President Moon Jae-in will arrive in Beijing Wednesday on a four-day state visit that will include his third summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Despite Seoul’s repeated statements about improving bilateral relations, a full thaw in relations before Seoul’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system appears some way off.  (Yonhap)On Tuesday, Seoul’s presidential office revealed the results of Thursday’s summit meeting will be announced in separate statements to the press, recantin

President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral summit meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Moon, who will begin the four-day state visit to China on Wednesday, will be meeting with Xi for the third time, and discussions will focus on security issues and ways to improve bilateral ties, Cheong Wa Dae said. Seoul and Beijing, however, will not issue a joint statement in light of differences in the two sides’ positions on issues surrounding t

The 2018 government budget passed Tuesday, with social security, defense, education and central and local administration spending receiving the biggest bumps. Of next year’s 428.8 trillion won ($392 billion) budget, about one-third, or 144.7 trillion won, has been allocated to areas concerning social security -- welfare, health and labor. The figure is an increase of 11.7 percent from this year, while the overall budget was increased by about 7 percent.  Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon addresses the

As North Korea’s provocations push the US and its allies to take steps to increase pressure on the rogue state, China appears to be growing increasingly uneasy. On Tuesday, the US and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force launched the annual bilateral command post exercise, on the heels of joint South Korea-US air force exercise Vigilant Ace that kicked off on Monday. US military aircrafts taking part in the Vigilant Ace South Korea-US joint exercise are seen at the Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province

The threat of war is growing daily, with North Korea posing the greatest threat to world security, US national security adviser H.R. McMaster warned, as the North continued its rhetoric against Seoul and Washington. In an interview with Fox News, McMaster said that North Korea is making progress in its long range ballistic missile program and that the international community must cooperate in convincing the North’s leader Kim Jong-un that his actions are headed to a “dead end.” North Korea`s Hwa

Military options and naval blockade of North Korea are not being discussed between Seoul and Washington, a high-level presidential official said Friday denying related news reports.(Yonhap)On Friday, a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official told the local media that President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump did not discuss any such measures during their earlier telephone conversations. Since North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in the early hours of Wednesday, Moon and

The US is seeking to tighten the noose around North Korea, while its president resumes his colorful insults against the North Korean leader. Following North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump hinted at further sanctions against the regime.“I will only tell you that we will take care of it. It is a situation that we will handle,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Republican congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday. US Pr

North Korea on Wednesday fired a long-range ballistic missile and declared that it has completed its missile and nuclear armament programs. At about 3:17 a.m. on Wednesday, North Korea fired a long-range missile from a mobile launch platform some 30 kilometers north of Pyongyang. In an announcement later in the day, North Korea’s state news agency claimed that the missile was a Hwaseong-15 model, “tipped with (a) super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the US

Seoul and its allies are on heightened alert with signs linked to missile launch preparations being detected in North Korea, local and foreign government officials said Tuesday. “Signs that match those leading up to a missile launch have been detected in North Korea, and surveillance of North Korea has been stepped up,” an unnamed government official was quoted as saying by the local media. Local news outlets also reported that North Korea operated radar equipment used to track missile trajector

President Moon Jae-in will hold his first summit meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, continuing his plans for strengthening ties with South Asian countries. Sirisena, who began his three-day state visit on Tuesday, is the third foreign leader to come to Seoul on a state visit since Moon took office in May.  President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka (center) arrives in South Korea on Tuesday. YonhapSirisena will be welcomed in an official ceremony at Cheong Wa

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday appointed Han Byung-do as his senior secretary for political affairs. The post had remained vacant since Jun Byung-hun resigned from the post on Nov. 16, after being implicated in a corruption investigation. “Han has a keen understanding of the president’s philosophy in state affairs. As he has shown during the 17th National Assembly, and as the political affairs secretary, he is the right man for conveying the president’s thoughts to the National Assembly,” Cheo

South Korea’s presidential office on Thursday denied reports it is considering halting joint military drills with US Armed Forces during the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  President Moon Jae-in gives a speech at an event promoting the Pyeongchang Winter Games held in New York on Sept. 20. During his trip to the US, Moon said that his administration will do all it can to facilitate North Korea`s participation in the games. Cheong Wa DaeOn Thursday, a number of local media outlets

Constitutional Court chief nominee Lee Jin-sung took the stand at a parliamentary confirmation hearing Wednesday, with opposition parties honing in on his views on national security and a controversy surrounding the term of the chief of the court. Lee is the second Constitutional Court nominee to undergo the confirmation hearing process since President Moon Jae-in took office in May. Moon had initially nominated Constitutional Court Justice Kim Yi-su, who was rejected by the parliament, resultin

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan arrives in Seoul on Wednesday for a four-day state visit.The Uzbek president is set to hold his first summit with Korean President Moon Jae-in.The plans for Mirziyoyev to address the National Assembly, however, has been cancelled on request from Uzbekistan. The visit -- Mirziyoyev’s first to Korea -- marks the latest step in the Moon administration’s efforts to expand Seoul’s diplomatic horizons. (Yonhap)Moon will host a welcome event Thursday, which wi

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan arrived in Seoul on Wednesday on a four-day state visit.The Uzbek president is set to hold his first summit meeting with Korea’s President Moon Jae-in. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan.The visit, Mirziyoyev’s first to Korea, marks the latest step in Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to expand Seoul’s diplomatic horizonsMoon will host a welcome event on Thursday, which will be followed by summit meetings between the two sides. As with US Pre

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday appointed Hong Jong-haak as the chief of the new Ministry of SMEs and Startups, completing his Cabinet more than six months into his five-year term.Hong, Moon’s second choice to lead the SME Ministry, was appointed without parliamentary approval. Although nominees for Cabinet posts are required to undergo parliamentary confirmation hearings, the president does not require the approval of political parties to appoint ministers.  Minister of SMEs and Startups Hong

The move to revise related laws to tighten the reins on the National Intelligence Service is gaining traction, with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea set to propose a revision this week. The revision, which the ruling party says will provide legal grounds for suggestions from the NIS’ own reform committee, calls for tougher control of the agency’s budget and the actions of the president and the NIS chief. National Intelligence Service. YonhapIf approved, the bill would make it mandatory to do

The prosecution on Monday raided the office and home of Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan in connection with the National Intelligence Service’s alleged misuse of its covert operations budget. Choi, a four-term lawmaker of the conservative main opposition Liberty Korea Party, is suspected of having received 100 million won ($91,000) from the NIS in 2014. He was at that time the vice prime minister and finance minister for the conservative Park Geun-hye administration.  Investigators remove records from Rep.

Former President Lee Myung-bak is facing increasing heat over suspicions he was involved in the election interference scandal surrounding the military and national spy agency. Former President Lee Myung-bak enters a vehicle at the Incheon Airport after arriving in the country from Bahrain on Wednesday. (Yonhap)Rep. Kim Dong-cheol, floor leader of the minor opposition People’s Party, on Tuesday urged the prosecution to question Lee, accusing the former president of being the root of “accumulated

 The government on Wednesday rolled out emergency response measures following the 5.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the southeastern industrial city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.The quake occurred at around 2:29 p.m. some 9 kilometers north of Pohang and a series of aftershocks followed, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. A quake that struck South Korea last year at magnitude 5.8 in the nearby city of Gyeongju is the only stronger one on record.The initial quake, the second