The long-fraught ties between South Korea and Japan are plunging to a new low, as their intractable historical issues are bleeding into the economic domain, with voices for reconciliation drowned out by domestic politics, nationalism and mutual distrust.On Monday, Tokyo blindsided Seoul by announcing that it would tighten restrictions on several key chemical exports to South Korea in an apparent response to last year's Supreme Court rulings here against Japanese firms over wartime forced labor.

US President Donald Trump headed home on Sunday after his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean border.A presidential plane carrying Trump and his entourage left for Washington late in the day from a US air base in Osan, south of Seoul, following his two-day stay in South Korea. He arrived in Seoul from a trip to Osaka, Japan, where he took part in a Group of 20 summit.After holding a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in here on Sunday, Trump made a

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa and White House adviser Ivanka Trump on Sunday shared outcomes of the two country’s measures aimed at enhancing women’s participation in economic development and the challenges ahead.Some 60 female civic workers and government officials and businesswomen attended the meeting, titled “The ROK-US Women’s Empowerment Forum,” at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Seoul.  Ivanka accompanied her father, US President Donald Trump, who wa

President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump held a historic trilateral meeting at the Demilitarized Zone on Saturday, after Kim accepted Trump’s unexpected offer to meet at the inter-Korean border. Accompanied by Kim, Trump crossed the Demarcation Line dividing the two Koreas. The two leaders also held talks in the Freedom House at the truce village of Panmunjom.Sunday, June 30Saturday, June 29 

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will travel to the inter-Korean border together with South Korean President Moon Jae-in later in the day. He made the announcement during a meeting with a group of South Korean business leaders at a Seoul hotel. It marks the first official confirmation that Moon will join Trump's "long-planned" trip to the Demilitarized Zone.Cheong Wa Dae has kept it a secret whether Moon would go there or not apparently for security reasons.On his offer of

 WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US President Donald Trump has offered to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean border during his two-day trip to South Korea.Trump made the offer on Twitter on Saturday (Japan time), hours before he flew into Seoul after attending the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan."After some very important meetings, including my meeting with President Xi of China, I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon)," Trump wrote."

US President Donald Trump had a dinner meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday, soon after arriving in South Korea from Japan, where he attended a Group of 20 summit.He landed at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province on Air Force One and was greeted by South Korean and US officials including Washington's top envoy in Seoul, Harry Harris. Trump then boarded the Marine One chopper bound for the US military base in Yongsan in central Seoul. He used a car to reach Cheong Wa

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he expects to have a "really interesting" visit to the inter-Korean border amid keen attention on the possibility of his meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un there.He was speaking to pool reporters just before joining a welcome dinner hosted by President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook at Cheong Wa Dae, Seoul's presidential office, shortly after his arrival in South Korea.On a potential three-way summit between the two Koreas and the

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is scheduled to meet with Ivanka Trump in Seoul later this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. Kang and Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump and also a White House adviser, will both attend a forum under the theme of "strengthening economic power of global women" at a Seoul hotel Sunday, the ministry said. The forum will bring in some 60 female business women, civic workers and government officials, including

OSAKA, Japan -- Having engaged in a brisk round of high-profile bilateral and multilateral summit diplomacy in Osaka, South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed back to Seoul on Saturday. He will have no time to rest this weekend, however, as he will immediately greet US President Donald Trump and hold bilateral talks. Trump's two-day visit to South Korea, his first since November 2017, is widely seen as another crucial event for the slow-going Korea peace process.It comes amid hig

OSAKA, Japan – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday expressed his support for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, relaying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s words to South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The meeting began at 36 minutes past midnight, nearly two hours later than the originally scheduled 10:45 p.m. Despite the late start, Moon and Putin held talks with their aides and Cabinet members in presence until 1:21 a.m., followed by an 8-minute long one-on-one meeti

OSAKA, Japan -- French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his full support for Seoul’s peace drive in a summit with President Moon Jae-in, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.  “(I) fully support President Moon’s Korean Peninsula peace process and (establishing) regional stability. France is prepared to provide all it can (for the process),” Macron was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung. Moon and Macron met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit on reques

OSAKA, Japan -- President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed hopes for closer cooperation with Indonesia, requesting President Joko Widodo’s support. At a summit with Widodo held in Osaka, Japan, Moon stressed the need for closer collaboration between the two countries, while praising developments in recent years, according to Cheong Wa Dae. “President Moon assessed bilateral relations have advanced to the highest level during President Widodo’s term, and expressed hopes for

OSAKA, Japan -- President Moon Jae-in on Friday stressed the importance of free trade, urging more cooperation among G-20 nations.Speaking at the first session of the G-20 summit dealing with trade and global economy, Moon raised concerns on the impact of trade protectionism.  Citing OECD and IMF listing trade conflicts and spread of protectionism as one of the reasons for lowering the world’s growth outlook, he urged G-20 nations to step up collective efforts.“This is the time

With the leaders of the United States and China listening to him, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called Friday for a concerted and responsible role by the Group of 20 member states in ending global trade wars and other economic challenges."The G-20 should show leadership again," Moon stressed, speaking at the first session of this week's annual summit here on world economy, trade and investment.He pointed out that the world is confronted with new challenges amid growing uncertainti