First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young held a conference call with his counterparts from six countries Friday, including the United States and Japan, to discuss ways to cope with the new coronavirus outbreak. The talks, arranged at the US' request, were joined by US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba and Secretary Frances Adamson of Australia and the vice foreign ministers of New Zealand, India and Vietnam -- Mark Sinclair, Harsh Shringla an

South Korea is seeking to arrange two chartered flights to bring home hundreds of its citizens from Italy, which has been hit hard by the new coronavirus, a senior foreign ministry official said Friday. Italy's COVID-19 death toll had topped 3,400 as of Thursday afternoon -- a tally higher than that of China where the novel virus first emerged in December. As of Friday afternoon, more than 570 people have expressed their wish to return to Korea. "We currently think that two flights are

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called Friday for joint efforts with China and Japan to minimize the social and economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak as she held a videoconference with her counterparts, her office said.   "I believe the three countries should discuss the need to minimize the economic and social shock, as well as the contraction in people-to-people exchanges and cooperation due to this crisis, along with (efforts to) stem the virus spread," she said

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration is considering an upgrade to its already dire warning to Americans against all international travel as the coronavirus outbreak spreads. US officials said Thursday the State Department could soon issue a new alert urging Americans not to travel abroad under any circumstances. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because a final decision has not been made and the warning could be tempered, even if approved. At the moment, the department's ad

South Korea and the United States still have gaps over the sharing of the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday, after they wrapped up three days of hard bargaining in Los Angeles. The failure to reconcile their differences added to concerns that Korean workers in the USFK could be forced to go on unpaid leave starting next month, as the US military has repeatedly warned of their furloughs absent a deal to fund their wages. Seoul's top negotiator Jeong Eun

South Korea will make the case for minimizing travel restrictions aimed at combating the new coronavirus for businesspeople in next week's teleconference among the leaders of the Group of 20 nations, a foreign ministry official said Thursday. Seoul has been preparing for the gathering that Saudi Arabia, this year's chair of the G-20 summit, has said will take place sometime next week to "present a coordinated set of policies to protect people and safeguard the global economy." "

The South Korean government sent a charter flight to Iran on Thursday and evacuated 80 people from the Middle Eastern country, which is struggling with a severe coronavirus outbreak. 　 The Asiana Airlines flight departed from Al Maktoum International Airport near Dubai at 8:05 a.m. (Korean time), carrying 74 Korean nationals and six Iranian family members, and arrived at Incheon International Airport on Thursday at around 4:30 pm. The passengers had flown to Dubai on an Iran Air flight. 　 Up

South Korea’s national fencing team reported that a third athlete on the team had been confirmed to have the novel coronavirus, health officials said Thursday. The 36-year-old athlete tested positive Wednesday. She had returned home from an international competition in Budapest, Hungary, over the weekend, according to South Chungcheong Province health authorities. She was tested for the virus at a test center in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, earlier this week after a teammate was

A total of 170 countries and territories were restricting entry or imposing stricter quarantine procedures for people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns on Thursday. Of them, 114 countries and territories were imposing an entry ban on people who have been in South Korea in at least the past two weeks, including 50 countries that have temporarily closed their borders to all foreigners over the virus outbreak, the foreign ministry said. The number marks a sharp rise from Monday's 75 n

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States is suspending routine visa services in most countries because of the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department announced late Wednesday. It said embassies and consulates in "most countries worldwide... will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 18, 2020." It did not specify which countries would be exempted from the suspension, which was in response to "worldwide challenges" related to the deadly

WASHINGTON -- The White House coronavirus task force said Wednesday it is seeing South Korea and China at the far end of their epidemic curves and studying the two countries to predict patterns in the United States. Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the task force, offered the assessment during a press briefing at the White House. Moments earlier, President Donald Trump said he was invoking the Defense Production Act, which would give him authority to get industries to increase output of me

A South Korean government-arranged chartered flight departed for Seoul on Thursday, carrying 80 people evacuated from Iran due to the worsening outbreak of the new coronavirus. The Asiana Airlines plane, with 74 Koreans and six Iranian family members aboard, took off from Al Maktoum International Airport near Dubai at 8:05 a.m. (Korean time), the foreign ministry in Seoul said. It is scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport on Thursday afternoon. The evacuees had earlier been air

South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday it has issued a travel advisory for all countries previously not affected by its travel warnings prompted by the global spread of the new coronavirus. Under the unprecedented move, all South Koreans are advised to take caution when visiting any foreign country, the ministry said, adding that the level-1 travel advisory will be effective as of Thursday. "All those planning an overseas trip are advised to carefully consider the need and possibl

The US Embassy in Seoul said Wednesday that it will suspend all routine visa interviews this week in line with a State Department measure to respond to the new coronavirus outbreaks. The measure, set to take effect on Thursday, will not affect the visa waiver program for Korean citizens or services for US citizens, the embassy said. "The US Embassy to the Republic of Korea will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 19, 2020," the embassy said in

A growing number of foreign countries have been asking about importing South Korean-made coronavirus diagnostic kits and other forms of aid to help curb the pandemic, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. Such calls have been rising as Seoul's containment efforts have led to a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases and a low fatality rate, which have created breathing space for South Korea to look beyond its shores to embrace a broader role in the global fight against the virus. "We have b