Korean professor elected as CESCR member for 3rd straight term

A South Korean professor has been elected as a member of a UN committee dealing with social and human rights issues for the third consecutive term, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.Shin Hei-soo, a professor of Ewha Womans University, will serve as a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for three more years beginning in 2019, according to the ministry. This marks her third straight term since she was chosen for the post in 2011. (Yonhap)CESCR, consisting of 18 human

April 17, 2018

Korean foreign minister embarks on 3-day trip to Central Asia

South Korea's top diplomat embarked upon a three-day trip to Central Asia on Monday to deepen bilateral ties with countries in the region, the foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has left for Kazakhstan on the first leg of her trip, which will also take her to Uzbekistan later, according to her ministry. She is to meet with the Kazak and Uzbek foreign ministers on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.They are expected to discuss ways to deepen their future-oriented and mutually

April 16, 2018

‘S. Korea has own solution to denuclearization’

South Korea has its own solution for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, an official from Seoul’s presidential office said Friday, as North Korea and the US appear to remain far apart on what denuclearization entails. “On the matter of denuclearization, the South Korean government has its own solution,” a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters on condition of anonymity. However, the official declined to elaborate on whether the government’s solution includes a specific timeli

April 13, 2018

S. Korea's top security adviser makes surprise visit to US

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's top national security adviser visited Washington on Wednesday to meet with his US counterpart, John Bolton, the White House said.The surprise trip by Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office, came ahead of the South Korean and US presidents’ separate summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to meet with Kim on April 27, while US President Donald Trump has said his meeting will be in May or early Ju

April 12, 2018

Seoul confirms trilateral meeting with Tokyo, Beijing in May

A trilateral summit with South Korea, China and Japan will be held in Japan in May, Seoul’s presidential office said Wednesday. The trilateral meeting, the date of which has yet to be specified, was confirmed by Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom in a statement regarding President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Seoul on Wednesday.  President Moon Jae-in (right) speaks with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Seoul on Wednesday. YonhapIn the statement, Kim

April 11, 2018

S. Korean, Japanese FMs vow cooperation on N. Korea

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono met South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday to discuss North Korea’s nuclear issue and bilateral relations, as Japan struggles to remain relevant to the upcoming inter-Korean summit. During an hourlong meeting, Kang and Kono reaffirmed their pledge for close coordination and communication to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization in the lead-up to the April 27 inter-Korean summit and the US-North Korea summit expecte

April 11, 2018

S. Korea, US to hold regular sessions to prepare for NK summits

WASHINGTON -- South Korean and US officials in Washington have agreed to hold regular meetings to prepare for their leaders' summits with North Korea's Kim Jong-un, a senior government official said Tuesday.The sessions will involve diplomats at the South Korean Embassy and the US State Department ahead of the inter-Korean summit on April 27 and the US-North Korea summit in May or June."It's important to have close consultations between South Korea and the US to ensure a successful inter-Korean

April 11, 2018

‘Normalization of relations with N. Korea essential in denuclearization’: Perry

South Korea and the US normalizing relations with North Korea is critical to achieving denuclearization, former US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry said Tuesday. 　Perry, who helped defuse the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, says North Korea views its nuclear arsenal as “the only sure way” to deter the US from overthrowing its regime, and that the South and the US should address its security concerns. 　“I believe that normalization is essential in achieving denuclearization,” he said durin

April 10, 2018

Japan’s top diplomat to visit S. Korea

Japan’s top diplomat is set to visit South Korea for a two-day visit from Tuesday, his first trip to South Korea since taking the post last August, a diplomatic source said Monday. South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (left) and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. (Yonhap)Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono will meet his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday, the source said on condition of anonymity. 　The foreign ministers plan to exchange views on matters of mutual conc

April 9, 2018

New consul general in Osaka vows to narrow differences on comfort women

South Korea's new consul general in Japan said Monday that he will work hard to iron out differences in perceptions among people of the two neighbors over Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women. Oh Tai-kyu, a former journalist who led the government review of a controversial deal reached in late 2015 on the comfort women issue, will formally take office as consul general in Osaka on April 17."As a person who was involved (with the comfort women issue), I will make efforts to narrow the d

