The U.S. and South Korea are working closely together to coordinate policies on “tricky issues,” a visiting U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights said Tuesday, indicating the allies’ ongoing discussions over whether to send food aid to the impoverished state. Special envoy Robert King arrived here Sunday for talks with South Korea’s foreign and unification ministry officials as recent reports...

President Lee Myung-bak named South Korea’s ambassador to Vietnam, Park Suk-hwan, the new first vice foreign minister Tuesday in a reshuffle that also replaced four other vice-ministerial posts and three presidential secretaries, a presidential spokesperson said. Park, 56, a career diplomat, entered foreign service in 1979 and has since worked mostly for Asian affairs. His previous overseas post...

Choe Kwang-shik, the current director-general of the National Museum of Korea, has been designated as the new administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, replacing Yi Kun-moo, who was removed from the position Tuesday. Holding a Ph.D. in art history from Ohio State University, Kim had served as the president of Association of Korean Modern and Contemporary Art History and director of ...

Some 297 volumes of Korean royal books taken by France during their war in the 19th century will be returned by the Paris government by May, the Seoul government said Monday. South Korea and France officially forged a pact Monday over the return of centuries-old “Oegyujanggak books” as follow-up to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s verbal agreement last year to return the books via a five-year ...

Pro-Lee Myung-bak faction pushes for discussion of constitutional revision Rival parties are at odds over holding an extraordinary National Assembly session this month and a meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and opposition party leader, while a group of governing party lawmakers push for Constitutional amendment. Floor leaders Kim Moo-sung of the ruling Grand National Party and Park Jie-w...