Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will travel to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this week for a security conference and meetings with senior officials of the two countries, her office said Tuesday. Kang will make a two-day trip to Bahrain starting Friday, during which she will attend the Manama Dialogue, a multilateral security meeting involving countries in the Middle East and Europe, the United States and others, the ministry said in a release. She is scheduled to give a spee

The United States has no plan as of yet to establish a NATO-like regional security headquarters in the Asia Pacific, a State Department official said in an interview video released Tuesday. Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan at the East Asian and Pacific affairs bureau, made the remark in a pre-recorded interview with the US Embassy in Seoul, referring to the Quad, a US-led security forum involving Australia, India and Japan. "At this point, there is no plan to c

South Korea and the United States are not just mere friends or allies but "family," and their alliance will remain ironclad based on their deeply shared values, US Ambassador Harry Harris said Tuesday. Harris made the remarks during a peace conference held in Seoul and via video link to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, saying the alliance between the two countries has only grown stronger since the war. "The US and other sending states came to

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has officially adopted new guidelines to identify seas by numbers instead of names, officials said Tuesday, a decision expected to help ease a long-running row over what to call the body of water between South Korea and Japan. IHO member states had reached a consensus during last month's General Assembly on the proposal to adopt a new digital dataset, known as S-130, as a standard for a world map of oceans. Under the proposal, the current standa

South Korea and the United States held defense cost talks for the first time since the US presidential election and reaffirmed their principle to seek a fair and mutually acceptable deal, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. During the video talks held Monday night (Korea time), South Korea's chief negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his US counterpart Donna Welton agreed to "closely work together to swiftly reach an agreement that is fair and mutually acceptable," the ministry said. The nego

South Korea is considering postponing the hosting of a UN ministerial conference on peacekeeping operations slated for next year amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Monday. Defense Minister Suh Wook, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and other senior officials held a preparatory meeting for the UN conference set for April and discussed adjusting the event schedule "in consideration of the COVID-19 situation and opinions from the UN and member states," the defense ministry said

South Korea will provide $700,000 worth of humanitarian aid to Colombia, Honduras and Nicaragua to help them cope with damage from Hurricane Iota, the foreign ministry said Friday. The Latin American countries were devastated Monday by the category 5 hurricane, the biggest storm this year in the Atlantic Ocean. "Our government hopes that the aid will help the peoples of those countries facing hardship in recovery, due to the stronger hurricane than the previous Hurricane Eta," the mi

China’s top diplomat on Friday said the two Koreas should decide the fate of the Korean Peninsula themselves, while stressing his country will serve a “constructive role” to bring peace on the peninsula.  “South and North Korea are indeed the true masters of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, the fate of the peninsula should be given to the two Koreas,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seung. &

South Korea appointed Bahk Sahng-hoon, former protocol secretary to President Moon Jae-in, as ambassador to Spain in a regular reshuffle that included 15 other new ambassadors and consul generals.  Bahk, a career diplomat who previously served as ambassador to Panama, is known for his expertise in Latin America affairs and fluency in the Spanish language, the foreign ministry said Friday. Lee Kwang-ho, vice consul-general to the Chinese city of Wuhan who became known for spearheading an

A majority of South Koreans agree that Seoul should play the role of a "facilitator" to push the stalled nuclear negotiations forward between the United States and North Korea, a survey showed Friday. According to the Nov. 20-21 survey of 1,000 adults by the National Unification Advisory Council, 73.9 percent said South Korea should serve as a "facilitator" in nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang after US President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Among them, 35.3 pe

Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn has held talks with senior Myanmarese officials in Naypyidaw to discuss bilateral cooperation on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Friday. His four-day trip to Myanmar that ends Friday focused on laying the groundwork for stronger cooperation ahead of next year's launch of Myanmar's new administration and expanding practical exchanges despite COVID-19, the ministry sa

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit South Korea “as soon as the conditions are ready,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday, stressing that the two sides must focus on containing the COVID-19 pandemic. “I believe that (Xi’s) visit will be realized as soon as the conditions are ready,” Wang said after his meeting with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha. When asked about the conditions for Xi’s visit, Wang said the pandemic

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday touted the "robustness" and "vitality" of his country's relations with South Korea, stressing his trip here, despite COVID-19, illustrates how much Beijing values the bilateral partnership. Wang made the remarks at the start of his talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, amid speculation that Beijing will use his trip to try to bring Seoul to its side as US President-elect Joe Biden envisions tightening America's alliance netw

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Ecuador on Wednesday discussed efforts to boost economic relations and coronavirus cooperation between the two countries, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks with her Ecuadorian counterpart Luis Gallegos, who is visiting Seoul this week to attend a forum hosted by South Korea to promote its cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries. Kang expressed hope that Korea‘s sharing of its experience in tack

President Moon Jae-in will receive visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Xi at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday afternoon, the presidential office said Wednesday. Wang arrived here late Wednesday after stopping over in Japan. On Thursday, he is to have a luncheon with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and dinner with Lee Hae-chan, a key figure in Moon’s inner circle who served as special envoy to China and later headed the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Wang is scheduled to leave Friday, aft