The planned transfer of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea is a testament to the strength of the bilateral alliance, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday.Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, made the remark at a forum in Washington as he sought to dispel concerns about a rift in the alliance caused in part by South Korea's decision to end a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.The General Security of

Britain's top official for Asia dispelled concerns Tuesday about lingering uncertainty over the future relationship between South Korea and Britain after London's expected departure from the European Union.Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific Heather Wheeler stressed that backed by a set of institutional frameworks, such as a recently signed bilateral free trade agreement, the ties between the two countries are "certain.""There shouldn't be any undue s

South Korea and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to launch a vice-ministerial consultative body aimed at strengthening economic cooperation after London's expected departure from the European Union.Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho and Britain's Minister for Asia and the Pacific Heather Wheeler inked the MOU on the establishment of a Senior Economic Dialogue, Seoul's foreign ministry said.  "In order to create new opportunities for economic cooperation in a

South Korea and Britain will open a high-level dialogue channel this week to deal with the aftermath of Britain's departure from the European Union, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.Via the channel, the two countries will discuss a variety of issues ranging from bilateral economic cooperation and finance to climate change and energy, according to the ministry.The measure is the latest in a series of preparations ahead of Britain's exit from the EU, known as Brexit, slated for the end of Octo

The leaders of South Korea and Bulgaria agreed Friday to bolster strategic partnerships between the two nations in various fields, including nuclear energy, ICT and arms production.The accord came at summit talks here between President Moon Jae-in and visiting Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, according to Cheong Wa Dae.Moon began the Cheong Wa Dae summit by expressing his gratitude for Sofia's help in the search for missing South Koreans in a May river cruise boat sinking on the Danube River in Bu

South Korea and the United States held the second and final day of biannual defense talks in Seoul on Friday on regional security and other alliance issues, the defense ministry said.The 16th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, which began on Thursday, took place at a time when the allies are facing tricky issues such as Seoul's termination of a military information-sharing deal with Japan and security challenges posed by North Korea."The two sides are to discuss the overall security issu

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held talks in New York Thursday but produced no breakthrough in a row over trade and wartime history.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her new Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, their first meeting since Motegi took office earlier this month. Kang said the two sides reiterated their respective positions on the bilateral dispute, which has seen Tokyo impose export cont

South Korea appointed a former career finance ministry official the new chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks with the United States, the foreign ministry said Thursday.Jeong Eun-bo, who served as vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission and had a long career at the finance ministry, will lead the South Korean team to negotiate a new Special Measures Agreement, according to the ministry.The pact between Seoul and Washington stipulates how much South Korea should contribute to

The head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization welcomed South Korean President Moon Jae-in's recent proposal to inscribe the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas on the list of UN-designated world heritage sites, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, made the remark during talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday (US time), the ministry said in a releas

The top diplomats of South Korea and Saudi Arabia held talks in New York on Wednesday (US time) and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and other regional issues, the foreign ministry said.During the talks with her Saudi counterpart, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed satisfaction that the amicable bilateral relationship has led to developments in such fields as energy, infrastructure and information and communication technology, the ministry said in a r

South Korea and the United States opened biannual defense talks in Seoul on Thursday to discuss regional security and other pending alliance issues, the defense ministry said.The 16th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, set to run through Friday, came at a time when the allies are facing sensitive issues, such as Seoul's termination of a military information-sharing deal with Japan and ongoing negotiations on the sharing of costs for the stationing of American troops here.Deputy Defense Minist

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China met in New York Wednesday and agreed to continue cooperation over North Korea's denuclearization, a Seoul official said.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, held talks for 30 minutes on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to the South Korean foreign ministry official, who added that it was their first meeting since Wang visited Pyongyang in early September. On that trip, Wang

South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed back to Seoul on Wednesday after a hectic visit here highlighted by talks with US President Donald Trump and a speech at a UN session.Moon had his ninth summit with Trump on Monday, in which they discussed ways to make headway in working-level nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington that will resume soon. They reaffirmed the principle of avoiding hostile acts against Pyongyang and help it move toward a bright future in case of denuclearization.The

US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe noted the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea during their talks in New York Wednesday, the White House said.In their meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Trump and Abe discussed issues of mutual interest and signed a preliminary bilateral trade agreement.The White House did not elaborate on the discussions on South Korea, but the two leaders are likely to have touched on the escalating

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan held trilateral talks on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York this week ahead of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, Lee Do-hoon, met his US and Japanese counterparts -- Stephen Biegun and Shigeki Takizaki, respectively -- on Tuesday to discuss three-way cooperation in addressing the North Korean nuclear issue. W