Top diplomats of S. Korea, Vietnam discuss cooperation on NK threats

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Vietnam discussed how to jointly rein in North Korea's prohibited nuclear tests and missile launches during their talks in Vietnam on Monday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is doubling as a deputy prime minister, in the Southeast Asian country to celebrate the countries' 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (L) is shaking hands with Vietname

March 20, 2017

Diplomats scramble to bolster safety of Koreans in China

South Korean diplomats are taking steps to better protect compatriot residents in China from a wave of anti-Korean sentiment among Chinese over the deployment of a US missile defense system.The South Korean Embassy in Beijing has recently opened a special online communication line to send out safety warnings to South Korean residents across China, sources said Monday. A demonstration against the deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea in China's Sichuan Province on March 11. (Yo

March 20, 2017

Top US nuke envoy to visit Seoul amid growing threats from NK

The top US nuclear envoy will visit Seoul this week to discuss cooperation with his South Korean counterparts against North Korea amid the growing nuclear and missile threats from the reclusive state, government officials said Monday.Joseph Yun, special representative for North Korea policy of the State Department, will fly to Seoul late Monday from his stay in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials, according to the officials.Joseph Yun (Yonhap)Details of his itinerary in Seoul have yet to be

March 20, 2017

Despite tough rhetoric, US policy on N. Korea won't be much different from 'strategic patience': expert

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talked tough against North Korea, including openly mentioning military strikes, but the real policy isn't likely to be much different from that of the previous administration, a US expert said Sunday.While visiting Seoul and Tokyo, Tillerson said that the two decades of diplomatic efforts to disarm the North failed, and there was no point in pursuing the diplomatic path any longer. He also said that the US was considering a wide range of options, including the

March 20, 2017

US congressman calls for preparedness for pre-emptive strike on N. Korea

The United States should be prepared for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea as the communist nation is getting closer to perfecting capabilities to deliver a nuclear missile to the US, a House lawmaker said Sunday.Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) made the remark in an interview with Fox News, days after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that all options were on the table in dealing with the communist nation and the military option is one of them."The closer that the North Korean regime gets to be

March 20, 2017

China rejects talks on THAAD with Korea at G-20

China refused to have talks with South Korea at the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting in Germany on the recent trade dispute over a US anti-missile system, the Seoul government said Sunday, dealing a blow to its efforts to resolve the issue in a diplomatic manner. South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho sought to have a dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Xiao Jie during the two-day G-20 summit held in Baden-Baden that started on March 17, but it fell through because of China's refusal, a

March 19, 2017

Top diplomats betray US-China differences on how to rein in N. Korea

Talks between the top diplomats of the United States and China on Saturday underscored a marked difference in their approaches toward North Korea, despite their shared concerns and promise of cooperation regarding its ever-growing threats.  US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Beijing, the last leg of his three-nation trip to Asia following stops in Japan and South Korea.Their talks focused on the upcoming summit between their leaders and the North

March 19, 2017

US says 'strategic patience' on NK is over

With Washington taking a North Korea policy overhaul, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday declared that the existing “strategic patience” approach is over, saying all options including military action are on the table. At a joint news conference with Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Tillerson also urged China to cease its economic retaliation against South Korea over its plan to host a US missile shield here, calling it “unnecessary, inappropriate and troubling.” “Efforts for Nor

March 17, 2017

Tillerson reaffirms 'ironclad' security alliance with Korea

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad" security alliance with South Korea amid growing military threats from a provocative North Korea.The US top diplomat made the remarks during his meeting with South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who took over in December after then President Park Geun-hye was impeached by parliament over a massive corruption scandal.South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn shakes han

March 17, 2017

Top US diplomat says all options remain on table against NK

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday that all options even including military choice remain on the table in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, adding that the so-called strategic patience with Pyongyang has ended.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (Yonhap)Tillerson also urged China to refrain from retaliating against South Korea over the ongoing deployment of an advanced US missile defense system on its soil, calling the move purely a self-defense measure. He mad

March 17, 2017

Yun, Tillerson discuss THAAD, ‘new approach’ to NK

The foreign ministers of South Korea and the US held talks Friday as Washington calls for a “new approach” to North Korea and Seoul is taking heat from China’s economic retaliation over a plan to host a US missile shield here. A North Korean soldier takes a snapshot from outside the window while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (right) listens to USFK Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks during his visit to Panmunjeom, the truce village on the inter-Korean border, Friday. (Yonhap)　US Secretary of

