Park to visit China, Myanmar, Australia next week

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will visit China, Myanmar and Australia next week to attend a series of regional summits, her senior foreign affairs secretary said Sunday.On the first leg of her trip, Park will visit Beijing for four days starting next Sunday to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Ju Chul-ki said in a press briefing.From Beijing, she will fly to Naypyidaw, Myanmar to attend the East Asia Summit and a summit between member nations of the As

Nov. 2, 2014

S. Korea, Germany to share experience on unification

Officials from South Korea and Germany will hold a first round of bilateral talks to discuss current geopolitical issues on the Korean Peninsula and share the European country’s experience of achieving peaceful unification, the Seoul government said Friday.Germany’s top diplomat, Frank-Walter Steinmeiser, is currently in Seoul to participate in the talks and to meet President Park Geun-hye in the afternoon. Steinmeiser met South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in the morning and is set to v

Oct. 31, 2014

Park calls for dialogue in Northeast Asia amid tension

President Park Geun-hye called Thursday for dialogue and cooperation in Northeast Asia amid fresh tensions on the Korean Peninsula over high-level talks.The Koreas had agreed to hold high-level talks between late October and early November during a recent surprise visit to South Korea by a high-powered North Korean delegation. South Korea later proposed to hold the talks on Oct. 30 as North Korea had asked the South to set a date.On Wednesday, North Korea rejected South Korea's offer in protest

Oct. 30, 2014

Korea, U.S. seek new options on nuke accord

South Korea is seeking to revise its nuclear cooperation accord with the U.S. in a “creative” manner that could guarantee Seoul’s autonomy in its civilian use of nuclear energy to some extent, a ranking official said Wednesday.South Korea and the U.S. are in the final stage in revising the accord over Seoul’s civilian nuke energy use, also known as the“123 agreement. The two sides hailed the “significant progress” in negotiations for the renewal of the pact, according to a statement unveiled fol

Oct. 29, 2014

China FM stresses commitment to denuclearizing N. Korea

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday reiterated Beijing's commitment to denuclearizing North Korea, days after the top U.S. military commander in South Korea said Pyongyang may be able to miniaturize a nuclear weapon to load it atop a missile. "We are firmly committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Wang said in his speech at the Chinese foreign ministry, which details the agenda of an upcoming APEC summit in Beijing. 

Oct. 29, 2014

Prince Edward in S. Korea for youth leadership program

Britain's Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, visited South Korea Wednesday to attend a global gathering of youth achievement award holders, local organizers said.Edward arrived at Incheon International Airport just west of Seoul earlier in the day and was welcomed by officials from the British Embassy in South Korea.There was no formal welcoming ceremony at the airport because he made the visit for private activities, not as a state guest, said the Korea Youth Work Agency, the Kor

Oct. 29, 2014

Security forum on trust-building in Asia-Pacific opens in Seoul

Hundreds of security experts and government officials from the Asia-Pacific countries gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to participate in a multilateral security forum aimed at seeking ways to build military trust in the region, Seoul's defense ministry said.Under the theme of "From Conflict to Cooperation: Measures for Trust-building among Asia-Pacific Countries," the 2014 Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), the vice ministerial-level forum launched in 2012, kicked off in Seoul for a three-day run.It br

Oct. 29, 2014

S. Korea's top nuke envoy begins five-day visit to China

South Korea's top nuclear envoy left for China on Tuesday for a five-day visit to discuss ways to resume the long-stalled six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea, Seoul officials said.The six-nation negotiations, involving South Korea, North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been dormant since late 2008 when the North walked away from the negotiating table.Pyongyang conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.Hwang Joon-kook, special representative for peace and security af

Oct. 28, 2014

Abe voices no desire to revise Kono Statement: Seoul's parliament chief

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed no desire to revise a past government apology for Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, South Korea's parliamentary speaker said Monday, indicating Japan's continued efforts to improve strained ties between the two historically rival countries.South Korea's National Assembly speaker Chung Ui-hwa met with Abe at the prime minister's office, where the two sides discussed a range of bilateral issues, including the issue of the f

Oct. 27, 2014

S. Korea's nuclear envoy to make rare visit to northeastern China

South Korea's top nuclear envoy will embark on a five-day visit to China this week, including a rare trip to China's northeastern provinces where thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding before eventually resettling to the South, Seoul officials said Monday. Hwang Joon-kook will leave for a northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang on Tuesday for "meetings with Chinese experts from various sectors, including researchers on Korean Peninsula issues," South Korea's foreign ministry

Oct. 27, 2014

U.S. nuclear envoy visits S. Korea to attend peace forum

The U.S. special envoy for the long-stalled six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue arrived in Seoul Monday for an international conference on a regional peace initiative proposed by South Korean President Park Geun-hye.Sydney Seiler is also scheduled to have meetings with senior government officials, including his counterpart Shin Chae-hyun, the foreign ministry's director general handling the North Korean nuclear issue, the U.S. State Department said in a press release Sunday.It mark

Oct. 27, 2014

S. Korea, Vietnam agree to boost environmental cooperation

South Korea and Vietnam agreed Monday to expand their cooperation in environmental fields such as biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, officials here said.The agreement was reached during a meeting between South Korea's Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Quang in Vietnam's capital, Ho Chi Minh City, they said.During the talks, the 11th of its kind, the two ministers agreed to further mutual cooperation for biodiversity

Oct. 27, 2014

S. Korea's nuclear envoy to visit China this week

South Korea's top nuclear envoy will travel to China this week to discuss efforts to revive long-stalled international nuclear negotiations with North Korea, a diplomatic source said Monday. Hwang Joon-kook plans to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, and other officials in Beijing on Thursday, the source said on the condition of anonymity. Hwang is set to leave for China's northeastern provinces, which border North Korea, on Tuesday and hold meetings with Chinese experts on the Korean Penin

Oct. 27, 2014

S. Korea, Germany to launch unification advisory panel this week

South Korea and Germany plan to launch an advisory panel on unification this week in an effort by Seoul to learn the lessons from the European country's reunification, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.The two sides inked a preliminary deal in September to create the panel, an idea that Berlin first raised in February. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to make a two-day visit to Seoul starting Friday for the talks, the government said.South Korean Foreign Minister Yu

Oct. 27, 2014

S. Korea denounces terrorist attack in Egypt

The South Korean government on Sunday condemned a car-bomb terrorist attack in Egypt last week that killed 30 Egyptian troops and wounded 28 others."(South Korea) strongly condemns the terror against a military check point in El Arish in North Sinai," the foreign ministry said in a statement.The ministry also sent a condolence message to the Egyptian government and the bereaved families, adding terrorist attacks can't be justified under any circumstances.Such a crime against humanity "must be er

Oct. 26, 2014