Iranian funds in S. Korea will not be released until Iran returns to compliance: Blinken

The United States will not ease any of its sanctions on Iran, including the release of Iranian funds blocked in South Korea, until Iran first complies with its obligations under its nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. "As we've said, if Iran comes back into compliance, with its obligations under the nuclear agreement, we would do the same thing that would involve, if it came to that, if Iran made good on its obligations, sanctions relief pursuant to the agree

March 11, 2021

Top US envoy, defense chief to visit Korea

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet their South Korean counterparts on March 17-18 to discuss security and global initiatives, in their first senior-level, in-person talks since US President Joe Biden took office, Seoul’s Foreign and Defense ministries said Wednesday. Blinken will discuss inter-Korean affairs and the South Korea-US alliance with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, while Austin will sit down with Defense Minister Suh Wook to

March 10, 2021

Seoul’s contribution to US troop costs rises 13.9%

South Korea has agreed to pay 13.9 percent more in its contribution to host American troops here for 2021, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.  Under the new six-year accord, Seoul will pay 1.183 trillion won ($1.04 billion) this year for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The 13.9 percent hike from the previous 2019 deal represents the biggest annual rise for Seoul in nearly two decades.  The six-year agreement is effective until 2025, and also covers last year

March 10, 2021

S. Korea, US seeking nuclear-free North in unison

South Korea and the United States are on the same page on North Korea denuclearization, Seoul and Washington’s senior officials dealing with the issue said Wednesday at a virtual forum co-hosted by the Korea Press Foundation and the East-West Center in the US. “The two countries discuss a number of ideas on how to get to denuclearization. But we’re headed in the same direction. Things change. And we’re adapting to them at the moment,” said Ko Yun-ju, director gener

March 10, 2021

Defense cost-sharing sheds light on seven decades of Korea-US alliance

With South Korea and the US clinching a new accord on how to share the cost of maintaining the US troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, the deal has drawn attention to how this arrangement was first forged and how it has transformed over the decades. 　 From the US forces landing in the southern half of the peninsula after World War II to the US-led allies helping South Korea repel an invasion by the communist North and the troops’ presence hereafter, the US military has been a key pa

March 10, 2021

French Navy spots suspected illegal oil transfer during embargo mission against NK

Two tankers involved in an alleged illegal ship-to-ship oil transfer were spotted while on patrol for an embargo enforcement mission against North Korea, the French Navy has said. On Feb. 28, the French frigate Prairial was deployed to the East China Sea to contribute to the UN embargo against the North and identified the two oilers during a suspected nighttime transfer, the France Pacific Command (ALPACI) wrote on Twitter Tuesday. ALPACI released four photos of the suspected tankers involved

March 10, 2021

US, S. Korea share many interests in Indo-Pacific: State Dept. spokesman

South Korea shares many common interests with the United States in the Indo-Pacific, including the nuclear challenge from North Korea and preserving freedom of navigation, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday. "We share any number of interests, including the challenge of North Korea that we've talked about, including a free and open Indo-Pacific. And we've underlined and underscored our commitment to the region," Ned Price told a daily press briefing when asked about South Korea'

March 10, 2021

When will Japan end its open hostility toward South Korea?

South Korea-Japan ties long strained over wartime history are showing few signs of recovery, with Seoul’s new Tokyo envoy facing almost open hostility from local authorities. According to diplomatic sources Tuesday, Korea’s new ambassador to Japan, Kang Chang-il, has yet to meet with Japanese leaders, a rarity in light of diplomatic protocol. Kang arrived in Japan on Jan. 22 and started work on Feb. 14 after a two-week quarantine. But his request for a courtesy visit to the prime m

March 9, 2021

S. Korean civic groups join forces to back fight against Myanmar coup

As the people of Myanmar chant in unison for the freedom that was stolen from them a month ago in a military coup, South Korean civic groups are banding together to help them brace for what could become a protracted struggle against military rule after 10 years under a civilian government. Rights activists and religious groups are offering support in different ways. “We’re building a coalition in Gwangju,” Cho Jin-tae, executive director of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, sa

March 9, 2021

S. Korea to begin memorial wall construction in Washington to honor Korean War veterans

South Korea plans to hold a ceremony to break ground for the construction of a memorial wall in Washington later this year to honor US veterans who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry here said Tuesday. Seoul has been working on the project to construct the "Memorial Wall of Remembrance" in Washington by 2022 to convey its appreciation to the American veterans' sacrifice and commitment during the war. The wall is to be built in West Potomac Park, where the

