MOSCOW (AP) -- The foreign ministers of China and Russia are opposing the possible deployment of an advanced American missile-defense system in South Korea.Amid escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear arsenal, Washington and Seoul last week began formal talks on deploying the sophisticated THAAD system.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a news conference Friday after meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that putting the system in South Korea would ``inflict direct harm to the

In defiance of international resolutions, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has instructed his aides to conduct additional rounds of atomic tests to beef up the country’s nuclear capabilities, state media said Friday, prompting Seoul’s stringent censures. Apparently overseeing a ballistic missile launch Thursday, Kim stressed the need to continue “nuclear explosion experiments necessary to estimate the destructive power of newly built bombs and to increase nuclear strike capabilities,” the North’s

Relations between the two Koreas appear to be hanging by a thread as Pyongyang declared plans to abolish all bilateral exchange projects, confiscate all South Korean assets left in the North and stage military actions.　The announcement was made Thursday by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland in charge of cross-border affairs, which took issue with the South’s unilateral pullout from a joint factory park in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong last month and the hal

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday introduced new consuls general for San Francisco, Sydney, Chicago and Frankfurt. As part of a regular reshuffle, it also appointed 10 directors general and four deputy directors general including those in charge of North American and Northeast Asian affairs and preparing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.  Shin Chae-hyun (Yonhap)Shin Chae-hyun, director general for North American affairs, was tapped as the new head of the consulate general in San Francisco.

As the international community, including China, sets about sanctioning North Korean vessels in line with a U.N. resolution, North Korea is seen scurrying to counter the movement by deactivating identification devices on its ships and banishing them from the map. China plans to bar North Korean boats currently docked at its harbors from returning to their home ports starting Thursday, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun daily reported Wednesday, citing traders traversing between the two nations. On top of an

South Korea said Tuesday it will pull out from a trilateral trans-Korea logistics project with Russia as it unveiled a new set of standalone sanctions chiefly targeting North Korea's financial and shipping networks. The decision on the Rajin-Khasan logistics project in particular reflects Seoul's toughening line against Pyongyang as it had been the key piece of President Park Geun-hye's much-trumpeted “Eurasia Initiative.”  A coal truck is headed to Namyang, North Korea, after departing from the

Following a series of recent sexual harassment cases, the students at Seoul National University will now be required to take courses on sexual violence prevention along with cardiopulmonary resuscitation as part of new graduation requirements, the school said Monday. The rule will take effect after reviews of departments and a deliberation by the education operation committee scheduled for Wednesday, starting with this year’s freshmen. Students, their families and staff attend an entrance ceremo

South Korea said Monday that it plans to unveil a fresh set of unilateral sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday, which would likely include a port entry ban, as it seeks to ratchet up pressure on its wayward neighbor in line with the latest U.N. resolution. The announcement will be made by Lee Suk-joon, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, with the participation of foreign and unification ministries and other agencies, the office said. The new measures are expected to be

South Korea plans to unveil further standalone sanctions against North Korea this week, including a ship entry ban, as part of efforts to tighten its squeeze on its errant neighbor and shore up a recent U.N. resolution, officials said Sunday. While the Security Council was crafting fresh measures, Seoul has been speeding up its own sanctions drive in response to the North’s latest nuclear and missile tests, shutting down a joint factory park across the border. The fresh steps will likely include

Seoul is coming under increasing pressure to sharpen its strategic calculations as its relations with China appear to have plunged to their lowest ebb in years, amid friction over plans to station an advanced U.S. missile defense asset on the peninsula. The downturn came as the security dynamics surrounding Northeast Asia took a new turn, given that Pyongyang tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last month and launched a rocket early this month. The provocations prompted South Korea and th

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong on Tuesday warned of a possible “destruction” of bilateral relations, reiterating the country’s opposition to the projected introduction of advanced U.S. missile assets on the peninsula. At a meeting with Kim Chong-in, interim chairman of the main opposition The Minjoo Party, the envoy stressed that a stationing of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system will dent Beijing’s security interests and in turn take a toll on the relationship. “Much

A South Korean sailor was released Tuesday nearly two weeks after a United Arab Emirates-registered oil tanker was hijacked off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire that led to a dramatic nighttime rescue mission by the Nigerian military, said Seoul’s Foreign Ministry. The unidentified seaman was taken hostage on Feb. 11 along with 17 other crew members from China, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Ghana, the ministry said. The Panama-flagged Maximus, owned by a UAE company and on lease to a South Korean shippin

Among dual-income couples in their 20-40s, the wives spend more than twice the time than their husband in taking care of children, a government study said Tuesday. The Health and Welfare Ministry unveiled results of a survey conducted from Dec. 7-20 on 2,000 South Koreans aged 19 or more about low fertility and aging trends. According to its outcome, the mothers of elementary school-level or younger children spend an average of 2.48 hours a day on weekdays and 4.21 hours on weekends taking care

 Just ahead of its fourth nuclear test last month, North Korea had offered bilateral talks on sealing a peace treaty, but the proposal failed to materialize as the U.S. stood by its denuclearization priority, Seoul and Washington officials confirmed Monday. The overture was reportedly made “days before” the Jan. 6 detonation through the New York channel based in Pyongyang’s permanent mission to the U.N. But their exchanges fell through after the North brushed off the U.S. counterproposal that de

The United States on Thursday put in place a package of its strongest, most comprehensive standalone sanctions yet against North Korea in punishment for its fresh nuclear and long-range missile tests, also targeting cybercrimes, human rights violations and other illicit activities. President Barack Obama signed the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act into law, the White House said. The House of Representatives initially voted nearly unanimously to pass the bill about a week after th

Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo came under fire Monday after reversing his claim that the government possesses documents to corroborate North Korea’s suspected rerouting of income from a joint industrial park for military uses. The diversion allegation served as the primary grounds for Seoul’s decision to pull out from the Gaeseong factory complex last Wednesday. Since the district’s establishment in 2004, South Korean cash totaling 616 billion won ($511.4 million) has been transferred mainly

Controversy is snowballing after Seoul claimed the majority of its investment in a joint factory park has been funneled into North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, which critics say virtually marks a confession to its years-long self-contradictory breach of international resolutions. Announcing a pullout from the Gaeseong industrial park last Wednesday, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo singled out Pyongyang’s siphoning of its proceeds as the main rationale behind its decision. Since the c

Controversy is snowballing after Seoul claimed that the majority of its investment in a joint factory park has been funneled into North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, which critics say virtually marks a confession to its years-long self-contradictory breach of international resolutions. Announcing a pullout from the Gaeseong industrial complex last Wednesday, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo singled out Pyongyang’s siphoning off of its proceeds as the main rationale behind its decision.

Seoul and Washington on Sunday declared formal talks on a stationing of advanced U.S. missile defense assets on the peninsula, reflecting North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats attested once again by its ostensibly successful fresh long-range missile test earlier in the day. “South Korea and the U.S. assess that the North’s latest nuclear test and long-range ballistic missile launch demonstrate its grave threats of atomic bombs, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles to the peace and

Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Friday pledged to take an “active” response to North Korea’s looming missile test, raising the possibility of a surprise launch and calling for airtight military readiness and effective utility of reconnaissance assets. Han convened a meeting with senior officials at the ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff to assess the current security situation and review its military readiness after Pyongyang unveiled plans to fire a long-range rocket between Feb. 8 and 25. The