WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has thanked South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha for Seoul's close cooperation on COVID-19 and reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral alliance, the State Department said Wednesday. Pompeo and Kang spoke by phone on Tuesday to discuss the two countries' response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a readout from the department. "Secretary Pompeo thanked Foreign Minister Kang for the close cooperation and information sharing o

Uzbekistan's deputy prime minister said Wednesday that Tashkent will cooperate with Seoul to ensure South Korean companies can boost their participation in infrastructure projects in the central Asian country. Sardor Umurzakov, who is in charge of investment and foreign economic relations, made the comments in a videoconference meeting with South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Last year, South Korean builder SK Engineering & Construc

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke with South Korean envoys to United Nations agencies in a videoconference on Wednesday and discussed ways to expand cooperation to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, her office said. The ministry said that ambassadors to the UN, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, UNESCO, Vienna and Geneva attended the conference. In the talks, Kang stressed the importance of multilateral cooperation and called on the envoys to engage in diplomatic p

A total of six people who arrived from Kuwait have tested positive for the novel coronavirus over the past four days, prompting local health authorities to beef up quarantine operations, they said Wednesday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it has strengthened measures against arrivals from Kuwait at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway west of Seoul. "Most of the confirmed cases are workers dispatched at construction sites," KCDC

South Korea has already presented the US with its best possible offer in ongoing defense cost-sharing talks, local reports said Wednesday, as the US called for more “flexibility.” 　 The reports cited an unnamed source as saying that Seoul’s proposal for a 13 percent increase over the 1.04 trillion won ($850 million) that it paid last year to host US troops was the highest it could offer, reiterating remarks last week from Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during a parliamentary

South Korea has already made its best possible offer in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States, a diplomatic source said Wednesday, after a senior US official urged Seoul to show flexibility. On Tuesday, Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, renewed Washington's call for flexibility, stressing that the US has been "very flexible up until now." "I cannot mention the number, but the foreign minister has already said that the offer was t

More than 130 South Koreans in Egypt left for Seoul on a chartered flight Tuesday in the latest evacuation of South Koreans from foreign countries over the coronavirus pandemic. The plane carrying 133 South Koreans and six foreigners departed Cairo International Airport at around 3:40 p.m. The South Koreans had been struck in Egypt since May 19, when the Egyptian government suspended international flights due to concerns over COVID-19. In Egypt, the coronavirus has killed 436 people and infe

WASHINGTON -- The United States expects South Korea to be flexible in their defense cost-sharing negotiations, a US official said Tuesday, amid a prolonged impasse in talks. The comment by Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, suggests Washington continues to seek significant increases in Seoul's contributions to the cost of stationing 28,500 American troops on the peninsula. "Our leaders have spoken recently, and we'll continue to look for ways to sit do

  Trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) called Tuesday for the essential movement of people across borders, saying measures meant to address challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic should not create unnecessary barriers to trade. The ministers said they will work to facilitate the flow of essential goods and services to fight the pandemic across borders, and minimize disruptions to the global supply chains. "We will also ensure that trading links rem

JOHANNESBURG -- A South Korean firm has donated Korean-made kits for 2,500 new coronavirus tests to Mozambique, the South Korean Embassy in Mozambique said Tuesday. Mozambique's Health Minister Armindo Tiago expressed gratitude to South Korea during a donation ceremony Monday.   The embassy said in a Facebook message that the test kits were provided by Youngsan Glonet Corp., which provides consulting services to Hyundai Motor to help raise the market share of the South Korean carmak

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Monday his country is taking its cue from South Korea in responding to the coronavirus, especially in carrying out aggressive testing and app-based contact tracing, according to Cheong Wa Dae. He made the remarks while speaking on the phone with President Moon Jae-in, which marked Moon's 100th round of phone talks with foreign leaders since he took office in May 2017. Varadkar was quoted as saying that his government has been inspired by South Korea's ha

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke by phone with her Sri Lankan and Czech Republic counterparts Monday and discussed cooperation in coping with the coronavirus pandemic, her office said. In the talks with Dinesh Gunawardena, Kang explained that the COVID-19 situation in South Korea is stabilizing as a result of nationwide efforts to overcome the disease based on the principle of transparency in terms of its quarantine policy, the ministry said in a release. In response, Gunawardena praise

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Friday declined to comment on the reported public appearance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after a 20-day absence. "I'd rather not comment on it yet -- Kim Jong-un," Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for Camp David. "We'll have something to say about it at the appropriate time." On whether Kim is still alive, he said, "I don't want to talk about it." But asked if he will be talking to Kim th

US President Donald Trump said South Korea has agreed to pay more for the stationing of American troops in the country, according to a news report. "We can make a deal. They want to make a deal," Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday (US time), referring to the negotiations to determine how to divide the cost for the upkeep of about 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. "They've agreed to pay a lot of money. They're paying a lot more money th

South Korea and China agreed on Wednesday to exempt qualified businesspeople from the strict quarantine rules that otherwise apply to travelers entering their respective countries, in a move to facilitate trade-related travel despite the coronavirus pandemic.  Taking effect Friday, the “fast-track” entry procedures apply to Korean nationals visiting 10 regions in China for business purposes: the cities of Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing and the provinces of Liaoning, Shandong,