Will leaders of South Korea, Japan stoke momentum for reconciliation at NATO summit?

With Seoul and Tokyo picking up efforts to restore strained ties, eyes are on whether the sides’ leaders could make progress in an upcoming international conference that both are set to attend next week. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have both said they will attend the NATO summit scheduled for June 29-30, where they will see each other in person for the first time; it has been less than two months since Yoon was inaugurated on May 10.

June 22, 2022

Seoul to review imposing unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang. How effective is it?

With North Korea expected to conduct a nuclear test, Seoul has raised the possibility of imposing sanctions independent of the international community to respond to the potential security threat. However, while sanctions are the only way to “directly” pressure Pyongyang for posing security threats, such a move by Seoul would be largely symbolic, experts say, as the border between the two Koreas has been closed for years. Last week, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said the

June 21, 2022

China slams US as ‘largest source of disruption’ to world order

China slammed the US as the “largest source of disruption” to world order, making explicit its discontent over Washington’s China policy. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a fact sheet late on Sunday dubbed “Falsehoods in US Perceptions of China,” in response to a recent speech made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where he raised concerns about Beijing posing “the most serious, long-term threat.” The speech was delivered to the Asia Society

June 20, 2022

S. Korea, US to hold talks next month on deterrence against N. Korea

South Korea and the United States have tentatively agreed to hold their regular defense talks in Washington D.C. next month, informed sources said Monday, with joint deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats likely to top the agenda. The biannual Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will be held as the allies are striving to reinforce security coordination following a series of North Korean ballistic missile launches and speculation that Pyongyang has completed pre

June 20, 2022

Foreign Ministry checking Russia’s claim 4 Koreans died fighting in Ukraine

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday it was trying to verify a statement from Russian authorities claiming that four Koreans who joined as volunteer fighters in Ukraine have died. The Moscow Times, an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper, released a report quoting a statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday that claimed 1,956 “mercenaries and weapons specialists” had been killed among the 6,956 from 64 countries who had arriv

June 19, 2022

Canadian Korean War veteran to be laid to rest in Busan UN cemetery

The remains of a Canadian veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War will be laid to rest in the UN cemetery in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan later this week in line with his dying wish, the veterans affairs ministry said Sunday. The ministry plans to hold a ceremony marking the return of the remains of John Robert Cormier at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 6 p.m. on Monday, officials said. The following day, his remains will be placed at the UN Memorial Cemetery. Cormier

June 19, 2022

Seoul's top nuclear envoy meets senior US officials to discuss N. Korea issue

South Korea's top nuclear envoy has met senior US State Department officials in Washington, D.C. to discuss North Korea policies amid concerns of it carrying out a nuclear test, according to officials Friday. Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, had a series of meetings with the Joe Biden administration officials during his trip there accompanying Foreign Minister Park Jin earlier this week. In a Twitter message, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy S

June 17, 2022

N. Korea remains unresponsive to US overtures: State Dept.

North Korea continues to remain unresponsive to US overtures for dialogue, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price also reaffirmed US commitment to diplomatically engage with North Korea without any preconditions. "You heard from Secretary (Antony) Blinken when he was standing next to his South Korean counterpart earlier this week that our approach is to make clear to the DPRK that we harbor no hostile intent. We seek diplomacy and dialogue in order to advance the prospects

June 17, 2022

US conveyed concerns over N. Korean nuclear test to China: Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- The United States has discussed with China the growing concerns over a possible North Korean nuclear test, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday. He also reiterated US concerns over what will be North Korea's seventh nuclear test. "On North Korea, we have expressed our concern that North Korea is preparing to conduct another nuclear test. We have said that publicly. We have communicated that to China," Sullivan said in an online discussion session

June 17, 2022

FM suggests holding ‘2+2’ ministerial summit with top US commerce chief

South Korea and the US have agreed on strong industrial cooperation and on enhancing supply resilience, Seoul’s Foreign Minister Park Jin said on Wednesday (US time). In his meeting with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington, Park also suggested holding “2+2” ministerial summit involving the top commerce chiefs and foreign affairs chiefs of the respective countries. “South Korea and the US have a comprehensive strategic alliance, so we have agreed to cont

