Washington has abandoned plans to nominate Victor Cha as the next US ambassador to South Korea, reportedly due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s “bloody nose” strategy against Pyongyang. Cha, a former White House official during the Bush administration, is no longer being considered for the job after he raised concerns with National Security Council officials over the Trump administration’s consideration of a limited military strike against North Korea, as well as its threats t

WASHINGTON -- The United States has withdrawn former White House official Victor Cha from consideration for ambassador to South Korea, a US official said Tuesday.The official on the White House National Security Council confirmed the decision, which raises new concerns about the Donald Trump administration's policy toward Seoul and Pyongyang.The Washington Post earlier reported Cha expressed disagreement with the Trump administration's considerations of a limited military strike on North Korea,

A total of 26 heads of state or government from 21 countries, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will visit South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Abe is the only leader from the four regional powers -- the US, China, Japan and Russia -- visiting South Korea during the Winter Games. President Moon Jae-in will host a reception for foreign dignitaries ahead of the opening ceremony o

A total of 26 heads of state or government from 21 countries, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will visit South Korea during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Abe is the only leader from the four regional powers -- the US, China, Japan and Russia -- visiting South Korea during the Winter Games.  Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, speaks during a p

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed hopes for improved relations with China during talks Sunday in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Japan is making efforts to further a gradual thaw in relations dogged by history and a territorial dispute. Concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons program also featured prominently in the discussions. Japan has pushed for stricter measures against the North, which fired a ballistic missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido in August. 

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has voiced strong support for the recently resumed inter-Korean dialogue, saying talks between the two Koreas should be pursued under any circumstances.In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, conducted after his trip Friday to the Joint Security Area (JSA) and the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, which separates South and North Korea, Schroeder underlined the importance of patience in getting over differences caused by decadeslong

PAJU -- Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday expressed his support for fresh inter-Korean rapprochement during his first visit to the heavily-fortified border between the two Koreas. "National division is not something that can be overcome overnight, it needs a long time," he said during a visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA) inside the Demilitarized Zone, where armed troops from both sides stand face to face. "The South and the North should not stop the attempt to approach eac

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha promoted the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as a chance to defuse tensions with North Korea at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Her remarks came amid growing concerns that North Korea’s current peace overture is part of a propaganda effort, and that the reclusive regime might stage a provocation following the resumption of South Korea-US joint military drills after the Olympics. In her keynote speech a

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that the conciliatory mood in inter-Korean relations created by North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics might not continue after the sporting event ends. 　“Given the circumstances, I don’t think that the conciliatory mood will continue after the PyeongChang Olympics ends,” Ban said during a seminar in Seoul on the PyeongChang Olympics and North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. “Looking back at the past, the North ha

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stressed the need for the private sector's role in financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, her ministry said Thursday.Kang attended a closed-door debate session on new approaches to achieving the UN's 2030 agenda for economic and social development, on Wednesday (local time).Kang called on government leaders to harness new technology and innovation as a way of expanding private financing f

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's offer to visit South Korea, possibly to attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games."The government welcomes Japan's official notification of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's trip to South Korea," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun told a press briefing.The remarks came hours after the Japanese Embassy here requested discussions with Seoul to arrange the Japanese leader's visit.

The South Korean government was embroiled in controversy for treating the North Korean delegation “excessively” well here during its two-day visit to the South aimed at inspecting venues and facilities where the two Koreas plan to hold joint cultural events. Hyon Song-wol (Yonhap)　Led by Hyon Song-wol, the head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, the advance team from Pyongyang inspected possible venues in Gangneung and Seoul on Sunday and Monday, respectively, where the North Korean art troupe is set to

TOKYO -- South Korea needs to take a "long-term" approach in dealing with the decadeslong feud with Japan over its wartime sexual slavery of Korean women, South Korea's top envoy in Japan has said.Amb. Lee Su-hoon made the remark early last week during a meeting with a group of reporters who visited Tokyo as part of an exchange program for journalists between the two countries."Let's take a long-term approach with a deep breath," he said. "If you rush to resolve it and put (a patch) to it again

South Korea on Monday voiced a strong protest over Japan's renewed territorial claims to its easternmost islets of Dokdo and demanded their immediate withdrawal."We express our deep regrets over Japan's unjustifiable claims to Dokdo again," the foreign ministry said in a spokesman's commentary."The Japanese government should stop its wrong claims with regard to our inherent territory, which it undoubtedly is from a historic and geographical perspective, as well as in the eyes of international la

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa will attend the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, next week, the foreign ministry said Sunday.The prestigious conference will be held from Jan. 23-26 with some 3,000 participants, including 70 heads of state and government, on the theme of "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World." (Yonhap)Kang will participate in sessions on North Korea's nuclear crisis, sustainable development goals and a shared future for the world.