US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Seoul next week for a "two-plus-two" meeting with their South Korean counterparts, the foreign and defense ministries said Wednesday, as the allies seek coordination on North Korea's denuclearization and other issues. Blinken and Austin are set to arrive on Wednesday after a trip to Japan as part of their first Asia swing since the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden. A day later, they will atte

The United States will not ease any of its sanctions on Iran, including the release of Iranian funds blocked in South Korea, until Iran first complies with its obligations under its nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. "As we've said, if Iran comes back into compliance, with its obligations under the nuclear agreement, we would do the same thing that would involve, if it came to that, if Iran made good on its obligations, sanctions relief pursuant to the agree

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet their South Korean counterparts on March 17-18 to discuss security and global initiatives, in their first senior-level, in-person talks since US President Joe Biden took office, Seoul’s Foreign and Defense ministries said Wednesday. Blinken will discuss inter-Korean affairs and the South Korea-US alliance with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, while Austin will sit down with Defense Minister Suh Wook to

South Korea has agreed to pay 13.9 percent more in its contribution to host American troops here for 2021, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.  Under the new six-year accord, Seoul will pay 1.183 trillion won ($1.04 billion) this year for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The 13.9 percent hike from the previous 2019 deal represents the biggest annual rise for Seoul in nearly two decades.  The six-year agreement is effective until 2025, and also covers last year

South Korea and the United States are on the same page on North Korea denuclearization, Seoul and Washington’s senior officials dealing with the issue said Wednesday at a virtual forum co-hosted by the Korea Press Foundation and the East-West Center in the US. “The two countries discuss a number of ideas on how to get to denuclearization. But we’re headed in the same direction. Things change. And we’re adapting to them at the moment,” said Ko Yun-ju, director gener

With South Korea and the US clinching a new accord on how to share the cost of maintaining the US troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, the deal has drawn attention to how this arrangement was first forged and how it has transformed over the decades. 　 From the US forces landing in the southern half of the peninsula after World War II to the US-led allies helping South Korea repel an invasion by the communist North and the troops’ presence hereafter, the US military has been a key pa

Two tankers involved in an alleged illegal ship-to-ship oil transfer were spotted while on patrol for an embargo enforcement mission against North Korea, the French Navy has said. On Feb. 28, the French frigate Prairial was deployed to the East China Sea to contribute to the UN embargo against the North and identified the two oilers during a suspected nighttime transfer, the France Pacific Command (ALPACI) wrote on Twitter Tuesday. ALPACI released four photos of the suspected tankers involved

South Korea shares many common interests with the United States in the Indo-Pacific, including the nuclear challenge from North Korea and preserving freedom of navigation, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday. "We share any number of interests, including the challenge of North Korea that we've talked about, including a free and open Indo-Pacific. And we've underlined and underscored our commitment to the region," Ned Price told a daily press briefing when asked about South Korea'

South Korea-Japan ties long strained over wartime history are showing few signs of recovery, with Seoul’s new Tokyo envoy facing almost open hostility from local authorities. According to diplomatic sources Tuesday, Korea’s new ambassador to Japan, Kang Chang-il, has yet to meet with Japanese leaders, a rarity in light of diplomatic protocol. Kang arrived in Japan on Jan. 22 and started work on Feb. 14 after a two-week quarantine. But his request for a courtesy visit to the prime m

As the people of Myanmar chant in unison for the freedom that was stolen from them a month ago in a military coup, South Korean civic groups are banding together to help them brace for what could become a protracted struggle against military rule after 10 years under a civilian government. Rights activists and religious groups are offering support in different ways. “We’re building a coalition in Gwangju,” Cho Jin-tae, executive director of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, sa

South Korea plans to hold a ceremony to break ground for the construction of a memorial wall in Washington later this year to honor US veterans who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry here said Tuesday. Seoul has been working on the project to construct the "Memorial Wall of Remembrance" in Washington by 2022 to convey its appreciation to the American veterans' sacrifice and commitment during the war. The wall is to be built in West Potomac Park, where the

WASHINGTON -- South Korea may be considering joining a US-led regional forum that it had previously shunned, in an effort to influence US policy toward North Korea, a member of South Korea's presidential policy advisory group said. Hwang Ji-hwan, a member of the president's commission on policy planning, said the Seoul government, just like the US government, does not aim for a sudden or complete removal of sanctions on North Korea but to do so gradually through a process of diplomacy and negot

South Korea and the United States have reached a "fair" agreement on the sharing of the cost to maintain US troops on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean diplomat said Monday. Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's top negotiator in cost-sharing talks, said specific details of the new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) are still subject to internal reviews. "We did our utmost. I wish to say we have reached an agreement between South Korea and the United States that is reasonable and fair and is a

The new defense cost-sharing agreement between South Korea and the United States will be effective for six years if signed, a spokesman for the US State Department said Monday. The first detail of the agreement came one day after the countries said they have reached a consensus on the agreement that will set South Korea's share of the burden in maintaining US troops on the Korean Peninsula. "The United States and Republic of Korea negotiators did reach a consensus on a proposed text of a

South Korea and the US have reached an agreement on how much Seoul should shoulder for hosting US troops here, both countries announced Monday, ending years of standoff over the thorny issue.   　 A major breakthrough to the talks on renewing the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of US Forces Korea, came amid three days of face-to-face meetings on Sunday in Washington, led by Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul’s chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton. &nb