Ministry admits to omitting part of US troop cost deal sent to Assembly

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday admitted that a controversial part of the 2014 agreement to share costs for US troops stationed in South Korea was omitted from its report to the National Assembly.The ministry’s task force conducted an internal review of the agreement, looking into allegations that the Park Geun-hye administration made a secret agreement with the US to contribute cash to building facilities for US troops stationed here.  Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers lawmak

Feb. 21, 2018

Ex-UN chief Ban Ki-moon elected to lead green growth body

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was elected on Tuesday to chair the executive organ of the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute, the Foreign Ministry said. Twenty-eight member countries of GGGI, whose mandate is to recommend eco-friendly development solutions for developing countries, elected Ban president of the Assembly and chair of the Council for GGGI. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (Yonhap)His began the two-year term immediately, replacing Gemedo Dalle, who

Feb. 20, 2018

Heavier tariff on Korean steel imports show Korea is ‘easy target’: experts

The US mulling imposing heavy tariffs on South Korean steel imports, ostensibly to reduce its own trade deficit with China, shows that the Trump administration has little consideration for its seven-decade alliance with South Korea when it comes to trade, experts say.The US Commerce Department on Friday laid out a range of options for President Donald Trump to consider, including a tariff of 53 percent on steel imports from 12 countries including South Korea and China, as part of its “America Fi

Feb. 20, 2018

FM Kang mulls attending UN human rights meeting

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kung-wha is considering attending a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council to be held this month, her spokesman said Tuesday. "Things are still under review about what Kang will say and which agenda she will raise in case she decides to attend the meeting," Noh Kyu-duk told reporters during a regular press briefing.  Foreign Minister Kang Kung-wha (L) (Yonhap)The high-level meeting of the panel is scheduled for Feb. 26-28 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Geneva-base

Feb. 20, 2018

Moon calls for ‘confident’ response to US protectionism

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called on the government to respond to US trade protectionism and unfair demands with confidence, and to highlight such elements in dealings with the US. President Moon Jae-in speaks at the meeting with senior aides in Seoul on Monday. Yonhap“Recently, (US) protectionism is being strengthened on top of unstable exchange rates and oil prices,” Moon said at a weekly conference with senior aides on Monday. Citing US regulations on South Korea steel, electronics and s

Feb. 19, 2018

Ivanka Trump to visit South Korea this week

Another whirlwind round of diplomacy is expected on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics this week, with US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump set to join the closing ceremony. Ivanka Trump (AP)Ivanka Trump, who serves as an adviser to her father in the White House, will lead the US delegation to the closing ceremony to be held in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, on Sunday, with her travel itinerary and who she will meet yet to be announced.　First lady Kim Jung-sook is like

Feb. 19, 2018

Ruling party leader meets chief of Chinese parliamentary foreign affairs panel

Choo Mi-ae, chief of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party, has called for China to play a greater role in resolving the North Korean nuclear stand-off during her talks with Fu Ying, chairperson of China's National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, the party said Saturday. Choo and Fu met on the sidelines of the 54th Munich Security Conference in the German city Friday (local time). Choo Mi-ae (right) and Fu Ying (Yonhap)“China has played the role of mediation for a long time and as s

Feb. 17, 2018

Japan's new textbook guidelines renew territorial claim to Dokdo

TOKYO -- Japan renewed its claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its revised guidelines for textbooks unveiled on Wednesday.Japan's education ministry posted a draft version of the revised guidelines on Tokyo's e-government website for public view. If finalized, they are expected to apply to high school textbooks in phases from 2022.  Dokdo (Yonhap)Last year, Japan unveiled its textbook guidelines for elementary and middle school students, ordering them to be taught that Dokdo, c

Feb. 14, 2018

S. Korea, Uzbekistan agree on further cooperation

South Korea and Uzbekistan on Tuesday agreed to further enhance bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries, Seoul's finance ministry said.  Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon gives a lecture in Uzbekistan on Wednesday. (Yonhap)The agreement came at high-level talks between South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and Uzbekistan's Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov in Tashkent.Their meeting is a follow-up to a summit meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Uzbek President S

