Mattis: US needs strong nuclear, conventional forces to cope with N. Korea, other threats

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that a string of global security threats, including North Korea's "reckless" and "provocative" behavior, requires the United States to maintain strong nuclear and conventional forces.US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (AP-Yonhap)"We must look reality in the eye: we see Russia and China seeking veto power over the economic, diplomatic, and security decisions of nations on their periphery. Terrorist groups murder the innocent and threaten peace in many r

March 23, 2017

Tillerson told China its retaliation on Korea over THAAD is ‘uncalled for’: US official

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has delivered a strong message to China that it is "uncalled for" for Beijing to retaliate against the ongoing deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea, a senior US official said Wednesday.Tillerson visited Beijing over the weekend and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss key pending issues of mutual concern. The US diplomat chief wrapped up his first Asian tour since taking office, which a

March 22, 2017

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, US to discuss NK issue

The top envoys of South Korea and the US on North Korea's nuclear stalemate will meet in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss their coordinated approach toward the ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from the reclusive state. Kim Hong-kyun, the foreign ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will have talks with his US counterpart Joseph Yun, according to the ministry.  Kim Hong-kyun, the foreign ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peac

March 22, 2017

US House panel introduces new N. Korea sanctions legislation

US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce on Tuesday introduced fresh legislation significantly tightening sanctions on North Korea, including authorizing sanctions on those providing the North with crude oil and other related products.The "Korea Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act" (H.R. 1644) is designed to strengthen last year's North Korea sanctions law by adding new measures, including new UN Security Council resolutions that have been billed as the toughest-ever sanc

March 22, 2017

Int'l community should push action over N. Korea's use of VX: US expert

The international community should come up with tangible action over North Korea's prohibited use of nerve agent VX in the assassination of its leader's half brother last month, otherwise, inaction will send the wrong message to the regime, a US expert said Tuesday."Let's take a good example, somebody has just used VX to kill an innocent civilian in Malaysia. Is the international community doing anything about it? ... Kim Jong-un wants to set a precedent that the international community does not

March 22, 2017

Results of US review of N. Korea policy to come 'sooner than later': senior NSC official

Results of the US review of options to deal with North Korea will come out "sooner than later," a senior White House official said Tuesday.Christopher Ford, senior director for weapons of mass destruction and counterproliferation on the White House National Security Council, made the remark during a nuclear policy discussion, saying the North Korea problem "clearly needs a new look.""Past approaches to trying to contain that threat haven't worked as well as one would have liked them to work. So,

March 22, 2017

Trump calls N. Korean situation 'disgraceful,' 'not smart'

US President Donald Trump has called the North Korean situation "disgraceful."Trump made the remark in an address at Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday evening, repeating an argument that he's inherited a lot of problems from the previous administration. US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)"The fact is we inherited a mess. It's a mess," Trump said, picking the Middle East and North Korea as examples of such problems. "North Korea, I'll tell you what, what's happening there is disgraceful and not smar

March 22, 2017

Danish court to hold first hearing next month on extradition of daughter of Park's confidante

A Danish court will hold its first hearing next month of an appeal against the prosecutors' decision to extradite the daughter of an arrested long-time friend of ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye, officials said Tuesday.Chung Yoo-ra, daughter of Choi Soon-sil, whose alleged irregularities led to Park's ouster, filed the appeal with the District Court of Aalborg on Friday, shortly after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions decided to send her back to South Korea to face inv

March 22, 2017

[Reporter’s Column] Top diplomat’s trip

For Seoul, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson’s first visit last week was significant in many aspects. He sent a strong message to North Korea on its nuclear program, issued open criticism for China’s economic retaliation against South Korea over THAAD, and helped defuse concerns about the bilateral ties under the Donald Trump administration. (Yonhap)But his trip was overshadowed chiefly by controversy over the decision not to have a dinner meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

March 21, 2017

FM Yun to attend Washington meeting on fighting ISIS

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se departed for Washington DC, on Tuesday to attend a meeting of a global partnership to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, his office said.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to preside over the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS on Wednesday. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap"It will bring together the majority of the 68 national partners of the Global

March 21, 2017

US nuclear envoy meets major Korean presidential contenders

The US envoy on the North Korean nuclear conundrum met with some of the major presidential contenders in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss North Korea, the alliance and other pending diplomatic issues, political and diplomatic sources said.The rare meetings of Joseph Yun and South Korea's potential next leaders came as the Donald Trump administration is reportedly in the final stage of crafting its new North Korea approach.Joseph Yun, special representative for North Korea policy of the State Departme

March 21, 2017

State Department: Korea, Japan both 'vitally important' allies

Both South Korea and Japan are "vitally important" allies to the United States, the State Department said Monday, stressing that Secretary Rex Tillerson's use of different words to refer to the two allies shouldn't be read into too much.During last week's visit to Tokyo and Seoul, Tillerson called Japan an important "ally" but South Korea only an important "partner." That has led to some raising questions about whether the top American diplomat puts a greater emphasis on relations with Japan tha

March 21, 2017

White House expresses concern about N. Korea's rocket engine test

The White House expressed concern Monday about North Korea's weekend test of a high-powered rocket engine amid concern the communist nation could use the engine to carry out a threatened test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US."We continue to be concerned with North Korea's activity. That's why not only have we continued to have conversations with officials in Japan and South Korea, but continue to urge China to step in and play a larger role in deterring

March 21, 2017

Military options against N. Korea carry too big a risk: ex-US defense chief

The United States has developed various military options against North Korea, but all of them carry too big a risk to put into action, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.Talk of pre-emptive strikes against the North has come to the fore after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during a visit to Seoul last week that all options were on the table in dealing with the communist nation and the military option was one of them.Former US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (EPA-Yonhap)"We obvio

March 21, 2017

Danish environment minister endorses 'circular economy'

Denmark is a front-runner in the “circular economy,” a holistic industrial paradigm geared toward maximizing productivity and minimizing pollution.As an antidote to the “linear economy,” which produces vast excesses of goods and wastes, the circular economy feeds off a virtuous cycle of production, consumption and recreation by “recycling, restoring and reusing” energy and waste. Denmark outshines other European Union counterparts on many sustainability metrics, such as the share of renewable en

March 20, 2017

EU shares pains, gains in combating gender violence

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights released the results of a survey on gender-based violence across its 28 member states in March 2014, after interviewing 42,000 women. “The results were shocking,” according to Dr. Joelle Hivonnet, minister counsellor at the EU Delegation to Korea. One in 3 women, numbering 60 million, reported experiencing either sexual or physical violence or both. One in 5 admitted being stalked online. One in 20 claimed that they were raped. Despite being the s

March 20, 2017

Kazakhstan gains from disarmament, diplomacy, democracy

As a country that renounced the world’s fourth-largest atomic arsenal, Kazakhstan condemns North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and urges its return to the six-party talks for denuclearization, according to its top envoy to Korea. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Kazakh Ambassador Dulat Bakishev underlined his country’s path of disarmament and subsequent progress in diplomacy and commerce as a strategic country in Eurasia.On Aug. 29 1991, Kazakhstan voluntarily relinquished its military nuclear

March 20, 2017

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Vietnam discuss cooperation on NK threats

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Vietnam discussed how to jointly rein in North Korea's prohibited nuclear tests and missile launches during their talks in Vietnam on Monday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is doubling as a deputy prime minister, in the Southeast Asian country to celebrate the countries' 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (L) is shaking hands with Vietname

March 20, 2017