Korea, China hold talks on trade remedies

South Korea and China held talks on Tuesday to discuss ways to ease trade disputes and expand investment opportunities between the two nations, Seoul's trade ministry said. Senior trade officials held the 18th bilateral trade remedy meeting in Beijing to share opinions on the latest trade issues and review the ongoing anti-dumping investigations, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. (Yonhap)They also reviewed the implementation of the free trade agreement between the two nations, as

Nov. 20, 2018

S. Korea, Japan urged to seek wisdom of past leaders to improve ties

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Monday called for Seoul and Tokyo to look to the wisdom of past leaders to improve bilateral relations. 　Lee made the remarks at a meeting with a group of Japanese politicians that included Hideo Watanabe, acting head of a Japanese parliamentary committee on cooperation with South Korea.  (Yonhap)　  Lee told the meeting that relations between South Korea and Japan reached a high point in 1998, when the then South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, and Keiz

Nov. 19, 2018

S. Korea-US working group on North Korea to be launched this week

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy on Monday headed to the US, where he is expected to launch a working group with his US counterpart aimed at better coordinating their North Korea policy, amid ongoing efforts to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. 　Lee Do-hoon, Seoul’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, is to discuss the two countries’ shared strategy to deal with North Korea with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, during hi

Nov. 19, 2018

Moon returns home after APEC forum

President Moon Jae-in returned home Sunday after attending this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.Moon's tour began Tuesday with a four-day trip to Singapore for annual regional summits, during which time Moon also held bilateral meetings on the sidelines with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Vice President Mike Pence. North Korea was a key topic for both meetings.(Yonhap)He then left for Papua New Guinea, where he met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to discuss peace eff

Nov. 19, 2018

Moon stays away from NK sanctions relief at ASEAN, APEC meetings

President Moon Jae-in returned to South Korea on Sunday after wrapping up his five-day trip to Singapore and Papua New Guinea amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve stalled denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea. 　In his meetings with the leaders of China and Russia, as well as with US Vice President Mike Pence, Moon reiterated his role as an honest broker in rallying international efforts to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and open up the country.  　The mo

Nov. 18, 2018

Moon calls for IMF efforts to prevent financial crisis

PORT MORESBY -- President Moon Jae-in on Sunday called on the International Monetary Fund to step up efforts to fend off growing instability in global financial markets, his office said. In a meeting with IMF Director Christine Lagarde in Papua New Guinea, Moon expressed concerns that capital outflows from emerging economies and lack of global liquidity may trigger a worldwide financial crisis. (Yonhap)"In the course of major countries' normalization of their expansionary monetary policies, fore

Nov. 18, 2018

Moon, Xi agree to closely cooperate for successful 2nd US-NK summit

The leaders of South Korea and China agreed to work closely together for the success of a possible second summit between the United States and North Korea during their talks in Papua New Guinea on Saturday, Seoul's presidential office said.President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, met to discuss peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula and other issues on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the Pacific island country."The two leaders judged that the

Nov. 17, 2018

Moon meets Australian PM, vows to maintain ties

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right) and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Yonhap)President Moon Jae-in met with the Australian prime minister on Saturday and agreed to strive to maintain solid bilateral relations as “a true friend.”During his talks with Scott Morrison in Papua New Guinea, Moon said the two nations have forged solid relationships in every field by sharing universal values, calling Australia “the optimum partner for South Korea.”He then suggested further cooperation

Nov. 17, 2018

N. Korean official blasts Japan over wartime atrocities

A North Korean senior official rallied support for the Koreas’ efforts to advance peace and condemned Japan over its wartime atrocities during an international forum in South Korea on Friday.  (Yonhap)Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, said that the three inter-Korean summits and North Korea-US summit this year form a “declaration” heralding an era of peace. “After it committed atrocities such as mass abductions, forcible mobilization and massacre, Japan stic

Nov. 16, 2018

Foreign ministry official found unconscious in Singapore while accompanying Moon

SINGAPORE -- President Moon Jae-in said Friday that one of the foreign ministry officials accompanying him on his trip to Singapore was found unconscious in her hotel room following an apparent stroke.Kim Eun-young, director-general at the ministry's South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, appears to have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was rushed to a local hospital, Moon said in a Twitter message.Moon arrived in Singapore for a four-day visit to attend a series of annual regional summits wi

