Korea, Japan in talks to resume working-level defense dialogue channel

South Korea is in talks with Japan to resume the regular working-level dialogue channel between the countries' defense ministries, which was suspended last year amid worsening history disputes, diplomatic sources said Thursday.  "Both countries are in discussion with an aim to hold regular directorial working-level talks between the South Korean and Japanese defense ministries in early August as far as I know," one of the diplomatic sources noted.   Referring to the agenda items of the expected

July 23, 2015

Trump criticizes Korea for relying on U.S. for defense

U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has apparently criticized South Korea for relying on the U.S. for its defense while making a lot of money.   Trump made the remark during a campaign speech in South Carolina on Tuesday, mentioning South Korea apparently as a nation similar to Saudi Arabia that he accused of enjoying a security free ride on U.S. taxpayers' money while giving "nothing" in return.  "I like the Saudis ... They buy all sorts of my stuff, all kinds of toys from Trump.

July 23, 2015

S. Korea to chair U.N. organ on development

A veteran South Korean diplomat will assume the presidency of a key United Nations organ on sustainable development, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.  Oh Joon, the country's ambassador to the U.N., will be elected as president of the Economic and Social Council during its session to be held in New York on Friday, it said.  Oh's one-year tenure will begin immediately.  His new mission comes as the U.N. seeks to craft a post-2015 development agenda to last through 2030.  It is expected to help

July 22, 2015

S. Korea considers sending honor guard to China's military parade

South Korea has been considering sending its honor guard to a military parade in Beijing in September marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.   China has invited South Korean troops to march together with the Chinese military in the upcoming military parade that is expected to highlight Japan's surrender in the war.   "The Chinese side invited our honor guard to march together in the September military parade and we are considering the invitat

July 22, 2015

S. Korean rival parties denounce Japan's renewed claim to Dokdo

South Korea's ruling and main opposition parties lashed out at Japan on Tuesday over its renewed territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in an annual defense white paper.  The defense report, approved by the Japanese Cabinet earlier in the day, called Dokdo Japanese "sovereign territory," along with the Kuril Islands controlled by Russia. It is the 11th straight year that Tokyo has laid claim to Dokdo in the annual paper.  The ruling Saenuri Party repeated Seoul's long-sta

July 21, 2015

S. Korea, Fiji hold FM talks on promoting partnerships

The South Korean and Fijian foreign ministers held talks here Tuesday to promote bilateral economic cooperation and partnerships on global affairs, the Foreign Ministry said.  Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Fijian counterpart Ratu Inoke Kubuabola agreed that the two countries have improved ties on economic, maritime and development issues, as well as in the fight against climate change, according to the ministry.  The two discussed ways to strengthen mutual cooperation on the global stage

July 21, 2015

S. Korea rules out military intelligence pact with Japan

South Korea Tuesday ruled out the possibility of forging a military intelligence sharing agreement with Japan after a recent military exchange between the neighbors stoked speculations on the pact.  Japan's chief of the intelligence bureau at the defense ministry, Tadashi Miyagawa, visited South Korea last week to hold an annual conference on military intelligence sharing with his South Korean counterpart.  The visit stoked speculations that the neighbors may be restarting efforts to sign a Gene

July 21, 2015

S. Korea raps Japan for laying claim to islets

South Korea denounced Japan Tuesday for again laying claim to its easternmost islets of Dokdo, saying the move undermines Seoul's efforts to improve their long-strained ties.  Japan's defense ministry released its annual defense white paper earlier in the day with references to Dokdo and the Russian-controlled Kuril Islands as Japanese "sovereign territory."  Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a source of tension bet

July 21, 2015

S. Korea protests Japan's renewed claim to Dokdo

South Korea lodged a strong complaint with Japan on Tuesday over Tokyo's renewed territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in an annual defense white paper.  The defense report, approved by the Cabinet earlier in the day, referred to Dokdo as Japanese "sovereign territory," along with the Kuril Islands controlled by Russia.  It is the 11th straight year that Tokyo has laid claim to Dokdo in the annual paper.  "The territorial issue over our sovereign territory of the Norther

