Diplomats from S. Korea, Japan hold talks amid rows over wartime history, trade

TOKYO/SEOUL -- Diplomats from South Korea and Japan held talks in Tokyo on Thursday, a source said, as they seek to address protracted spats over wartime history and trade amid the United States' calls for stronger trilateral cooperation with its Asian allies. The closed-door meeting between Lee Sang-ryol, director general for Asian and Pacific affairs at the foreign ministry, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came a day after Foreign Minister Chung-Eui-yong renewed Seoul's desi

April 1, 2021

S. Korea's national security adviser arrives in US for talks

South Korea's national security adviser, Suh Hoon, arrived in the United States on Wednesday for talks with his US and Japanese counterparts on how to deal with North Korea. Suh arrived in New York, and is expected to travel to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where the three-way security dialogue will be held on Friday. Seoul's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, earlier said Suh will also hold bilateral talks with his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and Japan's Shigeru Kitamura.

April 1, 2021

S. Korea, Japan to have working-level talks amid protracted row over history, trade

South Korea and Japan will hold working-level diplomatic talks this week to discuss the protracted row over wartime history and trade, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Lee Sang-ryol, director general for Asian and Pacific affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, left for Tokyo earlier in the day for talks with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, the ministry said. The previous working-level talks took place via video links in January. This week's talks, slated for Thursday, come as S

March 31, 2021

Foreign minister calls for talks with Japanese counterpart

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Wednesday expressed hopes of meeting with his Japanese counterpart at an early date in an effort to repair bilateral ties that have long been strained over economic and historic disputes.   　 “Personally, I hope for the foreign ministerial talks between Korea and Japan to take place at an early date,” Chung told a press conference held at the Foreign Ministry, saying he was intent on meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu M

March 31, 2021

Top security advisers of S. Korea, US, Japan to hold talks in Washington this week: White House

The top national security advisers of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Washington this week for talks on regional and foreign policy issues, the White House has announced, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will join his South Korean and Japanese counterparts -- Suh Hoon and Shigeru Kitamura -- for a trilateral dialogue on Friday (US time) at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, according to a statement on Tuesday. It will be the first such three-way talk

March 31, 2021

FM Chung expresses hope for early talks with Japanese counterpart

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed hope Wednesday for an early meeting with his Japanese counterpart, as South Korea seeks to improve ties with Japan in resuming diplomacy with North Korea amid the US' calls for stronger trilateral cooperation with its two Asian allies. Since his inauguration last month, Chung has not held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi even by phone, let alone a face-to-face meeting, amid tensions between the two countries over wartime history a

March 31, 2021

FM Chung to visit China for talks with Wang this week

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit China later this week for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss bilateral ties, the Korean Peninsula situation and regional and global issues, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Chung and Wang are set to hold their first in-person meeting in their current capacities in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen on Saturday, amid renewed regional tensions caused by North Korea's recent missile launches and an escalating Sino-US rivalry.

March 31, 2021

S. Korea 'strongly condemns' Japan's approval of school texts

South Korea "strongly condemns" Japan's approval of high school textbooks renewing territorial claims to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. A textbook screening committee under Japan's education ministry approved 296 textbooks for first-year high school students, including 30 kinds for social studies subjects, such as history and geography. The books will be used from next year. All of the 30 textbooks contain details about the rocky outcro

March 30, 2021

KOICA to focus on green, digital initiatives

The Korea International Cooperation Agency on Tuesday vowed to focus on digitization, expanding eco-friendly projects in its official development assistance programs, in line with the government’s push for green growth. 　 At the press conference marking KOICA’s 30th anniversary, Sohn Hyuk-sang, president of the state-run overseas aid agency, reflected on the past 30 years of aid history and pointed to three areas the agency would emphasize in order to become a leading global agency

March 30, 2021

Biden doesn’t intend to meet with NK leader: White House

The White House said it is not the intention of US President Joe Biden to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as part of the diplomacy that Biden has said he was prepared for. In response to the question, “Now that the president said he’s ‘prepared for some form of diplomacy,’ does this include sitting with President Kim Jong-un?” at the White House daily press briefing Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I think his approach would be quite differe

March 30, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Green economy common priority for Bulgaria, Korea’

