[Newsmaker] Melania Trump promotes gender equality in sports among youths

US first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday stood in front of some 80 teenagers in South Korea to speak about gender equality in sports among youths, on the first day of her two-day stay here. US first lady Melania Trump gives a speech during "Girls Play 2!" Initiative, an Olympic public diplomacy outreach campaign, at the US Ambassadors residence in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)In blue stiletto heels and a structured dark brown coat, Melania set foot in South Korea alongside her husband Donald Trump on

Nov. 7, 2017

S. Korea pushes for reciprocal visits by Moon, Xi

South Korea is pushing to arrange reciprocal visits by the leaders of South Korea and China as the two countries are mending ties frayed by the deployment of a US missile defense system, its top diplomat said Monday. “(The government) plans to push to reinforce exchange, cooperation and strategic cooperative partnership with China by reinvigorating high-level personnel exchange, including (President Moon Jae-in’s) top-level visit to China by the end of this year and the Chinese leader’s South Ko

Nov. 6, 2017

A look at who’s with Trump, who’s staying behind

US President Donald Trump began his marathon 12-day tour of Asia on Sunday, which will lead him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. He will touch down in Korea on Tuesday for a two-day stay here. White House chief of staff John Kelly, as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster -- Trump’s key advisers on diplomacy -- will accompany Trump here, while Defense Secretary James Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence will stay behind in

Nov. 5, 2017

[News Focus] Moon bent on balancing act between US, China

　With US President Donald Trump in Japan and soon to arrive here with the North Korean nuclear and missile threat high on his agenda, it may be of US interest to keep the two -- arguably the US’ closest regional allies -- unified in resolving the standoff with North Korea. 　But for President Moon Jae-in, fresh off from a “let’s patch up” deal with China and now bent on performing a balancing act between two great powers, that is not a simple matter.　　Washington has long stressed the need for enh

Nov. 5, 2017

'No secret agreement over THAAD': Foreign Ministry

   South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday there was no secret agreement with Beijing over a US missile shield deployment, denying claims Seoul made security concessions to restore economic ties with China. 　The ministry’s spokesperson Noh Kyu-duk said Seoul did not make any backroom deals with Beijing ahead of Tuesday’s South Korea-China joint statement. In the statement, the two sides vowed to repair their knotty relationship following Seoul’s decision to deploy the US’ Terminal High Alti

Nov. 2, 2017

Korea's top diplomat to visit China to discuss cooperation

South Korea's foreign minister is pushing to visit Beijing this month to meet her Chinese counterpart and discuss cooperation on North Korea and other issues of mutual concern, a diplomatic source said Thursday.Kang Kyung-wha is seeking to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Her trip to China will likely come later this month after accompanying President Moon Jae-in to Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines from Nov. 8-15, according to the source. Kang is expected to discuss follow-up measure

Nov. 2, 2017

Group of Korean lawmakers to visit China for talks on bilateral ties

A group of South Korean lawmakers will embark on a three-day visit to China this week for talks with Beijing officials over bilateral relations and North Korea's escalating nuclear threats, their aides said Wednesday.The bipartisan group will leave for the Chinese capital on Thursday, two days after Seoul and Beijing announced their agreement to normalize relations that were strained over the installation of a US missile defense system in Korea. The group consists of six lawmakers, including Chu

Nov. 1, 2017

[Photo News] Turkish music echoes Gwanghwamun, supports PyeongChang Olympics

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Turkish-Korea relations, Turkey’s Anatolia Color military band visited Korea and performed in the Gwanghwamun area in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. The band held up signs in Korean, reading, “Brother land Turkey supports PyeongChang Winter Olympics (which is slated for February 2018).”The Mehters Military Band of Turkey is the world’s first military band established as a regular branch of the military service in the Turkish Ottoman Empire. (phko@heraldcorp.com)

Nov. 1, 2017

US welcomes Korea-China move to improve ties

WASHINGTON -- The United States said Tuesday it welcomes South Korea and China's decision to improve their ties despite a dispute over missile defense.Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the State Department, said the move paves the way for greater stability in a region rattled by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."We certainly welcome that China and the Republic of Korea would have a closer relationship," she said during a regular press briefing. "We tend to think that that is a good thing

Nov. 1, 2017

Seoul, Beijing to work on improving ties, hold summit in Vietnam

The South Korean and Chinese presidents will hold a bilateral summit on the sidelines of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Da Nang, Vietnam next week, Seoul announced Tuesday. Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy chief of the National Security Council, said that the two sides agreed to the summit meeting, which could be the first step in normalizing the two countries’ fraught relations. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to attend the forum on Nov. 10 and 11. “This agreement is the first

