South Korea and China held a ceremony Sunday to repatriate 117 sets of the remains of Chinese troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the foreign ministry said. The seventh such repatriation ceremony took place at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, a day after the two countries casketed the remains at a temporary storage facility in Incheon. Of the remains repatriated Sunday, 103 sets were excavated last year from Arrowhead Ridge, a battle site inside the Demilitarized Zone se

The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were casketed Saturday to be sent back to their homeland the following day, the defense ministry said. In 2014, Seoul pledged to repatriate the remains of fallen Chinese soldiers in a symbolic gesture of friendship, and 599 sets have since been returned, including 10 last year. This year's repatriation ceremony will take place at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Sunday, according to the ministry. Of the total

North Korea's apology over its recent fatal shooting of a South Korean government official is a "helpful step," the US State Department said Friday, while reaffirming its support for South Korea's condemnation and demand for a full explanation. The reaction came shortly after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he felt "very sorry" in a message sent to South Korea. "We understand that the DPRK has conveyed an explanation and apology to the ROK. This is a helpful step,

Marshall Billingslea, special US presidential envoy for arms control, will visit Seoul next week for talks with his South Korean counterpart on international arms control and nonproliferation issues, the foreign ministry said Friday. Billingslea of the US State Department will arrive here Sunday for a two-day visit. He plans to hold talks with Seoul's Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Ham Sang-wook on Monday. "South Korea and the United States have been closely

President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed their desire Friday to further develop bilateral relations, Cheong Wa Dae said, as the two countries mark the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. The two men exchanged messages for the Sept. 30 anniversary, noting progress in various areas of cooperation, including politics, business and culture. "President Moon, in particular, hoped that the 9-Bridge cooperation projects for Eurasia's co-prosperity will bu

The top diplomats of South Korea and Ecuador held telephone talks Thursday to discuss joint responses to the new coronavirus and the ongoing campaign of Seoul's trade minister for the director-generalship of the World Trade Organization. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Ecuadorian counterpart, Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, exchanged views on how to step up cooperation in overcoming the pandemic and enhancing economic and other exchanges, the foreign ministry said. Kang said that South Korea

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday called on the Japanese government to work together with South Korea to seek a solution to the issue of wartime forced labor. In his first telephone conversation with the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Moon said that the two countries are each other‘s closest neighbors and that the issue should be resolved, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok. “It is true that the two countries have differences on the forced labor i

K-pop super group BTS on Wednesday presented a special message at the 75th United Nations General Assembly, urging the world's youth to remember and seek out their dreams despite the challenges that they may face from the COVID-19 pandemic. "Now more than ever, we must remember who we are and face who we are. We must try to love ourselves and imagine the future," group leader RM said in a pre-recorded speech presented during the high-level meeting of the UN Group of Friends of Solida

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will likely visit South Korea next month, government sources said Wednesday. "I heard Pompeo will come to Korea early next month," a source said. "It will be probably a two-day visit starting Oct. 7." He will also travel to Japan to meet with new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to another source. Seoul and Washington are in talks to set up Pompeo's South Korean schedule, including meetings President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minist

 Two South Korean figures -- Jeong Eun-kyeong and Bong Joon-ho -- have been included on the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential people of 2020, the magazine announced Wednesday. Jeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), made the list in the leaders category, with Bong Joon-ho, director of the Oscar-winning Korean film "Parasite," chosen in the artists sector.  Jeong has been serving as the "field commander" of the c

South Korea and the United States held a video-linked session of their Nuclear Security Working Group on Wednesday to discuss cooperation on the minimization of the use of highly enriched uranium and other issues, the foreign ministry said. The group is among the four working groups under the High-Level Bilateral Commission, which was launched in 2016 following the 2015 revision of the two countries' nuclear energy cooperation agreement. Park Il, the ministry's director-general for nonprolif

Defense Minister Suh Wook is likely to visit the United States next month for his first talks with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, officials said Wednesday. Discussions are under way with the US about the new minister traveling to Washington for annual defense ministers' talks between the two countries, known as the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), defense ministry officials said. The visit, if realized, will also be Suh's first overseas trip since taking office last week to replace Jeo

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for the fair distribution to all countries of vaccines and therapeutics against COVID-19, stressing that “solidarity and cooperation” will prevail against the virus. Addressing the high-level meeting commemorating the 75th anniversary of the United Nations via satellite link, Moon said the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to undermine the multilateralism embodied by the UN and proposed three ideas for overcoming the crisis. Stressing the efforts

The Foreign Ministry has resumed mediation between one of its diplomats and a male staffer in New Zealand who accused the diplomat of groping him in late 2017. 　 The ministry said it has informed the purported victim of its mediation on the case, and is awaiting his reply.　 Under New Zealand labor law, an employee can seek a settlement for an employer’s misconduct against him through the help of a mediator.　 In this case, the administrative staffer, a New Zealander, is the employee, and

K-pop superstar BTS will deliver a special message at the 75th United Nations General Assembly this week, returning to the annual UN gathering as a speaker in two years, according to UNICEF's South Korean committee Tuesday. According to the Korean Committee for UNICEF, BTS' "message of hope" will be broadcast at 9 a.m. Wednesday (US time) during the high-level meeting of the UN Group of Friends of Solidarity for Global Health Security. The South Korean boy band will talk about the d