South Korea and the US discussed potential humanitarian aid to North Korea and reiterated calls for the reclusive regime to return to dialogue, Washington’s top nuclear envoy said Monday, as Pyongyang may be on track to expand its nuclear program.   　 Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, made the remark after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, who is in Washington through Wednesday for talks with officials at the State Department and the Wh

North Korea appears to have restarted operations at its main Yongbyon nuclear reactor in July, a UN nuclear watchdog said, raising the alarm that the reclusive regime could be increasing its nuclear arsenal.   　 The International Atomic Energy Agency, in an annual report dated Friday, said it detected “deeply troubling” indications that the 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex -- the country’s main source of weapons-grade plutonium -- has been reac

  The second and final group of Afghan evacuees who worked alongside the South Korean government arrived here on Friday, as part of Seoul’s mission to rescue civilians fleeing the war-torn country following the Taliban takeover.  The group of 13 Afghans onboard a C-130 military jet landed at Incheon International Airport at around 1 p.m., after leaving the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Thursday, according to the Foreign Ministry. Their arrival came a day later than the first

A military jet carrying 378 at-risk Afghans who worked alongside the Korean government arrived in South Korea on Thursday, as part of Seoul’s mission to evacuate civilians fleeing the Taliban takeover. 　 The evacuees on board the KC-330 tanker transport plane touched down at Incheon International Airport at 4:24 p.m. on Thursday, after leaving the Pakistani capital of Islamabad earlier in the day, according to the Foreign Ministry. 　 Another plane, carrying 13 remaining p

South Korea is airlifting a total of 391 Afghans out of the war-ravaged country, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, as part of Seoul’s mission to evacuate civilians who worked alongside the Korean government and are therefore vulnerable to retaliation. 　 Afghan allies and their families were expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport aboard military jets Thursday. In the operation, code-named “Operation Miracle,” Korea deployed three military planes to Afghanistan

Unification Minister Lee In-young met with the visiting US envoy for North Korea on Tuesday and together they discussed ways to resume stalled nuclear talks at the earliest and engage with Pyongyang.  During an hourlong breakfast meeting, Lee and the US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, shared their views on the North’s recent attitude and the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, a ministry official said.  Lee stressed the need for the stable management o

Seoul and Moscow on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of close coordination and the need to induce Pyongyang back to the stalled denuclearization talks, in the meeting between the two sides’ top nuclear envoys.  South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk held talks with visiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, who doubles as the country’s top nuclear envoy, on Tuesday. The pair exchanged views on the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula and ways fo

The US holds no hostile intent toward Pyongyang, President Joe Biden’s point man on North Korea said Monday, reaffirming a willingness to meet his North Korean counterparts “anywhere, at anytime.” 　 Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, held talks with South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk in Seoul on Monday, to look for ways to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. Their session comes as the allies are holding combined military drills

The top nuclear envoys from Russia and the US are in Seoul to hold talks with their South Korean counterpart on the stalled nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang amid fresh tension over ongoing US-South Korea military exercises. 　 Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, arrived here Saturday for a four-day visit, days after Pyongyang warned of a “security crisis” over the joint military drills that are due to end Thursday. 　 “I’m looking forward to very clo

The UN-backed vaccine-sharing program COVAX has allocated around 3 million doses of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to North Korea, but it remains to be seen whether the reclusive regime will accept them. 　 According to Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Edwin Salvador, head of the World Health Organization office in Pyongyang, said the program allotted 2.97 million shots of China’s Sinovac to the North during the latest round of vaccine allocation. COVAX is a multinational program that distri

South Korea will continue to monitor the situation in Afghanistan, including the formation of a new government, following the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the country, according to the South Korean ambassador to Afghanistan on Wednesday.  “The embassy will continue to monitor the situation in Afghanistan, including how the international community will respond to the formation of the government, and jointly respond with the international community,” Choi Tae-ho, Korea&rsqu

The White House said it does not intend to pull out troops from either South Korea or Europe, as the US exit from Afghanistan calls into question the credibility of Washington’s security commitment to its allies.   　 US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday in the US made the remark when asked whether Washington would withdraw troops from its allies, including South Korea, like it has done in Afghanistan.   　 “So, the president, as he has said repeatedly, ha

The last remaining South Koreans, including the country’s ambassador, were evacuated from Afghanistan on Tuesday, following the Taliban’s abrupt takeover of the country. 　 South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said four Korean nationals -- three diplomats and one civilian -- left the Kabul airport at around 9 a.m. Seoul time, and safely arrived in a third country in the Middle East. 　 　 The three embassy personnel, including Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, had remained in Afghani

North Korea views its ties with China as “fundamentally distrustful,” despite its economic dependence on its largest trading partner, a US think tank said Tuesday.  In a report titled “Wilson Memo: The Unique Relationship Between China & North Korea,” the congressional relations office at Washington’s Woodrow Wilson Center analyzed China-North Korea relations to help US policymakers make informed policy on the North.  “North Korea is relativel

South Korea temporarily shut its embassy in Afghanistan on Sunday and evacuated most of its diplomatic personnel to a third country in the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.   　 The decision was made amid surging chaos and uncertainty, as Taliban forces entered the capital city Kabul and effectively took control of Afghanistan on Sunday, after US-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Many countries have temporarily closed diplomatic missions and have been scrambling

Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, is expected to visit Seoul later this week, fanning speculations of a possible trilateral session among Seoul, Washington and Moscow.  Kim is expected to arrive here on Saturday for a four-day stay, about two months after his first visit in June, local media outlets reported on Monday.  During Kim’s stay, Russia’s nuclear envoy, Igor Morgulov, could also visit Seoul, raising possibility of a trilateral session with

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the fragility of the US-led liberal international order, says professor John Ikenberry of Princeton University, but the world should rebuild the system and improve it. Ikenberry, a prominent US scholar whose focus is the liberal international order, acknowledged that the liberal order had been “breaking up” for years and said the pandemic had revealed the system’s limits and the need for international cooperation. “But it’s no

South Korea and the US are discussing the possibility of offering humanitarian assistance to North Korea as a way to engage the recalcitrant regime, but it remains to be seen whether Pyongyang is ready to return to dialogue.  South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone talks Friday, during which the two officials consulted on avenues of cooperation with the North, including humanitarian cooperation, and agreed to continue their efforts

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday requested the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations play a “constructive role” in resolving the issues on the Korean Peninsula. 　 Chung made the call during the South Korea-ASEAN meeting held virtually in the morning, where he discussed various issues, including responses to the pandemic and regional issues, as well as the inter-Korean relations.  　 During the meeting, Chung explained the recent

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will attend a series of virtual talks led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week, with all eyes on whether North Korea will attend one of the meetings. 　 Chung plans to take part in four virtual meetings from Tuesday through Friday, including the South Korea-ASEAN meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three meeting that also involves China and Japan, the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.