Oct. 31, 2017

UNESCO listing of comfort women documents postponed

UNESCO has delayed its review of multinational civic groups' request to register documents related to Japan's wartime sexual slavery of women on the list of "Memory of the World," the South Korean culture ministry said Tuesday.In May 2016, 15 civic groups from 8 countries, including South Korea and China, made an official request for the UNESCO listing of documents related to women, mostly Koreans, forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. The victims are euphemisticall

Oct. 31, 2017

Seoul not considering joining US missile defense system: FM Kang

Korea is not considering any additional deployments of the US’ Terminal High Attitude Area Defense anti-missile system, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers Monday. She also reiterated that the country won’t participate in the US-led missile defense networks. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers lawmakers during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on Monday. Yonhap“We are not considering any additional THAAD deployments,” Kang told a parliamentar

Oct. 30, 2017

Hundreds of Korean religious people in northeastern China sent back home: sources

SHENYANG, China -- Three local governments in northeastern China have sent home hundreds of South Korean religious people operating there since late last year and taken measures to have their churches closed, as China is expected to implement ramped-up regulations to control religious activities early next year, sources close to the situation said Monday. From late last year to the first half of this year, the authorities in the three provinces -- Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang -- had hundreds

Oct. 30, 2017

Japan renews its claim to Dokdo on govt. website

TOKYO -- Japan renewed its territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in teaching materials posted on a government website Sunday in a move that could draw a protest from Seoul.The materials made by Saitama Prefecture claimed that Dokdo is Japanese territory and South Korea's occupation of the islets is illegal. South Korea has kept a small police detachment on Dokdo since 1956.Other materials made by Shimane Prefecture -- which claims administrative sovereignty over the rock

Oct. 30, 2017

Seoul-Beijing ties look set for thaw

With President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping slated for a summit next month, expectations are growing that the neighboring states, at odds for months over a US missile defense system called THAAD, may finally find a way to untangle the knotty conflict. Two governments are working to resolve their diplomatic dispute over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Defense Area anti-missile system on the Korean Peninsula, before the leaders meet, Seoul officials said Sunday. “We ar

Oct. 30, 2017

S. Korea to closely work with US to peacefully resolve NK issues: new envoy to US

South Korea will closely cooperate with the United States to bring about a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue, South Korea’s new ambassador to the US said Thursday. He said it is crucial to find out North Korea’s true intention behind its moves and pointed to bilateral cooperation as key to the task. Ambassador to the US Cho Yoon-je (left) and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (right). (Yonhap)“Currently, we are in the process of seeking ways to solve the issue, as no one has a

Oct. 26, 2017

Tehran mayor hopes for Korean firms' investment in Iran

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi on Friday expressed hopes for South Korean companies' investment in the country, especially in the construction, manufacturing and energy sectors.He was in Korea to attend the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth, an international mayors' forum jointly hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and OECD.(Yonhap)"I met with a dozen Korean industries to talk about business opportunities... We expect their participation in our city transportation projects, suc

Oct. 20, 2017

Korean defense chief to attend ASEAN security forum

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo will visit the Philippines next week to attend an international security meeting led by Southeast Asian countries, his ministry said Friday.The defense chiefs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and eight dialogue partners will huddle together in Clark, Pampanga, some 80 kilometers north of Manila, on Monday and Tuesday.The other member states are the US, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, India and New Zealand. South Korean Defense Minister S

Oct. 20, 2017

Korea voices concern over Abe's sending of ritual offering to war-linked shrine

South Korea voiced concern Tuesday over a ritual offering sent by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to a controversial war-linked shrine, urging Tokyo to show its repentance for its past wrongdoings through sincere actions."The Korean government expresses concern over responsible Japanese politicians sending offerings again to the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies its history of wars of aggression," Noh Kyu-duk, foreign ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.Japanese Prime Minister Sh

Oct. 17, 2017

Korea condemns bombing in Somalia, vows to cooperate in rooting out terrorism

South Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned the latest bombings in Mogadishu, Somalia, that killed hundreds of innocent people, calling it a "terror" act that can never be tolerated. In a statement issued in the name of its spokesman, the ministry expressed deep condolences to the victims and their heartbroken families and promised to keep working together with the international community to eradicate such terror activities. Turkish doctors transport a critically wounded man on

Oct. 17, 2017