Bolton in Hanoi for N. Korea summit

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is in Hanoi for President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his spokesman said Tuesday. (Yonhap)There had been speculation that the hawkish adviser had been left out of Trump's delegation, because his name was not on a list of officials distributed by the White House.Bolton's spokesman, Garrett Marquis, confirmed in an email that Bolton was already in the Vietnamese capital ahead of the president's scheduled 9:15 p.m. ar

Feb. 26, 2019

Trump set to arrive in Vietnam at 9:15 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Vietnam at 9:15 p.m. to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.(Yonhap)The White House announced the time four hours prior to his arrival at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport. From there, he will go straight to his hotel, expected to be the JW Marriott.The trip to Hanoi included two refueling stops - in Britain and Qatar.Kim arrived in the Vietnamese capital by train earlier in the day and began his tour with a trip to the North Korean Embas

Feb. 26, 2019

Kim Jong-un visits N. Korean embassy

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the country's embassy in Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon, hours after arriving here for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.(Yonhap)Kim left his hotel by his bulletproof Mercedes-Benz limousine at around 5:03 p.m., escorted by a massive police motorcycle convoy, and arrived at the embassy just a few minutes later. As the car stopped in front of the main gate, he was seen disembarking and walking into the compound about 1 kilometer away from his Melia hote

Feb. 26, 2019

N. Korean leader departs for Hanoi by train: report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un departed for Hanoi by train on Saturday for a summit with US President Donald Trump, a news report said.Kim's train left Pyongyang around 5 p.m. local time and is expected to travel through China all the way to Vietnam, Tass news agency reported from Pyongyang, citing an unidentified source. (Yonhap)Kim and Trump are set to hold their second summit on Feb. 27-28.The report said that the train will travel around 4,500 kilometers to Hanoi, which will take over 48 ho

Feb. 23, 2019

N. Korea has long way to go to denuclearize, Yongbyon offer 'significant': ex-CIA official

North Korea has a long way to go to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, but its offer to shut down the Yongbyon facility is a "significant" step, a former US intelligence official said Friday.(Yonhap)Andrew Kim, who retired in December as head of the Central Intelligence Agency's Korea Mission Center, said North Koreans had complained to him that they weren't getting due credit for the steps they took to honor their denuclearization commitment after the first US-North Korea summit in June."I

Feb. 23, 2019

N. Korean, US envoys continue talks on summit agenda

Senior North Korean and US envoys held another meeting in Hanoi on Saturday to discuss the agenda for the second summit between Pyongyang and Washington slated for next week.(Yonhap)Kim Hyok-chol, Pyongyang's special representative for the United States, met his US counterpart Stephen Biegun, Washington's envoy for North Korea, for the third straight day on Saturday in Hanoi.The second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump is slated for Feb. 27-28 in the Vietn

Feb. 23, 2019

Bolton cancels trip to S. Korea: White House

US National Security Advisor John Bolton has canceled his planned visit to South Korea ahead of next week's summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a White House spokesperson said Friday.(Yonhap)"Ambassador Bolton has canceled his travel to the Republic of Korea to focus on events in Venezuela," the National Security Council spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.A diplomatic source in Seoul earlier told Yonhap, "The White House has s

Feb. 23, 2019

Pompeo to travel to Vietnam for summit Feb. 26-28

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Vietnam next week for the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the State Department said Friday.(Yonhap)Pompeo is scheduled to be in Hanoi Feb. 26-28 to participate in the summit and bilateral meetings with Vietnamese leaders, the department said in a statement.The summit is scheduled for Feb. 27 and 28.Pompeo will also travel to Manila, Philippines, Feb. 28 and March 1 to meet with President Rodrigo

Feb. 23, 2019

Trump says troop withdrawal not on summit agenda

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that withdrawing troops from South Korea will not be discussed during his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.(Yonhap)Trump and Kim are set to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 27 and28 to discuss the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.There have been concerns that the U.S. president will agree to draw down American troops in South Korea as part of a deal with the North."No, it's not, no. It is not a consideration," Trump said at

Feb. 23, 2019

Korea, India agree to strengthen defense cooperation, economic ties

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed Friday to strengthen military ties and defense industry cooperation between the two countries.During their summit in Seoul, the leaders also agreed to complete the two nations' negotiations to upgrade their bilateral free trade pact at an early date, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)Modi arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day state visit.His trip reciprocated Moon's state visit to Ind

