US envoy for N. Korea to visit Seoul for talks on end-of-war declaration

US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim will visit Seoul this week for talks on ways to restart dialogue with the reclusive North, including an end-of-war declaration, the US diplomat said Monday. Kim's trip to Seoul will follow his meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Noh Kyu-duk and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, here in Washington this week. "Special Representative Noh and I also discussed the end of war proposal, and I look forward to continuin

Oct. 19, 2021

Blinken meets IAEA director-general for talks on Iran, N. Korea

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday for talks on a wide range of issues that the chief of the nuclear watchdog said will include North Korea. The meeting between Blinken and IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi marked the first of its kind since the top US diplomat took office in January. "The United States strongly supports the work of the IAEA. It is critical to helping to maintain international peace and stabi

Oct. 19, 2021

S. Korea voices concern over Japan's Fukushima water release plan

South Korea has expressed concern over the new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's plan to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, Seoul officials said Monday. Kishida on Sunday visited the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant and said the planned disposal of wastewater stored in the facility cannot be delayed, sticking to his predecessor's plan to discharge the water into the sea beginning in 2023. "Japan's decision (to discharge the

Oct. 18, 2021

Seoul 'regrets' over Kishida's Yasukuni offering

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday expressed “deep regret” over Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s sending of a ritual offering to the Yasukuni war shrine, which is seen by its Asian neighbors as a symbol of Japan’s wartime aggression.  Kishida sent a “masakaki” tree offering under his name as prime minister to celebrate the shrine’s two-day fall festival that runs through Monday, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.  It

Oct. 17, 2021

Vice FM leaves for Europe for senior-level talks on security, diplomatic ties

South Korea's first vice foreign minister left for London on Sunday for talks with British officials on bilateral relations, the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of mutual interest, his office said. The weeklong trip by Choi Jong-kun will take him to Belgium where he will attend the seventh session of the Korea-EU High-level Political Dialogue for in-depth discussions on ways to boost their ties and regional security circumstances, it said. Choi is also set to meet w

Oct. 17, 2021

IAEA chief vows close consultations with S. Korea over Japan's Fukushima water release plan

The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog has vowed to continue close consultations with South Korea and other nations over Japan's plan to discharge radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the pledge during his meeting with Ham Sang-wook, Seoul's deputy foreign minister for multilateral affairs, in Vienna on Friday, according to the m

Oct. 17, 2021

Kishida sends offerings to controversial Yasukuni Shrine: report

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday sent offerings to a controversial war shrine for the first time since taking office this month, a news report said. Kishida sent a "masakaki" tree to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo to celebrate its two-day Autumn festival that runs through Monday, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency. It marked the first time Kishida has sent an offering to the shrine, seen as a symbol of the country's past militarism, since he took office earlier this

Oct. 17, 2021

US allies vow cooperation on cybercrime

The US allies -- about 30 countries including South Korea, Japan, the UK and Canada -- vowed to bolster cooperation to combat the growing threat of ransomware and other cybercrimes, at an online session hosted by the White House National Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The two-day meeting, which ended Thursday, took place as the US seeks to broaden oversight of the cryptocurrency market after ransomware attacks recently destabilized its food and energy supplies.

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korea considering 'diverse' ways with US for N. Korea dialogue: ministry

South Korea is closely cooperating with the United States on "diverse" measures to restart talks with North Korea, the unification ministry said Friday, after the US said it had made overtures to Pyongyang. "Through close communication, South Korea and the United States have pursued a completely coordinated North Korea policy," Cha Duck-chul, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, said in a regular press briefing. "Diverse measures to engage with the North are being closel

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korean, US diplomats discuss follow-up measures on summit agreement

South Korea and the United States held working-level diplomatic talks in Hawaii to review progress in the implementation of their latest summit agreement, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Ko Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Mark Lambert, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Japan and South Korea, attended the third Bilateral Policy Dialogue (BPD) held on Thursday (local time), the ministry said. The two sides discussed pending diplomatic and s

Oct. 15, 2021

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan to meet in Washington over NK diplomacy

