Foreign minister puts exports at heart of diplomatic strategy

Foreign Minister Park Jin said Monday diplomatic missions will be key in pushing for exports as South Korea looks for greater economic might amid rising US-China geopolitical tensions. At an in-person meeting in Seoul with 166 mission chiefs, the first in five years over COVID-19 travel curbs, the top South Korean diplomat called safeguarding economic interests a matter of “security.” “What’s more important than efficiency is reliability and stability. Seeking a united fr

March 27, 2023

Unification minister discusses cooperation on N. Korea with top Japanese officials

South Korea's unification minister had discussions with top Japanese government officials on ways to bolster cooperation over North Korea's nuclear and missile problems and the issue of those abducted by the North decades ago, according to his office Friday. Kwon Young-se had talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in Tokyo on Thursday, the second day of his four-day trip to Japan, it said. At a meeting with Hayashi, Kwon prop

March 24, 2023

Unification minister meets top Japanese officials in Toky

South Korea's unification minister met with Japan's foreign minister and its chief cabinet secretary on Thursday to discuss North Korea's threats and other pending issues, according to his office. Kwon Young-se had talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in Tokyo on the second day of his four-day trip to Japan, the unification ministry said. What was discussed included security situations on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul-

March 23, 2023

PM meets with speaker of Czech Parliament's lower house

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo met with the visiting speaker of the Czech Parliament's lower house Thursday and they exchanged opinions on bilateral ties, Han's office said. Marketa Pekarova Adamova, the speaker of the Czech lower house of parliament, told Han that the Czech Republic expects to bolster cooperation with South Korea in the fields of energy and public health. Han asked Pekarova Adamova to help South Korean firms join a project to build new nuclear power plants in the eastern

March 23, 2023

Democracy Summit 'not' excluding particular countries: Yoon's office

The presidential office said Thursday that the upcoming Summit for Democracy to be attended by South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol is not meant to exclude any particular country, when asked about China's potential opposition to Taiwan's participation in the meeting. A senior official told reporters that the selection of participating countries goes through a process in which the host country, the US, reviews various factors and finalizes them through discussions with the other co-host

March 23, 2023

US sees no imminent sign of nuclear weapons use by N. Korea: Kirby

WASHINGTON -- There is no indication that North Korea may use its nuclear weapons to attack the United States or its allies in the near future, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council said Wednesday. John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, made the remarks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly stressed the need for the country's military to take an "immediate and overwhelming nuclear counterattack" when necessary. "There is no indica

March 23, 2023

S. Korean president to host Summit for Democracy meeting on economic growth

WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will host a leader-level discussion on economic growth and shared prosperity during the Summit for Democracy next week, the US state department announced Wednesday. The meeting will be one of five leader-level plenary sessions to be held virtually during the two-day summit. The upcoming summit will mark the second of its kind, following the first summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in December 2021. "The United States launched the sum

March 23, 2023

S. Korea plans big to mark 70 years of US ties amid threats

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration is preparing for joint forums and military exercises starting next month to commemorate 70 years of relations with the US, as South Korea looks to cement ties with its biggest ally to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats and a more assertive China. Seoul-Washington ties date back to October 1953, when they signed a mutual defense treaty following the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas are still technically at war, having signed a cease-fire bu

March 22, 2023

US report flags concern on S. Korea's freedom of expression

The United States Department of State expressed concern about the issue of restricted freedom of expression in South Korea through a report on human rights practices released on Monday. The report also highlighted other human rights problems in South Korea, including government corruption; the lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence; and laws criminalizing consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex in the military. According to the 2022 Country Reports on

March 21, 2023

Korea readies to normalize GSOMIA

South Korea has informed Japan of completely normalizing a military intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries, which had been operated conditionally since 2019, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Seoul sent an official letter to the neighboring country on fully restoring the pact known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, which follows a list of agreements unveiled after last week's bilateral summit held in Tokyo. The pact had been suspended in 2019 by the

