The Park Geun-hye government faces a deepening dilemma as calls grow for peace treaty talks with North Korea alongside denuclearization negotiations while Seoul has set about funneling all of its diplomatic energy into having Pyongyang desert nuclear weapons. The decades-old move to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War was rekindled late last month when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi suggested initiating denuclearization and peace treaty discussions in tandem during his visit to Washington. U

North Korea March 16, 2016

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened Tuesday to carry out a fresh round of nuclear and long-range rocket tests “in a short time,” claiming the country has secured missile reentry technology and uncovering an image of what it said is a warhead part. Seoul and Washington urged Pyongyang to cease provocative actions and rhetoric, and abide by its international obligations. “We will conduct an explosion experiment of a nuclear warhead and test-fire a ballistic rocket capable of carrying the wa

North Korea March 15, 2016

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Monday warned of deteriorated relations with China this year as the two nations face tensions over the planned stationing of advanced U.S. missile defense assets and Beijing’s support of peace treaty discussions with North Korea.In his opening speech at an annual meeting of chiefs of overseas diplomatic missions, however, he offered an upbeat outlook for an unprecedented gathering with the U.S. and China “in the near future.” Despite concerns over a raft of poten

Foreign Affairs March 14, 2016

In defiance of international resolutions, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has instructed his aides to conduct additional rounds of atomic tests to beef up the country’s nuclear capabilities, state media said Friday, prompting Seoul’s stringent censures. Apparently overseeing a ballistic missile launch Thursday, Kim stressed the need to continue “nuclear explosion experiments necessary to estimate the destructive power of newly built bombs and to increase nuclear strike capabilities,” the North’s

North Korea March 11, 2016

Relations between the two Koreas appear to be hanging by a thread as Pyongyang declared plans to abolish all bilateral exchange projects, confiscate all South Korean assets left in the North and stage military actions.　The announcement was made Thursday by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland in charge of cross-border affairs, which took issue with the South’s unilateral pullout from a joint factory park in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong last month and the hal

North Korea March 10, 2016

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday introduced new consuls general for San Francisco, Sydney, Chicago and Frankfurt. As part of a regular reshuffle, it also appointed 10 directors general and four deputy directors general including those in charge of North American and Northeast Asian affairs and preparing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.  Shin Chae-hyun (Yonhap)Shin Chae-hyun, director general for North American affairs, was tapped as the new head of the consulate general in San Francisco.

Foreign Affairs March 10, 2016

As the international community, including China, sets about sanctioning North Korean vessels in line with a U.N. resolution, North Korea is seen scurrying to counter the movement by deactivating identification devices on its ships and banishing them from the map. China plans to bar North Korean boats currently docked at its harbors from returning to their home ports starting Thursday, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun daily reported Wednesday, citing traders traversing between the two nations. On top of an

North Korea March 9, 2016

South Korea said Tuesday it will pull out from a trilateral trans-Korea logistics project with Russia as it unveiled a new set of standalone sanctions chiefly targeting North Korea's financial and shipping networks. The decision on the Rajin-Khasan logistics project in particular reflects Seoul's toughening line against Pyongyang as it had been the key piece of President Park Geun-hye's much-trumpeted “Eurasia Initiative.”  A coal truck is headed to Namyang, North Korea, after departing from the

North Korea March 8, 2016

Following a series of recent sexual harassment cases, the students at Seoul National University will now be required to take courses on sexual violence prevention along with cardiopulmonary resuscitation as part of new graduation requirements, the school said Monday. The rule will take effect after reviews of departments and a deliberation by the education operation committee scheduled for Wednesday, starting with this year’s freshmen. Students, their families and staff attend an entrance ceremo

Social Affairs March 7, 2016

South Korea said Monday that it plans to unveil a fresh set of unilateral sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday, which would likely include a port entry ban, as it seeks to ratchet up pressure on its wayward neighbor in line with the latest U.N. resolution. The announcement will be made by Lee Suk-joon, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, with the participation of foreign and unification ministries and other agencies, the office said. The new measures are expected to be

North Korea March 7, 2016

South Korea plans to unveil further standalone sanctions against North Korea this week, including a ship entry ban, as part of efforts to tighten its squeeze on its errant neighbor and shore up a recent U.N. resolution, officials said Sunday. While the Security Council was crafting fresh measures, Seoul has been speeding up its own sanctions drive in response to the North’s latest nuclear and missile tests, shutting down a joint factory park across the border. The fresh steps will likely include

North Korea March 6, 2016

Seoul is coming under increasing pressure to sharpen its strategic calculations as its relations with China appear to have plunged to their lowest ebb in years, amid friction over plans to station an advanced U.S. missile defense asset on the peninsula. The downturn came as the security dynamics surrounding Northeast Asia took a new turn, given that Pyongyang tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last month and launched a rocket early this month. The provocations prompted South Korea and th

Foreign Affairs Feb. 25, 2016