South Korea and Japan appear to be in a war of nerves ahead of their high-stakes negotiations over the thorny issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery as they seek to gain the upper hand in the upcoming consultations. President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a summit at Cheong Wa Dae this week. (Yonhap)A Seoul official on Friday said it was Tokyo that should first propose solutions to the issue involving Korean victims of the colonial-era atrocity. His remarks came a da

Korea’s rise from the rubble of the 1950-53 Korean War is a “message of hope” for Palestinian refugees in the war-ravaged region, the chief of a U.N. relief agency supporting them said Thursday, expressing hopes for a deeper cooperation between Seoul and his agency.Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, speaks during a meeting with reporters in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)“Think of what has happened since the 1950s. You

The ongoing dispute over the South China Sea is posing a tricky diplomatic challenge to South Korea as the U.S. appears to be increasing pressure on its ally to take its side in the name of “freedom of navigation.”Defense Minister Han Min-koo attends a parliamentary budget session on Thursday. (Yonhap)Public opinion is divided over how Seoul should handle the issue: Some argue that Seoul should keep a low profile and prevent itself from falling into a situation in which it has to choose between

From joining China-led financial and infrastructure initiatives to shunning the U.S-led economic sanctions against Russia, South Korea is taking an increasingly pragmatic foreign policy approach, all the while triggering concerns over the potential impact on its alliance with the U.S.President Park Geun-hye and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pose for a photo before their talks at Cheong Wa Dae last week. (Yonhap)Analysts say that South Korea has secured more “autonomy” in its foreign policy decision

This is the fourth installment in a series of interviews with scholars and experts on China as a resurgent Asian power that is changing the regional order. This installment looks into China’s relations and strategy for dealing with the two Koreas. -- Ed.China has apparently reevaluated the value of its communist brethren, North Korea, as a source of strategic leverage amid its reemergence as a great power, according to renowned China expert Suh Jin-young.Suh, professor emeritus at Korea Universi

China urged an early resumption of official maritime demarcation talks with South Korea during a summit in Seoul on Friday, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said Monday, sparking concerns that the talks could rekindle the dispute over Ieodo, a rock in the East China Sea. President Park Geun-hye and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pose for a photo before their talks at Cheong Wa Dae last week. (Yonhap)The ministry revealed its proposal in a press release on its website. Seoul did not mention the proposal in

Cautious optimism emerged for relations between South Korea and Japan, after their leaders agreed Monday to “speed up” negotiations to address one of the thorniest bilateral issues -- Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.Analysts said the first summit between President Park Geun-hye and her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe was meaningful in itself, as it would offer some momentum toward normalizing relations, which have been strained by historical and territorial disputes. “The two

South Korea, China and Japan on Sunday agreed to further “institutionalize” their trilateral cooperation to enhance mutual trust and regional stability by holding their summit on a regular basis and bolstering the role of their cooperation secretariat.Korean President Park Geun-hye, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hold a joint press conference after their summit at Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday. (Yonhap)They also agreed to speed up their negotiations on a trila

 The trilateral summit among South Korea, China and Japan on Sunday helped create the much-needed momentum for cooperation in defusing geopolitical tensions, bolstering trade and economic exchanges and deterring North Korea, analysts said Sunday. South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left)and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hold hands together for a photo before their trilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday. (Yonhap)What was initiated as a regular summit in 20

The Defense Ministry is seeking to curtail the number of active-duty general-level officers to around 400 from the current 440, amid criticism it has failed to fulfill a 2011 reduction plan due to resistance from the top brass.President Park Geun-hye walks with Defense Minister Han Min-koo (second from right), Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Lee Sun-jin (center) and other general-level officers in their new post assignment ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday (Yonhap).The ministry said it was no

This is the third installment in a series of interviews with renowned scholars and experts on China as a resurgent Asian power triggering shifts in the regional order. This installment looks into China’s vision for a regional order and the ongoing Sino-U.S. rivalry. -- Ed. China and the U.S. have been envisioning different regional orders with the former seeking one that encompasses Asians’ unique cultural aspects and the latter pursuing a strictly rule-based approach anchored in its alliance ne

