One-on-one talks between S. Korean, Japanese FMs in Spain seem unlikely: officialsA bilateral meeting between the top diplomats of South Korea and Japan is unlikely to take place on the sidelines of the multilateral gathering in Spain this week as they have yet to arrange their schedule, officials said Sunday. The two countries have been working to set up a one-on-one meeting between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, on the margins of the foreign mi

North Korea said Saturday that it will use the new technologies it recently tested to develop a strategic weapon to counter the US nuclear threat, escalating tensions with the US ahead of its year-end deadline.Pak Jong-chon, chief of the North Korean military's General Staff, also said North Korea has "stored up a tremendous power" and the military is fully ready to put into action any decision of leader Kim Jong-un."The priceless data, experience and new technologies gained in th

Russia provided 1,355 tons of refined oil to North Korea in October, the Voice of America (VOA) reported Saturday.The figure is far much less than the 2,136 tons Moscow reported it shipped to the communist state the previous month. According to the U.N. Security Council website, Russia has provided a cumulative 25,057 tons of refined oil in the January-October period. The U.N. began asking member countries to report the supply, sale and transfer of all refined petroleum products to North Korea i

South Korea and the United States will hold a new round of negotiations in Seoul next week on the sharing of the cost for stationing American troops here, the foreign ministry said Friday, amid few signs of either side giving ground.Seoul's chief negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his US counterpart James DeHart are set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. They last met in Washington early this month.The allies have been st

South Korea seems to have begun exploring concrete ways in earnest to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz amid apparent pressure from the United States.Briefing media on the results of a weekly session of the National Security Council's standing committee Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae said its members reviewed how to contribute to the international community's efforts to protect South Korean people and ships "in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz" and secure maritime

Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is seeking to meet with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha to discuss the issue of wartime forced labor, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday.Arrangements are being made for talks between the two on the sidelines of the Asia and Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Sunday and Monday in Madrid, NHK said.At the possible meeting, Motegi plans to call on Seoul to “rectify its violation of the international law in r

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Congress to pass a defense bill containing a provision restricting the drawdown of American troops in South Korea.On Monday, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees agreed on the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.According to the accompanying conference report, the new bill restricts the use of funds for removing troops from South Ko

President Moon Jae-in will make a two-day trip to China later this month for a Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. According to the presidential office, Seoul is also in talks with Beijing and Tokyo to arrange bilateral summits during the visit.  The trip is scheduled for Dec. 23 and 24, with the trilateral summit to be held on the second day in Chengdu, Sichuan province. “President Moon will discuss practical cooperation among the three countries, and pol

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit China later this month for annual summit talks with Chinese and Japanese leaders, Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday.Moon is scheduled to make a two-day trip to the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu starting Dec. 23.The summit will be joined by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. They plan to "focus consultations on ways to have substantive cooperation among the three countries and have in-depth discussions on regi

A South Korean representative will attend a UN Security Council session set to convene this week following a US request to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches and a possible escalatory provocation, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.The meeting will be held on Wednesday, according to Reuters, just days after the North said it conducted a "very important test" at its Dongchang-ri satellite launch site. The test is presumed to have been a rocket engine experim

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's army during World War II asked the government to provide one sex slave for every 70 soldiers, according to historical documents reviewed by Kyodo News service that highlight the state role in the so-called "comfort women" system. The 23 documents were gathered by Japan's Cabinet Secretariat between April 2017 and March 2019, including 13 classified dispatches from the Japanese consulates in China to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo dating back to 1938, according to K

Wartime documents showed the Japanese government was involved in forcing Korean women to serve as “comfort women” at Japan’s military brothels during World War II, Kyodo News reported Friday. The Japanese army asked that there be one comfort woman for every 70 soldiers, Kyodo reported, citing the documents collected by the Cabinet Secretariat between April 2017 and March 2019.The documents indicate that the Japanese military played an active role in recuiting women, Kanto Gakui

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday the Korea peace process has reached a very important stage and asked China to continue its support for progress in efforts for the complete denuclearization of the peninsula.In a Cheong Wa Dae meeting with China's State Councilor Wang Yi, Moon stressed the importance of Seoul-Beijing partnerships in response to security and other challenges."Close dialogue and cooperation between the two countries will serve as power to stabilize security in

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday made a thinly veiled criticism of the United States over its "Cold War mindset" and "hegemonic acts" while defending China's rise as a "historical inevitability."Wang made the remarks during the second and last day of his trip to Seoul, amid an intensifying Sino-US rivalry over trade, technology and maritime security that has put South Korea in an increasingly difficult diplomatic position."The Cold War mindset is al

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States ended another round of talks Wednesday (US time) on sharing the costs for the upkeep of American troops in the South, with the two sides apart on how much of the burden Seoul should shoulder.Wrapping up the two-day negotiations in Washington, Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, James DeHart, agreed to meet again in Seoul before the end of this month to continue the talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a release.