The US expressed “strong support” for the two Koreas’ plan to conduct a joint study to connect railways across their border, a top South Korean official said Wednesday, after the first meeting of a South Korea-US working group on North Korea issues. 　The US, however, reaffirmed its position that inter-Korean relations and the denuclearization of North Korea should progress in tandem, which analysts say shows Washington’s concerns over a potential difference with its ally. (Yonhap)　“The US expres

The inaugural meeting of a South Korea-US working group aimed at better coordinating their North Korea policy was set to be held in Washington on Tuesday afternoon (EST), according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry. 　Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, was expected to discuss the prospect of a high-level meeting between North Korea and the US, and sanctions exemptions for an inter-Korean railway project, during the meeting with his US coun

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy on Monday headed to the US, where he is expected to launch a working group with his US counterpart aimed at better coordinating their North Korea policy, amid ongoing efforts to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. 　Lee Do-hoon, Seoul’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, is to discuss the two countries’ shared strategy to deal with North Korea with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, during hi

A North Korean senior official rallied support for the Koreas’ efforts to advance peace and condemned Japan over its wartime atrocities during an international forum in South Korea on Friday.  (Yonhap)Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, said that the three inter-Korean summits and North Korea-US summit this year form a “declaration” heralding an era of peace. “After it committed atrocities such as mass abductions, forcible mobilization and massacre, Japan stic

A United Nations committee on Thursday adopted a resolution condemning North Korea’s “longstanding and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights” amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to achieve denuclearization of North Korea. The General Assembly’s human rights committee approved the resolution by consensus without a vote. It is expected to pass the assembly in December for the 14th consecutive year. 　The resolution is largely similar to the previous resolutions on North Ko

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed regret over Japan’s continued criticism of the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)“The government has asked Japan through various channels that Japanese leaders respond wisely to the ruling so that it will not pose obstacles to the development of future-oriented Korea-Japan relations,” said ministry spokesperson Noh Kyu-duk in a statement. “We once aga

The Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Thursday held a presentation for Japanese businesses operating here over a ruling in favor of South Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula amid an intensifying diplomatic row between the neighbors. (Yonhap)Kohei Maruyama, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, stressed that Tokyo’s priority is to protect Japanese firms’ legitimate economic activities here, which analysts see as a thinly veiled threat that Japanese bus

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy is seeking to meet with his US counterpart as early as next week to discuss the launch of a “working group” aimed at coordinating their North Korea policy, according a local news report Wednesday.  South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon (Yonhap)Seoul’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Lee Do-hoon, may visit Washington next week to meet with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, to finalize the cr

The US has told Japan it might resume large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea as early as next spring unless there is tangible progress on the denuclearization of North Korea, according to a Japanese news report Tuesday. 　 (Yonhap)The US has consulted with Japan about the plan a number of times since September, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported, citing Japanese government sources. It floated the possibility of a resumption of two major South Korea-US exercises -- Key Resolve and F

A South Korean who has been held captive by an unidentified armed group in Libya since July remains healthy, an official from the Foreign Ministry said Monday, amid the government’s ongoing efforts to secure his release. “(The Libyan government) confirmed that the South Korea national had been safely held captive in the southern part of Libya,” the official said on condition of anonymity. The South Korean national and three Filipinos were abducted from their work site in Jabal Hasouna in western

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Seoul appears to be less likely to take place this year without more progress in stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, experts said Sunday.　South Korea’s Moon Jae-in administration is pushing to hold the fourth inter-Korean summit between Moon and Kim in Seoul within the year, in the hope of facilitating a breakthrough in the deadlocked US-North Korea talks. 　One of the unexpected achievements from the third summit, which was

North Korea asked the US to delay a planned high-level meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol in New York, citing a hectic schedule, South Korea’s top diplomat confirmed Thursday. 　The State Department said Wednesday that the meeting between Pompeo and Kim, which had been due to take place in New York on Thursday, would now take place at an unspecified later date when their respective schedules permit. South Korea and the US tried to play

The outcome of the US midterm elections is unlikely to change the course of Washington’s North Korea policy but could slow the pace of the Donald Trump administration’s diplomacy with North Korea, experts said Wednesday. The Democrats regained control of the US House of Representatives, where they will seek to keep Trump’s agenda in check, while the Republicans maintained their majority in the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections. (Yonhap)The Democrats have traditionally advocated engagement wi

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol, which was due to take place in New York on Thursday, has been postponed, the State Department said Tuesday. 　The top US diplomat’s meeting with Kim “will now take place at a later date” and they will reconvene when their “respective schedules permit,” according to a statement by State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. 　“Ongoing conversations continue to take place,” it read. 　Nauert did not

Japan has continued to ratchet up pressure on South Korea on Tuesday over a ruling that ordered a Japanese company to compensate South Korean victims forced to work during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea is trying to find a way to “respect” the judiciary’s decision while mitigating the diplomatic fallout with Japan, despite little room for diplomatic maneuver due to the legally binding nature of the top court’s ruling. The Supreme Court last week ruled that Nippon Stee

South Korea was granted a waiver that will temporarily allow it to continue importing Iranian oil after the US reinstated all sanctions on Iran on Monday, according to the US State Department. The US granted the waiver to eight countries, including China and India, the biggest buyers of Iranian oil, to keep crude oil prices stable. The countries will be able to buy Iranian oil for up to 180 days despite the reimposed sanctions. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the s

The Foreign Ministry said Monday that the controversial 2015 deal between South Korea and Japan does not directly violate the constitutional rights of victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery because the deal is only a political statement.  (Yonhap)The victims of Japan’s sexual enslavement during World War II filed a petition with the Constitutional Court in March 2016, saying the government violated their basic rights by signing a deal against them with Japan. The ministry, which was required to

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s health is in relatively good condition, though he has a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure, according to lawmakers briefed by South Korea’s spy agency. (Yonhap)The National Intelligence Service has used 3-D video analysis designed to monitor changes in a person’s body to check Kim’s condition for years, its official told lawmakers at a briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee earlier this week. The NIS is also analyzing a soil sample

The South Korean and North Korean heads of the inter-Korean liaison office met Friday after a month of no-shows by the North Korean side, amid delays in some of their cross-border projects. 　Unification Vice Minister Chun Hae-sung and his North Korean counterpart, Jon Jong-su, held an hourlong meeting at the liaison office in North Korea’s border city of Kaesong to discuss a wide range of issues concerning inter-Korean relations, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry.　The two sides reaffirme

President Moon Jae-in will take a day off Friday, his spokesman said on Thursday. (Yonhap)Moon needs rest because he hasn't taken a single day off since his European trip last month and he's scheduled to go on another overseas trip, spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.It will be Moon's 11th day off this year, including his five-day summer vacation.He has encouraged officials to use up their vacation days. (Yonhap)