WASHINGTON -- Strict and continued enforcement of sanctions on North Korea while also seeking to engage with the reclusive state diplomatically are important to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the nominee for US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said Tuesday. Daniel Kritenbrink also said he would try to find ways to further strengthen sanctions on the North if confirmed. "As I noted at the outset, the Biden-Harris administration is committed to

The Embassy of India in South Korea kicked off celebrations on Monday ahead of the seventh International Day of Yoga on June 21. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Be With Yoga, Be at Home,” embassy officials delivered a livestreamed message about the yogic way of life and its effects on physical and mental health. Emphasizing the significance of yoga amid the challenging times brought on by the pandemic and restrictions on social gatherings, Indian Ambassador to Korea Srip

VIENNA/SEOUL – President Moon Jae-in and German pharmaceutical company CureVac’s CEO Franz-Werner Hass discussed ways to bolster vaccine partnership during a virtual meeting Tuesday. No new deal was immediately disclosed. Their 20-minute videoconference came on the heels of Moon’s summit talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G-7 gathering in Cornwall, England on Saturday, during which the leaders agreed to seek synergy between Korea, the world’s second-

Japan committed a "discourtesy" by canceling agreed-upon talks between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the recent Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain, the head of South Korea's state diplomatic academy said Tuesday. Kim Joon-hyung, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, also said on a local radio station that it is "diplomatically impolite" for Japan to press the South to accept its demands in a row over wartime forced

South Korea on Tuesday extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The measure, which calls for citizens to cancel or postpone trips abroad, will remain in effect until July 15. The current advisory was set to expire Tuesday. The extension came as many countries around the world continue to restrict the entry of people arriving from overseas amid the continued spread of COVID-19, the minist

WASHINGTON -- The United States has no immediate plan to directly provide COVID-19 vaccine to North Korea but supports international efforts to assist the impoverished country cope with the pandemic, the State Department said Monday. "While we have no plans to provide vaccines to the DPRK, we continue to support international efforts aimed at the provision of critical humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable North Koreans," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency, asking not

WASHINGTON -- The United States and 29 other member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) urged North Korea on Monday to engage in "meaningful" dialogue with the US toward complete denuclearization. The leaders of the 30 NATO countries also called on North Korea to fully implement its international obligations while also calling on others to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) on North Korea. "We reiterate the Alliance's full support to

VIENNA/SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, held a summit Monday to bolster ties as the 130th anniversary of bilateral relationship approaches next year. Moon, coming from the UK after attending the G-7 meeting over the weekend, arrived in Vienna on Sunday. He is the first Korean president to make a state visit to Austria since the two nations established ties in 1892. With the latest visit, the two nations agreed to elevate the relations

The issue of China did not come up during South Korea's discussions with the Group of Seven (G-7) countries last week, a senior foreign ministry official said Monday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon made the remark during a radio interview, dismissing speculation that attending the gathering in Britain put Seoul in an awkward position as it might appear that South Korea has chimed in with the G-7 countries on their unified front against an assertive China. In the joint communique i

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had agreed to hold talks on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in England, but Japan unilaterally called the meeting off, citing the Dokdo issue, according to the Foreign Ministry on Monday. 　 The two countries had tentatively decided for Moon and Suga to have a pull-aside meeting on the fringes of the summit, which was held Friday through Sunday at Carbis Bay Hotel and Estate in Cornwall, southwestern England, accordin

Japan called off agreed-upon talks between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the Group of Seven (G-7) meeting in Britain due to Seoul's regular exercise to defend its easternmost islets of Dokdo, a foreign ministry official said Monday. Seoul and Tokyo had reached a tentative agreement to hold a "pull-aside" meeting between their leaders on the sidelines of the G-7 session in the seaside resort of Carbis Bay in Cornwall, the official said. The thr

Yun Kang-hyeon, a career diplomat known for his expertise on bilateral, multilateral, political and economic affairs, was appointed as new South Korean ambassador to Iran, the foreign ministry said Monday. While serving as the deputy minister for economic affairs from 2017-2020, Yun was in charge of the negotiations with Tehran over Iranian funds frozen at South Korean banks due to US sanctions. Yun had until recently served as ambassador for international relations in the central province of

President Moon Jae-in has shared his thoughts on meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in person for the first time at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain, describing the experience as "precious" in terms of potentially improving the two nations' frayed bilateral relationship. On Saturday, Moon "exchanged greetings" with Suga just before the start of an expanded session of the G-7 summit at Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate in Cornwall, Britain, according to Cheo

VIENNA -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Vienna on Sunday for a three-day state visit after attending the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain. He became the first South Korean president to travel to Austria officially since the two sides established diplomatic ties in 1892. He plans to have summit talks Monday with President Alexander Van der Bellen and hold a meeting with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on improving bilateral relations. Kurz made a trip to South Korea in 2019. Mo

The Group of Seven nations on Sunday issued a joint statement calling for the complete denuclearization of North Korea, while welcoming the commitment of Washington under President Joe Biden to engage with Pyongyang through diplomacy. In a joint communique adopted at this year’s G-7 summit in the southwestern British county of Cornwall, the countries called for the complete denuclearization of North Korea and urged Pyongyang to give up its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missil