The soul and spirit of an ancient kingdom reside in the center of Seoul’s Songpa-gu. The ancient tombs in Seokchon-dong -- a set of stone mound tombs believed to have been built during the early Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-AD 660) -- sit among modern buildings, in a reminder that Seoul was the kingdom’s capital city. The tomb site is among several archeological sites in Seoul that offer hints about the Baekje Kingdom, its customs and culture, its golden period during the fourth c

Culture Sept. 27, 2019

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and agreed to continue their cooperation for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.In the 30-minute talks, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi exchanged views on the current situation, including North Korea’s nuclear program. “The two sides agreed that it is imperative to make substanti

North Korea Sept. 26, 2019

A glimmer of hope for the revival of inter-Korean diplomacy has emerged as international events have opened possibilities for engagement to break a monthslong impasse. With North Korea confirming that it will host South Korea next month for the World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang as planned, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday that it will consider sending a squad to the North. On Tuesday, the Korea Football Association in Seoul said it had been informed by the Asian Football Confeder

North Korea Sept. 25, 2019

South Korea and the US have initiated talks to decide how much Seoul will pay for the upkeep of the US troops stationed here for 2020 and possibly beyond, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. As the current deal expires at the end of this year, the two countries are required to negotiate the 11th Special Measures Agreement, the defense cost-sharing pact that sets forth how much is required from each side to maintain the 28,500 US troops. James DeHart, a former charge d’affaires of

Foreign Affairs Sept. 24, 2019

The mood for dialogue between the US and North Korea has been heightened with US President Donald Trump’s recent comment on the possible employment of a “new method” to break the deadlock in nuclear talks with Pyongyang. A “new method would be very good,” Trump said on Sept. 18, criticizing the maximalist approach maintained by former US national security adviser John Bolton, who advocated the “Libyan model” in denuclearizing the regime.Trump fired Bolto

North Korea Sept. 23, 2019

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met United States Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams on Friday during her visit to Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.During the meeting with Abrams at Camp Humphreys, Kang acknowledged his efforts to provide military support for diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish lasting peace. According to the Foreign Ministry, the US commander said Kang’s visit was evidence of close cooperation betwe

Foreign Affairs Sept. 20, 2019

South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator on Thursday called on the US and North Korea to take a flexible approach to achieve substantial progress ahead of their upcoming denuclearization talks. “To keep the dialogue momentum (between the US and North Korea) alive and make substantial progress, they have to take a flexible approach,” Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters at Incheon Airpo

Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2019

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that an official handling Asia-Pacific affairs will visit Japan to meet his counterpart amid mounting tensions between the two countries. Kim Jung-han, director general for Asian and Pacific Affairs at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, will meet Shigeki Takizaki to discuss matters of mutual interest, the ministry said in a press release.  This is Kim’s first one-on-one meeting with Takizaki, who replaced Kenji Kanasugi as head of J

Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2019

Lee Geun, a professor at Seoul National University, was named president of the Korea Foundation, a nonprofit public diplomacy organization under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday. He replaces Lee Si-hyung, and his three-year term is renewable once. The new president served as a professor of International Relations at the Graduate School of International Studies. He was also vice president and dean of the SNU Office of International Affairs, in addition to being a policy adviser

Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2019

The United States and North Korea could take compromise approaches to get tangible results in the next round of denuclearization negotiations, experts said during an international conference hosted by Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank, Wednesday.Robert Einhorn, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, suggested a near-term arrangement between Washington and Pyongyang to move their stalled talks forward by addressing the North’s nuclear and missile capab

Foreign Affairs Sept. 18, 2019

The long-stalled US-North Korea working level talks on denuclearization could take place soon, a senior North Korea official signaled in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency on Monday that also set out conditions for the resumption of dialogue.The director general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s department of American affairs said working-level talks will likely take place in a few weeks. He said the two countries may forge closer relations or hostility depend on wh

North Korea Sept. 16, 2019

South Korea and the United States are set to start negotiations on their cost-sharing deal for the upkeep of the 28,500 US troops stationed here, amid increasing pressure from the US president to increase contributions from allies. The two countries will launch negotiations for the Special Measures Agreement as early as late this month, as the current one-year deal is set to expire Dec. 31. US President Donald Trump has been upping the ante as he heads into his reelection campaign, pressing

Defense Sept. 15, 2019

North Korea gave the United States its long-awaited response Tuesday on the revival of denuclearization talks, but warned that without any concessions there could be another stalemate. Hours after the announcement, the regime fired two unidentified projectiles toward the East Sea, inviting speculation as to its intentions. The North’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said Monday that the country is willing to have comprehensive discussions with the US in late September at a time an

North Korea Sept. 10, 2019

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the US is hopeful that its nuclear talks with North Korea will resume within days or weeks, while the US Congress and other officials warned that other countries in the region may seek nuclear armament if Pyongyang fails to denuclearize. In an interview with ABC, Pompeo made a fresh call to restart working-level dialogue. Washington has repeated calls for the resumption of dialogue, to which Pyongyang has been lukewarm in responding. US Presiden

North Korea Sept. 9, 2019

Typhoon Lingling has killed at least five people and injured three in North Korea, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. “Five people have been killed and three others have been injured and are being treated at the hospital according to the data collected by the National Emergency Disaster Committee,” the KCNA said. Some 460 houses and 14 public buildings were "completely or partially destroyed or submerged" by the typhoon. It added tha

North Korea Sept. 8, 2019