Nov. 16, 2018

Korea, UAE launch high-level dialogue channel on nuclear cooperation

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates launched a high-level dialogue channel on nuclear cooperation on Friday, in another sign of their expanding partnership.The two countries held the inaugural session of the High-Level Consultation in Seoul, led by Seoul's Vice Foreign Minister, Lee Tae-ho, and Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, the UAE minister of energy and industry.They agreed to install the dialogue channel during South Korean President Moon Jae-in's state visit to the Middle East countr

Nov. 16, 2018

Korea's top nuclear envoy to visit US next week

Senior South Korean and US diplomats will have talks next week on joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea, including the planned launch of a bilateral "working group," Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will make a three-day trip to Washington DC from Monday and meet with his counterpart Stephen Biegun. (Yonhap)They will share the assessment of Korean Peninsula security conditions and discuss ways to strengt

Nov. 16, 2018

Moon heads to Papua New Guinea for APEC forum, meeting with Xi

SINGAPORE -- President Moon Jae-in left Singapore for Papua New Guinea on Friday for this year's summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and bilateral meetings on its sidelines, including one with Chinese President Xi Jinping.North Korea's denuclearization process is expected to dominate the meeting with Xi set for Saturday. It will be their fourth meeting since Moon took office last year. They last met in December when Moon made a state visit to China. (Yonhap)While in Singapore f

Nov. 16, 2018

South Korea warns Japan in row over forced labor ruling

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed regret over Japan’s continued criticism of the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)“The government has asked Japan through various channels that Japanese leaders respond wisely to the ruling so that it will not pose obstacles to the development of future-oriented Korea-Japan relations,” said ministry spokesperson Noh Kyu-duk in a statement. “We once aga

Nov. 15, 2018

Korea seeks trade pacts with ASEAN members, agrees to cooperate for regional pact

SINGAPORE -- South Korea will push for more bilateral free trade agreements with Southeast Asian nations and cooperate to conclude regional trade pact negotiations within next year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday.As part of the plans, Seoul agreed to launch a feasibility study on a free trade agreement with Malaysia and resume stalled trade pact negotiations with Indonesia. Minister for Trade Kim Hyun-chong at a parliamentary audit on Nov. 6 (Yonhap)The measures were ag

Nov. 15, 2018

Japan's embassy meets businesses over WWII forced labor ruling

The Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Thursday held a presentation for Japanese businesses operating here over a ruling in favor of South Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula amid an intensifying diplomatic row between the neighbors. (Yonhap)Kohei Maruyama, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, stressed that Tokyo’s priority is to protect Japanese firms’ legitimate economic activities here, which analysts see as a thinly veiled threat that Japanese bus

Nov. 15, 2018

Moon asks Moscow to play bigger role in prompting denuclearization steps from Pyongyang

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hinted that sanctions on North Korea should be eased, in a meeting with President Moon Jae-in in Singapore, Cheong Wa Dae said. “President Putin said that if North Korea’s denuclearization measures have advanced, there should be corresponding measures,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said. The comment falls in line with Moscow’s stance that some sanctions on North Korea could be eased in light of recent developments.  President Moon Jae-in

Nov. 14, 2018

Moon extends condolences over Laos dam accident

SINGAPORE -- President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday extended his condolences to the people of Laos over an accident at a dam construction site in July that resulted in multiple fatalities. Speaking during a meeting with Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Moon promised further aid to support the recovery efforts and the rebuilding of the dam. President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith shake hands ahead of their meeting in Singapore on Wednesday. Yonhap“I extend my c

Nov. 14, 2018

Moon to meet with Pence in Singapore on Thursday

SINGAPORE -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to meet with US Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore on Thursday, the presidential spokesman said Wednesday.The one-on-one meeting comes as North Korea's denuclearization process has made little headway in recent weeks, with the planned high-level talks between the US and the North having been called off at the last minute last week.Pence also said in an article contributed to the Washington Post last w

Nov. 14, 2018

Former senior judge indicted in judiciary power abuse probe

State prosecutors on Wednesday indicted a former senior judge, a key suspect in a judicial power abuse scandal involving former top court officials.  The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office charged Lim Jong-hun, former deputy head of the National Court Administration, the top court's administration affairs body, with abuse of power, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice, among others, its officials said.  (Yonhap)Lim. 59, was arrested on Oct. 27. Lim is suspected of being the key

Nov. 14, 2018