North Korea on Monday slammed the US for terminating guidelines that have restricted Seoul’s development of ballistic missiles as a “stark reminder” of Washington’s hostile approach to Pyongyang.  This marked Pyongyang’s first reaction to the May 21 summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden, during which the US decided to abolish the decadeslong guidelines that had put limits on Korea’s missile development program, allowing Seoul t

North Korea May 31, 2021

The P4G summit kicked off in Seoul on Sunday, bringing together top government officials and heads of international organizations around the world to discuss climate change and ways to achieve green growth at a critical time when there are growing calls for a sustainable, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is hosting the two-day event, vowed to take on a larger role in fighting climate change as he attended the opening ceremony held at Dong

Foreign Affairs May 30, 2021

South Korean diplomacy in recent years has been increasingly complicated by a tough balancing act: Weighing the demands of its security ally the US against its top trading partner China.  Seoul’s strategic dilemma was showed again recently when the joint Korea-US statement -- issued following the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart, Joe Biden -- triggered a sharp response from Beijing. Despite relatively toned-down language and no direct refer

Foreign Affairs May 30, 2021

South Korea is hosting the P4G summit starting Sunday, bringing together government, business and civil society leaders from around the world to tackle climate change and explore ways to achieve sustainable growth. 　 The second P4G summit, originally planned for last year but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will kick off virtually on Sunday for a two-day run in Seoul. It is the first-ever multilateral conference on the environment hosted by the Korean government. 　 P4G, which stands for

Foreign Affairs May 26, 2021

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday said Seoul refrained from touching on Chinese human rights issues in the joint summit statement with Washington in light of its special relations with Beijing.  “In regards to Chinese (human rights) issue, it’s true that there have been various discussions within the international community,” Chung told reporters during a briefing on the outcome of the summit in Washington between President Moon Jae-in and his US co

Foreign Affairs May 25, 2021

The US has put the diplomatic ball in Pyongyang’s court, with its Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing that Washington is prepared to engage with North Korea to discuss denuclearization, but it remains uncertain whether the reclusive regime will respond. 　 “We are waiting to see if Pyongyang actually wants to engage. The ball is in their court,” Blinken said in an interview with ABC on Sunday, adding that Washington is prepared to pursue diplomacy with the North even a

North Korea May 24, 2021

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in’s vision for a global vaccine production hub has gained a big boost from his summit talks with President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday. The two leaders unveiled a new vaccine partnership to expand manufacturing and scale up global vaccine supply, pledging unified efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic. The US is home to high-tech vaccine developers like Pfizer and Moderna, while Korea is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of b

Politics May 23, 2021

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- A joint statement by Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden after their summit talks at the White House on Friday is likely to acknowledge commitments made by the two Koreas under the Panmunjeom Declaration, according to a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official on Thursday. “The Panmunjeom Declaration, along with other commitments made between the two Koreas, will be included in the joint statement,” the official told pool reporters in Washington on condition of anonymi

North Korea May 21, 2021

North Korea is reportedly refusing to cooperate with monitoring by the UN-backed vaccine-sharing program COVAX, which could further delay the supply of vaccines. 　 Early this year, North Korea requested coronavirus vaccines from COVAX, a multinational program that provides the vaccines to developing countries. 　 Pyongyang was to receive 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of May through COVAX, but the plan has been delayed as the regime is unwilling to abide by COVAX&rsquo

North Korea May 20, 2021

US President Joe Biden on Monday (US time) announced plans to send an additional 20 million doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines to other countries by the end of June, giving a boost to Seoul’s prospects of securing vaccines through a swap arrangement with Washington. 　 The pledged vaccines were produced by US drugmakers Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, and this is the first time that the US is sending shots authorized for domestic use to other nations. This brings the total ear

Foreign Affairs May 18, 2021

South Korea and Japan are likely to form a joint consultative body to discuss Tokyo’s controversial plan to dispose of radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant by releasing it into the sea, media reports said Sunday. 　 The Asahi Shimbun, citing diplomatic sources, reported that Seoul is said to have sounded out Tokyo on the possibility of establishing a consultative group between the two countries. The Japanese government is reviewing the proposal and leaning toward acc

Foreign Affairs May 16, 2021

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Thursday pinned his hopes on the upcoming South Korea-US summit as a “watershed” moment that could make progress in the stalled diplomacy with North Korea, and urged Pyongyang to return to the dialogue.  Speaking at a seminar organized by the state-run think tanks, the minister “positively” assessed the Biden administration’s recently completed North Korea policy, which he said was a result of close coordination and consul

North Korea May 13, 2021

Hwang Kyo-ahn, a former prime minister who once served as acting president, said Wednesday that he had requested 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for South Korea from the US during his meeting with Kurt Campbell, Biden’s point man for the Indo-Pacific region. 　 During his trip to Washington, which began last week, Hwang met key officials in the Biden administration and executives of global pharmaceutical companies to seek vaccine cooperation in response to a looming vaccine shortage.

Foreign Affairs May 12, 2021

In a speech marking the start of his final year in office, President Moon Jae-in issued a strongly worded statement, apparently condemning an activist group for sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border.  　 “It is never desirable to dampen inter-Korean relations by violating inter-Korean agreements and current laws. I stress that the government has no choice but to strictly enforce the laws,” Moon said Monday in a televised speech. 　 While the president d

North Korea May 11, 2021

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, and the two sides agreed to tackle climate change and cooperate on the fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.  The two envoys held a strategic dialogue Thursday at Chevening House near London, a day after the Group of Seven ministerial meeting ended in the British capital.  Both sides agreed that the strengthening of international cooperation bey

Foreign Affairs May 7, 2021