The government is considering repairing some of South Korea’s facilities at North Korea’s Kumgangsan tourism complex, the Ministry of Unification said Friday, as the North continues to demand their demolition. “Our side is planning measures to repair the temporary facilities that cannot be reused in Onjong-ri or the port of Goseong,” Kim Eun-han, a deputy spokesman for the Unification Ministry, told a regular press briefing. In October, Pyongyang notified Seoul that

North Korea Nov. 29, 2019

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit South Korea next week for the first time in over five years, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. He will visit Dec. 4-5 at the invitation of South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-wha. Kang and Wang are expected to arrange a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the occasion of Moon’s visit to China for a trilateral meeting with Japan and China, which will be held in Chengdu

Foreign Affairs Nov. 28, 2019

South Korea is struggling to find a way to deal with the North’s decision to tear down its facilities at Kumgangsan tourism complex, as the regime continues to be reticent. Despite repeated requests to discuss the issue through a face-to-face meeting, a North Korean propaganda site Uriminzokkiri said Wednesday that the country’s decision to demolish the facilities -- built by the South Korean government and companies -- in the tourist zone on its east coast remains unchanged. &l

North Korea Nov. 27, 2019

BUSAN -- South Korea and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries discussed ways to enhance civic participation in policymaking and to foster innovation for public services Tuesday. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety hosted the Ministerial Roundtable on Public Service Innovation on the sidelines of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in Busan. The ministers in charge of public service innovation in Korea and ASEAN member states gathered for the discussions under the theme

Foreign Affairs Nov. 26, 2019

BUSAN -- Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said Monday that South Korea had created momentum for the liberalization of regional trade and cooperation through the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. Speaking to reporters at the summit venue in Busan, Sung said free trade and multilateralism were currently facing challenges, including a trade war between the US and China as well as Japan’s economic restrictions against Korea.  “Amid the ongoing trade friction, it is very meaningful t

Economy Nov. 25, 2019

BUSAN -- Forty-five South Korean companies exhibited and demonstrated their new technologies related to the “fourth industrial revolution,” from green cars to smart factory solutions, in a bid to create more business opportunities in the fast-growing ASEAN markets. Officials from the government, companies and their potential partners and clients gathered at Bexco for the ASEAN-ROK Innovation Showcase 2019, which was held on the sidelines of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, in

Industry Nov. 25, 2019

South Korea expects to take a leap in its relations with Southeast Asian countries by revisiting the achievements of the past 30 years and developing a new vision for the future. During the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in Busan, Korea and the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states will adopt a joint vision statement on coexistence and prosperity. The statement will suggest directions for cooperation in different fields, such as the development of strategic partnerships between

Foreign Affairs Nov. 24, 2019

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said Wednesday that the US will continue its efforts to hold denuclearization talks with the North until the matter is resolved, dismissing the year-end deadline set by the regime. “We do not have a year-end deadline. ... That’s an artificial deadline set by the North Koreans, and unfortunately it’s a deadline that they’ve set upon themselves,” Biegun said before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee durin

North Korea Nov. 21, 2019

US Ambassador Harry Harris and his negotiation team for a defense cost-sharing deal have come under fire for what lawmakers here called “diplomatic discourtesy” as they continue to demand that South Korea pay more for the upkeep of US troops stationed here. The US team, led by James DeHart of the State Department, left the negotiation table earlier than planned Tuesday, the second day of talks in Seoul with the South Korean delegation for the 11th Special Measures Agreement, the two

Foreign Affairs Nov. 20, 2019

Three ships carrying 16 crew members, including two South Koreans, were seized by Houthi rebels off the southern coast of Yemen, according to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. Houthi rebels told the government that they will release the boats if they are found to be Korean ships after legal procedures are carried out, a ministry official said. A tugboat and a drilling rig that belong to the Korean firm Woongjin Development Co. as well as a Saudi Arabian-flagged tugboat were seized by the rebels M

Foreign Affairs Nov. 19, 2019

Differences between South Korea and the United States over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500 US troops stationed here have come to the fore, with the two sides cutting short their meeting Tuesday. “There was a considerable difference between proposals of the US and the South in principle,” Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea’s top negotiator, said at a regular briefing. The US negotiation team, led by James DeHart of the State Department, left the negotiating table e

Defense Nov. 19, 2019

The United States has stepped up efforts to keep up momentum for dialogue with North Korea, urging the North’s leader to take swift action to forge a denuclearization agreement and accepting the regime’s demand to postpone the US joint military exercise with South Korea. “I am the only one who can get you where you have to be,” US President Donald Trump told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un via a tweet Sunday. “You should act quickly, get the deal done. See you soon!

North Korea Nov. 18, 2019

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday that South Korea should pay more for the defense the US provides as it is a wealthy country, amid ongoing talks on a bilateral military cost-sharing deal. Esper traveled to Seoul to hold an annual Security Consultative Meeting with South Korea’s Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo. “South Korea is a wealthy country and could and should pay more to help offset the cost of defense,” Esper said in a press conference following the meeting.

Defense Nov. 15, 2019

South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul met with Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun on Thursday to discuss the controversy surrounding the plans to dismantle its facilities at the Kumgangsan tourist resort in North Korea. The ministry has held a series of talks with Hyundai Asan -- the inter-Korean business unit of Hyundai Group, which holds a 50-year license to operate a tour program to the scenic Kumgangsan -- since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month ordered the removal of

North Korea Nov. 14, 2019

The Unification Ministry on Monday denied that two North Koreans were returned to the North unlawfully, saying they were not entitled to protection due to the serious nature of their crimes. “The two North Koreans are not subjected to protection under the North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act, as they are ‘nonpolitical’ serious criminals and their acceptance as refugees could pose a danger to the lives and safety of citizens here,” Lee Sang-min, the

North Korea Nov. 11, 2019