N. Korean IOC member keeps mum on Olympic co-hosting with S. Korea

The lone North Korean member of the International Olympic Committee on Friday kept mum on potential co-hosting of next year's Winter Olympics with South Korea.Chang Ung arrived in South Korea to attend the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships starting Saturday in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Chang traveled with officials and athletes from the North-led International Taekwondo Federation. The ITF practitioners will have a performance during the WTF event's opening cere

June 23, 2017

Moon urges China to do more to rid N. Korea of nuclear weapons: Reuters

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday urged China to do more to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons, noting the communist state may acquire nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile in “the not too distant future.”“I believe China is making efforts to stop North Korea from making additional provocations, yet there are no tangible results as of yet,” the new South Korean president was quoted as saying in an interview with Reuters.“China is North Korea’s only ally and China is the country that

June 23, 2017

Parliament passes resolution calling for reunions of separated families

South Korea's parliament on Thursday passed a resolution calling for the reunions of families separated across the inter-Korean border in time for Liberation Day in August.The reunions of families, mostly divided since the 1950-53 Korean War, have not been held since October 2015 amid heightened tensions caused by Pyongyang's unceasing provocations, including two nuclear tests last year. Lawmakers attend a parliamentary plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 22, 2017. (Yonhap)

June 22, 2017

Vice unification minister meets Japan's top envoy

South Korea's vice unification minister on Wednesday met Japan's top envoy to Seoul to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and ways to strengthen cooperation, government officials said.Chun Hae-sung and Amb. Yasumasa Nagamine exchanged views over North Korea's nuclear issue and bilateral matters, according to the Ministry of Unification. Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung (left) and Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Yasumasa Nagamine (right) on June 21, 2017. (Ministry of Unif

June 21, 2017

Pro-NK paper in Japan condemns Moon's offer for talks

A pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan on Wednesday condemned President Moon Jae-in for suggesting that Seoul is willing to hold unconditional talks if the North stops its provocative acts.The Chosun Sinbo described Moon as a "spokesman" for US President Donald Trump, claiming that the South is joining the bandwagon of Washington's hostile policy toward Pyongyang. (Yonhap)Moon made an offer for talks in his speech to mark the 17th anniversary of an inter-Korean summit held on June 15, 2000."(Nort

June 21, 2017

Seoul, Tokyo’s top diplomats reaffirm stance on NK, remain apart on sex slaves

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart agreed on the need to cooperate in North Korean issues in a telephone conversation, Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. Kang and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida spoke over the phone, during which the Japanese top diplomat congratulated Kang on her inauguration earlier this week, according to the official. According to Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two ministers discussed pending issues in

June 21, 2017

Korea asks US law enforcement authorities to arrest robbery suspects

LOS ANGELES -- The South Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles on Tuesday asked the local police authorities to arrest suspects who robbed two South Korean women as soon as possible, the consulate general said.Consul General Lee Key-cheol visited the Best Western Hotel in Placentia, California, where the two women -- a mother and daughter -- were robbed and the mother was beaten and left unconscious on Friday, before meeting with Placentia Police Chief Darin Lenyi to convey the South Korean go

June 21, 2017

Senate to hold hearing expected to focus on Warmbier's death

The US Senate has scheduled a hearing that is expected to focus on the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in North Korea for more than a year, its website showed Wednesday.Warmbier, 22, died Monday, days after returning home in a coma following 17 months of captivity in the North for stealing a political propaganda poster from a hotel in Pyongyang. Otto Warmbier is on trial at a court in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in this photo released by the North`s

June 21, 2017

Korea strongly protests Japan's renewed claims to Dokdo

South Korea voiced strong protests Wednesday against Japan's latest claims to its easternmost islets of Dokdo in an education manual.The foreign ministry also said that it called in Katsuro Kitagawa, a minister for political affairs at the Japanese embassy, to lodge complaints about what it sees as "repeated" and "unjustified" territorial claims."We strongly protest Japan's repeated and unjustified claims to our own territory, Dokdo, and demand its immediate withdrawal," the ministry said in a s

