South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo reassured the United States on Wednesday that their strong alliance will remain rock solid despite renewed inter-Korean dialogue.He delivered the message to US Army Secretary Mark T. Esper in their Seoul meeting.It was their first meeting since the secretary took office last November.They discussed the issue of successfully hosting the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, cooperating on North Korea and reforming the armies of the two countries, the Ministry o

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday urged Japan to accept historical truth and make a heartfelt apology to the victims of its wartime sexual slavery as part of efforts to resolve the longstanding feud over the issue between the two countries.In a nationally televised press conference, Moon reaffirmed that a controversial 2015 deal with Japan aimed at resolving the issue once and for all was reached "in the wrong way," which excluded the opinions of the victims. "Basically, the comfort women issue

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates agreed Tuesday to further enhance their bilateral relationship to upgrade their diplomatic ties into a comprehensive strategic relationship, a Seoul official said.The agreement came in a meeting between Im Jong-seok, Seoul's presidential chief of staff, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi."The United Arab Emirates is the only country in the Middle East with which we have a strategic partnership, and we have ag

South Korea said Tuesday that it will not seek renegotiation of a controversial 2015 deal it reached with Japan to settle long-running feud over former comfort women forced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops during World War II. The Seoul government said that it will also set aside its own money to help the victims heal their wounds and recover their dignity, instead of using the fund that Japan contributed to under the agreement.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha unveiled those plans during

WASHINGTON -- Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he hopes the upcoming talks between South and North Korea lead to more meaningful dialogue on ridding the North of its nuclear weapons.In an interview with CNBC in Shanghai, the South Korean said he was "encouraged" by the high-level talks that are to take place in the border truce village of Panmunjom Tuesday. The meeting will focus on arranging North Koreans' participation in next month's Winter Olympics in PyeongCha

South Korea will announce Tuesday its stance on and follow-up measures to a controversial deal with Japan to settle the grievances of Korean women forced into wartime sexual slavery for Japanese troops, the foreign ministry here said Monday. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will make the announcement at 2 p.m. on measures it will take on the deal reached in December 2015 between South Korea and Japan, according to the ministry. This follows a government task force's recent conclusion

A visit to South Korea by a leading United Arab Emirates figure on Monday has raised more speculations surrounding presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok’s visit to the UAE last month. Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak of Abu Dhabi -- chief of Abu Dhabi’s Organization & Administration Department and a key associate of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan -- arrived in Seoul on Monday.However, with the exception of his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, little

South Korea's foreign minister expressed hopes Monday that the North's expected participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will catalyze inter-Korean reconciliation and the resolution of the nuclear standoff."The government is looking beyond North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Olympics to consider ways to improve inter-Korean relations and seek close collaboration with the international community to bring about North Korea's denuclearization," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha sai

A high-ranking United Arab Emirates official arrived in Seoul on Monday for a two-day visit that could address opposition allegations that Seoul's presidential chief of staff traveled to the Middle Eastern nation last month to secretly settle a dispute between the two countries.Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, was one of the UAE officials who attended a meeting between presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin

CAMP DAVID -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would be willing to speak directly with Kim Jong-un, voicing hope that rare talks between North and South Korea could help deescalate the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear drive.Trump's remarks were a further pivot from his often-bellicose rhetoric on North Korea and Kim, with whom he has engaged in a war of words that raised fears of nuclear war as Pyongyang carried out missile and nuclear tests."I always believe in talking," Trump said at

South Korea's auto industry is expected to feel the pinch of potential changes as it became the first target of renegotiation of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, industry officials said Saturday.In the first round of talks on amending the five-year-old deal Friday, U.S. negotiators raised issues related to autos and automotive parts, sources said. Details of the demands made were not disclosed by the two sides. "The United States discussed proposals to move towards fair and

TOKYO -- North Korea is likely to join in the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported Saturday, citing the North's IOC member.Alpensia Sliding Center in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)According to the report, Chang Ung, Pyongyang's sole IOC member, said his country is "likely to participate" in the Winter Games slated for Feb. 9-25 in the South Korean county of PyeongChang, while meeting with reporters at B

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States held their first meeting Friday to discuss amendments to their free trade deal as Washington pushes to reduce its trade deficit with the Asian country.Each side raised issues pertaining to the revision and implementation of the Korea-US free trade agreement, known as KORUS, including "sensitive areas," South Korea's trade ministry said in a statement.The South Korean side, in particular, noted its interest in resolving issues over the investor-stat

South and North Korea will continue their discussions for a second day on Sunday to arrange the details of high-level talks next week over the North's potential participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, officials here said Saturday.The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years next Tuesday at the border truce village of Panmunjom."At around 9:30 a.m., our side and North Korea began hotline communications and held consultations over the composit

South Korea's foreign minister has begun her efforts to listen to views from the victims of Japan's sexual slavery during World War II in a bid to determine the government's stance on a controversial deal with Japan over its wartime atrocities, a government source said Friday.In December, after completing a monthslong review of the 2015 deal on the so-called comfort women issue, a foreign ministry task force concluded that there were procedural problems and that insufficient efforts were made to