New Japanese envoy stresses trilateral cooperation with US

New Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi has stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation between the two countries and the United States for regional stability, according to its embassy on Wednesday. "Japan and South Korea are mutually important neighbors, whose people share a deep interest in each other's politics, economy, society and culture," Aiboshi said in his first message posted on the embassy's website since his arrival in Seoul on Friday. "To keep th

Feb. 17, 2021

India's foreign secretary voices hope for S. Korea to join New Delhi-initiated bodies to fight climate change

India's foreign secretary expressed hope Wednesday that South Korea will join a set of New Delhi-initiated global organizations to help fight climate change, stressing they will mesh with Seoul's drive for green growth. In a contribution to Yonhap News Agency, Harsh V. Shringla also pledged India's efforts to cooperate with Korea in finding "synergies" between the two countries' initiatives to tackle climate challenges and related international efforts. "We have initiated intern

Feb. 17, 2021

Victim asks Seoul to bring wartime sex slavery issue to ICJ

A former wartime sexual slavery victim demanded Tuesday that Seoul bring the issue of forced sexual slavery by Japan to the International Court of Justice, denouncing Japan's continued denials and a Harvard professor's recent controversial claims. Lee Yong-soo, one of 15 registered surviving South Korean victims of sexual slavery by Japan during World War II, said during a press conference in Seoul that the issue warranted a judgment by the international court, as Japan has been unresponsive to

Feb. 16, 2021

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold phone talks on peninsula peace, denuclearization

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, spoke by phone with his Japanese counterpart on Monday to discuss cooperation for complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said. The talks between Noh and Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Tokyo's foreign ministry, came as Washington stresses the importance of trilateral cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo in addressing regional challenges, including the North Korea

Feb. 15, 2021

S. Korea extends pandemic-driven advisory against overseas travel until March 17

South Korea on Monday extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The measure, which calls for citizens to cancel or postpone their planned trips abroad, will remain in effect until March 17. The current advisory, which was issued in December, was initially set to expire on Monday. The extension came as many countries around the world continue to restrict entries of people arriving from ove

Feb. 15, 2021

Seoul, Washington close to striking defense cost-sharing deal

South Korea and the US are inching toward a conclusion to their stalled negotiations on the defense cost-sharing agreement that governs the 28,500 US troops stationed here, according to media reports. 　 The two countries could be “just weeks away” from clinching a deal, CNN reported last week, citing multiple sources. The deal would likely be a multiyear agreement that increases Korea’s contribution by 13 percent from the previous accord -- the same figure Seoul suggested as

Feb. 15, 2021

S. Korea wraps up delivery of 2m masks to Korean War veterans in 22 countries

South Korea provided an additional 2 million face masks to international veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War recently in an expression of gratitude for their sacrifice, the veterans affairs ministry has said. Under the second such project, a total of 1 million masks were sent to the veterans in the United States, and the remainder to 21 other participating nations, including Canada, Britain, Columbia and South Africa, according to the ministry. Their shipments began in mid-December and were com

Feb. 15, 2021

No reports of S. Koreans suffering damage from quake-hit Fukushima

The foreign ministry said Sunday there were no reports of South Koreans suffering damage from the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck off northeastern Japan the previous night. The quake, which occurred at around 11 p.m. off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, left over 100 people injured, according to Japanese media. "No damage from our nationals has been reported so far," the ministry said, adding that its consulate general will provide necessary assistance to South Koreans living

Feb. 14, 2021

FM Chung, Blinken stress close cooperation for complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula

New Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed close bilateral cooperation for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during their first phone talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. They also shared the view of the importance of their countries' trilateral cooperation with Japan in the conversation that took place three days after Chung, a former top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in, took office. The talks came as Seoul seeks to

Feb. 12, 2021

One of sailors aboard S. Korean oil tanker seized in Iran returns home

One of the 20 crew members who were aboard a South Korean oil tanker seized by Iran last month has been released and returned home, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The Korean sailor, one of those detained along with the MT Hankuk Chemi by Teheran, entered his home country Wednesday afternoon for health reasons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. He is the first among the detained sailors to be repatriated after the chemical carrier was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Cor