South Korea’s drive to achieve carbon neutrality is an opportunity to create deeper and wider ties between Seoul and Sofia, the Bulgarian ambassador to Korea says. “The shift to a sustainable green economy based on clean energy is a common priority for Bulgaria and Korea,” Petko Draganov, Bulgarian ambassador to Korea, said during an interview with The Korea Herald at his office in Yongsan, Seoul. “Our country promotes the European Green Deal,” he said, referrin

March 30, 2021

Blinken says NK missile launches can't shake shared resolve with S. Korea, Japan against threats

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that North Korea's recent missile launches cannot affect the firm determination shared with South Korea and Japan to reduce regional threats. Blinken made the remark at an online press conference organized by the New York Foreign Press Center, after Pyongyang test-fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast last week in the first such launches since the Joe Biden administration took office in January. "What we're seeing

March 30, 2021

World leaders call for global treaty for pandemic preparedness, response

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other world leaders called for a new international treaty to galvanize concerted efforts to prepare against future pandemics. In an op-ed piece provided exclusively to Yonhap News Agency among South Korean media, the 25 leaders also said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for a "more robust international health architecture" that will protect future genera

March 30, 2021

S. Korea sends naval destroyer to Suez Canal amid ship salvage work

South Korea sent a naval destroyer to the Suez Canal to ensure the safety of its nationals using the waterway, as operations to rescue a stranded giant vessel are under way, the defense ministry said Monday. Last week, the 200,000-ton container vessel got stuck sideways in the canal in northeastern Egypt, blocking off the crucial international waterway. On Monday, it was partly refloated after rescue work, according to foreign media outlets. "The defense ministry moved the Cheonghae Uni

March 29, 2021

S. Korea, US working closely on how to improve THAAD base conditions: Seoul ministry

South Korea is closely discussing with the United States ways to improve living conditions for American service members stationed on the THAAD missile defense base in the country, the defense ministry said Monday. Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remarks after a recent Chosun Ilbo report that said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin strongly protested poor conditions of the base during his recent visit to Seoul, calling the neglect "unacceptable." "I do not confirm

March 29, 2021

US put pressure on S. Korea to contribute to 1990 Gulf War: dossier

US officials put diplomatic pressure on South Korea to contribute to a US-led military coalition to fight in the 1990-91 Gulf War, suggesting that its role might affect the future course of bilateral ties, a declassified diplomatic dossier showed Monday. The pressure came when Ban Ki-moon, then director general for American affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, met with Carl Ford, then deputy assistant secretary of defense, during his visit to Washington in December in 1990, shortly before the c

March 29, 2021

S. Korea, India agree on closer military ties in high-level talks

The defense chiefs of South Korea and India held talks on Friday and discussed ways to further boost exchanges and cooperation in the security and arms industry fields, Seoul's defense ministry said. The meeting between Minister Suh Wook and his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, took place in New Delhi, as Suh is on a three-day visit to the country following his trip to the United Arab Emirates. During the talks, Suh explained his government's peace process involving North Korea, and Singh vo

March 26, 2021

US labeling mishap of ‘East Sea,’ ‘Sea of Japan’ fuels debate

South Korea and Japan’s unresolved dispute over what to call a body of water between the two countries came to the fore again after the US military called it the “East Sea,” and then later corrected it to the “Sea of Japan.” On Thursday, the US Indo-Pacific Command, in confirming North Korea’s missiles test, said the launches were made into the “East Sea,” the name which Seoul prefers.  Tokyo immediately protested the reference, with its De

March 26, 2021

Japanese firm repeats dismissed claims at court hearing on wartime forced labor

Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. on Friday reiterated its claim that the company is not liable to pay compensation to South Korean victims of forced labor during World War II. The Seoul Central District Court heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by two South Koreans who worked for Japan Iron and Steel Co., Nippon Steel's forerunner, in 1941 and 1944. The plaintiffs demanded 100 million won ($88,295) per person in damages. They lodged the suit in April 2019 after the Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel

March 26, 2021

Saudi ambassador to become honorary Seoul citizen

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to South Korea Riyad Almubaraky will be awarded honorary citizenship of Seoul in recognition of his contributions to developing bilateral ties, the city government said Friday. Almubaraky has spent 10 of his more than 35 years in diplomatic service in Korea. His first overseas assignment was as secretary at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Seoul from 1990-95. Since 2016, he has served as Riyadh's ambassador to South Korea. Next month, he plans to complete his five-year ter

March 26, 2021