Biden, Xi to hold summit next week on bilateral ties, N. Korea, Taiwan, Middle East: officials

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a much-anticipated summit in the San Francisco Bay Area next week, senior U.S. administration officials have said. Biden and Xi plan to meet bilaterally Wednesday on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering slated to begin its weeklong run in San Francisco on Saturday, the officials said in a telephonic press briefing Thursday. The leaders are expected to discuss a "whole range" of issues, including

Nov. 10, 2023

PM to visit Paris for final pitch to promote Expo bid

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is scheduled to visit France later this week to bolster South Korea's bid for hosting the 2030 World Expo, just around two weeks before the crucial vote, his office said Friday. Han will depart for Paris on Sunday for a four-day trip in a last-minute pitch to win support to bring the mega event to the southeastern city of Busan. The trip comes as South Korea has been stepping up its campaign to host the quadrennial event, as member states of the Bureau Internatio

Nov. 10, 2023

Israel agrees to 4 hour daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in northern Gaza: White House

Israel has agreed to four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in the fighting in northern Gaza to bring humanitarian aid in, get civilians out of harm's way and facilitate the release of hostages, a White House official said Thursday. John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, made the announcement that the pauses would begin Thursday -- a move that he said followed an "awful lot of engagement," including a series of talks between President Joe

Nov. 10, 2023

Park, Blinken condemn N. Korean provocations, military support to Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned North Korea's provocative actions and its provision of military equipment and munitions to Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, in a joint news conference Thursday with South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin. "We share profound concerns about the DPRK's growing and dangerous military cooperation with Russia," Blinken said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "Park and I spoke about

Nov. 9, 2023

GBF highlights investment opportunities in Kazakhstan, S. Chungcheong Province

Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Nurgali Arystanov and South Chungcheong Province Gov. Kim Tae-heum showcased their expanding business and investment potential at the fourth edition of the Global Biz Forum hosted by The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Arystanov's presentation centered on Kazakhstan's active "multivector" foreign policy, its rising status as an investment destination and the significance of South Korea in the C5+Korea initiative launched in 2007. He highlighted South Kor

Nov. 9, 2023

Top diplomats of S. Korea, US to hold talks amid tightening NK-Russia military ties

Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were set to hold talks Thursday on North Korea, alliance, regional and global issues, amid concerns over expanding military cooperation between the North and Russia. The talks come after revelations that the North provided Russia with a large amount of munitions and weapons for use in the war in Ukraine under an arms deal apparently reached at a rare September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President V

Nov. 9, 2023

S. Korea, Italy agree to boost future-oriented cooperation

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, on a state visit to South Korea, and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. “Italy is a country that had helped us during the Korean War with medical support. … Together we share values like freedom, human rights and the rule of law. I look forward to strengthening exchanges in the future,” Yoon said at the meeting Wednesday. Rome was one of five countries that deployed

Nov. 8, 2023

Yoon to attend APEC, visit UK, France, Netherlands

President Yoon Suk Yeol is slated to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the United States next week, to be followed by visits to the United Kingdom and France later in the month and the Netherlands in December, the presidential office said Wednesday. Yoon will visit San Francisco from Nov. 15-18 to attend the APEC summit, during which he will share South Korea’s stance on various global issues, Deputy National Security Director Kim Tae-hyo said in a press briefing. This

Nov. 8, 2023

US to suspend key Cold War-era security treaty obligations in December following Russia's pullout

The United States will suspend the operation of its obligations under a late Cold War-era security treaty next month following Russia's withdrawal, a senior White House official said Tuesday. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the announcement as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization decided to suspend its obligations of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe aimed at limiting key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe. The suspension came as prospects

Nov. 8, 2023

S. Korea to open 10 new embassies

South Korea will open 10 new embassies overseas next year to provide manpower and resources increasingly needed to support its rising global profile, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday. Countries that will see the new Korean diplomatic missions are: Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Jamaica, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Zambia. Among the ten nations, Georgia and Jamaica will see their previous embassy-level offices promoted to official embassies. Seoul

