The leaders of South Korea and the United States are expected to face a tough task of coordinating what appears to be their differences in dealing with North Korea when they meet in Washington this week, experts said Sunday. North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats are seen to top the agenda for the summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump to be held on Thursday and Friday (US time).Moon proclaimed the dual-track approach of denuclearizing North Korea and pursuing dialogue

North Korea June 25, 2017

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump this week with the meeting expected to set the tone for the future of the alliance amid escalating North Korean threats and growing geopolitical uncertainties. The new South Korean president will hold the two-day talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday (US time). He will head for the United States on Wednesday for his first-ever summit with a foreign leader.  This composite image shows South Korean President Moo

Foreign Affairs June 25, 2017

The deepening controversy over the now suspended deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea will likely be one of the major issues to be discussed between their leaders when they meet in Washington later this month, experts said Sunday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in is to meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday and Friday (local time) in their first face-to-face talk since they both took office. (Yonhap)The summit takes place amid growing worries that th

Defense June 25, 2017

Thousands of South Koreans staged a protest rally in central Seoul on Saturday demanding the withdrawal of the deployment of an American high-tech anti-missile defense system as President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet in Washington D.C. next week."The deployment of THAAD, which is unnecessary for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, should be pulled back," the protesters said in a rally held in Seoul Plaza at the heart of Seoul. The rally's organizer put the num

Social Affairs June 25, 2017

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday invited North Korea to the Winter Olympic Games to be held in the country early next year, while welcoming a North Korean delegation to the World Taekwondo Championships."I believe in the strength of sports that has been establishing peace. I am glad to see the first sports exchange of the South and the North under the new (South Korean) government take place at this event," Moon said in his congratulatory speech marking the opening of the event hos

North Korea June 25, 2017

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae expressed dismay Saturday over what it called "false" reports by a Japanese newspaper that suggested a possible crack in the South Korea-US alliance.The rare rejection by Cheong Wa Dae came after Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported that the US has urged South Korea to allow complete deployment of the THAAD US missile defense system here before the year's end. Yoon Young-chan, chief presidential press secretary, speaks during a press briefing at the pres

Politics June 25, 2017

Nearly 80 percent of South Koreans support a resumption of long-suspended inter-Korean dialogue, a survey by a presidential advisory panel showed Thursday, indicating strong backing for the policy line of new President Moon Jae-in.In the survey by the National Unification Advisory Council, 76.9 percent of respondents said South Korea should restore dialogue channels with North Korea as part of efforts to play a leading role in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem. Of the rest, 22 p

Social Affairs June 22, 2017

South Korea's parliament on Thursday passed a resolution calling for the reunions of families separated across the inter-Korean border in time for Liberation Day in August.The reunions of families, mostly divided since the 1950-53 Korean War, have not been held since October 2015 amid heightened tensions caused by Pyongyang's unceasing provocations, including two nuclear tests last year. Lawmakers attend a parliamentary plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 22, 2017. (Yonhap)

Foreign Affairs June 22, 2017

South Korea said Thursday it has completed a yearslong project to acquire the depot maintenance capability for the nation's advanced FA-50 light combat fighter jet.It will enable the military to save around 450 billion won ($390 million) in costs for the operation and maintenance of the fleet over the next 30 years, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. A FA-50 light combat jet conducts a bombing exercise in this photo provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administra

Defense June 22, 2017

A former human rights lawyer convicted of violating an anti-communist law more than four decades ago was exonerated by a Seoul court on Thursday. The Seoul Central District Court cleared Hahn Seung-hun, chair professor of Chunbok National University, of charges that he wrote a piece in a magazine in the early 70s that sympathized with the North Korean regime and its propaganda.  Hahn Seung-hun, former human rights lawyer and current chair professor at Chunbok National University, makes a speech

Social Affairs June 22, 2017

South Korea on Thursday repatriated the remains of an apparent American soldier killed in the Korean War, a show of the allies' commitment to never forget the wartime sacrifice of their troops.The remains were discovered in Yeongdong, a small village in North Chungcheong Province, at the end of March.Based on an initial analysis, the Ministry of Defense Agency for KIA Recovery & ID identified the remains belonging to a US service member. The area was a fierce battlefield in the early month of th

Defense June 22, 2017

A state-run research institute will reconstruct a life-size version of a ship used by emissaries of the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty to sail to Japan by September next year to use it as a museum of traditional Korean ships, government officials said Thursday.The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage said it will hold a ceremony later in the day to launch the reconstruction of the "Joseon Tongsinsa" ship at a shipyard in Yeongam on South Korea's southwestern coast. This three-dime

Social Affairs June 22, 2017

South Korea on Thursday cast caution over reading too much into a North Korean envoy's remarks proposing a conditional moratorium on the North's nuclear and missile tests.North Korea's top envoy to India Kye Chun-yong said Wednesday that North Korea can place a moratorium on its nuclear and missile tests if the US suspends its annual joint military drills with South Korea. (Yonhap)It marked the first time that the North raised the possibility of the conditional suspension of its nuclear and miss

North Korea June 22, 2017