Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has renewed calls for countries to maintain essential people-to-people exchanges to spur economic recovery from the aftermath of the new coronavirus, her office said Wednesday. Kang made the remarks during Tuesday's videoconference with her counterparts from six countries, including Canada and Australia. It was the ninth such session since the talks were launched in March to discuss joint efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. "Minister Kang proposed tha

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Tuesday concerns about possible breach of patients' privacy in South Korea in the process of containing the new coronavirus are exaggerated. Kang made the remark during a web seminar hosted by the Embassy of Sweden in Seoul and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, noting that promptly sharing what the government knows about the virus situation was key to earning public trust in combating COVID-19. "I think the concern o

A South Korean national kidnapped off the coast of Gabon last month has been released unharmed, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The man in his 50s was among six crew members abducted after unidentified pirates attacked two Senegal-flagged fishing boats near the Gabonese capital of Libreville in West Africa in early May. He was freed on Monday evening (Gabon time), along with the five others of Indonesian and Senegalese nationalities, and they are all in good health, the ministry said

The government is set to host another online seminar for foreign countries this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in the latest in a series of sessions being arranged to share South Korea's know-how and experience in battling the coronavirus pandemic. The web seminar, slated for Wednesday, is the fifth of its kind to be held since Seoul launched the task force in late April to respond to growing foreign requests for Korea to share its policy measures against COVID-19. South Korea has

The top diplomats of South Korea and Hungary spoke by phone Monday to discuss how to cooperate over the coronavirus pandemic and bilateral issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said.  Speaking to her Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed thanks to the Hungarian government for allowing South Koreans to enter the country in late April in exception to entry restrictions over virus concerns.  She explained that although South Korea has managed to f

A renowned US scholar has pointed to South Korea's "greater sense of community and social cohesion" as what has driven progress in its fight against the new coronavirus, calling it "impressive." Michael J. Sandel, professor of government at Harvard University, made the remarks in an online interview organized by the foreign ministry, part of a series of talks with renowned intellectuals on the post COVID-19 era. "I think one important difference is whether there is a

Consensus on diplomatic priorities needed but difficult to achieve, says international relations professor

South Korea will provide $30 million to an international health organization over the next five years to help facilitate the development and distribution of vaccines, its top diplomat has said. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha made the remark late Thursday during a videoconference of the Global Vaccine Summit, a multilateral gathering to discuss global funding for the development and supply of vaccines, her office said. She also called for global solidarity and collaboration to facilitate de

South Korea conducted an annual military exercise on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo earlier this week, sources said Friday, amid renewed tensions with Japan that has laid claims to the East Sea outcroppings. The Navy, along with the Air Force and the Coast Guard, carried out the drill Tuesday, involving around eight vessels and five aircraft, including F-15K fighter jets, according to the sources. The exercise was not made public in an apparent move to avoid aggravating tensions

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Thursday that he supports peaceful protests against racism in the United States but opposes those who condemn his country. Harris posted on his Twitter a photo of a group of Korean protestors carrying a placard, reading "US imperialism means 'I can't breathe!'" "I disagree with these protestors, but respect their right to peacefully protest here in democratic Republic of Korea," he tweeted. "The USA. will investigate full

More than 120 businesses owned by South Koreans in the US have suffered damage amid sweeping protests against police brutality and racism across the country, officials here said Thursday. 　 The Foreign Ministry said the number of Korean-operated stores reporting damage has continued to increase, numbering 126 across the US as of Thursday. Philadelphia was hit hardest with 56 cases, followed by Chicago (14), Minneapolis (10), St. Louis (10), six in Raleigh, North Carolina (six), and four each i

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun ordered the country's chief envoy to the United States on Thursday to extend "proactive" consular protection for Korean nationals amid escalating anti-racism protests there. An anti-racism movement, sparked by the death of an African-American man, George Floyd, by a police officer late last month is turning violent in some parts of the US. A total of 126 cases of property damage have been reported at South Korean-run businesses in the US so

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke by phone with her Japanese counterpart Wednesday and expressed "deep regret" that Japan keeps export restrictions imposed on South Korea in a row over wartime forced labor, her office said. Kang's call with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi came a day after Seoul decided to take the issue to the World Trade Organization (WTO). She expressed "deep regret" that Japan refuses to lift the curbs even after Seoul resolved all issues

South Korea being invited to the G-7 meeting is a step toward a new international order that will raise the country to a new level in international society, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. “In the words of President Trump, G-7 is outdated, and the possibility of G-7 becoming G-11 or G-12 has grown,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok said at a press briefing about the previous day’s telephone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. On Mond

South Korea respects the 1984 declaration between China and Britain ensuring Hong Kong's autonomy, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, amid concerns Beijing's contentious security legislation could erode the semiautonomous territory's civil liberties. Last week, China's parliament endorsed the legislation for Hong Kong, which critics say could serve as a legal framework to suppress subversion or dissent in the former British colony and tighten Beijing's grip on it. "Hong Kong is an import