Nov. 7, 2023

[Photo News] Independence Day

Nov. 7, 2023

Marking independence, Poland highlights ties with Gyeonggi Province

Poland highlighted growing ties with Gyeonggi Province in Korea, marking the 105th anniversary of Polish independence on Monday. Poland reappeared on the world map after a 123-year absence and reestablished its independence on Nov. 18, 1918. The country celebrates Independence Day to commemorate the restoration of Poland's sovereignty in 1918. “Losing the statehood does not mean losing the identity — and this is the solid foundation of the power and will for life,” said Po

Nov. 7, 2023

[Herald Interview] Korea-Georgia FTA, way forward to win-win diplomacy: deputy minister

A Korea-Georgia free trade agreement would bring substantial benefits for Korea and Georgia, Genadi Arveladze, the Caucasus nation's deputy minister of economy and sustainable development, told The Korea Herald on Friday, as Georgia and Korea embarked on negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement. “The agreement would not only help expand trade and investment but also provide a comprehensive institutional framework for a wide range of bilateral cooperation,” Arveladze

Nov. 7, 2023

Lawmaker calls for specifying China's responsibility in UN resolution on NK human rights

A North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker of South Korea's ruling People Power Party called Monday for a UN human rights resolution to include a phrase stipulating China's responsibility for the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees. Rep. Tae Yong-ho made the remark during a meeting with South Korean correspondents in New York as discussions are under way to adopt an annual UN General Assembly resolution on the North's human rights situation. The discussions came after hundre

Nov. 7, 2023

Central Asia, S. Korea pledge to strengthen youth cooperation

Foreign ministers from South Korea, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing youth cooperation during the 16th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the host nation's embassy said Friday. According to the embassy, the meeting underscored a sustainable future for both Central Asia and South Korea, recognizing the potential of youth in both regions and the need to formulate policies and strategi

Nov. 6, 2023

FM makes final pitch for World Expo 2030 in France

Foreign Minister Park Jin made a final pitch in France this week to win support for South Korea's bid to bring the 2030 World Expo to its southeastern city of Busan, his ministry said Saturday. During a visit to Paris on Thursday and Friday, Park held luncheons and dinners with the ambassadors of 12 nations likely to take part in the vote that will decide the host of the World Expo, as well as with representatives of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the body responsible for overse

Nov. 4, 2023

S. Korea, Thailand to hold consular talks amid complaints over immigration services for Thai nationals

South Korea and Thailand will soon hold consular talks to discuss recent complaints by Thai nationals of their allegedly unfair treatment by South Korean immigration services, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. The two sides agreed to hold the talks between the directors-general for consular affairs at their respective foreign ministries, after the complaints spread on social media, with the hashtag "ban Korea travel" trending on the platform X in Thailand. According to the p

Nov. 4, 2023

S. Korea thanks countries near Gaza for assisting in evacuation of S. Korean family

SEOUL -- The foreign ministry expressed gratitude Friday to countries near the besieged Gaza Strip for their efforts in helping a South Korean family evacuate from the war-torn region via a border crossing into Egypt. "The government expresses gratitude to the governments of Qatar, Egypt and Israel for their efforts in ensuring the safe evacuation of five South Korean nationals," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a commentary. "In particular, we extend our thanks t

Nov. 3, 2023

Japan returns favor again by flying 15 S. Koreans out of Israel

Japan has brought back 15 South Korean nationals and one foreign national family member from Israel to Tokyo on a Japanese military plane, reciprocating for the second time Korea’s rescue flight last month that included Japanese nationals. According to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, the plane landed at Haneda International Airport on Friday evening. Aboard the aircraft are 20 Japanese nationals, four Taiwanese citizens, one Vietnamese national and their five foreign national family members

Nov. 3, 2023

Following an Israeli airstrike, crowded Gaza hospital struggles to treat wounded children

BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (AP) — The gray film covering the faces of children rushed to Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza Thursday made it hard to distinguish between the living and the dead. After two Israeli airstrikes flattened an entire block of apartment buildings in the Bureij refugee camp and damaged two UN schools-turned-shelters, rubble-covered Palestinians big and small arrived at a hospital too packed to take them. Tiny, motionless bodies lay flat against the hospital&rsq

Nov. 3, 2023