S. Korea, New Zealand share concerns over Japan's Fukushima water

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta held telephone talks on Tuesday and shared concerns about Japan's planned release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the ministry said. Last month, Tokyo approved a plan to dump more than 1 million tons of radioactive water from the wrecked nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking strong criticism from its local fishing industry and neighboring countries. During the talks, Chung exp

May 11, 2021

US reaches out to North Korea again for policy briefing

The US government last week reached out to North Korea again to explain the outcome of its policy review on Pyongyang, and the North responded to confirm the contact, according to diplomatic sources on Tuesday. Even though North Korea didn’t immediately accept the overture for dialogue, its response, first in months, is raising expectations about the possible resumption of the stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang. There had been reportedly multiple attempts for the US to reen

May 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Sri Lanka adds Korean language as college entrance exam subject

Sri Lanka has decided to adopt the Korean language as a subject for the country's college entrance exams, a South Korean embassy there said Tuesday. According to the embassy, the Sri Lankan government recently added Korean to the list of foreign languages taught in the Advanced Level curriculum, as part of efforts to expand Korean education at schools. Under the policy, students entering 12th and 13th grade can choose Korean as their foreign language subject starting in the second half of this

May 11, 2021

Source, destination of illicit weapons seized at sea still under investigation: Kirby

WASHINGTON -- The source and destination of illicit weapons seized over the weekend in Arabian waters are still under investigation, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, adding the US does not exclude North Korea from its list of potential destinations. The US Navy earlier said it has seized thousands of illicit weapons from a stateless dhow in international waters in the North Arabian Sea. John Kirby, the Department of Defense spokesman, said the seized weapons included Russian-made anti-tank mi

May 11, 2021

S. Korea working closely with US to secure COVID vaccines before June: ambassador

WASHINGTON -- South Korea is closely consulting with the United States to quickly secure COVID-19 vaccines, South Korea's ambassador to the United States said Monday, adding the United States understands the difficulty South Korea faces. Amb. Lee Soo-hyuck also expressed hope that the US will soon expand exports of vaccines by US manufacturers. "The embassy is doing its utmost by contacting the White House and the State Department to have vaccines supplied before June. (We) are hearing f

May 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korea denounces bomb attack in Afghanistan

South Korea strongly denounces last week's bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 68 people and wounded over 160, mostly young schoolgirls, the foreign ministry said Monday. "Our government strongly denounces the attack that occurred near a school in the Afghan capital of Kabul on May 8. We also extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their bereaved families," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary. The car bombing came amid escalating tensions

May 10, 2021

Israeli foreign, economy ministers visit Seoul

Israel’s foreign and economy ministers are visiting Seoul this week to hold talks with their Korean counterparts, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. From Monday to Thursday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Economy Minister Amir Peretz will sit down with the Korean foreign and trade ministers to discuss deepening senior-level exchanges and expanding ties ahead of marking 60 years of diplomatic relations next year. Israel will also sign a free trade agreement with Korea,

May 9, 2021

'Quad is neither security alliance nor Asian NATO': White House official

The evolving US-led Quad forum is neither a security alliance nor an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a US White House official said Friday, stressing it is an open framework designed to tackle shared challenges. Edgard Kagan, senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks in a virtual seminar, amid a sense that the Quad, which consists of the United States, Australia, India and Japan, aims to counter the rise of Chin

May 7, 2021

Top envoys of S. Korea, UK agree to tackle climate change, COVID-19 vaccines

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, and the two sides agreed to tackle climate change and cooperate on the fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.  The two envoys held a strategic dialogue Thursday at Chevening House near London, a day after the Group of Seven ministerial meeting ended in the British capital.  Both sides agreed that the strengthening of international cooperation bey

May 7, 2021

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Britain agree on cooperation on vaccine access, climate change

The top diplomats of South Korea and Britain have agreed to reinforce cooperation on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and the expansion of bilateral exchanges during their talks near London, the foreign ministry said Friday. The agreement came during a strategic dialogue between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, in the London suburb of Kent on Thursday, the day after a Group of Seven ministerial session ended. "The two minister

