McCain: 'I don't understand' Trump's praise of N. Korea leader

US Sen. John McCain said Tuesday he can't understand why President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressing concern that such a remark helps the "prestige" of the dictator.Trump made the remark in an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday, arguing that he would "absolutely" be willing to meet with Kim if such a meeting takes place "under the right circumstances." (Yonhap)The use of the word "honored" raised eyebrows."I don't understand it

May 3, 2017

White House official: N. Korea trying to use nuclear weapons for 'coercive reunification'

North Korea is trying to use its nuclear weapons as an "instrument of blackmail" to force the US to leave South Korea so as to realize "coercive reunification" of the divided peninsula, a senior White House official said Tuesday.Matt Pottinger, senior Asian affairs director at the National Security Council, also said during a security forum that the US has now been left with no other choice but to ramp up pressure on the communist nation to move it toward denuclearization. (Yonhap)"They have mad

May 3, 2017

Trump says he will take action on N. Korea if necessary without drawing red line in advance

US President Donald Trump said he will take action on North Korea "if I have to act" without drawing a red line in advance. "I don't like drawing red lines but I act if I have to act," Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired Monday night. (Yonhap)Trump argued he's different from his predecessor, Barack Obama."I'm not like President Obama where you draw a red line as you said a red line in the sand and then lots of bad things happen and he never goes over the red line," Trump said.Trump al

May 3, 2017

Korea's foreign minister to meet US and Japanese ambassadors

South Korea's top diplomat will meet with ambassadors of the United States and Japan on Tuesday to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea and its growing nuclear threat.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with Marc Knapper, acting US Ambassador to South Korea, and Japanese Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine in his office in the afternoon, according to the ministry.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (Yonhap)The unusual three-way meeting, arranged at the request of the ministry, fol

May 2, 2017

Norwegian poems vivify long lost senses

The Norwegian Embassy held a book launch event last week that featured the celebrated works of Olav H. Hauge (1908-94), a distinguished poet famous for his realistic portrayal of natural and sentient beings. A collection of his poems has been recently translated into Korean by professor and poet Lim Sun-ki, who teaches at Yonsei University’s Department of French Language and Literature. The translation was financially supported by the embassy and published by Bomnal Books. Professors, poets, jou

May 1, 2017

Commonwealth veterans remember unsung heroes of wars

The embassies of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand paid tribute to the sacrifices of their fallen comrades and war veterans across memorial services held in Korea last week.At the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Korean War Memorial on Apr. 25, some 200 veterans, their families, servicepersons and diplomats honored the heroism of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), which fought together in the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkey during World War I, as well as those who serve

May 1, 2017

South Africa celebrates Freedom Day

The South African Embassy last week celebrated Freedom Day, a national holiday commemorating the freedom and democracy ushered in by the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.This year’s celebration was deemed by many to be additionally special, as it marked the centenary of the birth of Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917-93), a South African anti-apartheid politician who served as president of the African National Congress from 1967 to 1991.“We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white s

May 1, 2017

Foreign minister says US will respect agreement on missile defense cost

South Korea's top diplomat Monday expressed confidence that the United States will respect a bilateral agreement on the cost for the missile defense deployment amid controversy sparked by US President Donald Trump's recent suggestion that Seoul should pay for the $1 billion system. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se dismissed concerns that Washington would seek a renegotiation on the issue as he commented on Trump's security adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster's remark that his government respects the current

May 1, 2017

Korea: US to pay for THAAD operation

South Korea's defense ministry made it clear Friday that the US should pay the cost of the operation of its advanced missile defense system recently deployed here. (Yonhap)In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said there is no change in the "basic position" that the South Korean government provides the site for the THAAD system and related facilities under the Status of Forces Agreement and the US shoulders the burden for installing and operating it.It was in response to reported comm

April 28, 2017

US soldier draws suspended jail term for drug smuggling

An American soldier indicted for smuggling a massive amount of methamphetamine from the US into South Korea has been given a suspended jail term, a court in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, said Friday.The Uijeongbu District Court sentenced the 19-year-old soldier who belongs to the United States Forces Korea's 2nd Infantry Division to three years in prison, suspended for five years, on charges of smuggling 4 kg of methamphetamine via military mail from California in October last year. Methamphetamine

