A Korean court’s action to liquidate seized assets of a Japanese firm involved in wartime forced labor is set to kick off Tuesday, which could aggravate already fragile bilateral relations and prompt Tokyo to retaliate further. 　 　 Japan has warned of strong retaliation if Seoul goes ahead with the sales of assets to compensate victims, with its Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying that Tokyo is looking at “all available measures” and has a “clear direction abou

The foreign ministry has ordered a senior diplomat to return home immediately over allegations that he sexually assaulted a local embassy employee when he was stationed in New Zealand, an official said Monday. The New Zealander has accused the diplomat of groping parts of his body on three different occasions in 2017. The case has drawn fresh attention after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised the issue in a phone call with President Moon Jae-in last week. "We issued an or

New Zealand authorities have heightened pressure on South Korea to cooperate in its probe of a Korean diplomat who has been accused of sexual assault. 　 Winston Peters, New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, urged the Korean government to cooperate by waiving the accused man’s diplomatic immunity and sending him to New Zealand to defend himself. 　 “It’s over to the Korean government, and for them to allow him to waive the diplomatic immunity

New Zealand said Thursday it has expressed disappointment that South Korea's government did not cooperate with a police investigation into allegations that one of its diplomats sexually assaulted a local embassy employee when he was stationed in Wellington. The male employee has accused the Korean diplomat of groping parts of his body over three different occasions in 2017. The case has drawn fresh attention after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised the issue in a phone call with

Moon told Prime Minister Ardern that authorities will deal with the 2017 scandal after confirming facts

A South Korean national has been arrested in Cambodia on charges of attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into South Korea and Japan, prosecutors here said Wednesday. The drug suspect was apprehended in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, after having allegedly been involved in drug trafficking in five Asian countries, according to the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) and the Incheon District Prosecutors Office. An accomplice was also taken into custody on drug charges, they said. The suspe

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has mentioned South Korea as one of America's "democratic friends" that value freedom and economic prosperity under the rule of law, as he criticized China for undermining such values. Pompeo made the remark Tuesday after he and Defense Secretary Mark Esper held annual "two plus two" ministerial consultations in Washington with their Australian counterparts. China was a key topic in this year's meeting. "I'm confident t

A statue installed in a private garden in South Korea showing a man bowing to a sitting girl is stirring controversy both in Seoul and Tokyo, for its potential to further aggravate already fragile bilateral relations. The installation work, entitled “Eternal Atonement,” has been erected on the grounds of the privately run Korea Botanic Garden in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.  The two-piece bronze sculpture features a man in a formal suit bowing on his knees in front of a sea

BEIJING/SEOUL -- China has agreed to resume visa issuance for South Korean students, employees hired to work in the country and those with residence permits, Seoul's top envoy in Beijing said Monday. Ambassador Jang Ha-sung told reporters that the two countries have recently agreed on visa issuance for the three groups: students who were studying or plan to study in China, employees holding Z work visas and those who have valid residence permits. Sources said that visa issuance is expected t

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris has figured out a way to stay cooler in a hot and humid Seoul while keeping his mask on amid the coronavirus pandemic -- go clean-shaven. Harris is now a mustache-free man after removing his signature facial hair at an old barbershop in central Seoul, a video posted on his Twitter page showed. In the video clip, the ambassador says he thought he had to do something to "get cooler" during the muggy and hot summer in the host country while a

The United Nations Command (UNC) launched an official website as it marked the 70th anniversary of its establishment, officials said, in a move seen as part of the US-led entity's push to strengthen its presence and roles on the Korean Peninsula. The website, www.unc.mil, introduces its mission, multilateral contributors, history and roles "in preserving security, stability and enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula," UNC said on its Facebook page on Friday. The UNC had previously s

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has sent a letter to President Moon Jae-in to express hope to beef up joint work between South Korea and his foundation in responding to the new coronavirus, the presidential office said Sunday. The chief of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said in the letter sent on Monday that he was impressed by South Korea's coronavirus response, citing its quarantine measures and the private sector's vaccine development efforts, according to Cheong Wa Dae. If South

Five South Korean nationals who were kidnapped by an unidentified armed group in waters off the western African country of Benin have been released, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The South Koreans were released from southern Nigeria on Friday (local time), around a month after being abducted in waters about 111 kilometers south from Cotonou Port of Benin, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On June 24, the armed group attacked a 994-ton fishing vessel. A total of 30 crewmen we

Two South Korean military planes carrying 293 Korean nationals from Iraq arrived back home Friday morning, amid the severe novel coronavirus outbreak in the Middle Eastern country. 　 Departing from Baghdad, two KC-330s planes arrived at Incheon Airport at around 10:20 a.m., two hours later than the scheduled arrival time due to quarantine procedures and fueling, according to a Defense Ministry official. Of the passengers, 86 said they had COVID-19 symptoms. 　 Health authorities said those con

Defense Minister Jeong kyeong-doo expressed gratitude to the United Nations Command Friday for its decadeslong commitment to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, as the command marked the 70th anniversary of its foundation. The US-led UNC was established on July 24, 1950, based on the UN Security Council Resolution 84, just a month after the outbreak of the Korean War. It is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting South Korea. The Armistice Agre