Biden victory signals stronger alliance with S. Korea, different approach to N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President-elect Joe Biden is widely expected to restore and strengthen the alliance with South Korea while taking a different and more principled approach toward North Korea than President Donald Trump's top-down diplomacy. "Biden has declared that he would not engage in photo-op summits as Trump did. Instead, Biden would return to 'bottom-up' diplomacy which first requires progress toward a denuclearization agreement during working-level diplomat meetings," said Bruc

Nov. 8, 2020

S. Korea opens consulate office in Da Nang

South Korea opened a consulate general in Da Nang on Friday as part of efforts to meet the growing needs of its people traveling the eastern city of Vietnam. The Consulate General of South Korea in Da Nang held a ceremony to mark the launch of the diplomatic mission at the Hilton Hotel in the Vietnamese city and went into operation. The ceremony was attended by Park Noh-wan, the South Korean ambassador to Vietnam, and other diplomats from the two countries. The opening has been needed to meet

Nov. 6, 2020

Diplomats of S. Korea, US hold talks ahead of FM Kang's visit to US

Diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss pending bilateral and regional issues, the foreign ministry said, ahead of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's trip to Washington next week. The meeting between Koh Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Marc Knapper, deputy US assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, came just days after the US presidential election. Kang plans to visit the US from Sunday through Wed

Nov. 6, 2020

S. Korea calls for US-N. Korea talks in high-level security consultations

A top South Korean national security official stressed the need Friday for the resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States, pointing out that the US presidential election has come to an end. Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, made the call during a virtual consultation session with his American and Japanese counterparts, Robert O'Brien and Shigeru Kitamura, Cheong Wa Dae said. They had discussions on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, e

Nov. 6, 2020

Jeju Gov. Won urges Japan to treat Fukushima water as 'human, environmental security issue'

SEOUL/JEJU -- Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong called Friday for Japan to deal with the contaminated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant as a "human, environmental security issue." The governor made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, amid public concerns over Tokyo's possible discharge of the tritium-laced water in the ocean. "On Japan's decision to release radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, I urge Japa

Nov. 6, 2020

Korea names new ambassadors to 11 nations

South Korea on Thursday appointed new ambassadors to 11 nations, including Germany and Switzerland, in a regular reshuffle, the foreign ministry said. Roh Tae-kang, former vice culture minister under President Moon Jae-in from 2017-2019, was appointed ambassador to Switzerland, the ministry said. The ministry said Roh "has the experience that will enable him to seek a higher level of cooperation with the host nation, which is ahead in the cultural and tourism sectors." Cho Hyun-

Nov. 5, 2020

Foreign ministry denies report on S. Korean minister's withdrawal of WTO chief bid

South Korea's foreign ministry denied a news report Thursday that Seoul's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee will soon drop out of the race for the new director-general at the World Trade Organization. The Chosun Ilbo reported earlier in the day that the government had made the decision to have Yoo withdraw her candidacy and that she will be making an official announcement in due course. Yoo fell behind her Nigerian rival, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in the final round of consultations among the 164 memb

Nov. 5, 2020

Korean American woman elected to US Congress for first time

Marilyn Strickland, the former mayor of Tacoma, Washington, won her race for the US House of Representatives, becoming the first Korean American woman elected to the US Congress in its 230-year history.  Democrat Strickland won the open seat in Washington’s 10th Congressional District, defeating state Rep. Beth Doglio, who is also a Democrat. They were competing for the seat held by US Rep. Denny Heck, who stepped down to run for the state’s lieutenant governor.  &ldquo

Nov. 5, 2020

S. Korea expresses thanks to Korean War comrade countries

Defense ministry officials have held a series of thank-you meetings with senior envoys of the foreign countries that fought alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the war's outbreak, the ministry said Wednesday. From Oct. 19 to Thursday, ministry officials met with ambassadors or military attaches of a total of 20 countries, including the United States and Britain, by visiting their embassies or inviting envoys to the ministry, the minist

Nov. 4, 2020

[Newsmaker] US ambassador 'confident' next leader to continue to value alliance with S. Korea

US Ambassador Harry Harris said Wednesday that he believes whoever takes the White House for the next four years will value the alliance with South Korea and work to further strengthen it. He made the comment in a video tweet shortly after the polls started closing on election day in his country, where Americans were choosing between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the next leader. "Whatever the outcome of the election, I'm confident that we'll have a

