Anticipation is growing here for top-level negotiations on the US Inflation Reduction Act that Korean electric-vehicle makers say would hurt their business, following news of a possible visit to the country by US Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is reportedly coordinating a visit to Seoul to meet with Korean authorities after going to Japan to attend the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sept. 27, according to local government authorities. If her Seo

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, Japan and the United States reaffirmed the countries' commitment to their shared goal of complete denuclearization of North Korea, and joint efforts to deter the regime's nuclear provocations, at a meeting held Wednesday on Tokyo. The three officials, Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Sung Kim, Washington's special representative for North Korea, and Takehiro Funakoshi, director general for Asian and

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy took off to Japan to attend trilateral talks with his US and Japanese counterparts on North Korea and its nuclear development on Tuesday. Kim Gunn, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will meet with Sung Kim, Washington's special representative for North Korea, and Takehiro Funakoshi, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, in Tokyo on Wednesday. The meeting planned for W

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it will review the various suggestions and opinions raised in the consultative group it formed to find solutions to the wartime forced labor issue involving Japanese companies and Korean workers, and vowed to come up with a solution soon. The ministry also said it has not yet set a deadline for when it would present a government solution to the legal dispute, which has risen as a major point of political friction with Japan.  The ministry's resp

With the top court’s decision on wartime forced labor case being pushed back, the government is striving to come up with a diplomatic solution to a legal dispute that has risen as a major point of political friction with Japan. On Monday, the Foreign Ministry held the fourth government-private consultative meeting discussing possible solutions to the forced labor issue. The Supreme Court was expected to deliver a final ruling on the case of Korean victims seeking liquidation of Japanese f

South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed to join forces to take strong measures against North Korea if it conducts a nuclear test, to make sure the regime understands it has clearly made a “wrong decision,” Seoul’s security chief said on Thursday (US time). The three countries also vowed to come up with a joint response to prevent disruption in the global supply chain, South Korea’s National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han said after a meeting with his US and Japane

The United States will look into the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on South Korean automakers, a Korean national security official said after a bilateral talk with his US counterpart on Thursday. South Korea's National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han held a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan on the sidelines of a trilateral security meeting involving Japanese national security adviser Takeo Akiba in Hawaii. "(Sullivan) said IRA does offer more of advantages than

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is expected to meet with the victims of wartime forced labor by Japanese companies, as the country’s top court delayed its ruling on liquidating the assets of the firms.According to officials from the Foreign Ministry, Park is planning to meet with the Korean victims, who are currently waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling that could start liquidation of the Japanese firms’ assets to provide compensation for them. Park’s plan to ho

South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korea International Cooperation Agency will hold the 15th Seoul ODA International Conference on Thursday to discuss the expansion of global development partnership. Held under the theme of “Expanding Horizons for Global Development Partnership,” this year‘s conference will address various aspects of ODA amid rising challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change to increasing regional conflicts. The conference will

As South Korea scrambles to respond to the potential impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act to Korean industries, Seoul agreed to hold formal talks with Washington over the issue. South Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong said Monday (US time) the government has delivered strong concerns to the US that the IRA, which excludes electric vehicles built outside of North America from tax benefits, brings "unfair treatment" to Korean electric vehicle makers. "We stres

South Korea and Mongolia vowed to join efforts for peace in the region and agreed to bolster their strategic partnership in their first bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting held in eight years in Ulaanbaatar on Monday. 　 South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met with his Mongolian counterpart, Batmunkh Battsetseg, to agree on establishing a joint center on rare earth metals, aimed at boosting their bilateral ties in regards to economic security field. They also discussed on a range of i

The South Korean government is sending a delegation of negotiators to Washington to discuss the US Inflation Reduction Act, which excludes electric vehicles built outside of North America from tax benefits, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. The move comes as the US inflation law signed last week sparked concerns among EV makers, as it would get rid of tax subsidies given to EVs assembled in Korea. The act, signed into law by US President Joe Biden last week, also requires the batteri

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and the Asia Exchange Association launched a youth exchange program to bring together young people of Korea, the United States and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. According to the ministry, it held the opening ceremony of the Youth Camp for ASEAN and Friends’ Engagement (YCAFE) inviting 43 students of different nationalities, kicking off the five-day camp program in S

The top US diplomat for East Asia policy and South Korean officials, including Seoul’s chief nuclear envoy, reaffirmed the allies’ commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea in meetings held in Seoul. The two sides also discussed a wide range of topics, including trade issues, during the US diplomat’s three-day trip. Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs of the US Department of State, reaffirmed the commitment on den

North Korea reported four new fever cases in Ryanggang Province on Thursday, just 13 days after the country claimed victory over the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters, Pyongyang’s state media said four fever cases suspected of being infected with the “malignant epidemic” occurred in Ryanggang Province in the northeastern region on Tuesday. Instead of directly referring to COVID-19, the North has been calling the coronav

South Korea and China marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties on Wednesday, holding separate celebratory events in their respective capitals. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries could not hold a joint celebration, but they ran the events simultaneously, with their respective foreign ministers taking part as principal guests in the events, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry. During the events, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpa

Since South Korea established diplomatic ties with China 30 years ago on Wednesday, Seoul-Beijing relations have developed rapidly, most notably in the area of trade. China has become vital to South Korea’s economy, being its largest trading partner. Last year trade volume surpassed $300 billion for the first time, up 47 times from the $6.4 billion recorded in August 1992. However, Korea now stands at a critical juncture to decide the fate of bilateral relations going forward amid int

While South Korea and China celebrate 30 years of their diplomatic relationship this week, Koreans’ dislike for the neighboring country appears to be reaching its peak. According to a survey of South Koreans by Hankook Research on Monday, China was the second-least popular country among five countries -- the United States, Japan, North Korea and Russia. The survey asked 1,000 South Koreans aged over 18 from July 15 to 18 to rank their positive sentiment toward five major countries. Th

Friction between Seoul and Beijing over a US anti-ballistic missile defense system continues, with the two sides issuing statements and rebuttals over Seoul’s position. On Thursday, Seoul flatly dismissed Beijing‘s claim that Seoul had adopted an official policy of not deploying an additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in its territory, saying the US anti-missile defense system is a means of self-defense for Korea. The presidential office also said it expects to n

The top diplomats of South Korea and China met this week, and agreed that bilateral relations should be reinvigorated into a more stable and mature one, for the two countries to become “strategic partners.” While the meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Tuesday was conducted in an “amicable” mood, its outcome may only just be no more than a reiteration of differences on some of the fundamental problems that stan