South Korea's new government will continue prioritizing its relations with the United States over China, Seoul's foreign minister-nominee said Wednesday, stressing the importance of the alliance between the two countries. Yun Byung-se made the remarks in a report submitted to independent lawmaker Park Joo-sun ahead of his parliamentary confirmation hearing. "The U.S. is our country's first-prio...

On her first day as president, Park Geun-hye started her official duty as the commander-in-chief as the nation confronted renewed North Korean nuclear threats. At 12 o’clock sharp, she mobilized the military hotline with Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Gen. Jung Seung-jo to ensure a robust security posture. “This is President Park Geun-hye,” she said from her private home in southern Seoul. “I appr...

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Monday that Japan should face its history and take measures to cure the deep scars it inflicted on the hearts of Koreans during its colonial rule here if the two countries are to establish a genuine friendship, sources said. Park made the remark during a meeting with Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, saying that it is regrettable that historical i...

A South Korean activist has sent packages of data verifying South Korea's ownership of the Dokdo islets to Japan's media outlets as part of his protest against the neighboring country's Friday event to promote its territorial claims to the islets. Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University and activist helping promote Korea's Dokdo ownership, said he sent the packages to about 12...

The U.S. Congress is expected to begin discussing a fresh batch of sanctions next week to freeze North Korea’s overseas financial assets to help rein in its diversion of scarce funds to nuclear programs, officials said Wednesday. Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Relations, is believed to have been drawing up a bill aimed at preventing Pyongyang from acquiring hard curren...

South Korea and the Cook Islands will adopt a joint statement this week to establish formal diplomatic relations, making the South Pacific Ocean country the 190th with which Seoul has diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry said Monday. The signing ceremony will be held on Friday in Rarotonga, the most populous island of the insular country. Seoul will be represented by Ambassador to New Zealand P...

Citizens in South Korea’s capital city of Seoul travel 11.1 kilometers for 41.5 minutes a day on average to go to work, with 70 percent using public transportation, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey of 198,000 households in the metropolis conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on their commuting pattern, it also takes them 36.7 minutes to travel 9.76 kilometers on their ret...

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. President Barack Obama will dispatch a delegation, led by his national security adviser Tom Donilon, to the upcoming inauguration ceremony of South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye, the White House announced Friday. “President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Seoul, Korea to attend the Inauguration of Her Excellency ...