Top diplomats of S. Korea, Norway discuss coronavirus containment

The top diplomats of South Korea and Norway have discussed efforts to fight the novel coronavirus, the foreign ministry here said Saturday. During the telephone talks with her Norwegian counterpart, Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stressed her country's far-reaching quarantine and disinfection efforts to contain the local spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said. Kang also asked for the Norwegian government's cooperation in allowing necessary

March 14, 2020

Moon, Macron discuss coronavirus response in phone talks

The leaders of South Korea and France had phone discussions Friday on ways to cooperate in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae said. Speaking with President Moon Jae-in for 35 minutes, France's President Emmanuel Macron expressed his "respect" for South Korea's "transparent and effective" response to the outbreak, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok. Macron requested that South Korea share its related experience with his country as it a

March 13, 2020

S. Korea, China hold video conference on fight against new coronavirus

South Korea and China on Friday held a working-level video conference on joint efforts to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, including ensuring the stable supply of face masks and other quarantine items, the foreign ministry said. Kang Sang-wook, the ministry's director-general for Northeast Asian affairs, and his Chinese counterpart Wu Jianghao led the conference, which also involved the two countries' health and other related officials. Kang said that South Korea has been carrying out

March 13, 2020

Foreign diplomats visit Incheon airport to observe S. Korea's quarantine procedures

Foreign diplomats visited Incheon International Airport on Friday to get a first-hand look at South Korea's quarantine procedures aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The visit to the main gateway to Seoul was organized to provide foreign countries with a deeper understanding of how Seoul's quarantine process against the novel virus is working, after more than 120 countries took steps to restrict the entry of travelers from Korea over coronavirus f

March 13, 2020

127 countries, territories restricting entry from coronavirus-hit S. Korea

A total of 127 countries and territories were imposing an entry ban or tougher quarantine procedures for people from South Korea over coronavirus fears Friday, up by four from the previous day, the foreign ministry said. As of 7 p.m., 52 countries and territories were barring the entry of travelers who have been in Korea at least in the past two weeks, joined by Honduras, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Sudan and Niue. Honduras began to impose an entry ban on foreigners from four virus-affected

March 13, 2020

FM says entry restrictions of S. Korea, Japan 'qualitatively different'

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday the entry restrictions South Korea enforced against Japan in the face of the new coronavirus concerns are "qualitatively different" from the immigration control measures Tokyo adopted against Seoul. Kang made the remarks during an interview with local broadcaster KBS, referring to Japan's 14-day quarantine order on South Koreans that took effect Monday amid the neighboring countries' protracted row over trade and wartime history. Tokyo

March 13, 2020

S. Korea, China to hold talks on cooperation against new coronavirus

South Korea and China will hold a video conference this week on possible cooperation to fight the new coronavirus, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. During the talks on Friday, the two sides will share their experience combating COVID-19 and discuss ways to jointly stem the further spread of the new virus, according to the ministry. The planned meeting comes after President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to strengthen cooperation in their fight against the n

March 12, 2020

Chinese embassy provides 25,000 masks to Seoul city amid virus concerns

The Chinese Embassy in South Korea said Thursday it has provided 25,000 masks to the Seoul city government amid concerns over possible mass transmission of the new coronavirus in the metropolitan area. In a letter to Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, China's top envoy to Seoul, Xing Haiming, said the masks are in return for the help Seoul provided when the COVID-19 situation was at its worst in China, according to the embassy. Earlier, the Seoul city government provided 600 million won ($497,100) w

March 12, 2020

Foreign diplomats to visit Incheon airport for first-hand look at S. Korea's quarantine efforts

About 20 foreign diplomats will visit Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, this week to take a first-hand look at South Korea's all-out efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, officials said Thursday. Friday's visit comes against a backdrop of more than 120 countries imposing entry bans or stricter quarantine measures for visitors travelling from South Korea, which has so far reported 7,869 confirmed cases with 66 deaths. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha proposed the vis

March 12, 2020

123 countries, territories restricting entry from S. Korea over coronavirus concerns

A total of 123 countries and territories were restricting entry or enforcing tougher quarantine measures for people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns on Thursday, the foreign ministry said. As of 2 p.m., 47 countries and territories were planning to impose or were enforcing an entry ban on people who have been in Korea at least in the past two weeks. Malaysia was moved to this list as it was expanding the scope of its entry ban from parts of Korea to the entire country, effective fro

March 12, 2020

Trump says US may reevaluate travel warning on S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration may reevaluate the US travel warning on South Korea as the coronavirus situation in the country improves. Trump made the remark during an address to the nation held at the White House, after announcing a ban on travel from Europe, except the United Kingdom, to the United States for 30 days starting Friday at midnight. "At the same time we are monitoring the situation in China and South Korea, and as their sit

March 12, 2020

Foreign countries begin granting businesspeople exceptions to entry restrictions on S. Koreans: ministry

A few countries have allowed in businesspeople from South Korea in exceptions to their coronavirus entry restrictions, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday, pledging greater efforts to make such exceptions a standard practice. The ministry said earlier that the government is in consultations with some 20 countries to explore ways to allow entry for at least businesspeople seeking to travel overseas for work, on the condition that they are cleared of symptoms. Such countries possibly i

March 11, 2020

S. Korea to apply strict quarantine screening on arrivals from virus-hit Italy, Iran

South Korea said on Wednesday that it will apply strict quarantine screening to entrants from COVID-19-hit Italy and Iran in addition to those arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. Starting from midnight, passengers from the two countries grappling with spiking outbreaks of the novel coronavirus will be required to write a special quarantine report, answering questions about whether they have a fever or respiratory problems. Since February, South Korea has been adopting enhanced

March 11, 2020

116 countries, territories restricting entry from coronavirus-hit S. Korea

A total of 114 countries and territories were imposing entry restrictions or tougher quarantine procedures for people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns on Wednesday, as a few more nations in Africa and the Caribbean have joined the list. As of 3 p.m., 43 countries and territories were barring the entry of travelers who have been in South Korea, China, Japan and other virus-hit countries, up from the previous day's tally of 40, according to the foreign ministry website. The Bahamas ha

March 11, 2020

Harris praises S. Korea's anti-coronavirus airport

US Ambassador Harry Harris visited Incheon International Airport on Wednesday to see how fever checks on US-bound passengers are going, praising the process as "the exemplar around the world." Harris visited a boarding gate in the Second Terminal of the airport, west of Seoul, and observed officials taking the temperatures of passengers of an Atlanta-bound Korean Air plane and received a briefing about the screening process. "I appreciate the hard work that (airport staff are)

March 11, 2020

S. Korea, Japan end marathon talks with no deal

South Korea said Wednesday it failed to make any significant progress in its marathon overnight talks with Japan on ending their nine-month trade dispute. The 16-hour talks that ended early Wednesday morning came amid fresh tensions between the neighbors after they virtually closed their borders against each other over the global outbreak of the new coronavirus. The travel restriction forced Lee Ho-hyeon, South Korea's director general for international trade policy, to hold a video confere

March 11, 2020

[News Focus] Chinese masks highlight amicable ties between Seoul, Beijing

China’s decision to provide masks to South Korea while imposing tit-for-tat entry restrictions on Japanese nationals is highlighting Seoul-Beijing relations. From Tuesday, China temporarily halted its visa waiver program for Japanese nationals coming to China for tourism, to visit acquaintances or to change planes. Visa-free travel will still be allowed for Japanese visiting relatives in China or going there on business. The measure is thought to be a response to Japan’s latest

March 10, 2020

China to send first batch of coronavirus relief items to S. Korea

China will send the first batch of face masks and other coronavirus-related relief items to South Korea this week to help the neighboring country fight the viral disease, a foreign ministry official in Seoul said Tuesday. About 80,000 N95 respirator masks and 10,000 items of protective clothing will arrive here via a flight on Wednesday, the ministry official told reporters. Two more batches, including 20,000 masks of the same type and another 1 million surgical masks, will be delivered on Th

March 10, 2020

Govt. to conduct fever checks this week on passengers traveling to US

The government will begin fever checks and other health examinations this week on passengers heading to the United States, an official said Tuesday, amid rising concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus in America. Starting at midnight Wednesday, government officials will undertake the examinations, which have so far been conducted by airlines, to ensure they will proceed "in earnest and in a more systematic manner," the foreign ministry official said. It plans to install thre

March 10, 2020

Seoul raises travel warning on Italy over coronavirus

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry raised the travel alert for two additional regions of Italy effective Monday, amid the fast-rising number of COVID-19 cases.  Seoul issued a “yellow warning,” which calls for travel restraint and is the third-highest in the country’s four-notch warning system, for Piedmont and Marche in Italy’s northwest and central east, respectively.  There are now five provinces in Italy with a “yellow warning,” including Lo

March 10, 2020