Trump to host China's Xi at Florida resort next week

US President Donald Trump will hold the first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida resort next week, the White House announced Thursday."The two leaders will discuss global, regional, and bilateral issues of mutual concern," the White House said in a brief statement announcing Xi's visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on April 6-7.Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host dinner for Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan on April 6, it said. US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)

March 31, 2017

Japanese historian proposes installing monument engraved with Abe's apology over wartime sex slaves

A Japanese scholar on Thursday proposed the establishment of a memorial engraved with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's latest apology over Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women. Haruki Wada, an emeritus professor at Tokyo University and expert in Korean history, made the proposal during a forum in Seoul as a follow-up on a 2015 bilateral agreement to settle the long-standing dispute between the two neighbors. (Yonhap)"I think installing a memorial monument will be meaningful given the pu

March 30, 2017

Parliament urges China to stop retaliation over THAAD

The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution urging China to stop its economic retaliation over the deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea.The resolution expresses concern and regret over the suspension of South Korean businesses in China and the apparent ban on Chinese tour packages to South Korea. The National Assembly holds a plenary session at the parliamentary building in Seoul on March 30, 2017. (Yonhap)It passed during a plenary session with approval from 188 o

March 30, 2017

Korea to host Europe-Asia cybersecurity conference next week

South Korea will host a global cybersecurity conference involving Asian and European countries next week where North Korea's hacking threats will be part of the agenda, the foreign ministry said Thursday.The Europe-Asia cybersecurity conference will kick off on Tuesday for a two-day run in Seoul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-ghee will open the conference with his opening speech, the ministry said.(Yonhap)It will be the first global cybersecurity conferenc

March 30, 2017

Russia, China adopt sanctions on N. Korea‘s flight services: ministry

Russia and China have recently adopted punitive measures affecting North Korea's aviation industry in a bid to mount pressure on the regime following its series of military provocations, the foreign ministry here said Thursday."Last May, the European Union banned North Korean airplanes or airplanes that depart from North Korea from landing on the territory of or flying in the airspace of the EU member countries," Cho June-hyuck, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press brief

March 30, 2017

Korea to award order of merit to US lawmaker for devotion to Korea issues

South Korea will award an order of merit to a US lawmaker for his contribution to improving the Seoul-Washington alliance and cooperation on North Korea's nuclear stalemate and other Korea issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday.Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, will be granted the order, according to the ministry.  South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck (Yonhap)"In particular, we made the decision to appreciate his efforts to pass the f

March 30, 2017

Korea hails US bill on NK sanctions, resolution on China's retaliation

South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday lauded a US Congress legislation calling for tougher sanctions on North Korea and Washington's resolution urging China to halt retaliations against Seoul over a missile defense system deployment plan.On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee passed a set of bipartisan measures, including legislation calling for harsher sanctions on Pyongyang and relisting the regime as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Ministry of Foreign

March 30, 2017

South Korea and France aim to boost ties amid uncertainty under Trump

South Korea and France need to consolidate security and economic ties amid uncertainty over future relations between the US and China under the Donald Trump administration, said the two countries’ senior officials and business leaders Thursday.With President Trump posing a challenge to the postwar liberal order by adopting a series of protectionist and isolationist policies, the panel urged the countries to present a unified front in navigating through looming challenges.Trade Minister Joo Hyung

March 30, 2017

Korea may confer order on ex-Rep. Honda for work on sex slaves

South Korea is considering conferring an order of merit on a former American congressman who fought for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, an official said Wednesday.Mike Honda, who served in Congress from 2001 to early this year, was at the forefront of efforts to get Japan to admit to its past wrongdoing and apologize to women who were forced to work in front-line Japanese brothels during World War II. Korea was a colony of Japan from 1910 to 1945.Mike Honda (Yonhap)The Ministry

March 30, 2017

S. Korea, US mull curbing oil exports to N. Korea in case of nuke test

South Korea and the United States are considering curbing oil exports to North Korea as part of punitive measures against its possible additional nuclear test, diplomatic sources said Thursday.Multiple news reports have raised the possibility of the North carrying out its sixth nuclear detonation test by pointing to increased excavation activity at its Punggye-ri test site.(Yonhap)According to the sources, Seoul and Washington are considering making a push to curb oil exports to the North throug