June 16, 2022

S. Korea's vice defense minister attends US-led dialogue on support for Ukraine

South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul has attended a virtual session of a US-led forum on support for war-torn Ukraine, his ministry said Thursday. Hosted by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Wednesday's session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group involved senior officials from some 50 countries. Participants discussed the situation in Ukraine, and mid- and long-term measures to support the country, according to the ministry. "The defense ministers of the partici

June 16, 2022

S. Korea, US agree on need for '2+2' ministerial talks on summit outcome: Park Jin

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will continue to hold high-level dialogue to implement the outcome of their leaders' summit last month, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Wednesday. Park made the remarks after meeting with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. "I had detailed discussions with Secretary Raimondo on follow-up steps to the South Korea-US summit," Park told reporters. "We said South Korea and the US will need to continue holding ministeria

June 16, 2022

Diplomatic thaw needed to put Korea-Japan military agreement back on track: experts

As South Korea’s new administration is ratcheting up efforts to bolster trilateral relations with the United States and Japan amid increasing threats from the North, Seoul’s foreign minister raised expectations for the normal operation of an intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo. But with the South Korea-Japan relationship standing at its lowest point due to the two countries’ differences on Japanese atrocities stretching back to its colonial occupation of Korea, diplomatic re

June 15, 2022

S. Korea, US agree to bolster economic security cooperation

South Korea and the United States agreed to step up cooperation for stable supply chains of critical minerals and other economic security issues in their high-level economic talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon and Jose W. Fernandez, the US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, held their first in-person meeting in Toronto on Tuesday (local time) on the sidelines of an inaugural gathering for the Minerals

June 15, 2022

US, S. Korea agree to place top priority on N. Korea issue: FM Park

South Korea and the United States agree on the urgent need to address the challenges posed by North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Tuesday. The South Korean diplomat said he and his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, have also agreed on the importance of maintaining and strengthening US extended deterrence to South Korea. "(We) agreed that the North Korea issue is the top policy priority for both South Korea and the US under the serious current condition where questions abo

June 15, 2022

S. Korean FM calls for 'future-oriented' cooperation with Japan, China

South Korea's top diplomat on Tuesday emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation among his country, China and Japan, citing the regional powers' stature and potential. "Given the stature and economic and cultural potential of the three countries, should we continue our future-oriented cooperation, it would be an important driving force for peace and prosperity in the world beyond the East Asia level," Foreign Minister Park Jin said in a written message to the Interna

June 14, 2022

US, Korea willing to adjust military posture in case of NK nuclear test

The United States and South Korea are prepared to make adjustments to their military posture to counter North Korea, the foreign affairs chiefs of the two allies said. In their first face-to-face bilateral talks on Monday in the US, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed their joint commitment for extended nuclear deterrence, while urging North Korea to come to dialogue. “I can say simply for today that we’re preparing for all c

June 14, 2022

S. Korea, US, Japan to hold missile defense exercise in August: sources

South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to conduct a combined missile search and tracking exercise in waters off Hawaii in August to bolster their readiness to counter North Korea's evolving missile threats, informed sources said Tuesday. The biennial Pacific Dragon exercise is scheduled to take place from Aug. 1-14 as the three countries are seeking to step up security cooperation amid tensions caused by the North's recent missile launches and speculation that it could conduct a

June 14, 2022

N. Korean nuclear test will be met by united, firm response from US, S. Korea: ministers

WASHINGTON -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US counterpart Antony Blinken on Monday urged North Korea to refrain from staging additional provocations including a nuclear test, saying that they will only further isolate the impoverished country. The top diplomats also said North Korean provocations will be met with a strong response. "We affirm that any North Korean provocations, including a nuclear test, will be met with a united and firm response from our alliance and the

June 14, 2022

Foreign minister vows ‘stern’ action against potential NK nuclear test

Amid growing speculation that Pyongyang may carry out a nuclear test soon, Seoul’s foreign minister reiterated during a four-day trip to Washington that the government would take “stern measures” in the event of a detonation. After laying a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington Foreign Minister Park Jin said Sunday that North Korea has finished preparations for a nuclear test according to assessments. “(The North) had launched an intercontinental ba

June 13, 2022