German Chancellor Scholz to visit Seoul on May 21 for summit with Yoon

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit South Korea on May 21 for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, officials of the two countries said Thursday. Scholz will make the trip after attending a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on the same day. He will first visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the two Koreas, a senior German official said during a press briefing in Berlin. He will then hold a bilateral meeting with President Yoon and attend a dinner hosted by Yoon befo

May 11, 2023

UK minister for Indo-Pacific to discuss S. Korean ties

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, British minister of state for the Indo-Pacific region, will discuss security and business ties with her South Korean counterpart during a two-day trip starting Thursday, the UK Embassy in Seoul said. The two countries, marking 140 years of diplomatic relations this year, are expected to focus on boosting “economic security,” the embassy highlighted, describing the UK’s commitment to “partner with dynamic and fast-growing economies in the region&rdquo

May 11, 2023

Yoon, Trudeau to meet in Seoul ahead of G-7

President Yoon Suk Yeol will discuss expanding ties with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at talks Wednesday next week, ahead of their plans to take part in the Group of Seven meeting in Japan from May 19-21. Yoon’s office said the three-day visit by Trudeau that starts Tuesday offers an “opportunity for the two friendly countries sharing such universal values as freedom, democracy and the rule of law to discuss a plan for future cooperation.” Last year, Seoul and Ottawa

May 11, 2023

3-way summit likely on May 21 in Hiroshima: reports

President Yoon Suk Yeol may hold a bilateral talk with Japan as well as a trilateral summit with the US and Japan on May 21, the final day of a G-7 summit in Hiroshima, according to Japanese media outlets on Thursday. According to the news report, the Japanese government plans to strengthen trilateral cooperation in the security sector and speed up the normalization of Korea-Japan relations through the summits. If a Korea-Japan summit takes place on the last day of the G-7 summit, the leaders

May 11, 2023

Chilean, Czech envoys laud Korean weapons

POCHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- The weapons systems developed by South Korea not only are efficient, but also offer opportunities to enhance defense ties, according to the top Chilean and Czech envoys in South Korea. The two ambassadors were speaking to reporters following live-fire drills conducted by the Korean Army during a May 2 demonstration. The event, held for the first time for foreign diplomats in Seoul, was the latest highlight of the push by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration to secure po

May 10, 2023

PM urges IAEA chief to ensure Korea's participation in wastewater safety review

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo urged Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to ensure the country's continued engagement in the safety review of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s wastewater before its release, Han's office said in a statement Wednesday. Han stressed that South Korea's experts and research institutions must be included in IAEA's safety assessment of some 1.3 million metric tons of treated wastewater

May 10, 2023

US welcomes S. Korea-Japan summit, will work with both allies to promote rule-of-law: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States welcomes the summit held over the weekend between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and will continue to work with both allies to promote peace and prosperity in the region, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Yoon and Kishida met in Seoul on Sunday, the first day of the Japanese leader's two-day trip to South Korea. Kishida is the first Japanese prime minister to visit Seoul solely for a bilateral summit

May 9, 2023

[Photo News] First ladies of S. Korea, Japan visit porcelain exhibition

Kim Keon Hee (right), wife of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Yuko Kishida, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, view a white porcelain jar from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in the "Joseon White Porcelain, Paragon of Virtue" exhibition at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul on Monday, in this photo released by the presidential office. (Yonhap)

May 8, 2023

Kishida’s ‘heartache’ draws mixed reactions

The latest remarks by the Japanese prime minister over Korean victims of forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 rule of the peninsula have raised more questions than answers as the two countries seek closer ties by ending the dispute, experts said Monday. “I personally feel my heart ache at the thought of countless people having gone through very challenging and sad times under extreme conditions,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference Sunday, following talks wit

May 8, 2023

Incheon wins bid to host new agency for overseas Koreans

The port city of Incheon will house the headquarters for a new state-run agency to provide consolidated administrative support to some 7.5 million people of the South Korean diaspora across the globe. Another office for handling citizen complaints will be set up in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. Incheon, which has been vying for the host title since last year, in its bid, touted its convenient and easy access to Incheon Airport, the main point of entry or departure