May 7, 2021

Korean culture center to offer free online screening of 'Minari'

WASHINGTON -- The award winning immigrant film "Minari" will be screened online for some moviegoers in the United States next week, the Korean Cultural Center in Washington said Thursday. The film will be made available online free of charge to 600 viewers on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the culture center. "The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. is pleased to present a special screening of Minari in celebration of the broad critical acclaim for this Ameri

May 7, 2021

S. Korea 'positively' views outcome of US policy review on N. Korea: NSC

South Korea's top security officials "positively" evaluated the outcome of the United States' monthslong policy review on North Korea recently completed by the Joe Biden administration, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.    The assessment came during a regular standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC) after the White House said last week that it has completed its policy review on the communist state according to the presidential office.    The U

May 6, 2021

Foreign minister calls for greater vaccine cooperation at G-7 summit

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has called on the international community to work together for the fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines at the meeting of Group of Seven countries, amid Seoul’s rising concern over a looming vaccine shortage. 　 Chung joined the in-person gathering of G-7 foreign and development ministers meeting in London from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. South Korea was invited as a guest -- along with Australia, India, South Africa and

May 6, 2021

US supports waiver of property rights on COVID-19 vaccines: USTR

WASHINGTON -- US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that her country supports waiving the intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, which would allow mass production of the currently scarce vaccines in other parts of the world. The USTR stressed the need for extraordinary measures to meet extraordinary challenges. "The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we'll actively participate in @WTO negoti

May 6, 2021

US encourages Seoul-Tokyo reconciliation over 'comfort women' issue: State Dept.

The United States has long encouraged South Korea and Japan to work together to resolve their thorny history issues, including the issue of comfort women, to promote reconciliation and cooperation, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson, also noted US foreign policy is centered around human rights, including the rights of women and children. "We have also long encouraged Japan and the ROK to work together on the history related issues

May 6, 2021

G7 foreign ministers urge N. Korea to return to dialogue

The top diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) countries on Wednesday urged North Korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear programs, while also urging Pyongyang to engage in inter-Korean dialogue. The foreign ministers also expressed their support for US efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula diplomatically. "We call on the DPRK to refrain from provocative actions and to engage in a diplomatic process with the explicit goal of denuclearization. We remain committed to the goal of

May 6, 2021

[Herald Interview] Open, inclusive Indo-Pacific is common goal: Australian envoy

South Korea has a role to play in bringing about an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region anchored by international rules, as the Quad alliance -- a group of Pacific democracies including the US, India, Japan and Australia -- seeks a partnership between like-minded countries, the Australian ambassador to Korea says. The US-led coalition is seen as trying to counter China’s growing influence in the region, and that represents a challenge for Korea. Seoul is looking to balance its alliance

May 6, 2021

Top Seoul, Tokyo envoys hold talks after yearlong standoff

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Wednesday met his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, for the first time since taking office in February, as tensions still run high between the neighbors amid an ongoing trade and political feud.  Their meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ gathering in London, came after months of no contact between the top diplomats, due to the continued conflict and frayed ties between Seoul and Toky

May 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Top diplomats of S. Korea, US, Japan to hold talks at G-7 meeting

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan were set to hold three-way talks on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G-7) meeting in London early Wednesday (local time), the foreign ministry said. The meeting of Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will mark the first time the top diplomats of the three countries meet in more than a year. It will also be the first direct encounter between Chung a

May 5, 2021

N. Korea may give up nukes, but will test US commitment to diplomacy: US experts

North Korea may still be willing to give up its nuclear weapons for the right price, but will likely wait to see how serious and committed the new US administration is to diplomacy, US experts said Tuesday. "I do believe North Korea is committed to complete, verifiable denuclearization, assuming they get the security assurances they want and certainly they need because they're concerned about regime change, and they realize nuclear weapons, indeed, are a deterrent," Joseph DeTrani sai

May 5, 2021