President Moon Jae-in asked for opposition support for his upcoming inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, holding a rare meeting with the head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Friday. “As the inter-Korean summit begins, healthy advice from the opposition bloc is desirable, but it is not desirable to deny the summit,” Moon was quoted as saying by Han Byung-do, Moon’s top secretary for political affairs. President Moon Jae-in and Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joo

Politics April 13, 2018

South Korea has its own solution for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, an official from Seoul’s presidential office said Friday, as North Korea and the US appear to remain far apart on what denuclearization entails. “On the matter of denuclearization, the South Korean government has its own solution,” a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters on condition of anonymity. However, the official declined to elaborate on whether the government’s solution includes a specific timeli

Foreign Affairs April 13, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is practical and likely to give up nuclear weapons programs, unlike his father, to break out of isolation and revive the country’s economy, North Korea experts said Thursday. Kim has been depicted as a vicious, immature leader, but he is also practical and decisive, which offers a real opportunity to have North Korea abandon its nuclear arsenal for the right price, they say. “He is a practical leader. He could take bold steps. Just look at his visit to China. He i

North Korea April 12, 2018

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono met South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday to discuss North Korea’s nuclear issue and bilateral relations, as Japan struggles to remain relevant to the upcoming inter-Korean summit. During an hourlong meeting, Kang and Kono reaffirmed their pledge for close coordination and communication to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization in the lead-up to the April 27 inter-Korean summit and the US-North Korea summit expecte

Foreign Affairs April 11, 2018

South Korea and the US normalizing relations with North Korea is critical to achieving denuclearization, former US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry said Tuesday. 　Perry, who helped defuse the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, says North Korea views its nuclear arsenal as “the only sure way” to deter the US from overthrowing its regime, and that the South and the US should address its security concerns. 　“I believe that normalization is essential in achieving denuclearization,” he said durin

Foreign Affairs April 10, 2018

Japan’s top diplomat is set to visit South Korea for a two-day visit from Tuesday, his first trip to South Korea since taking the post last August, a diplomatic source said Monday. South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (left) and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. (Yonhap)Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono will meet his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday, the source said on condition of anonymity. 　The foreign ministers plan to exchange views on matters of mutual conc

Foreign Affairs April 9, 2018

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly agreed to return to six-party talks, South Korea reaffirmed Friday that talks on denuclearization should be discussed first among the two Koreas and the US during planned summits, before the other nations are involved.　North Korean leader Kim told Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing last week that he agreed to return to six-party talks on his nation’s nuclear program and missile tests, the Nikkei newspaper said Thursday, quoting

Foreign Affairs April 6, 2018

The growing trade discord between the US and China is fueling concerns that it may hurt efforts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear crisis.  　On Tuesday, the Trump administration proposed levying 25 percent tariffs on 1,300 Chinese goods in aviation, technology and machinery sectors, which would add up to about $50 billion annually. In retaliation, China on Wednesday announced plans to impose its own 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of US exports including aircraft, cars and soybeans. 　Earlie

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2018

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet US President Donald Trump this month, and the Japanese foreign minister will reportedly visit South Korea next week, as Japan struggles to remain relevant in the upcoming inter-Korean and North Korea-US talks.  Abe will meet Trump from April 17-18 to discuss North Korea and trade ties at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida ahead of an inter-Korean summit scheduled for April 27 and planned talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before th

Foreign Affairs April 3, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be expanding his diplomatic horizons in an apparent attempt to increase his bargaining power ahead of summits with the leaders of South Korea and the US. 　On Sunday, Kim made an unexpected appearance with his wife Ri Sol-ju at a performance by a South Korean art troupe in Pyongyang, becoming the first North Korean leader to watch a show by South Korean musicians.  　 Kim was expected to watch Tuesday’s joint performance, but he chose to watch Sunday’s sh

North Korea April 2, 2018

South Korean musicians held a concert and taekwondo athletes gave performances in Pyongyang Sunday as part of cross-border exchanges ahead of a historic inter-Korean summit slated for next month. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife attended the concert in Pyongyang by the South's 120-member  art troupe, the South Korean culture ministry said. The North Korean leader said that the two Koreas should hold cultural events more often and suggested another event in Seoul this autumn, accordin

North Korea April 1, 2018

South Korea has deployed an anti-piracy naval vessel to the sea off Ghana, and is cooperating with other nations to rescue three South Korean sailors supposedly kidnapped by pirates, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said late Saturday.　The ministry said unidentified pirates appeared to have kidnapped the three Korean sailors, along with one Greek national and one Ghanaian national, on Monday (local time) and used a speed boat to take them away. 　An official from the ministry told The Korea Herald that t

Defense April 1, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week could spell complications for the upcoming US-North Korea summit, experts say. In his meeting with Xi, Kim reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization, but also hinted that unconditional denuclearization -- demanded by Seoul and Washington -- would be unlikely, ahead of his summit with US President Donald Trump by the end of May. Kim pledged that he was “committed to denuclearization” on the Korean Peninsula,

North Korea March 29, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping may indicate the reclusive regime’s desire to gain leverage in its upcoming summits with South Korea and the US, as well as China’s wish to make sure it is still a major player on the Korean Peninsula. 　Kim made a surprise visit to Beijing from Sunday to Wednesday during which he reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization and showed willingness to hold a summit with the US, according to China’s Foreign Ministry. 　Nort

Politics March 28, 2018

A high-level North Korean official’s visit to China is likely a sign that the two communist states hope to improve ties and gain leverage in Pyongyang’s upcoming summits with Seoul and Washington, experts say.　News reports said Monday that a high-level Pyongyang official -- possibly North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- made an unannounced visit to Beijing by train. Whoever visited China, North Korea’s traditional ally and biggest trading partner, the visit marks a significant turning point in Chin

Foreign Affairs March 27, 2018