A ruling party lawmaker said Monday that South Korean authorities have detained five members of the militant group Islamic State after they were caught trying to smuggle a key bomb-making ingredient out of the country.Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the Saenuri Party said in a radio interview that they were held here as they tried to smuggle ammonium nitrate which cannot be easily obtained in their home country, Lebanon.“Our authorities blocked them from taking ammonium nitrate to their country,” Lee said

Prosecutors said Monday they were questioning a South Korean mixed martial arts fighter over an alleged fraud.Choi Hong-man showed up at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office on Monday evening, six days after a court issued a warrant to arrest him, prosecutors said.Choi had refused to comply with prosecutors' repeated demands that he appear for questioning over the allegation that he did not pay back HK$710,000 (US$91,600) to an acquaintance of his.Prosecutors said Choi borrowed the mon

South Korea's top diplomat pledged Monday to strengthen efforts to help the Middle East achieve stability.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said South Korea has joined international efforts to defeat the Islamic State militant group at an opening ceremony of a forum meant to boost cooperation between South Korea and the Middle East.Still, he did not elaborate on how South Korea will bring stability to the Middle East marred by conflicts for decades. Separately, Yun said South Korea can be an optimal

Veteran South Korean football administrator Chung Mong-joon on Monday withdrew his FIFA presidential candidacy, vowing to keep trying to bring changes to the organization marred by corruption allegations.Chung made his announcement on his blog, mjfairplay.com, which opened on Monday for both Korean and English-speaking audiences. Chung was slapped with a six-month ban on Oct. 8 by FIFA's Ethics Committee. Then last week, a Swiss court rejected Chung's petition to lift the ban temporarily so he c

South Korea's largest public broadcaster KBS said Monday that it has nominated the head of an affiliate as its new president.The KBS board of directors said it plans to ask President Park Geun-hye to appoint Ko Dae-young as the new head of the broadcaster as early as Tuesday. South Korea's broadcasting law stipulates the president's right to appoint the chief of KBS.Ko, 60, is subject to a parliamentary confirmation hearing, though the National Assembly does not have the power to block Ko's appo

 Seoul City will unveil its new brand, suggested and picked by citizens and visitors, on Wednesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government had revealed three finalists to replace the current brand “Hi-Seoul.” They are “I.SEOUL.U” to emphasize harmony, “seouling” to show the city’s dynamic nature and “SEOULMATE” to represent the city’s friendliness, the city officials explained.The final brand will be picked by weighing 50 percent of early voting, 25 percent of an on-site poll by a council of 1,000 cit

President Park Geun-hye has proposed for her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe to hold a summit on Nov. 2, on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting Seoul is likely to host this weekend, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)An official at the presidential office told reporters that the summit between Park and Abe will be confirmed as soon as Tokyo agrees with the offer. If confirmed, the leaders will be sitting down for a summit for the first time since they took office. Durin

MOUNT GEUMGANGSAN, North Korea -- The three-day reunions for the members of 90 families, separated by the border, ended Monday with overwhelming sadness and dim hopes that reunification would happen during their lifetime. Separated familities bid farewell as South Korean members leave for home at the end of their reunions in Mount Geumgangsan Monday. (Yonhap)Many of the participants, mostly in their 80s and 90s, broke down in tears as their loved ones were led to board their homebound buses that

MOUNT GEUMGANGSAN, North Korea, -- Hundreds of elderly South and North Korean separated family members met with each other for the first time on Saturday since the 1950-53 Korean War in long-awaited and tearful family reunions. Kim Wol-soon, 93, from South Korea is reunited with her 72-year-old son Ju Jae-eun from the North during the second round of family reunions at Mount Geumgangsan, North Korea, on Saturday. (Yonhap)The second batch of 90 families or about 250 South Koreans, many of them in