Feb. 22, 2019

FM Kang holds talks with top UAE official ahead of crown prince's visit

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks with a top United Arab Emirates (UAE) official on Tuesday and discussed the planned visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said.During the talks with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, in Seoul, Kang welcomed the crown prince's upcoming visit and expressed hope for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries. (Yonhap)The de fa

Feb. 19, 2019

Foreign ministers of S. Korea, Japan to meet in Germany this week

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan will meet this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday, amid heightened tensions between the two sides over various issues.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will hold talks with her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Kang and Kono are expected to touch on various issues of mutual concern, from North Korea to bilateral ties. Foreig

Feb. 14, 2019

S. Korean PM thanks Austria for supporting peace process on Korean Peninsula

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Thursday expressed his gratitude for Austria's support for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula in his meeting with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. "I explained to Kurz that the Korean Peninsula is heading towards to a future of peace," Lee said in a joint press conference with Kurz. "Chancellor Kurz also promised to cooperate with the international community to support the denuclearization of North Korea and the implementation of peace on the

Feb. 14, 2019

Al-Qaida-linked Uzbeks seek to infiltrate South Korea: UN

A group of al-Qaida -linked Uzbeks operating in Syria had been attempting to move to South Korea, according to a United Nations report. Members of Katibat Imam al Bukhari and Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, each of which consists of 200 to 300 militants, have made requests to enter the country via Turkey, according to the report on the Islamic State group and al-Qaida released by the UN Security Council early this month.  (AFP/Yonhap)The report said that the militants chose Korea due to the relativ

Feb. 14, 2019

[Herald Interview] Peace treaty for Korean Peninsula should be on agenda for Trump-Kim summit, peace activist says

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Tensions are easing on the Korean Peninsula, a region where the wounds of war still remain. With the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set to take place within a couple of weeks, hopes are high that their meeting will be a meaningful step toward peace on the peninsula.One of the most crucial tasks the two leaders should focus on at the upcoming summit is drawing up a peace treaty to bring a formal end to the 1950-

Feb. 14, 2019

S. Korea, US lawmakers meet ahead of 2nd Trump-Kim summit

A group of South Korean opposition lawmakers met Wednesday with a US senator handling Korea issues to discuss the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, led a delegation to a meeting with Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific.Rep. Na Kyung-won (Yonhap)The conservative party leader said she is hopeful for

Feb. 14, 2019

Presidential office denies sharp hikes in upcoming military cost-sharing deal with US

South Korea’s presidential office said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington had not agreed to a possible sharp increase in Seoul’s share of the costs of stationing US Forces Korea here, in response to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump that the cost burden would keep growing.Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Trump’s statement -- made just days after the two countries signed a preliminary defense cost-sharing deal, raising South Korea’s share by 8.2 percent -- should not be treat

Feb. 13, 2019

FM Kang to discuss N. Korea summit preparations with Pompeo

South Korea's top diplomat said Wednesday she will talk about preparations for a second summit between Pyongyang and Washington in upcoming talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Poland."Reviewing the North Korea-US summit preparation process will be the most important agenda item," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters as she headed to Warsaw.She plans to meet with Pompeo on Thursday on the sidelines of an international ministerial meeting on peace and security in the Middle E

Feb. 13, 2019

Korea's parliament speaker stands by call for Japanese emperor's apology over comfort women

South Korea's National Assembly speaker said Tuesday that he stands by his earlier call on the Japanese emperor to apologize for Tokyo's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.Moon Hee-sang sparked controversy after he told Bloomberg last week that Japanese Emperor Akihito should issue a personal apology for his country's forced mobilization of Korean sex slaves during World War II. He also called the emperor "the son of the main culprit of war crimes." (Yonhap)During a parliamentary session

Feb. 13, 2019

[Newsmaker] PM holds talks with Japanese lawmaker over forced labor rulings

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon met with a visiting Japanese lawmaker Wednesday to discuss frayed ties between the two neighboring countries in the wake of South Korean court rulings on wartime forced labor victims. Lee and Fukushiro Nukaga, a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, had an 80-minute breakfast meeting from 8 a.m. at the prime minister's office in Seoul, according to Lee's office. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (Yonhap)The meeting was arranged at Nukaga's request, it added. They

Feb. 13, 2019