Feb. 11, 2021

S. Korea to keep striving to improve ties with Japan: NSC

South Korea's top national security officials agreed Wednesday, during a weekly meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, to continue efforts to improve Seoul-Tokyo relations long strained by disputes over shared history. In the standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC), they decided to continue efforts to address the problem, while strengthening "communication and cooperation with other nations to keep the security situation under stable control," according to the presidentia

Feb. 10, 2021

Foreign ministry vows stern measures after embassy officials implicated in assault of staff

The foreign ministry said Wednesday it will thoroughly look into an assault case involving officials at the South Korean Embassy in China and will take stern measures. The ministry confirmed that an internal probe has been launched after it received a complaint accusing two embassy officials of beating an administrative staff member working at the same diplomatic mission while drinking at a bar in Beijing last week. "We will take stern measures in accordance with principles and regulation

Feb. 10, 2021

US will move on N. Korea after bringing allies to same page: Price

WASHINGTON -- The United States will engage North Korea after its ongoing policy review is completed and US allies are brought up to speed, in terms of their approach and objective, a State Department official said Tuesday. Press secretary Ned Price also said the new Biden administration will not move "too soon" or alone. "I think the risk in moving too soon -- whether the issue is Iran, whether the issue is North Korea -- is that we don't bring along our allies and our partners

Feb. 10, 2021

Seoul-Tokyo relations at lowest, affecting three-way cooperation with US: CRS

WASHINGTON -- Bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan have dipped to their lowest ebb, also affecting the countries' three-way cooperation with the United States, a congressional report said. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report noted the new Biden administration may be mulling ways to rebuild trust between the two US allies. "Japan's relations with South Korea are perennially fraught due to sensitive historical issues from Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula

Feb. 10, 2021

US remains committed to peace, stability of Indo-Pacific: Pentagon

The United States continues to be committed to the peace and security of its allies in the Indo-Pacific region, a Pentagon official said Monday. The remarks come amid an ongoing review of the US defense posture that the Pentagon official said will determine where more US troops are needed or less. "We will continue to maintain our security commitments to our allies and partners there," Press Secretary John Kirby said when asked if the ongoing defense posture review would lead to an i

Feb. 9, 2021

Korean students at Harvard demand professor's apology over controversial claims on comfort women

Korean students at Harvard University have strongly criticized a professor over his controversial claim that Japan's wartime sexual slavery was actually voluntary prostitution, demanding its immediate withdrawal and his official apology to victims. Harvard Korean Society made the demand in a statement on its website after Harvard Law School Japanese legal studies professor J. Mark Ramseyer caused controversy with his recently published paper titled "Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War.&

Feb. 8, 2021

Ruling party to seek parliamentary resolution condemning military coup in Myanmar

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will seek the passage of a parliamentary resolution condemning the recent military coup in Myanmar, the party's floor leader said Monday. DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon also expressed deep regret and concerns over the coup d'etat that took place a week earlier, while disclosing the plan for the parliamentary resolution during a top party council meeting. "The coup by the Myanmarese military is an act of serious provocation that fundamentally threatens

Feb. 8, 2021

FM Kang leaves office after years of daunting diplomatic tasks

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left office Monday after nearly four years at the helm of South Korea's diplomacy grappling with a host of daunting challenges ranging from North Korea's nuclear quandary to historical spats with Japan and an escalating Sino-USrivalry. Having led the ministry since June 2017, Kang described her stint as the nation's first female foreign minister as "most honorable" in her work life and voiced hope that her successor, Chung Eui-yong, will reinvigorate th

Feb. 8, 2021

Moon appoints new foreign minister

President Moon Jae-in appointed Chung Eui-yong as his new foreign minister on Monday, Cheong Wa Dae announced.   　 Chung, former director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, will begin his tenure Tuesday. He replaces Kang Kyung-wha, the nation’s first female foreign minister and the longest-serving minister in Moon’s Cabinet.   　 Earlier in the day, the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly, in which the ruling Democratic Party holds a maj

Feb. 8, 2021

S. Korea working to bring home seized sailors in Iran as early as this week

South Korea plans to help crew members aboard an oil tanker seized by Iran to return home as early as this week after Tehran's announcement that it will set most of them free, diplomatic sources said Sunday. Last week, Teheran said it will free the crew members detained aboard the MT Hankuk Chemi, except for the captain, about a month after its military seized the vessel with its crew in the country's waters for allegedly polluting the ocean. Officials at the South Korean Embassy in the Middle

Feb. 7, 2021