Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa reaffirmed Wednesday that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a shared goal of South Korea and the US, stressing close cooperation between the two countries. “Denuclearization talks will begin in earnest based on strategies that have been mediated between South Korea and the US. … I expect there will be great progress in denuclearization, inter-Korean relations and lasting peace settlement if a second North Korea-US summit and North Korean lea

South Korea pledged Wednesday to take pre-emptive steps to counter possible worse case scenarios after the British Parliament voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal.Lee Ho-seung, the first vice minister of economy and finance, said South Korea will closely monitor the situation, though the rejection of the deal had a limited impact on global financial markets as it was widely expected. Lee Ho-seung (Yonhap)"We will take all necessary steps swiftly and decisively to stabilize financi

The South Korean government plans to hold an interagency meeting Wednesday to discuss policy measures in response to British lawmakers' rejection of a Brexit deal, a ministry official said.Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon will preside over the session to open at 2 p.m. at the ministry's building in Seoul.   (Yonhap)It will be joined by representatives from other relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Economy and Fina

Despite having held military talks, South Korea and Japan failed to narrow differences Monday in stand-offs over a recent radar incident, an informed source said.General-grade representatives from the two sides met in Singapore in a bid to resolve "mutual misunderstandings" over a dispute regarding Seoul's use of military radar for humanitarian search operations last month, according to Seoul's defense ministry. (Yonhap)It marked the first face-to-face contact between officials from the two nati

South Korea's prime minister on Thursday called for government efforts to build a future-oriented relationship with Japan, separately from the task of addressing bilateral historical issues.Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said in a government meeting that history cannot be neglected, but it is not desirable to neglect preparations for the future due to history.(Yonhap)"Historical liabilities between South Korea and Japan should be resolved. At the same time, we should make efforts and pool our wisdom

South Korea's special representative for regional peace and security met Wednesday with the Swedish government's envoy to the peninsula, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met Kent Härstedt, who is here on a two-day trip that started Tuesday. Lee Do-hoon (Yonhap)"(They) exchanged opinions on cooperation between the two nations related to the Korean Peninsula issue and issues of mutu

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday rebutted the Chinese government's recent allegation that China has nothing to do with hazardous fine dust over the Korean Peninsula.Park said in a radio interview that he has research papers from municipal and state labs that conclude around 50 to 60 percent of fine dust over South Korea is from China."The matter should be approached by environmental experts or from the scientific perspective," the mayor told an MBC Radio talk show. (Yonhap)"Researchers at the

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan agreed to pursue the "future-oriented" development of bilateral relations during their phone conversation Friday, Seoul's foreign ministry said amid an escalating spat involving military radar.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, discussed growing tensions over the row and South Korea's Supreme Court rulings last year in favor of South Koreans forced into hard labor by Japanese firms during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial ru

Seoul's defense ministry on Wednesday continued to express regrets over Tokyo's claim that a South Korean naval destroyer targeted a Japanese warplane with fire-control radar last month, and urged Japan to make an apology for making threatening moves against the vessel. The statement came as Japan released a 13-minute-long video clip showing the operation of its patrol aircraft to back up its claim that the South Korean destroyer targeted the warplane with the radar last month. 

Kim warns of seeking ‘different path’ if US pressure persists

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed his support for the recent progress in inter-Korean relations, and urged North Korea and the United States to swiftly enforce the agreement reached at the June summit."China has supported denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, establishment of a peace regime on it and resolving issues through talks consistently and made the efforts for more than 20 years,"Wang was quoted as saying by his office during an interview with local media Saturday.He sai

Defense cost-sharing negotiations between Seoul and Washington appear likely to remain tense following an unexpected suggestion from the US that the two sides sign a one-year agreement. In their latest round of talks earlier this month, the US negotiators suggested signing a defense cost-sharing deal that would remain valid for only a year, a diplomatic source said Friday, as Washington seeks a new approach to sharing defense costs with its allies. Seoul is said to have rejected the idea. The US

North Korea has conducted no nuclear or missile tests in 2018, sat down for three inter-Korean summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and a first-ever summit with US President Donald Trump