The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan remained at odds in their bilateral meeting held in China on Wednesday, reiterating their respective stances on Tokyo’s wartime forced labor and trade curbs. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, met for 35 minutes on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting with their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Gubei Water Town near the Great Wall in northern Beijing. “Kang strongly urged Kono to retract the country

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet her Japanese counterpart in China in another attempt to ease tensions with Tokyo after a diplomatic feud developed into a trade row and now threatens to weaken security cooperation. Kang, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gathered in Beijing on Tuesday for the ninth in an ongoing series of trilateral foreign ministers’ meetings involving the top diplomatic officials of the three countries. Th

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Monday sought a detailed explanation on Japan’s reported plan to release radioactive water from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown, while expressing safety concerns. Climate, Environment, Science and Foreign Affairs Director Kwon Se-jung summoned Tomofumi Nishinaga, economic counselor at the Japanese Embassy here, to convey the government’s concerns on the possible disposal of contaminated water. “Our government very gravely recogn

The state-run Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has launched a series of events in Seoul to mark the United Nation’s World Humanitarian Day to honor the contribution of people working on the frontline of emergencies. Under the theme “Gather Together for Humanity,” the KOICA will hold a photo exhibition and talk concerts at Seoul Citizens Hall for eight days from Monday to Aug. 26, jointly with Korea NGO council for Overseas Development Cooperation, UN organizations

The late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il supported the continued presence of US troops on the Korean Peninsula even after the eventual unification of the two Koreas, a veteran lawmaker said Sunday. Recalling the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000, Rep. Park Jie-won of the Alliance for Alternative Politics of Change and Hope said the late Kim, the father of current North Korean leader Jong-un, told then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung that the US forces should remain on the peninsula to m

A visit to South Korea by the US special envoy for North Korea this week has sparked speculation that he may meet Pyongyang’s officials to resume stalled denuclearization talks at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom. US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will travel to Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday just after joint South Korea-US military exercises wrap up Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed willingness to restart denuclearization talks

South Korea should target Japan’s “abandonment” of the universal values of human rights and free trade to resolve their escalating dispute, according to professor of Japanese studies Lee Won-deog. Meanwhile, he said, a tit-for-tat response to its retaliatory export restrictions is not a wise strategy.“Given the asymmetry of their economies, a more effective way of pressing Japan is to take actions that follow the universal values or norms,” Lee, a professor at Kookm

US National Security Advisor John Bolton urged South Korea to ramp up its share of costs for stationing American troops here during his visit to Seoul last month, revealing his country’s spending records, according to the Dong-a Ilbo on Friday.When Bolton met South Korean National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong on July 28, he showed a statement with details of the US spending for stationing 28,500 soldiers here, including training fees and wages for overseas dispatch of military f

Discussions are underway for a foreign ministers’ meeting later this month in Beijing, where South Korea, China and Japan can discuss issues concerning Northeast Asia ahead of a trilateral summit expected to take place before the end of the year. “The three countries are in talks (for) a foreign ministers’ meeting,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, adding that details, including the date of the meeting, have not been confirmed. Earlier in the day, Japan

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo will hold a meeting with US counterpart Mark Esper in Seoul on Friday, amid Washington’s growing calls for allies to support protecting shipping routes from Iranian attacks in the Middle East. The US defense secretary’s trip comes as both countries face crucial security issues, including North Korea’s recent missile launches in protest against a South Korea-US military exercise and the building of a global coalition to patrol the Gulf shipping

Korea is gearing up to fire back at Japan after the neighboring country removed its fast-track export status, while seeking ways to mitigate the economic impact of the trading restrictions as the two Asian countries’ bilateral relations sink to a recent rock bottom. The government plans to announce measures to strengthen the competitiveness of the materials and parts industries this week that will come under tighter rules for export approval, following the Tokyo’s cabinet’s dec

The top envoys of South Korea and Japan will hold bilateral talks and a three-way meeting with the US in Bangkok this week as the East Asian neighbors struggle to resolve a diplomatic row heightened by trade restrictions imposed by Tokyo, amid concerns that the measures could hurt global semiconductor chip supply chains.Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa will meet Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Thursday on the sidelines of gatherings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in B

The US Treasury Department on Monday slapped a sanction on a North Korean man for allegedly evading trade restrictions by importing and exporting goods to support the regime’s weapons program.The move came amid growing skepticism over the US president’s North Korea policy, with last week’s short-range ballistic missiles tests by the North and a delay in resumption of denuclearization talks. Kim Su-il, who works in Vietnam, was blacklisted by the US Department of the Treasu

Three North Koreans who crossed into South Korea in the East Sea on Saturday were repatriated to the North, as a daylong investigation uncovered no evidence of espionage activities, the Ministry of Unification said Monday. A wooden boat and the three crew members were transferred to North Korean authorities in the afternoon after the ministry announced that they had departed for the inter-Korean sea border. The government notified the North of the repatriation decision through the inter-Korean l

The Overseas Koreans Foundation, a Foreign Ministry-affiliated organization, was found to have been supporting children of diplomats and expatriates with its scholarship programs designed for educating overseas Korean youths to contribute to the development of overseas Korean communities. The government watchdog Board of Audit and Inspection said Thursday it requested a correction to the organization’s loose standards in selecting scholarship recipients. “Taking account of the Overse

Cheong Wa Dae on Friday named new senior presidential secretaries for civil affairs, job creation and civic society, with a wider Cabinet reshuffle expected next month.  Kim Jo-won, head of Korea Aerospace Industries, was appointed senior secretary for civil affairs, replacing Cho Kuk. Cho served his post for 26 months since taking office in May 2017 as one of President Moon Jae-in’s first senior presidential secretaries. He is expected to be appointed as the next justice minister.&nb

North Korea’s display of military might with short-range missile launches and a newly built submarine this week appears to be in protest of joint South Korea-US military exercises scheduled for next month. The North fired two short-range missiles Thursday from Hodo Peninsula on the east coast, which flew about 430 kilometers and 650 kilometers, respectively, before falling into the East Sea. On Tuesday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

South Korea hopes to deliver food aid to North Korea as initially planned, despite Pyongyang’s refusal to accept it in a show of the regime’s discontent with an upcoming joint military exercise with the US.The Unification Ministry said Wednesday that North Korea’s working-level officials have expressed “a negative view” toward South Korea’s assistance of 50,000 tons of rice, citing the joint military drills scheduled for next month.The World Food Program&rsquo

South Korea agreed to continue consultations with the US over cooperative measures for Washington’s effort to safeguard freedom of navigation in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz off Iran, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who met with US national security adviser John Bolton in Seoul, agreed on “the need for international efforts for the safe voyage of private merchant ships,” according to Ko Min-jung, presidenti

North Korea has been holding a Russian fishing ship carrying two South Korean nationals since July 17, after the vessel drifted into waters off eastern North Korea due to a mechanical problem, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday. The 300-ton red crab fishing vessel, Xiang Hai Lin 8, which sails under the flag of Russia, was apprehended at sea by North Korea authorities and moved to the port city of Wonsan after entering North by crossing the maritime border. The ship was headed to