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

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

Korean foreign ministry gets several DDoS attacks from China

The website of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has come under several cyberattacks originating from China but little damage has been reported so far, the ministry said Tuesday."Several on-and-off DDoS attack attempts originating from China have taken place on websites including that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing.Defensive measures were immediately taken against the cyberattacks and no damage has been sustained, he said.S

March 28, 2017

Korea's vice defense minister leaves for Egypt

South Korea's vice defense minister left for Egypt on Monday in the latest move to boost cooperation with the African country.The trip by Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo comes amid South Korea's efforts to weaken North Korea's military network with Africa and strengthen cooperation over the international sanctions regime imposed on Pyongyang. South Korea's Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo speaks to reporters on Sept. 6, 2016. (Yonhap)In Egypt, Hwang is set to meet with Egyptian Defense Mini

March 27, 2017

‘Colombia brims with travel wonders’

Colombia is a world unto itself, says Ambassador Tito Saul Pinilla. From tropical rainforests to timeworn colonial buildings, the country boasts sundry treasures almost surreal to the senses, the top Colombian envoy to Korea extols in an interview. Pinilla first recommends capital Bogota, the political and economic center blending colonial and modern architectures. Next is Cartagena, a city and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the northern coast famous for its fortress, beaches and festivals. He al

March 27, 2017

Greece looks to bright future with Korea

Nearly 200 years after the 1821-32 Greek War of Independence, Greece has claimed its current territorial sovereignty, joined multilateral institutions and become a key player in southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Following our economic crisis, Greece has come to stabilize its public finances and improve its competitiveness through drastic economic reforms, including the recapitalization of our banking system.Greece is currently negotiating with eurozone partners for an evaluation

March 27, 2017

Iranian Embassy fetes Nowruz, new investments

A table full of adornments -- including the Quran, lit candles, an oval mirror, green wheat sprouts and glittering coins -- brightened the ambiance at the Iranian Embassy last week. The ornaments were the centerpiece of the embassy’s Nowruz celebration, Iran’s primordial festival marking the onset of spring, which is observed annually on the first day of the Iranian calendar on March 21.For the diplomatic mission, the festivities were even more meaningful this year, as Iran cast off the yoke of

March 27, 2017

Pakistani envoy leaves Korea with optimism

When Pakistani Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan came to Korea in November 2013, he had little idea about the country he would be operating in for the next 3 1/2 years. Now nearing the end of his tenure, the envoy says he has developed an “intimate feel” of the Korean people and culture, which helped achieve concrete results in diplomacy and business. “Korea was my first diplomatic post in Northeast Asia, and I quickly found out upon arriving that our relations were not moving with a strong moment

March 27, 2017

Korea's deputy prime minister to visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan this week

A South Korean deputy prime minister will leave for Kazakhstan this week as part of his two-nation trip to Central Asia to celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and the region, and the 80th anniversary of ethnic Koreans' settlement there, the Education Ministry said Sunday.The four-day trip that begins Monday will also take Lee Joon-sik, who also serves as South Korea's education minister, to Uzbekistan.South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Lee Joon-sik (Yonhap)Durin

March 26, 2017

Vice foreign minister to visit Egypt, India to expand ties

South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will visit Egypt and India over the next week to discuss strategic cooperation with the "increasingly important" countries, the foreign ministry here said Friday.Lim will begin his two-day visit to Egypt on Saturday to hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hamdi Sanad Loza as well as national security adviser Fayza Aboulnaga, said the ministry. South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam (Yonhap file photo)The meetings will focus on ways t

March 24, 2017

Korean, US troops to hold logistics drill next month

South Korea and the United States plan to stage a large-scale logistics exercise next month on the southeastern coast of the peninsula, their combined command announced Friday.The drill, named "Operation Pacific Reach (OCR)," will be held at the Pohang Dogu Beach from April 10-21. The Marine Corps of South Korea and the United States conduct a joint military drill on Nov. 2, 2016, in this photo provided by the military. (Yonhap)"This exercise is a training event focused on integrating ROK (South

March 24, 2017

Korea to take actions against Chinese retaliation over US missile system

South Korea's finance minister pledged Friday to take actions against China amid no apparent signs of progress in ending a diplomatic row with the world's second-largest economy.China has taken a series of economic retaliations against South Korea in recent months over the ongoing deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea. (Yonhap)China has imposed a ban on Chinese sales of tour packages to South Korea in a move that dealt a heavy blow to South Korea's tourism industry t

March 24, 2017

Allies' Key Resolve drill to end two-week run

South Korea and the United States will wrap up an annual command-post exercise later Friday, while their joint field training is to continue through the end of next month, according to officials."Today is the last day of the Key Resolve training. There will be a comprehensive review of the results (of this year's exercise)," a South Korean defense official said. South Korean and US armed forces conduct their annual joint military training in this file photo. (Yonhap)Key Resolve is a simulation-o

March 24, 2017

US resolution slams China's retaliation against Korea over THAAD

A group of US House lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning China's retaliation against South Korea for its decision to host the US THAAD missile defense system and urging Beijing to exercise pressure on North Korea.Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) initiated the resolution together with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Ami Bera (D-CA), noting that such retaliatory measures could constitut

March 24, 2017

Bulgaria takes 'all necessary measures' to enforce U.N. resolution

Bulgaria on Wednesday pledged to continue to take "all necessary measures" to implement the latest UN Security Council resolution adopted last year to punish North Korea for carrying out its fifth nuclear test.In a statement released by its foreign ministry, Bulgaria said its has implemented a fresh restriction on transactions in North Korean coal and reduced the number of staff at the North's diplomatic mission in its capital. The North Korean Embassy in Bulgaria (Yonhap)The Sofia government re

March 22, 2017