About 200 South Koreans returned home from Italy on Thursday aboard a second chartered flight that the government arranged to bring its nationals from the European nation hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The Korean Air plane took off from Rome then made a stopover in Milan to pick up 92 people. It landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at about 4:30 p.m. The government arranged the two special flights to airlift citizens stranded in Italy, a country under nationwide lockd

South Korea said Thursday it is pushing for a special video conference of the leaders of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) member states over the coronavirus. South Korea is in "close consultations" with relevant nations to arrange the event, deputy presidential spokesman Yoon Jae-kwan said at a press briefing. The APT is comprised of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Korea, China and Japan. The move is in line with President Moon Jae-in's emphasis on &quo

Colombian President Ivan Duque expressed hope Thursday for the importation of South Korean-made medical products, including respirators, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Cheong Wa Dae said. Speaking on the telephone with President Moon Jae-in, Duque said he is "deeply respectful" of South Korea's handling of COVID-19 and that Colombia desires to learn from it in "the most challenging moment in its history." The virus has sickened more than 900 people in the South Ame

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice on Thursday said it denied entry to eight foreign nationals who refused to quarantine themselves for two weeks upon arrival here.  “The quarantine office determined it inappropriate for the foreign nationals to enter the country, as they failed to follow the government quarantine measures, despite being notified prior to departure that they would have to self-quarantine,” the ministry said.  Starting Wednesday, Seoul implemented a

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held phone talks Thursday over the North Korean nuclear issue and joint efforts for lasting peace on the peninsula, the foreign ministry said. Lee Do-hoon, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea and deputy secretary of state, spoke over the phone in a show of their continued coordination on peace efforts. The conversation

South Korea called Wednesday for Japan to allow essential visits by businesspeople, the foreign ministry said, as Tokyo was set to tighten entry restrictions to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Kim Jung-han, director-general for Asian and Pacific affairs at the ministry, made the call during a videoconference with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeki Takizaki, as Tokyo was set to enforce an entry ban on foreigners from an additional 49 countries and territories, including South Korea and t

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday announced an entry ban on foreigners coming from 49 countries and territories, including South Korea, China and the United States, in its latest move to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak. Under the new measure, those who had been staying in the designated places for two weeks will not be allowed to enter Japan. Japan previously barred the entry of people from the southeastern city of Daegu and several nearby counties that have reported large

A South Korean government-chartered plane with 309 citizens on board returned from coronavirus-hit Italy on Wednesday, amid the worsening virus outbreak in the European country. The Korean Air flight from Milan landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at about 2:30 p.m. It was the first of the two flights the government has sent to airlift citizens stranded in Italy, a country under nationwide lockdown due to the virus spread. The second plane is set to depart from Rome after a

South Korea provided a massive bank loan to establish diplomatic relations with Hungary in 1989, a declassified diplomatic document revealed Tuesday. 　 Seoul pledged Budapest an economic cooperation fund of $650 million that combined direct investments, loans and other financial support, according to the agreed-upon minutes dated August 1988. 　 Of the total $250 million in bank loans, Seoul was asked to execute half of the amount, or $125 million, as a precondition to the forging of diplomati

President Moon Jae-in and his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Werner Iohannis, exchanged congratulatory letters Monday to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their countries' diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry said. In his letter, Moon welcomed the steady expansion of bilateral cooperation since the establishment of relations in 1990, while noting the recent strengthening of cooperation in the nuclear reactor, educational and cultural sectors. He also voiced expectation that the

A South Korean government-chartered plane departed for coronavirus-hit Italy on Monday to bring home hundreds of citizens, amid growing concerns over their safety in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe. The plane, bound for Milan, is one of the two flights that the Seoul government has arranged to bring about 530 citizens back to Korea. The other flight is expected to depart here for Rome on Tuesday. The first flight, with about 310 people, is set to arrive in Korea on Wednesday,

The foreign ministry reconfirmed Monday that three South Korean coronavirus test kits can be exported to the United States as they were given pre-emergency use authorization numbers from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Saturday, the foreign ministry issued a press release that the three unidentified companies have gained preapproval in the FDA's emergency use authorization (EUA) process and that their diagnostic devices can be sold in the US market. But the announcement created

Forty-seven South Koreans left Bolivia on a US-arranged chartered flight, the South Korean Embassy in La Paz said, after the South American nation imposed a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. The flight departed Saturday (Bolivia time) with South Korean residents and members of the Korea International Cooperation Agency's volunteer group on board, according to the embassy. Of the 40 members of the volunteer group who applied to take the special flight, two could no

The foreign ministry called in Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming on Friday over Beijing's banning of the entry of foreigners without prior notice, which a senior Seoul official called "regrettable." Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn met the Chinese envoy, a day after Beijing announced it would temporarily suspend the entry of foreigners, even those with visas or residence permits, starting Saturday, to help prevent any inflow of COVID-19. Appearing at the ministry, Xing

South Korea has put the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia on its priority list for exporting quarantine supplies, such as coronavirus test kits, a Seoul official said Friday, as nearly 120 countries seek to secure the products manufactured here. The foreign ministry official made the remarks a day after the government held the first meeting of an interagency team formed for discussions on striking a delicate balance between domestic demand and the export or humanitarian pro