South Korea will highlight the importance of multilateralism and Korea’s role in international issues such as climate change and poverty at the UN General Assembly, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha said Sunday.  “Our government will clearly emphasize the country’s status as one that practices the values of UN – peace, human rights, development – in an exemplary manner,” Kang said. “Our contributions and resolve to expand our r

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met United States Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams on Friday during her visit to Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.During the meeting with Abrams at Camp Humphreys, Kang acknowledged his efforts to provide military support for diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish lasting peace. According to the Foreign Ministry, the US commander said Kang’s visit was evidence of close cooperation betwe

South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator on Thursday called on the US and North Korea to take a flexible approach to achieve substantial progress ahead of their upcoming denuclearization talks. “To keep the dialogue momentum (between the US and North Korea) alive and make substantial progress, they have to take a flexible approach,” Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters at Incheon Airpo

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that an official handling Asia-Pacific affairs will visit Japan to meet his counterpart amid mounting tensions between the two countries. Kim Jung-han, director general for Asian and Pacific Affairs at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, will meet Shigeki Takizaki to discuss matters of mutual interest, the ministry said in a press release.  This is Kim’s first one-on-one meeting with Takizaki, who replaced Kenji Kanasugi as head of J

Lee Geun, a professor at Seoul National University, was named president of the Korea Foundation, a nonprofit public diplomacy organization under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday. He replaces Lee Si-hyung, and his three-year term is renewable once. The new president served as a professor of International Relations at the Graduate School of International Studies. He was also vice president and dean of the SNU Office of International Affairs, in addition to being a policy adviser

The United States is actively engaged in efforts to resolve the current trade and historical row between South Korea and Japan, and will continue to encourage both sides to find "positive solutions," a top US official said Wednesday.David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, made the remark at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, saying that he has spent a "considerable" amount of time on the issue in his two and a half months in

The United States and North Korea could take compromise approaches to get tangible results in the next round of denuclearization negotiations, experts said during an international conference hosted by Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank, Wednesday.Robert Einhorn, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, suggested a near-term arrangement between Washington and Pyongyang to move their stalled talks forward by addressing the North’s nuclear and missile capab

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is set to visit a sprawling US military complex south of Seoul this week and hold talks with US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams, her ministry said Wednesday. Kang will visit the Osan air base and Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers away from the capital, on Friday, the ministry said in a release. US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris will accompany her on the visit. During the talks with Abrams, Kang is expected to reaffirm the importan

South Korea on Wednesday appointed a former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service as its new ambassador to Israel, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Suh Dong-gu, who served as the first deputy NIS director from June 2017 to August this year, will succeed Choi Yong-hwan as Seoul's top envoy in Israel.Before his stint at the spy agency, Suh worked as a career diplomat for decades, serving in various overseas posts, including in the United States, the United Nations, Canada and Pakistan

The United States is ready to resume denuclearization talks with North Korea, but will maintain sanctions on the regime for now, a top US official said Tuesday.US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell made the remarks in a prepared statement for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia ahead of his scheduled testimony Wednesday. "We remain committed to the goals President Trump and Chairman Kim set in their summit in Singapore in June 2018 and

South Korea and Japan are exploring the possibility of their top diplomats holding talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week, though nothing has been decided yet, multiple sources here said Tuesday.Should they meet, it will mark the first face-to-face talks between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her new Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi since Tokyo's top diplomat was appointed in last week's Cabinet reshuffle. Their talks would come amid high tensions caus

South Korea raised concerns at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on Monday about Japan’s plans to dispose of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.Seoul’s First Vice Minister of Science and ICT Mun Mi-ock brought attention to Tokyo’s handling of radioactive water during her keynote speech at the IAEA’s 63rd General Conference.“Issues concerning the disposal of Fukushima contaminated water still remain unanswered

The International Atomic Energy Agency has to play an active role in the possible move by Japan to discharge contaminated water from its disabled Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean, a senior South Korean government official has said.Delivering a keynote speech at the General Conference of the international organization In Vienna on Monday, South Korean first vice science minister Mun Mi-ock stressed that Japan has not answered questions about its water discharge plan amid fear and anxi

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday emphasized the need for "constructive dialogue" between South Korea and Japan, two US allies that have been locked in a bitter dispute over trade and history.Pompeo discussed the matter in a phone call with new Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi as he congratulated his counterpart on the new position and reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral alliance, according to the State Department."Secretary Pompeo emphasized the need for

South Korea on Monday named former Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun as its new ambassador to the United Nations, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Cho, who served as first vice foreign minister from September 2018 to May this year, will replace Amb. Cho Tae-yul. Entering foreign service in 1979, Cho Hyun worked in various key diplomatic posts, including in India and Austria. In 2006, he served as South Korea's deputy permanent representative to the UN.The Seoul government also designated Chang Won-sam