South Korea will soon reveal its response to expected visits by Japanese lawmakers to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead from 1868 to 1954, including 14 convicted Class A World War II war criminals. A senior official in Seoul with knowledge of the matter told reporters Tuesday that the government needs to monitor the situation closely, referring to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision the same day to send an offering to the shrine. The previo

Foreign Affairs Oct. 17, 2023

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US and Japan met in Jakarta, Indonesia to discuss curbing North Korea’s growing aggression, in regular two-day talks that started Monday. The in-person talks, held every three months, serve to coordinate policy aimed at leading North Korea to return to stalled denuclearization negotiations, a goal that has largely remained elusive. Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his US counterpart, Sung

North Korea Oct. 16, 2023

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa thanked South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin for evacuating Japanese from Israel using South Korea’s military transport plane in a phone call Sunday, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in a statement. On board the plane, which landed at Seoul Air Base late Saturday from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, were 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese and six Singaporeans. Medical staff along with a team handling emergency responses were also a

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2023

South Korea is closely monitoring developments in the latest military exchanges between North Korea and Russia and will consider measures in response, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Saturday. “Any weapons exchanges between the two are a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and a threat to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry official said, referring to sanctions the North has been facing. “We’re al

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2023

A total of 218 South Korean nationals in Israel headed home on Tuesday after Hamas’ attack Saturday, with 191 of them on a Korean Air flight and the rest on the move by foot to nearby Jordan. Another 30 South Koreans will follow suit Thursday when they take a Turkish Airlines flight bound for Korea, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Tuesday, adding that it is reaching out to the remaining 230 so that they may safely leave the country. A total of 1,050 South Korean nationals are in Israel,

Foreign Affairs Oct. 10, 2023

Long before he became foreign minister, Park Jin had set his sights in high school on practicing medicine, just like his father. That was, until a news article changed course for him. “So my father, who used to read English newspapers every day, handed me this report and the words he underlined were: the US-China detente,” the foreign minister said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Park, 67, was referring to a Korea Herald article of former US President Richard Nixon&rsquo

Foreign Affairs Oct. 10, 2023

South Korea’s military has indicted a former Marine investigator for disobeying the defense minister’s orders not to refer a probe into a Marine’s death to police, and for later defaming the minister by publicly suggesting that the chief had wanted to let accused generals off the hook. “The charges laid out today amount to a violation that could seriously hurt discipline and morale among troops,” military prosecutors said in a statement, adding that efforts will be

Defense Oct. 6, 2023

South Korea is expecting fresh consultations with Japan “at many levels,” a senior Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said Friday following their high-level talks the previous day that took place after a nine-year hiatus. First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and his Japanese counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, met in Seoul to reaffirm their commitment to curbing the growing threat from North Korea’s nuclear weapons development -- the highest priority among th

Foreign Affairs Oct. 6, 2023

South Korean experts will fly to Japan to monitor the second release of treated radioactive wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant, set to start Thursday, the Korean government said Wednesday. “Like the first release, we will be working with the Japanese government to share real-time data on the second discharge and monitor data released by the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company,” said Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy C

Foreign Affairs Oct. 4, 2023

North Korea reaffirmed that it will launch a military reconnaissance satellite this month, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday. The third attempt to put the satellite into orbit after two previous failures, each in May and August, could take place as early as next week when the regime marks the founding of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party. Leader Kim Jong-un has used such events to tout his achievement. The regime -- banned by United Nations Security Council reso

North Korea Oct. 3, 2023

Two-day working- and senior-level talks among South Korea, Japan and China kicked off on Monday, as the three nations prepare to resume their meeting this year, after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chung Byung-won, South Korea’s deputy foreign minister, is set to meet with Takehiro Funakoshi and Nong Rong, his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, respectively, on Tuesday, following separate working-level meetings between Seoul and Tokyo, as well as Seoul and Beijing on Mond

Foreign Affairs Sept. 25, 2023

The presidential office said Sunday that it will lead efforts to facilitate a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, a day after the Chinese leader said he will “seriously consider it” during talks with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held on the sidelines of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The dialogue, which took place hours ahead of the games’ opening ceremony, centered on bolstering exchanges, an agreement reached earlier this month when President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Chi

Politics Sept. 24, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday he will consider visiting South Korea for a potential summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, at a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is visiting the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for the opening of the Asian Games. A senior official in Seoul with direct knowledge of the Saturday meeting said Xi brought up the issue of a leader-level visit. “It was the Chinese leader who floated it first, which means he knows well it’s his turn to

Foreign Affairs Sept. 23, 2023

The Korea Herald publishes a series of interviews with South Korea’s former and current top diplomats who have played a central role in shaping the country’s foreign policies to confront the complexities of an increasingly contested international order while managing its historical relationships with allies and neighbors, for lasting peace beyond the Korean Peninsula. This is the first installment. -- Ed When Shin Kak-soo, South Korea’s former ambassador to Japan, supported e

Foreign Affairs Sept. 20, 2023

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that it will bury the Australian wife of an Australian Korean War veteran next to her husband at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. The burial ceremony, which the Australian Embassy in Seoul will hold the next day, came four years after Olwyn Green died at 96, leaving behind her wishes that she be reunited with her husband, Lt. Col. Charles Green. The COVID-19 pandemic had prompted the wait. Green, commanding officer of the 3rd battali

North Korea Sept. 20, 2023