South Korea is trying to set a schedule for a yearly trilateral summit with Japan and China, Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Monday amid a deepening confrontation between Seoul and Tokyo.The latest summit was held in Tokyo in May last year among President Moon Jae-in, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.The 2019 summit has not been held yet, for which China is supposed to serve as the rotating chair. Arrangements are reportedly being made to open the summit in Beijing in De

Korea is gearing up to fire back at Japan after the neighboring country removed its fast-track export status, while seeking ways to mitigate the economic impact of the trading restrictions as the two Asian countries’ bilateral relations sink to a recent rock bottom. The government plans to announce measures to strengthen the competitiveness of the materials and parts industries this week that will come under tighter rules for export approval, following the Tokyo’s cabinet’s dec

Japan continues efforts to prevent showing of sex slave statues

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper will visit South Korea this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart, the South Korean defense ministry said Sunday.The trip comes as North Korea continues its military provocations against South Korea's joint military exercises with the United States and as Washington reportedly wants Seoul to increase its contribution to the cost of stationing 28,500 American troops in its Asian ally's territory.During his stay in Seoul, Esper will meet with South Korean

A statue of a girl representing victims of Japan's World War II-era sexual slavery, which has been on display at an international arts festival in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, was ordered by Japanese officials to be removed, the festival's organizers said Saturday.The statue, which symbolizes Korean women who were forced to serve as sexual slaves for front-line Japanese soldiers during the war, was created by a South Korean artist and has been on display at the Aichi Triennale international

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Saturday that Japan's recent export restrictions, including its removal of South Korea from a list of trusted trade partners, could pose a "serious threat" to regional prosperity.Kang made the remarks during a meeting with her counterparts from five countries around the Mekong River -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- on the last day of her four-day trip to Bangkok for multilateral talks involving the Association of Southeast Asian N

      US President Donald Trump downplayed on Friday North Korea's missile tests, saying that while they may violate a UN resolution, Kim Jong Un will not want to "disappoint" him because he has "too much to lose."   Underlining his intense personal support for the North Korean leader, Trump fired off three tweets brushing aside the short-range missile launches.   "There may be a United Nations violation, but Chairman Kim

Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Friday that it would review whether to continue exchanging military information with Japan, a key element in tripartite security cooperation with the United States.Kim Hyun-chong, the deputy national security advisor, said the reconsideration could be part of "comprehensive countermeasures" against Tokyo for its decision to remove Seoul from the "whitelist" of more than two dozen nations that enjoy minimized procedures when importing Japanese goods. Ja

Unofficial edited translation provided by Cheong Wa Dae 　This Cabinet meeting has been urgently convened to respond to the diplomatic and economic emergency situation.The Japanese government has decided to remove South Korea from its whitelist of trading partners. This is a very reckless decision that rebuffs the diplomatic efforts to resolve the problem and further exacerbates the situation. I express profound regret.Ultimately, the Japan dismissed Korea’s proposal to put our heads togeth

President Moon Jae-in on Friday warned that Seoul will “resolutely take corresponding measures” against Japan’s move to remove South Korea from its list of trusted trade partners. Earlier in the day, the Japanese government decided to remove Korea from the whitelist of countries that receive preferential treatment in importing materials and goods from Japan. “(I) express deep regret at the reckless decision that makes the situation worse, while refusing diplomatic ef

A task force and a situation team will be launched to deal with the recent decision by Japan to remove Korea from its “whitelist” of trusted trade partners, Seoul’s presidential office said Friday.“(Cheong Wa Dae) expresses deep regret over the Abe government’s decision to remove Korea from the whitelist,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung said.  Saying Seoul had continually called for dialogue with Japan, she added that efforts had been made to reso

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan faced off Friday over Tokyo's decision to remove Seoul from its list of trusted trade partners during a regional forum in Thailand.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, traded barbs at the annual gathering, involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, their countries and China. The meeting was held after Japan's Cabinet approved a decision to drop South Korea from the "whitelist" of 27 coun

Cheong Wa Dae expressed "deep regret" Friday over Tokyo's decision to impose additional export curbs against South Korea."Going forward, our government will cope with Japan's unfair measure with a resolute attitude," Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson, Ko Min-jung, said in a statement. It came in response to Japan's Cabinet approval for the removal of South Korea from the so-called "whitelist" of trade partners, which Tokyo regards as trustworthy in terms of national securi

The United States on Thursday expressed concern that Japan will follow through on its threat to remove South Korea from a "whitelist" of countries given preferential treatment in export procedures, leading to an escalation of tensions between the two sides, Reuters reported.Japan is expected to drop South Korea from the list on Friday, just weeks after it tightened controls on the export of some high-tech materials to the neighboring nation.Seoul regards the measures as retaliation for

Seoul will be forced to reconsider its security cooperation with Tokyo, should Japan take further trade-curbing measures, South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday. According to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, Kang gave the warning during her meeting with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono in Bangkok, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum.“If the decision (to remove South Korea from the trade whitelist) is made at tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting,