S. Korean cargo ship rescues all crew members of Norwegian tanker in Gulf of Oman

A cargo ship owned by South Korean shipping firm Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. rescued all 23 crew members of the Norwegian tanker Front Altair, which was on fire in the Gulf of Oman, the Korean company said Thursday. The Hyundai Merchant cargo ship, the Hyundai Dubai, received a distress call from the Norwegian tanker around 6:40 a.m. earlier in the day (local time) and approached the Front Altair. All crew members of the Front Altair safely abandoned the tanker and were picked up by the 30,

June 13, 2019

Korea will discuss US boycott of Huawei with China, US, if needed

The government will discuss national security concerns over the use of Huawei Technologies’ equipment with related countries if necessary, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday as US ambassador to Korea stepped up calls to boycott the Chinese telecom giant.  “Regarding Huawai’s equipment issue, the government will be seeking a way that would respect corporate autonomy and wouldn’t impact the security of military communications,” a ministry official told

June 13, 2019

Moon begins state visit to Norway, peace speech in focus

South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew into Oslo on Tuesday for a state visit to Norway aimed at boosting bilateral ties in new energy, maritime affairs and the Arctic.Moon is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the University of Oslo on his nuclear-free Korea and peace vision on Wednesday, the highlight of his three-day trip here.Many South Koreans remember Oslo as the venue for late President Kim Dae-jung's Nobel lecture in 2000.The following day, Moon will have a summit with Prime Minis

June 12, 2019

Korea, Finland seek closer cooperation

President Moon Jae-in on Monday held a summit with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, where they agreed to engage in bilateral cooperation on energy and industrial innovation. The two countries also agreed to boost cooperation on policies related to gender equality and quality of life.  Moon is currently in Finland on a state visit, the first stop in his three-nation tour of northern Europe. From Finland, Moon will move on to Norway and Sweden. According to Seoul’s presidential office,

June 10, 2019

Moon in Finland for talks on peace, innovative growth

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, on Sunday, the first leg of his eight-day tour of Northern Europe aimed at deepening partnerships on peace, innovative and inclusive growth.Moon's aides said that Finland, Norway and Sweden are South Korea's important partners in efforts to bring lasting peace to the peninsula and foster new economic growth engines.The president's regional tour is "expected to become an opportunity to reaffirm cooperation with t

June 10, 2019

Moon embarks on Northern Europe tour with focus on peace, innovative growth

South Korean President Moon Jae-in departed Sunday for an eight-day trip to Finland, Norway and Sweden, where he will seek to deepen partnerships on peace, innovative and inclusive growth.Moon’s aides said that the three countries are South Korea’s important partners in efforts to bring lasting peace to the peninsula and foster new economic growth engines. The president’s regional tour is “expected to become an opportunity to reaffirm cooperation with the Nordic nations i

June 9, 2019

[Newsmaker] Diplomat dismissed for violating anti-graft law

A former ambassador to Vietnam was dismissed from his post for violating the anti-graft law and other irregularities, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Former Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do-hyun received flight tickets and accommodation from a Vietnamese company when he attended an opening event for a golf course in Vietnam with his family in October. He is also suspected of verbally abusing his officials.  The irregularities were found when the Foreign Ministry conducted an inspection of the

June 7, 2019

S. Korea's ambassador to Vietnam fired for violating anti-graft law

South Korea's ambassador to Vietnam, Kim Do-hyun, has been dismissed for a breach of anti-graft legislation and other irregularities, an informed source here said Thursday.When Kim and his family attended an opening ceremony of a golf course in Vietnam last October, they reportedly received funding for a hotel stay and airline tickets.The strict "Kim Young-ran Act" took effect in South Korea in 2016 as part of the country's efforts to wipe out corruption among civil servants and others

June 6, 2019

Seoul denies reports of impending visit by Xi Jinping

The South Korean presidential office on Thursday denied reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping has confirmed plans to visit Seoul before the G-20 summit. A Cheong Wa Dae official was quoted as saying by local media that related reports could not be confirmed and plans for Xi’s visit to Seoul had not been finalized.  Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denied the report, but said the two countries are working closely on a matter regarding a “high-level exchange,&rdq

June 6, 2019

1 more victim of Hungary boat collision found

The Hungarian police recovered one more body believed to be a Korean after divers found two victims from the Danube River boat collision last week, said an official from Korea's emergency team dispatched to the accident site on Tuesday. The body was pulled from underwater, 55 kilometers south from the site of the accident, according to the officials.The death toll of the tragic incident increased to 10 among 33 Korean tourists who were on the boa

June 4, 2019

South Korea could start returning bodies from Budapest boat disaster

Hungary, BUDAPEST (Reuters) -- The South Korean government expects to begin returning to Seoul the remains of some of the victims who died when a tourist boat sank last week in Budapest, an official said on Tuesday, as conditions for exploring the wreckage improved. Twenty-eight people are presumed to have died when The Mermaid, a pleasure boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew, capsized and sank after being hit by a cruise liner in Budapest last Wednesday. Seven Koreans s

June 4, 2019

FM meets with new GCF chief

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with the new head of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Seoul on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said.     In April, Yannick Glemarec took office as the new executive director of the GFC, the South Korea-based UN climate fund aimed at channeling money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle global warming.    Kang cited the importance of the GCF's role in implementin

June 4, 2019

Minister pins hope on int’l cooperation to find missing tourists

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa pledged Monday to enhance cooperation with European countries to find the missing South Korean tourists who were on board a boat that collided with a cruise ship on the Danube River in Budapest last week. Twenty-one people are still missing. Seven have been confirmed dead, and seven others were rescued.“We will further strengthen cooperation with the Hungarian government and the coastal countries, such as Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, to achieve substantial

June 3, 2019

Search continues for missing victims in Hungary boat sinking

The search for 21 missing passengers of a sightseeing boat that sank in Hungary continued Sunday as recovery efforts remained hampered by high waters, strong currents and poor underwater visibility. Upon returning from Hungary on Sunday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the full-scale underwater search operation could begin Monday, as the Danube River’s water levels were expected to fall and currents to be slower. “We will see the river conditions and dispatch divers

June 2, 2019

South Korea's defense chief seeks to boost defense ties with partners

South Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo sought to promote defense exchanges and cooperation with Vietnam, NATO and Singapore and asked for their backing for Seoul's efforts to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, his office said Friday.  Jeong made the appeals during back-to-back bilateral talks with Vietnam's Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich; Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, chairman of the NATO Military Committee; and Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen

May 31, 2019

Nuke envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan discuss N. Korea in Singapore

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US and Japan held trilateral talks in Singapore on Friday to explore ways to break the current impasse in negotiations on North Korea's denuclearization, officials said.  The envoys -- Lee Do-hoon, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs; U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun; and Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bur

May 31, 2019

Moon talks about Hungary boat sinking with foreign ambassadors

The deadly boat sinking in Hungary earlier this week was a topic of President Moon Jae-in's conversations with a group of new foreign ambassadors here Friday, his office said.Presenting their credentials, five ambassadors based in Seoul and a dozen others stationed in different countries but doubling as ambassadors here expressed a chorus of condolences over the sinking of the sightseeing ship on the Danube River in Budapest on Wednesday night (local time). A total of 33 South Koreans were aboar

May 31, 2019

US senators vow support for tension-reducing moves on Korean Peninsula

US senators pledged active congressional support Friday to continue close coordination between Seoul and Washington on easing military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and to further promote the bilateral alliance, Seoul's defense ministry said.  The senators -- Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) -- made the commitment during a meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo on the sidelines of the ongoing Asia Security Summit, better know

May 31, 2019

US cites one-name policy after Trump mentions Sea of Japan

The US State Department said Wednesday it is longstanding US policy to use only one name for international waters, after President Donald Trump referred to the body of water between Korea and Japan as the Sea of Japan.South Korea has long campaigned for dual usage of the name East Sea, arguing Sea of Japan is a legacy of Tokyo's imperialist past, including its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Trump was in Japan earlier this week when he mentioned the Sea of Japan as part of a pep ta

May 30, 2019