May 8, 2023

Kishida expresses hope for biz communities to lead efforts for closer bilateral cooperation

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed hope Monday that businesses will take the initiative in bolstering bilateral cooperation between South Korea and Japan during a meeting with Korean business leaders, according to industry sources. Kishida apparently made the remarks during a closed-door roundtable meeting with chiefs of six major South Korean business associations earlier in the day, a session that took place on the last day of his two-day working visit to Seoul. Kishida arrived in

May 8, 2023

S. Korea to attend new round of negotiations for IPEF this week

South Korea will participate in the third round of official negotiations for the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to be held in Singapore this week, the industry ministry said Monday. During the upcoming session, set to take place from Monday through May 15, the member nations will work to make progress in setting details of its four key pillars -- trade, supply chain resilience, clean economy and fair economy, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea

May 8, 2023

Kishida to meet with chiefs of S. Korean business lobbies

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was set to meet with chiefs of major South Korean business associations Monday and discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation in economic fields, such as global supply chains, according to industry sources. The closed-door session comes on the second day of Kishida's two-day working visit to South Korea, a highly symbolic trip that marks a start for the restoration of bilateral relations long frayed over issues rooted in Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of th

May 8, 2023

Kishida says his ‘heart aches’ but gives no apology for forced labor

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday he felt heartbroken at the thought of the Korean laborers at Japanese companies during Japan’s 1910-45 rule of the Korean Peninsula, but did not directly apologize for their treatment or for forcing them into work. He was speaking following a summit with President Yoon in Seoul on Sunday at which Seoul had hoped for a potential apology from Tokyo that would directly address the colonial rights abuses. Japan has shied away from that by stick

May 7, 2023

Yoon, Kishida agree on Korean inspection of Fukushima wastewater

Leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a higher level at a summit held in Seoul Sunday, both touting that the restored "shuttle diplomacy" has brought yearslong strained relations back on track. At the summit, the second in less than two months, the two leaders agreed to allow a group of Korean experts to visit Japan to inspect the safety of contaminated water to be discharged from Fukushima nuclear reactors. “I hope that meaningful measures will be

May 7, 2023

Seoul, Tokyo restore 'shuttle diplomacy'

  The leaders of South Korea and Japan on Sunday began their second summit this year in Seoul to fully restore the two countries' "shuttle diplomacy," aiming to improve strained ties in the areas of regional security, economic partnership and cultural exchanges. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Seoul for a two-day working visit, less than two months after the March summit in Tokyo. He was the first Japanese leader to make a bilateral visit to Korea in 12 years afte

May 7, 2023

[Herald Interview] Tighter ties key to curbing NK, China: Japan ex-lawmaker

South Korea, the US and Japan -- countries sharing the same values, such as freedom and democracy -- have to make current three-way ties stronger if they are to counter military threats from North Korea and China. For that to take place, tighter Seoul-Tokyo ties are a priority, according to a former Japanese lawmaker. Pushing for a closer-knit coalition, Washington, the biggest ally of both Seoul and Tokyo, had called on the two neighbors to settle their disputes involving Japan’s 1910-45

May 7, 2023

Japan PM makes first bilateral visit to S. Korea in 12 years

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in South Korea on Sunday for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the full-scale resumption of "shuttle diplomacy" between the two countries' leaders after 12 years. Kishida's visit comes as bilateral relations have warmed significantly following Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without contributions from Japanese firms. Yoon traveled to Tokyo 10 days after the

May 7, 2023

Japanese PM set to arrive in S. Korea for summit with Yoon

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to arrive in South Korea on Sunday for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the full-scale resumption of "shuttle diplomacy" between the two countries' leaders after 12 years. Kishida's visit comes as bilateral relations have warmed significantly following Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without contributions from Japanese firms. Yoon traveled to Tokyo 10 days a

May 7, 2023

Prime Minister Han meets with Britain's deputy prime minister in London

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has met with Britain's new Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden during his visit to the country to attend King Charles III's coronation. During the 40-minute meeting at the British government's central office building in London on Friday, the two leaders discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of economic security, nuclear power and renewable energy, and raised the need to start negotiations on a free trade agreement between the

May 6, 2023