March 21, 2023

Yoon says S. Korea-Japan relations must leave past behind

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan must leave the past behind and move forward, as he faces a growing backlash at home over a recent summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "Korea-Japan relations must move beyond the past," Yoon told a Cabinet meeting. The main opposition Democratic Party and other critics have blasted Yoon for cozying up to Japan at the expense of South Korea's national interests, after the gover

March 21, 2023

Impunity for human rights violations, corruption remains widespread in N. Korea in 2022: US report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to show no respect for basic human rights and freedoms of its people in 2022 while impunity for corruption continued to remain widespread, an annual US report said Monday. The 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said the country had dozens of other human rights issues, ranging from unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government, torture, total state control of expression and media and serious restrictions on freedom of movement and residence to tr

March 21, 2023

Kishida invites Yoon to upcoming G-7 summit: report

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to a G-7 summit to be held in Hiroshima in May, a news report said Monday. According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Kishida told reporters he invited leaders of South Korea, Brazil, India, Vietnam and four other countries to the upcoming G-7 summit during his current visit to India. Japan has the authority to invite countries to the G-7 summit this year as the host nation. The report came less than a week afte

March 20, 2023

Yoon should do more to sell forced labor deal: experts

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration could make better use of its recent deal on Korean victims who suffered Japan’s forced labor during its rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45, if it addresses a split public directly, expert said Tuesday amid growing skepticism Yoon invited the wrong kind of closure. The two-day summit between Yoon and his Japanese counterpart that ended Friday in Tokyo reaffirmed Yoon’s March 6 proposal. It breaks down to delaying the pursuit of a specific apolog

March 20, 2023

‘Think long-term,’ experts say of Japan deal on forced labor

Despite the latest deal with Japan meant to end a historical dispute over forced labor, the Yoon Seok Yeol administration is facing a public backlash as the division deepens over whether Yoon has ushered in the right kind of closure. Some experts say the president may just have done so, as South Korea in the long-term can claim the “moral high ground” on the issue. In a potential move against a 2018 Korean court ruling holding Japanese companies liable for damages to Korean victims o

March 19, 2023

Dokdo, sex slaves and divided public in 'new' era of ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home with another diplomatic milestone under his belt, marking a thaw in strained bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan on Friday. Now he faces other problems regarding historic disputes with the neighboring country and a divided public. The latest diplomatic development between South Korea and Japan came after an announcement from Seoul two weeks ago that it would launch a local foundation to pay the victims of Japan's forced labor during its

March 19, 2023

US House Foreign Affairs Committee members to visit Seoul next month: sources

WASHINGTON -- A delegation from the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), is set to visit South Korea early next month, diplomatic sources said Saturday. During their visit scheduled for April 5-6, the nine lawmakers plan to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and Foreign Minister Park Jin to discuss ways to develop the South Korea-US alliance and strengthen the joint response to North Korea's escalating threats, a

March 18, 2023

Nordic embassies discuss gender divide

The Nordic embassies in Seoul discussed ways to bridge the gender divide in entrepreneurship in the 11th Nordic Talks Korea on March 8. In celebration of International Women's Day, the four Scandinavian embassies -- Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland -- held the seminar under the theme of Bridging the Gender Divide in Entrepreneurship. The seminar, which included presentations by Nordic and Korean experts and a panel discussion, explored topics on bias, stereotypes and challenges women fac

March 17, 2023

First lady asks Tadao Ando to consider art museum collaboration in Korea

First lady Kim Keon Hee on Friday met renowned architect Tadao Ando, with whom she had worked before her husband's presidency, in Tokyo. During their meeting, Kim asked the Japanese architect to consider a collaboration with Korean architecture, such as building an art museum in Korea, stressing the need to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. Responding to her suggestion, Ando said Korea has "many characterful buildings" and that he hopes to see Korea and Japan b

March 17, 2023

[Photo News] 'CHEERS'

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida toast during an extended dinner session held at a restaurant in Ginza, downtown Tokyo, after their summit on Thursday. While drinking Japanese beer mixed with Korean soju, the Japanese premier has reportedly told his Korean counterpart that the friendship between Korea and Japan "felt tasty," referring to the drink also known as "sopok" in Korea.

March 17, 2023