July 21, 2015

Amb. Sung Kim to visit Japan for talks on bilateral issues

Amb. Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, will visit Japan later this week for discussions on bilateral issues, the State Department announced Monday.  Kim, who doubles as deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan, will be in Tokyo from Wednesday to Friday to "participate in alliance meetings and other bilateral discussions," the department said in a release without providing further specifics.  The trip "underscores the U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Japan relatio

July 21, 2015

Chinese airlines normalize flights to S. Korea as MERS subsides

Chinese airlines have begun normalizing their flights to South Korea, according to state-run newspapers on Monday, as the country appears to near a formal end to its MERS outbreak.   Since South Korea reported its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on May 20, Chinese airlines have cut flights to Seoul and other cities as travelers canceled trips. No new cases have been reported in South Korea since July 4.   According to a report by the Beijing-based Jinghua newspaper, budget carrier

July 20, 2015

S. Korea, Honduras agree to cooperate in energy and climate change

President Park Geun-hye and her Honduran counterpart, Juan Orlando Hernandez, agreed Monday to cooperate in the energy industry and join forces to cut greenhouse gas emissions which are blamed for global warming.  The agreement was reached in a summit between Park and Hernandez at Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office.  The two leaders observed the signing of memorandums of understanding, which call for cooperation, among other things, in improving power transmission and in supplying

July 20, 2015

S. Korea's top nuclear envoy travels to China

Seoul’s top nuclear envoy traveled to China on Sunday for meetings with his counterpart and experts on Korea, the foreign ministry said. 　 Hwang Joon-kook will be in Shanghai until Tuesday and visit Beijing from Tuesday to Friday for talks with university scholars, think tank researchers and journalists, among other experts. 　 Hwang also plans to meet with Wu Dawei, China‘s special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs. 　 Both Hwang and Wu are their governments’ top envoy

July 19, 2015

S. Korea, China, Japan to hold working-level FTA talks

South Korea, Japan and China will hold a new round of talks on a trilateral free trade agreement in Beijing this week in an effort to iron out their remaining differences, the trade ministry here said Sunday.   The eighth trilateral working-level talks, slated for Monday through Friday, will focus on key issues such as modalities for eliminating tariffs and ways of liberalizing service and investment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  Based on the results of the talks, ch

July 19, 2015

U.S. second lady: S. Korea made huge strides in women empowerment

U.S. second lady Jill Biden said Saturday that South Korean women have made tremendous strides at the workplace, but they still face challenges in the male-dominated Asian country.  Biden said that both the United States and South Korea face challenges, as young girls must be able to reach their full potential.  "Young girls and women in South Korea excel in terms of educational achievement but continue to face challenges in their workplace," Biden said in a reception hosted by Gender Equality M

July 19, 2015

Document shows Japanese coal mine had barbed wire fence to prevent Koreans from escaping

A Japanese coal mine built a 2-meter-high barbed wire fence at the dormitory of its Korean forced laborers to prevent them from escaping during World War II, a South Korean expert on the country's relationship with Japan said Sunday, citing a company document.Yonhap News Agency exclusively obtained the document authored by the Yamano Coal Mine near Fukuoka from Kim Moon-gil, an honorary professor of Busan University of Foreign Studies. The mine is known to have been operated by the Japanese indu

July 12, 2015

Korea repatriates Chinese 'economic fugitive'

Chinese police have extradited a 53-year-old woman suspected of financial crimes from South Korea, as part of the government's intensifying crackdown against "economic fugitives" who have fled abroad, a local media report said Friday.    The Chinese suspect, only identified by her surname Li, was reportedly involved in an investment scam worth one million yuan (US$160,919) and had been hiding in South Korea since 2007. She was arrested on July 1, the Beijing News reported, citing Chinese authori

July 10, 2015

Japan's conscription of Korean workers violates convention on forced labor: ILO

An experts panel of the International Labor Organization called Japan's conscription of Korean and other workers during World War II a violation of a convention banning forced labor, a report published in 1993 and obtained by Yonhap News Agency on Friday showed.   On Sunday, Japan inscribed a set of early industrial facilities on the UNESCO World Heritage list after accepting South Korea's demand that it acknowledge the forced labor of some 57,000 Korean workers at seven of the sites during the

July 10, 2015