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet trilaterally in Washington next week to discuss joint efforts to bring North Korea back to dialogue, the foreign ministry said Friday. The planned talks among Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk, and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, come as Seoul is stepping up diplomacy to salvage its peace drive following a recent series of North Korean missile launches, including a hyperso

Oct. 15, 2021

US awaits N. Korean response to US proposals for dialogue: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to be prepared to meet with North Korea without preconditions as it awaits the North's response to its "specific proposals," a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price also stressed that the US remains actively engaged in diplomacy with its allies to discuss ways to enhance their collective security. "We do stand prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions. We have made, in fact, specific proposals to the DPRK and

Oct. 15, 2021

US needs to reassure allies against N. Korean threats: US expert

WASHINGTON -- The United States must reassure its allies of American commitment to help defend them against possible North Korean attacks to prevent key strategic alliances from falling apart, a former US ambassador to NATO said Thursday. Ivo Daalder, currently serving as president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent global affairs think tank, also argued US failure to do so may encourage its allies to consider having nuclear capabilities themselves. "So one of the th

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korean, U.S. diplomats to hold working-level talks on summit agreement

South Korea and the US will hold working-level diplomatic talks this week in Hawaii to review progress in the implementation of their latest summit agreement, according to an official at Seoul‘s foreign ministry Thursday. Ko Yun-ju, the ministry’s director general for North American affairs, and Mark Lambert, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Japan and South Korea, will attend the allies‘ third Bilateral Policy Dialogue (BPD) slated for Thursday (local time). The

Oct. 14, 2021

Kazakhstan hosts sixth CICA meeting on regional cooperation and dialogue

Kazakhstan hosted the sixth meeting of foreign affairs ministers in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, known as CICA, on Monday and Tuesday at the Akorda Palace in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan’s capital. The meeting chaired by Kazakhstan and attended by 40 CICA member states and observers included foreign ministers of Bahrain, Belarus, India, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Minister of Tourism of Israel, deputy foreign m

Oct. 14, 2021

Ex-Foreign Minister Kang’s ILO leadership bid stokes debate

Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha’s bid for the post of director general of the International Labor Organization is being met with criticism from labor groups, while the government backs the bid that could see the first woman and first Asian leader in the organization’s 103-year history.  The election is slated for March. If Kang gets the job, her term would start next October, when current Director General Guy Ryder of the UK leaves the office. 　 The South Korean govern

Oct. 14, 2021

US, S. Korea working to restart dialogue with N. Korea: Amb. Lee

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States are working closely together to restart the Korean Peninsula peace process, South Korea's ambassador to the US, Lee Soo-hyuck, said Wednesday. Lee said the countries are also discussing ways to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table that may include the provision of humanitarian assistance to the impoverished North. "(We) are discussing various ways to build trust such as the provision of humanitarian assistance to create a favorable c

Oct. 14, 2021

S. Korea's top nuclear envoy says Russia's role 'important' in restarting N. Korea talks

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy said Wednesday that Russia has an "important" role to play to restart denuclearization talks with North Korea, as he departed the country to meet with his Russian counterpart. Noh Kyu-duk, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remarks at Incheon International Airport before leaving for Moscow to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov on Thursday. "The peace process on the Korean Pen

Oct. 13, 2021

S. Korea extends overseas travel advisory until Nov. 13

South Korea has extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month due to the continued spread of COVID-19, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Citizens are recommended to cancel or postpone non-essential trips abroad until Nov. 13, as the rise of variant cases in many countries poses risks to their health, the ministry said. The travel advisory was first imposed in March and has been extended every month as many countries struggle with the outbreaks of various COVID-19

Oct. 13, 2021

N. Korea's ballistic missiles constitute a threat to US: State Dept

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose a threat to the US and its allies, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday. The remark comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed North Korea's enemy is not South Korea nor the US while calling for efforts to further advance the North's military capabilities. "The DPRK's WMD and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to international peace and security and the global nonproliferation regime,"

Oct. 13, 2021