South Korea’s fifth-biggest island, Ganghwado, off the coast of Incheon is a place steeped in history.Its strategic location has made it a vital military outpost for centuries, and it was the site of numerous battles from the Three Kingdoms period to the 20th century. During the Goryeo Kingdom, which lasted from early 10th to 14th century, Ganghwado was briefly the location of the country’s capital during an invasion by the Mongolian dynasty of Yuan that held power in China in the 13

A task force and a situation team will be launched to deal with the recent decision by Japan to remove Korea from its “whitelist” of trusted trade partners, Seoul’s presidential office said Friday.“(Cheong Wa Dae) expresses deep regret over the Abe government’s decision to remove Korea from the whitelist,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said.  Saying Seoul had continually called for dialogue with Japan, she added that efforts had been made to reso

Seoul will be forced to reconsider its security cooperation with Tokyo, should Japan take further trade-curbing measures, South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday. According to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, Kang gave the warning during her meeting with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono in Bangkok, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum.“If the decision (to remove South Korea from the trade whitelist) is made at tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting,

North Korea has indicated its willingness to resume talks with the US “very soon” at an undisclosed meeting between high-ranking officials at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last week, foreign news outlets reported Wednesday.  Citing unnamed senior officials from the Donald Trump administration, the Associated Press and Reuters reported that the two sides met at the inter-Korean border sometime last week without specifying the date. According to the reports, a high-ranking official

The conflict between South Korea and Japan over trade and historical issues is likely to intensify in the coming days, but prospects of a diplomatic solution remain unclear. Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-wha said in a Cabinet meeting Friday that there is “significant” possibility of Japan removing Korea from its whitelist of trade partners. Such a move will result in Japanese firms requiring government approval for individual shipments to Korea of most materials and produc

The three North Koreans who crossed into South Korea in the East Sea will be returned to the North, the Ministry of Unification said Monday. The three North Koreans crossed into South Korean waters late Saturday on a wooden boat. The vessel was detected by South Korean Navy and towed into a military port in Gangwon Province on Sunday. “The government plans to return the North’s wooden boat and the crew across the Northern Limit Line in East Sea this afternoon,” the Unifica

A Russian fishing vessel and its crew, including two South Koreans, held by North Korea have returned home, the Ministry of Unification said Sunday. The South Korean fishermen were held in North Korea along with 15 Russian crew members, after their ship Xiang Hai Lin 8 was seized by North Korea’s coast guard in the country’s northeastern waters on July 17.  The Russian crab fishing boat arrived in Sokcho in South Korea’s Gangwon Province at about 1 p.m. on Sunday, after ha

South Korea sent a message of “strong complaint” to Russia over its military aircraft’s violation of Korean airspace, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Seoul has also filed formal complaints to China over its military aircrafts entering the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone. Earlier in the day, a number of Chinese and Russian military aircrafts engaged in a joint drill entered the KADIZ, with one Russian plane twice entering Korean airspace over the Dokdo Islets in the East Sea.

Cho Kuk, senior secretary to the president for civil affairs and justice, is once again in the spotlight, drawing fire from conservatives and fueling a feud between the ruling and opposition blocs. This time around, Cho -- a longtime target of the conservative opposition -- is drawing criticism for comments on social media related to Japan’s decision to impose trade restrictions in apparent retaliation over court rulings on Korean forced labor victims. While Cho has made over 40 posts

The latest rocky patch in South Korea-Japan relations appears likely to continue for some time, with neither side willing to make concessions.The Seoul-Tokyo relations have hit a new low following Tokyo’s decision to apply standard conditions on exporting key industrial materials to South Korea, thereby increasing the import process to up to 90 days. Japan claims that the changes, which slow the importing of materials such as fluorinated polyimides, were made in in response to Se

The government and political parties are to establish an emergency cooperation body to respond to Japan’s trade restrictions against South Korea, the parties and the presidential office said Thursday.The agreement, reached at a meeting of President Moon Jae-in and the leaders of five political parties, called on Japan to immediately withdraw the measures and said that any further trade restrictions would threaten the security of Northeast Asia. According to the agreement, the governme

Seoul and Washington are working on a possible visit to South Korea by US national security adviser John Bolton, a local news outlet reported Thursday. “South Korean and US authorities are consulting over Bolton’s visit to Korea,” Yonhap News Agency quoted an anonymous official with Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying. According to the report, Bolton’s Seoul visit is being arranged on the occasion of his trip to Japan. Japanese media earlier reported

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday highlighted the role of the prime minister in diplomatic affairs, saying the country needs to operate a “two-top” system of summit diplomacy.  “With the demand for summit diplomacy increasing rapidly, it has become difficult for the president to handle it alone. Therefore there is a need for the president and the prime minister to divide the roles to work on summit diplomacy together,” Moon said. Moon added that due to his government&

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday appointed Yoon Seok-youl as the new prosecutor-general, running headlong into fierce criticism from the opposition. Yoon’s term as prosecutor-general will begin July 25, replacing Moon Moo-il as the country’s top prosecutor.  With Moon forging ahead with Yoon’s appointment, the president has now appointed 16 individuals to high-level posts without the parliament adopting a confirmation hearing report. Under the law, a large number of high-l

President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged Japan again to reconsider its trade curbs, saying that linking historical and economic issues was a “very unwise move” and that Japan would ultimately be hit harder than Korea. “Japan’s unprecedented action of linking historical issues to economic issues is a very unwise measure that goes against the history of improving bilateral relations,” Moon said at a weekly meeting with his aides.  He added that the two countries had

Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense on Thursday denied reports that the United Nations Command is seeking Japanese involvement in its operations.  “Japan was not a combatant in the Korean War, so cannot become a sending state,” a Defense Ministry official said, ruling out the possibility of Japan sending troops or participating in the UNC without Seoul’s involvement. A sending state is a country that provides troops, materials and other support necessary in a war si

Japan’s decision to impose export restrictions on key hi-tech semiconductor and electronics materials to South Korea is having a political fallout here. President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday reiterated Seoul’s position that the measures are politically motivated, while criticizing Japan’s attempt to justify its actions by linking them to sanctions on North Korea. “The Japanese government is taking measures that impact our economy for political goals, and making comments that

South Korean Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo on Tuesday said Japan’s claim that its hi-tech materials were routed to North Korea was “completely groundless,” calling on Tokyo to stop making false accusations. South Korea and Japan will hold bilateral talks on Friday in Tokyo although the details are yet to be finalized, he added during a press conference.“We have abided by the responsibility of the international community for peace and security by exemplarily controlling ou

The ruling and main opposition parties on Tuesday continued to clash over Prosecutor-General nominee Yoon Seok-youl, with the opposition honing in on his alleged false testimony in his confirmation hearing. The ruling Democratic Party continued to defend Yoon, saying he is fit to lead the prosecution and to continue a reform drive. It added that the confirmation hearing on Monday did not reveal any crippling allegations or evidence against the nominee.  The main opposition Liberty Korea Par

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Tuesday the government will propose additional funding to foster South Korea’s industrial materials production. He emphasized the urgency of nurturing the industry, referring to a recent trade dispute with Japan, as he presided over a weekly Cabinet meeting. “(The government) plans to ask the National Assembly (to approve) the additional funding necessary for that in the extra budget this time,” Lee said.In April, the government proposed a 6