March 9, 2021

S. Korea considers joining Quad Plus to steer US toward talks with N. Korea: policy adviser

WASHINGTON -- South Korea may be considering joining a US-led regional forum that it had previously shunned, in an effort to influence US policy toward North Korea, a member of South Korea's presidential policy advisory group said. Hwang Ji-hwan, a member of the president's commission on policy planning, said the Seoul government, just like the US government, does not aim for a sudden or complete removal of sanctions on North Korea but to do so gradually through a process of diplomacy and negot

March 9, 2021

S. Korea, US reached 'fair' agreement on defense cost-sharing: S. Korean negotiator

South Korea and the United States have reached a "fair" agreement on the sharing of the cost to maintain US troops on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean diplomat said Monday. Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's top negotiator in cost-sharing talks, said specific details of the new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) are still subject to internal reviews. "We did our utmost. I wish to say we have reached an agreement between South Korea and the United States that is reasonable and fair and is a

March 9, 2021

US reaches consensus on new 'six-year' SMA with S. Korea: State Dept. spokesman

The new defense cost-sharing agreement between South Korea and the United States will be effective for six years if signed, a spokesman for the US State Department said Monday. The first detail of the agreement came one day after the countries said they have reached a consensus on the agreement that will set South Korea's share of the burden in maintaining US troops on the Korean Peninsula. "The United States and Republic of Korea negotiators did reach a consensus on a proposed text of a

March 9, 2021

Korea, US reach accord on troop cost sharing

South Korea and the US have reached an agreement on how much Seoul should shoulder for hosting US troops here, both countries announced Monday, ending years of standoff over the thorny issue.   　 A major breakthrough to the talks on renewing the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of US Forces Korea, came amid three days of face-to-face meetings on Sunday in Washington, led by Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul’s chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton. &nb

March 8, 2021

Philadelphia council resolution condemns Harvard professor for defending Japan's wartime sexual slavery

Philadelphia council resolution condemns Harvard professor for defending Japan's wartime sexual slavery The Philadelphia City Council has adopted a resolution condemning a professor of Harvard University for describing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery as prostitutes in an academic paper. "On behalf of the survivors, and for women and girls around the world, we must continue to push back on dangerous attempts to minimize historical atrocities and ensure they never happen again,&qu

March 6, 2021

Blinken, Austin to visit Korea after flying to Japan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with South Korean counterparts in mid-March following a three-day trip to Japan, in what is seen as part of their Asian tour to solidify a coalition to deal with the rise of China, sources said Friday, adding the meeting would fall on March 17-18. “We’re still coordinating with the US and nothing is definitive yet,” a Foreign Ministry official said. The meeting will mark the first senior level ta

March 5, 2021

S. Korea, US seeks 'two plus two' gathering of foreign, defense ministers: sources

South Korea and the United States are in talks to arrange a "two plus two" meeting of their foreign and defense ministers later this month, sources said Friday, as the allies seek to ensure policy coordination on North Korea's denuclearization and other issues. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to visit South Korea on March 17-18 after a three-day trip to Japan as part of their first Asia swing since the Jan. 20 launch of the Joe Bide

March 5, 2021

Korea-American lawmaker named co-chair of US congressional study group

A Korean-American member of the US House of Representatives has been named a co-chair for a US congressional study group on Korea, an association of former US lawmakers said Thursday. Young Kim (R-CA) will serve as co-chair of the Congressional Study Group on Korea along with Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), according to the Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC). "As a Korean American, I am excited to be able to facilitate important, bipartisan discussions with Co-Chair Rep. Bera and my co

March 5, 2021

KOICA to establish Iraq’s first critical care hospital by 2023

The Korea International Cooperation Agency has broken ground on the first hospital specializing in critical care in Iraq slated for completion in 2023, the state-run overseas aid agency said Thursday.  The four-story Iraq-Korea Critical Care Specialty Hospital will be built on a 7,000-square-meter site in the country’s capital, Baghdad, with the KOICA injecting a total of $39.5 million for the project.  Once completed, the hospital will be equipped with eight operating ro

March 4, 2021

Top negotiator expects prompt defense cost-sharing deal with US

Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea’s chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks, raised expectations that a deal with the US will come soon, as he departed for Washington on Thursday for a new round of negotiations. 　 Jeong and his US counterpart, Donna Welton are set for talks in the US capital Friday to negotiate the cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of the roughly 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The two last held talks via video li

March 4, 2021