April 9, 2018

Korea, Latvia sign preliminary agreement on opening direct air route

South Korea's transport ministry said Sunday it signed a preliminary agreement with its Latvian counterpart to open a direct air route between the two countries.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has agreed with Latvia to operate flights that connect the two countries three times a week. (Yonhap)The ministry said South Koreans and Latvians will also be able to travel between the two countries through code-share programs."The direct flights between South Korea and Latvia w

April 8, 2018

[Newsmaker] S. Korea cautious about return to six-party talks

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly agreed to return to six-party talks, South Korea reaffirmed Friday that talks on denuclearization should be discussed first among the two Koreas and the US during planned summits, before the other nations are involved.　North Korean leader Kim told Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing last week that he agreed to return to six-party talks on his nation’s nuclear program and missile tests, the Nikkei newspaper said Thursday, quoting

April 6, 2018

Will US-China trade war hurt efforts to solve N. Korea nuclear crisis?

The growing trade discord between the US and China is fueling concerns that it may hurt efforts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear crisis.  　On Tuesday, the Trump administration proposed levying 25 percent tariffs on 1,300 Chinese goods in aviation, technology and machinery sectors, which would add up to about $50 billion annually. In retaliation, China on Wednesday announced plans to impose its own 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of US exports including aircraft, cars and soybeans. 　Earlie

April 5, 2018

The Elders vows support for S. Korean efforts to denuclearize peninsula

The Elders, an international organization of global leaders, has expressed its support for South Korea and President Moon Jae-in's efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, calling Moon's upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a "precious opportunity" to achieve that goal, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.In a letter to the South Korean president, The Elders said it wished to express its firm support for the direction set by Moon, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim

April 4, 2018

FM says S. Korea, US share goal of complete denuclearization of NK

Seoul's top diplomat reaffirmed Wednesday a complete denuclearization of North Korea is a shared objective of South Korea and the United States, emphasizing that the allies are closely coordinating their strategies to achieve the goal.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters that it will take time to verify the sincerity of the North's recently stated commitment to denuclearization, adding that it will become clear in the process of preparing talks with Pyongyang. Foreign Minister Kang Kyu

April 4, 2018

Japan’s Abe strives to stay relevant in denuclearization talks

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet US President Donald Trump this month, and the Japanese foreign minister will reportedly visit South Korea next week, as Japan struggles to remain relevant in the upcoming inter-Korean and North Korea-US talks.  Abe will meet Trump from April 17-18 to discuss North Korea and trade ties at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida ahead of an inter-Korean summit scheduled for April 27 and planned talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before th

April 3, 2018

Complete, irreversible denuclearization of North is 'nonnegotiable' goal: US envoy

The acting US ambassador to South Korea said Monday a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program remains a "nonnegotiable" US goal in its upcoming talks with Pyongyang.During a forum in Seoul, Marc Knapper said the US is "hopeful but realistic" in its expectations for the upcoming summit between the leaders of the US and North Korea, citing more than two decades of failure in making the North give up its nuclear weapons."These are not sanctions for sanct

April 2, 2018

S. Korea to look into Trump’s tying of FTA to NK talks

After US President Donald Trump’s abrupt remarks tying talks with North Korea to the recently finalized US-South Korea trade deal, Cheong Wa Dae said it will try to find out the “true intention” behind the remark. (Yonhap)While mentioning the Korea-US free trade agreement, Trump suddenly warned on Friday that he “may hold it up until after a deal is made with North Korea,” in an effort to gain more leverage in potential talks with the rogue nation. “You know why? Because it’s a very strong card.

March 30, 2018

Seoul protests Tokyo’s territorial claim to Dokdo in school curriculum

South Korea’s Education Ministry on Friday strongly protested Tokyo’s decision to revise its high school curriculum guidelines to teach all Japanese students that the disputed islets of Dokdo belong to Japan.“The Korean government requests for an immediate removal of the new guidelines,” the Education Ministry said in a statement, adding Dokdo is South Korea’s inherent territory historically, geographically and in the eyes of international law.“We make it clear again that any provocation on this

March 30, 2018

S. Korea, China exchange views on N. Korean nukes ahead of summit

Ranking officials from South Korea and China met in Seoul on Thursday to exchange views on how to rid North Korea of its nuclear ambitions, while the two Koreas set the date for what could be a historic meeting between their leaders. Chung Eui-yong (L), top security advisor to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, ushers Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi into the venue for their talks at a Seoul hotel on March 29, 2018. (Yonhap)Chung Eui-yong, chief security advisor to South Korean President Moo

March 29, 2018