SEOUL/TOKYO-- South Korea and Japan held working-level diplomatic consultations Monday on ways to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor under 2018 rulings by Seoul's Supreme Court. Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, met with her Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, for discussions at the Japanese foreign ministr...

From fighter jet air show to taegeuk lighting at palace, Abu Dhabi welcomes S. Korean leader

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Sunday it has confirmed that two Korean passengers were on board an aircraft that had crashed near an airport in central Nepal. "We have confirmed that two Korean nationals were on the list of passengers in a passenger aircraft that crashed in Nepal," said a Foreign Ministry official. "We are working to check whether the passengers were on board and the damage...

13 agreements signed cover cooperation in space, hydrogen, SMEs

PARIS-- French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed hope for visiting South Korea at an early date to hold talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol, Seoul's top envoy here said Sunday. Ambassador Choi Jai-chul said he presented his credentials to Macron at the Elysee Palace on Friday and then had an hourlong conversation, joined by several other new foreign ambassadors. Macron was quoted as saying...

ABU DHABI -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Saturday he expects to see "big achievements" from his state visit to the United Arab Emirates as he arrived with a business delegation representing some 100 firms. Yoon made the remark while meeting with top UAE officials at Abu Dhabi International Airport immediately after his arrival, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eu...

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo has sought support from Vietnam for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan, his office said Saturday. Kim embarked on a trip on Thursday to Vietnam and Indonesia to discuss expanding economic and security cooperation with the countries. During a meeting with Phan Van Mai, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Co...

President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for the United Arab Emirates on Saturday as part of a two-nation swing focused on promoting South Korean exports especially in energy and arms. Yoon is set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on a state visit, the first by a South Korean leader since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980, and meet with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During his fou...

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reaffirmed their commitment to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in their bilateral summit held here in Washington on Friday. The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to further enhancing trilateral cooperation among their countries and South Korea to that end, according to their joint statement, released by the Whit...

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden underscored the importance of a strong US-South Korea alliance on Thursday, saying the countries are stronger when they work together. The US leader also used the famous phase of US Forces Korea, "Katchi Kapshida" or Let's go together, in a statement released by the White House to mark Korean American Day. "One hundred and twenty years ago today, a group of ...

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is widely expected to continue its provocations this year, presenting a very serious challenge for the entire international community, South Korea's ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong said Thursday. Cho said part of the reason for North Korea's continued provocations may be because leader Kim Jong-un is not happy with his "utter failure" in developing the Nort...

WASHINGTON -- The United States remains ready and capable to deter and counter any potential aggression against South Korea under its extended deterrence, a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday, in apparent opposition to possible nuclear armament of its Asian ally. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said earlier this week that Seoul may deploy tactical nuclear weapons "or possess its own nuclea...

Compromise revealed at latest public debate ‘half-hearted,’ victims say

China’s visa ban on South Koreans following Seoul’s tighter COVID-19 curbs on Chinese travelers is the kind of tit-for-tat spat the two Asian neighbors will have to deal with on multiple fronts for some time, experts said Thursday. China this week stopped issuing short-term visas in Korea for business visits, tourism, medical care, transit and other personal matters -- a response to what Beijing...

WASHINGTON -- The United States is working with South Korea and Japan to strengthen their trilateral cooperation against North Korea's reckless provocations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Wednesday. The top US diplomat also reaffirmed US support for Japan's new National Security Strategy that will arm Tokyo with counter-strike capabilities. "In the face of the DPRK's unlawful ...