March 17, 2017

Tillerson begins trip to S. Korea amid growing NK threats

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson began his two-day trip to South Korea on Friday, which is expected to focus on discussing ways to strengthen the bilateral alliance and fend off the growing threats from North Korea. Tillerson arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul at about 10:10 a.m. He came from Japan where he held talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and others in Tokyo on Thursday.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shakes hands with one of officials waiting f

March 17, 2017

White House: Trump 'never takes anything off table' in dealing with N. Korea

US President Donald Trump won't remove any option from the table when dealing with North Korea, the White House said Thursday."The president never takes anything off the table. That's something he's been very clear about," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at a briefing when asked about Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's remark that diplomatic efforts to disarm the North failed.Tillerson's remark suggests that Trump's approach to the North will be tough and pressure-oriented.Trump has

March 17, 2017

State Department: Six-party talks failed to bear fruit

Six-party nuclear talks with North Korea failed to deliver their intended results, the State Department said Thursday, adding to Secretary Rex Tillerson's point that diplomatic efforts to disarm Pyongyang failed and a new approach is necessary."There's a recognition that certain mechanisms, like the six-party talks, haven't really borne the fruit that we would have liked to have seen them bear over the years," State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said at a regular briefing."That's no sur

March 17, 2017

Court orders Japanese firm to compensate forced wartime laborer

A Seoul court on Thursday ordered a Japanese company to compensate a South Korean for forced work during Japan's colonial rule. In the latest legal victory for wartime forced laborers, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of  Lee Chun-myeon, 86, who filed the case against Nichi-Fujikoshi Corp. in May 2015. The court ordered the Japanese firm to pay 100 million won ($88,500) to the plaintiff in compensation for her coerced work at a factory in Toyama Prefecture in the 1940s."Japan mobi

March 16, 2017

China's retaliation over THAAD seen as meddling with internal affairs: official

China's retaliation against South Korea over the ongoing deployment of an advanced US missile defense system could be viewed as meddling with internal affairs, a senior foreign ministry official hinted Thursday.During a meeting with lawmakers, Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said "Yes" to a question on whether China's bashing of Korea over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system represents interfering in internal affairs.He went on to say that giving into Beijing's pressure would not b

March 16, 2017

‘Volunteerism is opportunity to grow’

In recent years, there has been fierce debate over the value and efficacy of volunteerism as more young students, faced with increasing job scarcity, opt to take on a temporary, nearly-unpaid position in a harsh environment for the sake of earning professional skills and experiences. But Olivier Adam, executive coordinator of the UN Volunteers, said that despite social and environmental differences in each country, there are “a lot of misperceptions” volunteers give their services without receiv

March 16, 2017

Seoul should suspend THAAD until Beijing halts retaliation: scholar

South Korea should temporarily suspend the deployment of a controversial US missile defense system here until the US convinces China to forgo economic retaliation against South Korea, a South Korean security expert said Thursday. “I don’t understand why South Korea solely takes the hit from the Chinese economic retaliation,” said Hong Hyun-ik, a senior researcher at Sejong Institute in Seoul, at a seminar on diplomacy, security and unification organized by the Seoul-based think tank.“The US shou

March 16, 2017

Tillerson to visit DMZ as part of Korean tour

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to visit the Demilitarized Zone on Friday as the first major schedule of his trip to South Korea, the foreign ministry said Thursday, in an apparent bid to demonstrate a strong alliance between the two countries against North Korea.Tillerson is to come to South Korea early Friday after staying in Japan as part of his three-country trip to Asia that will also take him to China on Saturday.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (C) arrives in Tokyo on March 15,

March 16, 2017

Defector urges S. Korea to be predictable on N. Korea

Thae Yong-ho, a former Pyongyang diplomat who defected to Seoul last year, on Thursday urged South Korea to be "predictable" when it comes to inter-Korean issues."(The conservative and liberal parties) must reach consensus to let North Korea know that it will pay dearly for any provocations against South Korea," Thae said during a meeting with lawmakers."Only then will North Korea not roll out thoughtless policies against the South."Thae Yong-ho, a former Pyongyang diplomat who defected to Seoul

March 16, 2017