of European powers, government sources said Wednesday. The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank was set up last October with 21 member states, aimed at spurring the region’s development by financing projects in energy, transportation, telecommunication, agriculture and other key sectors. The $50 billion institution may provide Seoul with a chanc

March 18, 2015

Solving leaflet issue key to inter-Korean talks: ex-minister

South Korea should first resolve the controversial issue of anti-Pyongyang leaflet scattering if it wants to resume a dialogue with North Korea, a former unification minister said Wednesday.  The comment by Jeong Se-hyun, who served as unification minister from 2002 to 2004, came amid fears of escalated inter-Korean tension over local activists' plan to send anti-North Korea leaflets in balloons to the communist country next week.  North Korea has threatened to shoot them down with cannons or mi

March 18, 2015

U.S. issues new advisory on financial deals with N. Korea

The United States has issued another advisory on financial transactions with North Korea, designating the communist country as a jurisdiction with high money laundering and terrorist financing risks, a U.S. report said Wednesday.  The guidance to U.S. financial institutions, issued Monday by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is based on the international money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force's updated list of countries with anti-money laundering and

March 18, 2015

U.S. newspaper ad to urge Abe to apologize for wartime sexual slavery

A full-page advertisement will appear in a U.S. newspaper this week to urge Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to apologize for the country's sexual enslavement of women for its troops during World War II, the ad's sponsor said Tuesday.  The Korean American Civic Empowerment, an organization of Korean-Americans, helped sponsored the advertisement that will appear in the Wednesday edition of the Hill, a Washington-based newspaper specializing in congressional topics.   The ad comes as Abe seeks t

March 18, 2015

Top U.S. official calls for strong Korea-Japan relations

U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Tuesday underscored the importance of strong relations between South Korea and Japan when she met with her counterpart from Tokyo, the White House said.  North Korea's nuclear and missile programs were also discussed during Rice's meeting with Shotaro Yachi, secretary general of Japan's National Security Secretariat, the White House said in a statement without providing details.  Rice also told Yachi that U.S. President Barack Obama looks forward to h

March 18, 2015

China, Japan preparing for bilateral FM talks in S. Korea

China and Japan have been in preparations for bilateral talks of their foreign ministers on the sidelines of a three-way meeting of top diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan in Seoul later this week, China's foreign ministry said Tuesday. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, are set to meet on Saturday, resuming their trilateral meeting for the first time in nearly three years. Such meeting has not been held mainly

March 17, 2015

Gov't to counter illegal leaflet scattering by drones

South Korea will take measures to counter anti-North Korea leaflet scattering that illegally involves unmanned aerial vehicles, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.  The government move comes as some activists plan to resume the controversial campaign to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea next week. They have also said drones may be employed in the campaign meant to spread dissenting messages in the reclusive country.  "As far as I know, the act of scattering anti-North leaflet

March 17, 2015

S. Korea takes a sideswipe at China's pressure on THAAD

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a foreign ministers meeting this weekend for the first time in about three years, in a bid to restore stagnant trilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.  The meeting scheduled for Saturday in Seoul will bring together South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, the ministry said.  "The meeting will pave the way for restoring three-way cooperation," Seoul's foreign minis

March 17, 2015

Ruling party chief says THAAD decision lies with gov't

South Korea's ruling party chief said Tuesday that a decision on whether to deploy a U.S. anti-missile defense system in South Korea should be left to the government, not his party.  Kim Moo-sung's remarks came in response to a reporter's question about how he views China's concerns over the possible deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea.  Seoul maintains that the issue has never come up for consideration, but Washington has previously hinted it would deploy

March 17, 2015

S. Korea, China, Japan eye 3-way FM meeting this weekend

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a foreign ministers meeting this weekend for the first time in about three years, in a bid to restore stagnant trilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.  The meeting scheduled for Saturday in Seoul will bring together South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, the ministry said.  "The meeting will pave the way for restoring three-way cooperation," Seoul's foreign minis

March 17, 2015

China names new ambassador to N. Korea: source

China appears to have appointed a vice minister of the Chinese Communist Party as Beijing's new ambassador to North Korea, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.   Li Jinjun, 59, vice minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of China's Communist Party, is likely to succeed Liu Hongcai, who returned home after serving his five-year stint in Pyongyang, according to the source.   Li steps into the new job as political relations between North Korea and China remain strained becau

March 17, 2015