South Korea will ask for New Zealand's support for its push to join a mega free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region during an upcoming ministerial meeting, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday. Seoul's planned application for a membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will be one of the major agenda items for talks between South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor se

South Korea reaffirmed its commitment to comprehensive vaccine support for Asia's developing countries during a virtual session hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to Seoul's foreign ministry Tuesday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon delivered the message at the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting held the previous day. Choi said South Korea will offer a "support package," including vaccine supplies, cold chains, storage logistics, to help improve health car

WASHINGTON -- The US government on Monday advised its people against travel to South Korea amid reports of widespread COVID-19 infections in the Northeast Asian nation. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added South Korea to the "very high" risk Level 4 category, along with five other countries and territories, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Comoros, French Polynesia and Saint Pierre and Miquelon "If you must travel to South Korea, make sure you are vaccinated

Korea to establish presidential committee to manage economic security

South Korea plans to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine within a couple of days in an additional operation amid growing fears of a Russian invasion, the foreign ministry said Monday. A total of 281 Korean nationals, including diplomatic staff, are staying in Ukraine as of Monday, and about 100 plan to leave the nation by Tuesday, it noted. "The government is urging Korean nationals to leave Ukraine as soon as possible via available flights or land routes as a Level 4 travel advisory was iss

TOKYO -- The Japanese government has effectively excluded its 20th century wartime atrocity against Koreans in a letter of formal recommendation for its former gold and silver mine, according to informed sources Monday. Tokyo has launched a campaign to get the Sado mine designated as UNESCO world heritage next year despite Seoul's strong protest. As many as 2,000 Koreans were forced into hard labor at the mine during World War II, as their country was under brutal colonial rule by Japan. "(

Top diplomats condemn recent series of missile launches, urge Pyongyang to return to negotiating table

HONOLULU -- South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Honolulu on Saturday to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including North Korea and disputes over their shared history. The bilateral meeting was held before the foreign ministers were set to hold trilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Hawaiian capital. "Minister Chung stressed that South Korea and Japan are the closest neighbors t

Maintaining the status quo is not an option when it comes to North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Friday, urging the North to quickly return to dialogue. The top South Korean diplomat also insisted maintaining the status quo would actually lead to greater instability not only on the Korean Peninsula but throughout Northeast Asia while having global implications. "As I have repeatedly said publicly, maintaining status quo in the Korean Peninsula issues is not an o

US President Joe Biden has nominated a senior member of the US foreign service, Philip Goldberg, as new US ambassador to South Korea, the White House said Friday. "Philip Goldberg is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Career Ambassador, and currently is the US Ambassador to the Republic of Colombia," the White House said in a press release. Ambassador Goldberg, if appointed, will replace Harry Harris who stepped down when Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021. Sout

Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US and Japan urged North Korea to cease activities that escalate tension and return to dialogue and diplomacy at the earliest, following the regime’s recent flurry of missile tests.  The call was made at the three-way session between South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, and his American and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday (local time). Both bilateral and tril

HONOLULU -- The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, Japan and the United States discussed ways to engage with North Korea in what they called very "productive" and "substantive" discussions held here in Honolulu on Thursday. "We had a very good discussion -- very detailed, substantive discussion about recent developments," US Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim told reporters after his bilateral and trilateral meetings here with South Korea's Noh Kyu-d

The UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation will travel here next week to hold relevant discussions, a UN office said Thursday. Tomas Ojea Quintana will visit the country on Tuesday for a nine-day trip, according to the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul. He is expected to meet with officials from the South Korean government and civic groups on North Korean human rights, as well as North Korean defectors, in preparation for an annual report on the North to be submitted to the

The top Chinese envoy in Seoul issued a congratulatory message Thursday for South Korean short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon who won gold in the men's 1,500m at the Beijing Winter Olympics the previous night. Ambassador Xing Haiming delivered the message through his spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy. "With regard to the athlete Hwang Dae-heon's performance, Chinese people are also positively evaluating it in show of the true friendship of the two countries' people," the embassy o

HONOLULU -- North Korea's relationship with South Korea and other countries is at a critical moment that can move in either direction resulting in confrontation or reconciliation, South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Wednesday, stressing the importance of direct engagement with North Korea. Noh Kyu-duk also said he and his US and Japanese counterparts will discuss ways to persuade North Korea to return to the dialogue table when they meet here on Thursday. "I believe now is a very important