April 28, 2017

Trump says he wants Korea to pay cost for $1b THAAD deployment: report

US President Donald Trump said he wants South Korea to pay for the $1 billion deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, a missile defense system the allies are currently fielding here, he said in an interview with Reuters reported on Friday.Trump also said he will "renegotiate or terminate" the US free trade agreement with South Korea.Trump's remarks were reported after key elements of THAAD, the high-profile X-band radar and mobile launchers, were delivered to the host s

April 28, 2017

US seeks regular deployment of strategic military assets in Korea

The United States plans to deploy its "strategic" weapons in South Korea on a regular basis in order to thwart North Korea's threats under an agreement between the allies, according to a joint statement.The two sides agreed to explore the "full range of available options, including strengthening the regular deployment of US strategic assets, to bolster the alliance's ability to deter and, where necessary, respond to North Korean nuclear, weapons of mass destruction, and ballistic missile use," t

April 28, 2017

Korean, US military chiefs reaffirm full defense posture against N. Korea

The top military officers of South Korea and the United States agreed Friday to maintain full combat readiness based on the strong alliance against North Korean threats, defense authorities here said.In a 35 minute telephone conversation with Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, his South Korean counterpart Army Gen. Lee Sun-jin stressed that the North's nuclear and missile development can never be tolerated, according to Lee's office. (Yonhap)He als

April 28, 2017

S. Korea open to dialogue if N. Korea sincere about denuclearization: official

South Korea is open to disarmament dialogue with North Korea if the North comes with a sincere willingness to discard its nuclear program, the foreign ministry's spokesman said Thursday.The position came in response to the Trump administration's North Korea policy line announced to the public in Washington. (Yonhap)On Wednesday (US time), Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said the Trump administration aims to press

April 27, 2017

Korea urges China to listen to int'l call to stop THAAD retaliation

South Korea urged China Thursday to listen to international calls to stop retaliations over Seoul's installation of the high-tech US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system after the neighbor pledged to take action over the ongoing deployment. The installation of THAAD went into full swing with the high-profile X-band radar of the THAAD system, mobile launchers and other elements being delivered to the host site of Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday.China reacted angrily to the

April 27, 2017

US Pacific commander: THAAD in Korea will be operational in 'coming days'

WASHINGTON -- A US THAAD missile defense battery being installed in South Korea will become operational "in the coming days," the US Pacific commander said Wednesday.Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, made the remark during a House Armed Services Committee hearing after the US military brought the radar and other equipment to the deployment site in southeastern South Korea earlier in the day.(Yonhap)"The ROK-US alliance decided last July to deploy THAAD, that's a Terminal Hi

April 27, 2017

China urges Korea, US to pull back THAAD equipment

BEIJING -- Hours after the deployment of a US advanced defense shield went into full swing in South Korea, China strongly urged Seoul and Washington on Wednesday to pull back the equipment, warning that the installation would further up tensions in the region. Six trailers reportedly carrying the high-profile X-band radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, mobile launchers and other elements were seen entering the deployment site in the southeastern county of Seongju, North Gyeon

April 26, 2017

New Korea-US alliance association set for launch

Former and current US Forces Korea service members will establish a brand-new association next week to promote friendly ties between the two countries, according to a group of figures here advocating the further development of the alliance on Wednesday.The organization, named the "Korea Defense Veterans Association," is scheduled to be created in Washington DC on May 3. An image of South Korea-US alliance in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)Headed by former USFK commander Walter "Skip

April 26, 2017

Nuke envoys from Korea, US, Japan meet to coordinate ways to reign in North

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan sat together in Tokyo on Tuesday seeking to chart ways to rein in North Korea as the communist country appears to be preparing another military provocation.The meeting brought together the three countries' chief negotiators on the North Korean nuclear issue to coordinate their responses to advancing nuclear and missile threats by North Korea.   (Yonhap)The trilateral meeting comes amid unusually heightened tension after North Korea rat

April 25, 2017

Korea, Japan divided over usage of 'East Sea' at IHO meeting in Monaco

GENEVA -- South Korea and Japan were divided over the usage of "East Sea" in naming the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as a conference of the International Hydrographic Organization opened in Monaco on Monday, South Korean officials said.Koreans claim that East Sea has been used for more than 2,000 years. But the name was not known internationally in modern times because the Korean Peninsula was under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-45. This provided photo shows the body of

April 25, 2017