Nov. 4, 2020

FM Kang likely to visit US next week for talks with Pompeo: sources

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is expected to visit the United States early next week for talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. Details have yet to be finalized, but Kang is expected to make a three-day visit to Washington starting Sunday, the sources said. The envisioned trip, if realized, will take place after this week's US presidential election. The trip is expected to include meetings with Pompeo and other senior officials and experts. Lee Do-h

Nov. 3, 2020

Seoul braces for uncertainty on peninsula as US head to polls

As Americans head to the polls Tuesday, the South Korean government is watching closely and bracing itself for uncertainty. Whoever is elected, the result will have a lasting impact on the Korean Peninsula and the bilateral alliance for the next four years. 　 Seoul’s national security officials and related ministries are monitoring the election that will determine whether US President Donald Trump will lead the country for another four years or Democratic challenger Joe Biden will sweep

Nov. 3, 2020

S. Korean diplomat appointed as advisory group member of UN emergency response fund

A South Korean diplomat has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Group of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the foreign ministry said Monday, voicing hope for Seoul's expanded role in tackling humanitarian crises around the world.    Oh Hyun-joo, the deputy chief of South Korea's permanent mission to the UN in New York, joined the 18-member group recently for the 2020-2022 period, becoming the fourth Korean to work at the body.    "With the appointme

Nov. 2, 2020

As US election looms, S. Korea prepares for next 4 years

With the US presidential election drawing near, South Korean officials have been busy preparing for the next administration, trying to scrutinize key policies of the two candidates and expand contacts with those close to them. Steering the work is an internal task force led by First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and formed in August as part of efforts to closely monitor and analyze the principle policies of President Donald Trump, vying to be reelected, and those of his Democratic rival,

Nov. 2, 2020

[US elections and Korea] Trump vs. Biden: Key advisers give clues on future foreign policy

US voters this week will choose the leader of the world’s largest economic and military power, faced with the starkly different choices of incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. 　 The election could be a turning point for South Korea -- a key Washington ally in security, trade, and North Korea diplomacy -- which will face either Trump’s “America First” approach or Biden’s pledge to strengthen the alliance over the next four years.&nb

Nov. 1, 2020

US Amb. Harris says S. Korea, US fought 'side by side against invasion from the north'

US Ambassador Harry Harris has said that South Korea and the United States had fought together against "invasion from the north" during the Korean War, amid a controversy over Chinese President Xi Jinping's characterization of the conflict as the fight against US "imperialist invaders." Harris made the remarks at an anniversary event for the Korea Times on Thursday, as he stressed the two countries' fight for democracy under the alliance, which he said was "forged in bl

Oct. 30, 2020

Biden vows not to extort S. Korea with troop withdrawal threats

WASHINGTON -- US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden pledged Friday to strengthen the alliance with South Korea, rather than "extorting Seoul with reckless threats to remove our troops," and keep pressing toward North Korea's denuclearization through "principled diplomacy." Biden made the pledge in a special article contributed exclusively to Yonhap News Agency just days ahead of the US presidential election, reciting the catch phrase of the Korea-US alliance, "

Oct. 30, 2020

US backs Yoo against rival, throwing WTO race up in the air

The World Trade Organization’s leadership race has been thrown up in the air, as the US blocked the Nigerian front-runner and decided to put its weight behind South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, despite her failure to win majority support from the member states. 　 At a meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, the WTO’s selection panel recommended Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director general, as she won the backing of the vast majority of the multilateral body&rsq

Oct. 29, 2020

[US elections and Korea] Biden will be more rigorous on North Korea, experts say

With the US presidential election just days ahead, Democratic candidate Joe Biden has not said much about his policy on the Korean Peninsula. All he has said so far is that the leader of the North Korean regime is a thug, and he will meet with Kim Jong-un only if Pyongyang agrees to draw down its nuclear capacity as a precondition. During the final presidential debate last week, Biden said that when the Chinese asked why the US was moving its missile defense up so close and continuing its mili

Oct. 29, 2020

Vice FM cautions against 'limiting options' amid US-China rivalry

Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun cautioned Thursday against limiting South Korea's foreign policy options due to an intensifying Sino-US rivalry, stressing that Seoul stay on course to maximize national interests despite the "challenging" global environment. Choi's remarks during a foreign policy forum came amid growing concerns that the increasingly acrimonious competition between Washington and Beijing would constrain maneuvering room for South Korea's diplomacy going forward. &

Oct. 29, 2020