June 21, 2017

McCain cites ‘last-minute scheduling change’ as reason for canceling trip to Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) had to cancel his planned trip to South Korea due to "a last-minute scheduling change," and looks forward to meeting with President Moon Jae-in when he visits Washington next week, his office said Tuesday.McCain had planned to visit the South late last month but called off the plan at the last minute. Recent press reports said it was because Seoul's presidential office did not grant the senator a meeting with President Moon that he decided to canc

June 21, 2017

US handling Warmbier's death as 'humanitarian matter': Kang

South Korea's top diplomat said Tuesday that the US is dealing with the case of an American who passed away after a 17-month-long detention in North Korea as a "humanitarian matter," explaining that Washington hasn't changed its policy towards Pyongyang over the incident."The US too is dealing with the incident as a humanitarian matter and its my understanding that it isn't a North Korea policy change (by Washington)," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters at the National Assembly after

June 21, 2017

'THAAD suspension breeds mistrust in alliance'

The Moon Jae-in government’s recent halt of the deployment of US anti-missile assets has created a “trust issue” between the allies, a prominent Washington academic said Tuesday, warning the decision may send a wrong signal to North Korea and China. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, expressed discomfort over the stalled installment of four launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery until a full environmental review is complete. While criticizing Beij

June 20, 2017

Korea, US arranging telephone conversation between top diplomats

South Korea's new Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to have a telephone conversation with US counterpart Rex Tillerson and express consolation over the death of an American student who was recently released from detention in North Korea, Seoul officials said Tuesday. "Currently, South Korea is adjusting with the US the schedule for a telephone conversation between Minister Kang and Secretary of State Tillerson," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing.  South Korea

June 20, 2017

Korea, China agree to maintain close communication on THAAD

BEIJING -- Senior officials from Seoul and Beijing agreed on Tuesday to have frequent and close communications on the controversial deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The agreement was reached during a high-level strategic dialogue in Beijing between Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and his Chinese counterpart Zhang Yesui, according to the ministry."The two sides exchanged their views on the THAAD deployment issue and shared the need to mai

June 20, 2017

Astana Expo harbinger of future energy politics

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- As visitors walk through the glistening “Nur Alem” Kazakh pavilion in the center of the Astana International Exposition site, they are awestruck by the futuristic design of the spherical edifice, the largest of its kind in the world, built to showcase Kazakhstan’s vision and plans for sustainable energy. Standing 100 meters from the ground with an 80-meter diameter, the building illuminates the Central Asian country’s future energies -- water, kinetic, biomass, wind, solar

June 19, 2017

[Herald Interview] Ethnic Koreans sow seeds of success in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- It was a snowy onset of winter in October 1937. The order came from Joseph Stalin to deport ethnic Koreans from Russia’s Far East to the barren steppes of Central Asia. Running out of time to gather their belongings, the Koreans picked up what little they could -- mostly vital rice seeds secured inside their pillows. The “Koryo-saram,” as they have been called, took with them the seeds of hope for their unknowable future. Many elderly and sick died on the trains used to car

June 19, 2017

Diplomatic fiasco dogs Moon ahead of Trump summit

A series of foreign policy and security fiascos are posing a threat to President Moon Jae-in’s diplomacy, with internal discords on North Korea, a US missile shield and guest receptions spilling over into Washington ties just 10 days ahead of his first summit. 　A sense of doubt has been seeping out of Washington since the liberal administration unveiled a surprise announcement on June 5 that it will cease the deployment of the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launchers here. The decision

June 19, 2017

[Newsmaker] Kang faces mountain of challenges

With silver hair and a cheery smile, she stood out amid a torrent of camera flashes. As she delivered her inauguration address, younger diplomats gazed in awe, letting out whoops when she touched on better work-family balance. The number of followers of the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account surpassed 100,000 following her appointment, with photos of her making her maiden appearance at her office Sunday garnering more than 4,600 retweets.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha formally took office Monda

June 19, 2017