Cheong Wa Dae on Friday named new senior presidential secretaries for civil affairs, job creation and civic society, with a wider Cabinet reshuffle expected next month.  Kim Jo-won, head of Korea Aerospace Industries, was appointed senior secretary for civil affairs, replacing Cho Kuk. Cho served his post for 26 months since taking office in May 2017 as one of President Moon Jae-in’s first senior presidential secretaries. He is expected to be appointed as the next justice minister.&nb

Politics July 26, 2019

North Korea’s display of military might with short-range missile launches and a newly built submarine this week appears to be in protest of joint South Korea-US military exercises scheduled for next month. The North fired two short-range missiles Thursday from Hodo Peninsula on the east coast, which flew about 430 kilometers and 650 kilometers, respectively, before falling into the East Sea. On Tuesday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

North Korea July 25, 2019

South Korea hopes to deliver food aid to North Korea as initially planned, despite Pyongyang’s refusal to accept it in a show of the regime’s discontent with an upcoming joint military exercise with the US.The Unification Ministry said Wednesday that North Korea’s working-level officials have expressed “a negative view” toward South Korea’s assistance of 50,000 tons of rice, citing the joint military drills scheduled for next month.The World Food Program&rsquo

North Korea July 24, 2019

South Korea agreed to continue consultations with the US over cooperative measures for Washington’s effort to safeguard freedom of navigation in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz off Iran, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who met with US national security adviser John Bolton in Seoul, agreed on “the need for international efforts for the safe voyage of private merchant ships,” according to Ko Min-jung, presidenti

Foreign Affairs July 24, 2019

North Korea has been holding a Russian fishing ship carrying two South Korean nationals since July 17, after the vessel drifted into waters off eastern North Korea due to a mechanical problem, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday. The 300-ton red crab fishing vessel, Xiang Hai Lin 8, which sails under the flag of Russia, was apprehended at sea by North Korea authorities and moved to the port city of Wonsan after entering North by crossing the maritime border. The ship was headed to

North Korea July 24, 2019

North Korea seems to be agonizing over cherry-picking key negotiators and agenda items for its fresh nuclear talks with the US in order to avoid another setback following a no-deal summit in February, according to experts. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to form negotiation teams “in two to three weeks” and create a framework for denuclearization negotiations after a surprise meeting at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas on

North Korea July 23, 2019

US national security adviser John Bolton will visit South Korea this week after a stop in Japan to discuss the two US allies’ deepening row following Tokyo’s decision to curb the trade of materials crucial for the production of memory chips to Seoul. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis wrote on Twitter that Bolton departed Saturday for Japan and Korea to “continue conversations with critical allies and friends,” without elaborating on details.  B

Foreign Affairs July 21, 2019

South Korea offered no answer Thursday to Japan’s call to settle the row over Tokyo’s wartime forced labor through third-country arbitration, raising tensions further between the neighbors, with both countries turning down resolution proposals from the other.Seoul intentionally missed Thursday’s deadline by which Tokyo demanded Seoul respond to its request to resolve historical disputes stemming from its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula while hinting at possible ret

Foreign Affairs July 18, 2019

Japan’s recent decision to impose tighter restrictions on exports to South Korea of key materials for the semiconductors and display industries will take a toll on the global tech industry, Seoul’s government official said Wednesday. “It will adversely affect companies ranging from Apple, Amazon and Dell to Sony and billions of consumers all over the world,” he told foreign reporters based in Seoul on the condition of anonymity. The trade measure, which was taken by Tokyo

Foreign Affairs July 17, 2019

The worsening diplomatic row between South Korea and Japan has raised concerns that it may threaten security cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.On July 4, Japan raised the ante with economic retaliatory measures as tensions heightened over the use of forced labor by Japanese companies during the country’s 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.  Japan’s announcement of restrictions on exports of items used by South Korean chip and smartphone companies ignited an

Foreign Affairs July 16, 2019

Sharing borders with five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Laos is seeking to facilitate the connectivity of infrastructure across the region by strengthening cooperation with South Korea. “There have been already a number of projects supported by the Korean government and implemented by Korean private companies in the past that contributed to the ASEAN connectivity in Laos,” Bounchanh Sinthavong, Laos’ minister of public works and transport, said in

Diplomatic Circuit July 15, 2019

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were able to hold a third meeting on the inter-Korean border last month due to their sincere trust and bold will, Pyongyang’s propaganda outlet Maeari said Wednesday. Highlighting close relationship between Kim and Trump, Maeari noted that the top-level encounter in the Demilitarized Zone occurred just a day after the US president made a request by simplifying complex diplomatic protocol that typically takes weeks and months to

North Korea July 10, 2019

The government said Tuesday it had raised the issue of Tokyo’s economic retaliatory measures against Seoul at a World Trade Organization meeting amid intensifying tensions between the two countries, stemming from a long-standing dispute regarding forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.During a meeting of the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods held in Geneva, Ambassador to Geneva Paik Ji-ah said that that Japan’s restrictions on exports of key

North Korea July 10, 2019

North Korea’s official media on Monday urged its people to build an economic powerhouse as the country marked the 25th anniversary of the death of founding leader Kim Il-sung. “Today’s grand advance in economic development is a sacred and rewarding struggle of our great leaders to realize their aspirations for a patriotic and powerful country,” the Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of the Workers’ Party, said in an editorial.  On Monday, Kim Jong-un paid h

North Korea July 8, 2019

Former Samsung Executive Yang In-mo was elected as the new dean of the Honorary Consular Corps of Korea, an organization of diplomats promoting friendship and cooperation among countries. Yang, the honorary consul general of Croatia to Korea, started his two-year term as the sixth dean of the corps on July 1, after a unanimous vote at a regular annual meeting on June 26.  The corps of honorary consuls in Korea consists of honorary consuls in the private sector appointed by foreign governmen

Diplomatic Circuit July 8, 2019