South Korea on Monday expressed concern over last week's attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, saying it would undermine regional stability and energy security around the world.The drone attacks on two plants at the center of the Middle Eastern country's oil industry took place on Saturday. The Iran-linked Houthi rebel group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attacks."The attacks this time posed a serious threat to key international energy infrastructure, and we express co

The foreign ministry said Monday that it will focus its diplomacy on facilitating an early resumption of working-level nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea and substantive progress in them.In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry also said that it would maintain close coordination with Washington through bilateral consultations, including at the UN General Assembly in New York."(The ministry) will concentrate its diplomatic capacity on ensuring that the working-

A senior White House advisor has noted US President Donald Trump's commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, while highlighting the benefit of having a "businessman" as the American leader.In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Kellyanne Conway also said that Trump is willing to engage with world leaders and employ diplomacy differently than other politicians who she said are "worried about the next election."Her remarks came amid criticism over Trump's openness to

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy has held talks with a senior Chinese diplomat over North Korea and peninsula issues ahead of an expected resumption of nuclear dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui in Beijing on Thursday and discussed the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said in a release.  The

Japan has spurned South Korea's request to hold talks to work out differences for the renewal of their fisheries agreement, a South Korean official said Friday.   South Korea sent a letter to Japan in May calling for working-level talks. Last month, Japan replied to South Korea, though it did not mention the proposed talks, according to Park Sung-jun, a director handling the issue at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.   The two neighbors last held face-to-face talks in Jun

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy was set to visit Beijing on Thursday to meet with a senior Chinese official expected to be his counterpart ahead of an expected resumption of nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, plans to hold talks later Thursday with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula.Luo, who was elevated to his post handling A

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that former National Security Adviser John Bolton "set us back" in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea by demanding the regime follow the "Libya model" and hand over all of its nuclear weapons.   Bolton quit the administration on Tuesday following disagreements with Trump on policies including how to denuclearize North Korea.The hawkish adviser had once advocated for the "Libya model" that calls for

A South Korean diplomat stationed in Cambodia has been relieved from the post following allegations of sexual harassment against a female embassy employee, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday,The diplomat, whose name and position have been withheld, was ordered to return to Korea and is currently undergoing an internal investigation by the ministry regarding the allegations. On Tuesday, several local news outlets quoting the ministry official reported that, according

South Korea filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization on Wednesday over Japan's export curbs, upping the stakes in the unprecedented trade row between the two Asian neighbors.The move came more than two months after Tokyo started restrictions of exporting three key industrial materials to Seoul, which are essential for the production of chips and displays, potentially dealing a harsh blow to Seoul's backbone technology industry."South Korea decided to file a complaint with the WTO

The top diplomats of South Korea and Kazakhstan will hold talks in Seoul next week to discuss joint efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Kazakh counterpart, Beibut Atamkulov, will meet on Monday to explore ways to enhance cooperation in a "forward-looking" manner, Kim In-chul, the ministry's spokesman, told a regular press briefing.The two countries have been seeking to strengthen their friendly ties as

South Korea's trade ministry said Monday it plans to hold a fourth round of free-trade negotiations with the Philippines this week with the goal of striking the deal in November.During the four-day talks in Cebu, the Philippines, that ends Friday, the two will center on making concessions in details of the pact, along with seeking ways to expand bilateral economic and technology ties, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Seoul and Manila launched their free trade negotiations

Two high-ranking South Korean envoys recently visited the United States to explain Seoul's decision to terminate a military information-sharing pact with Japan, sources here said Sunday.Kim Tae-jin, head of the North American Affairs bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited Washington D.C. on Thursday with Kim Jung-han, who is in charge of Asian and Pacific affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, according to sources. It is believed to be the first US visit by high-ranking South Korean of

Local governments of South Korea and Russia's Far East agreed Friday to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas at an annual forum in Vladivostok, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Representatives from six South Korean and 11 Russian local governments participated in the Korea-Russia Local Cooperation Forum, which was established last year following an agreement between President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin.In the second annual meeting, they adopted the "Vladivostok De

The government is considering naming a non-diplomat official, such as a financial technocrat, to head negotiations with the US on sharing the cost for the upkeep of American troops, sources said Friday.That would mark a departure from the tradition that officials from either the foreign or defense ministries have led the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) aimed at determining how much South Korea should shoulder the cost of US troop presence in the country.The two sides expected to launch the nego

South Korea's vice defense minister held talks with his counterparts from the Visegrad Group, an alliance of four Central European countries, Friday and agreed to strengthen defense cooperation between the two sides, Seoul's defense ministry said.The meeting between Vice Minister Park Jae-min and his counterparts from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland took place on the sidelines of the eighth Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) in Seoul. During the talks, the two sides discussed ways to