March 30, 2017

Ecuador imposes visa regulations on N. Koreans

MEXICO CITY -- Ecuador on Wednesday called off a visa waiver program for North Korea in an apparent response to UN sanctions on the North's nuclear and missile tests. The step took effect immediately after a foreign minister order requiring North Koreans to get a visa to enter Ecuador was announced in the official gazette on the day.Up until now, North Koreans could stay in the South American nation without a visa for up to 90 days.  This is an Ecuadorian Foreign Minister order to exclude North

March 30, 2017

US envoy calls on UNSC to address N. Korean human rights issues

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has called on the UN Security Council to discuss North Korean human rights issues, a US report said Thursday. (Yonhap)"I believe the time has come for the UNSC to clarify the relations between human rights and security," she was quoted by the Washington-based Voice of America, as saying during a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations held in the United States on Wednesday."UNSC members should start discussing the matter, which is the right thi

March 30, 2017

Gallucci: US should give N. Korea early warning against nuclear proliferation

The United States should consider giving North Korea an early warning against transferring nuclear weapons material or technology beyond its borders, a former chief nuclear negotiator with Pyongyang said Wednesday."Among developments we need to be most concerned about in terms of probability of occurrence and magnitude of impact, is the transfer by North Korea of nuclear weapons materials or technology to another state or terrorist group," said Robert Gallucci, who negotiated a 1994 nuclear free

March 30, 2017

US congressman: 'China is sanctioning the wrong Korea'

US Congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL) said Wednesday China is "sanctioning the wrong Korea" as he denounced a series of punitive measures Beijing has taken in retaliation against South Korea for hosting the US THAAD missile defense system."China's decision to punish South Korea is not only regrettable, it's inappropriate. Frankly, China is sanctioning the wrong Korea, and Beijing needs to do more to crack down on North Korea's illicit weapons programs," Yoho said during a House Foreign Affairs Committe

March 30, 2017

House committee swiftly passes legislation imposing tougher sanctions on N. Korea

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a set of bipartisan measures on North Korea on Wednesday, including legislation calling for imposing harsher sanctions on Pyongyang and relisting the regime as a state sponsor of terrorism.Also approved by the committee was a resolution that urges China to halt a series of punitive measures taken in retaliation against South Korea for its decision to host the US THAAD missile defense system and denounces North Korea's missile development.Swift passag

March 30, 2017

Ex-CIA chief: US should consider nuclear attack on N. Korea if necessary

The United States should be prepared to launch preemptive strikes on North Korea, including a nuclear attack if necessary, before the communist nation uses its nuclear bombs that could "kill 90 percent of Americans," a former CIA chief said Wednesday.James Woolsey, who served as CIA director from 1993-95, made the case in an op-ed piece in the Hill newspaper, arguing that the US is erroneously underestimating Pyongyang's capabilities to deliver nuclear weapons by missile, freighter and even sate

March 30, 2017

Russian envoy calls for restraint amid tensions on Korean Peninsula

The top Russian envoy in South Korea called on all relevant countries on Wednesday to exercise restraint from any action that could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid growing anxiety that North Korea's additional nuclear test is imminent.In a forum held in central Seoul, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Timonin also underlined the need for resumption of the long-suspended six-party negotiations aimed at resolving North Korea's nuclear stalemate. Russian Ambassador to South

March 29, 2017

Alaska, Hawaii most sensitive to NK news among US states

Residents in Hawaii and Alaska, among US citizens, are the most sensitive to North Korean developments, with the number of searches with the keyword "North Korea" the highest among the states, a US broadcaster reported Wednesday. Hawaii and Alaska, among US states, are US territories located closest to North Korea, and thus their residents are the most responsive whenever North Korean issues hit newsstands, Voice of America said.  A defector activist holds up a placard denouncing Pyongyang for t

March 29, 2017

CTBTO keeps close eye on N. Korea's nuclear activity

A global agency fighting against nuclear tests said Wednesday it's keeping close tabs on North Korea's reported preparations for another nuclear test.The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization warned that the reclusive communist country won't be able to mask its nuclear activity. Satellite imagery of North Korea's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in this photo provided by DigitalGlobe and 38 North website. (Yonhap)"We have also seen the reports (of the N

March 29, 2017

Korea, India agree to hold meeting of vice defense, foreign ministers this year

South Korea and India agreed to hold a meeting of their vice defense and foreign ministers this year in a move to bolster their "strategic cooperation" on political and security areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam speaks during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Yonhap)The agreement over the "two-plus-two meeting" was announced after Seoul's First Vice Foreign Ministry Lim Sung-nam held talks with his counterpart Preeti S

March 29, 2017