Feb. 13, 2018

Japanese coach 'surprised' with joint Korean hockey team's struggles

South Korean ice hockey players during PyeongChang Winter Olympics (Yonhap)On the eve of his team's showdown against the joint Korean team in women's hockey tournament at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Japanese assistant coach Yuji Iizuka said Tuesday he has been "surprised" with Korea's struggles so far.Korea has dropped its first two games, by a comned score of 16-0. It has lost to Switzerland and to Sweden by identical scores of 8-0, while managing a total of 27 shots in those losses.Iizuka

Feb. 13, 2018

US says ‘ready to talk with NK’

The US is ready to engage in direct talks with North Korea even as it maintains its “maximum pressure campaign” on the regime, US Vice President Mike Pence has said, hinting at a shift in Washington’s North Korea policy.　The US and South Korea have agreed on terms for further engagement with North Korea, first by Seoul and then possibly leading to talks with Washington, Pence said in an interview with the Washington Post aboard Air Force Two on his way home from the Olympics in South Korea on Su

Feb. 12, 2018

N. Korea key topic at forum of S. Korean, Japanese lawmakers

How to deal with North Korea was one of the main topics when lawmakers from South Korea and Japan held a discussion in Seoul on Monday, officials said, amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations spurred by North Korea's Olympics charm offensive.Relations between South Korea and North Korea have warmed rapidly in recent weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's Day address that the country was willing to participate in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The two Koreas have since

Feb. 12, 2018

[Herald Interview] Korea’s ODA needs better coordination: OECD DAC chief

Rising from the ashes of war with the help of overseas aid and transforming itself from a recipient to a donor country in nearly half a century, South Korea presents a leading example of how development aid can help lift a country out of poverty. South Korea is on the right track toward sharing its experience as a development success, but there is still room for improvement to boost the effectiveness of its aid programs, said the chief of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Feb. 11, 2018

Moon rejects Abe's call to resume Korea-U.S. military drills

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has dismissed a call from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to quickly resume South Korea's joint military drills with the United States, calling it a violation of his country's sovereignty, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday.   The Japanese leader's call came in a bilateral summit held in Yongpyeong, 200 kilometers east of Seoul, on Friday. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (right) shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minist

Feb. 10, 2018

Pence avoids encountering NK nominal head of state

US Vice President Mike Pence avoided encountering North Korea's ceremonial leader Kim Young-nam during a reception dinner ahead of the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Friday, underscoring chilly relations between Washington and Pyongyang.  US Vice President Mike Pence, second from bottom right, sits between second lady Karen Pence, third from from bottom left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South K

Feb. 9, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean Olympic skaters cut Dokdo line out of performance track

GANGNEUNG -- A South Korean ice dance duo will perform to Korean folk ballad "Arirang" at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, with several words referencing the country's eastern islets of Dokdo cut out to avoid offending Japan, at the international sporting event, according to skating officials Friday. This file photo shows South Korean ice dance team of Min Yu-ra and Alexander Gamelin during a practice session at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, a sub-host city of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics

Feb. 9, 2018

Moon, Abe confirm differences on comfort women, NK in summit

President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a summit Friday, but their third meeting served little more than to confirm differences between the two sides over thorny issues. From left: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, the two leaders began with the issue of the 2015 “comfort women” agreement. “The comfort women agreement is an agreement between countries, and the internation

Feb. 9, 2018

Moon urges Japan to look 'squarely' at history for improved ties with S. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed hope to form "true friendship" with Japan but said Japan must first look squarely at the countries' shared history.In a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Moon called for efforts to enable a future-oriented relationship between the two countries."I sincerely hope the two countries can be true friends that can communicate with heart. As I have repeatedly said before, I plan to work with the prime minister to enable futu

Feb. 9, 2018

Leaders of S. Korea, Japan to hold talks on N. Korea, bilateral issues

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are set to hold bilateral talks Friday, amid a renewed dispute over Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women.The Moon-Abe summit will be held in PyeongChang, the host town of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games located some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. The meeting will be held shortly before the opening ceremony of the quadrennial event.The two leaders are widely expected to discuss ways to peacefully resolve the North Ko

Feb. 9, 2018

Can Kim Yo-jong be game changer in NK-US talks?

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister comes to South Korea for the PyeongChang Olympics, questions are growing over whether her visit could be a game changer for talks between North Korea and the US. North Korea said Wednesday it would send Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, as a member of the high-level delegation to South Korea for a three-day visit starting Friday. She is the first member of the North’s “Kim Dynasty” to visit the South

Feb. 8, 2018