With two weeks left till the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi on Feb. 27-28, the four governments involved -- Seoul, Pyongyang, Washington and Hanoi -- have started moving toward their own diplomatic goals.Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang tweeted on Monday: “At the invitation of HE. Mr. Ri Yong-ho, Foreign Minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh will pay an official visit to the DPRK from Feb. 1

The top US military commanders for Korea will brief Congress this week ahead of a second nuclear summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Adm. Philip Davidson, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of US Forces Korea, will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, according to its website.Adm. Philip Davidson (left) and Gen. Robert Abrams (AP)The hearing comes days after South Korea and the United States si

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Saturday that he expects the second summit between the United States and North Korea to deliver concrete results.Lee made the remarks at an international peace conference in Seoul hours after US President Donald Trump confirmed that his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 27-28.  (Yonhap)“I expect the second US-N. Korea summit to produce more concrete results than the first summit,” Lee said. “The South

Two US lawmakers have urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to seek a longer-term cost-sharing agreement for the stationing of American troops in South Korea.In a letter dated Wednesday, Reps. Grace Meng and Norma Torres said a one-year deal does not sufficiently reflect the importance of the US alliance with South Korea. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) looks on as US President Donald J. Trump (right) launches the White House global women initiative by signing a national security memoran

The president of the African Development Bank expressed hope that South Korea and Africa can increase personnel exchanges and technology sharing in the fields of agriculture, energy and drones, the finance ministry said Friday.　Akinwumi Adesina made the comments in a meeting in Seoul with Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)　Hong told Adesina that South Korea will continue to expand its cooperation with Africa.　Asia‘s fourth largest economy has ma

SEOUL (AFP) - The special US envoy for North Korea returned to Seoul on Friday after talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang to set up the agenda for the second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.　Stephen Biegun‘s three-day trip was expected to have explored a wide range of denuclearisation issues in preparation for the much-anticipated summit in Vietnam on Feb. 27 and 28.　Biegun landed at Osan US Air Base Friday evening, foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told AFP.

South Korea will ink a provisional agreement with the US for the cost of maintaining US troops here Sunday, wrapping up nearly yearlong negotiations, according to a source Friday. Under the deal, Seoul will pay about 1.03 trillion won ($916.3 million) for costs related to the stationing of 28,500 members of the US Armed Forces in Korea for 2019. The contract is valid only for this year per Washington’s request for annual renewal of the agreement. Chang Won-sam (Left), South Korea`s negotiator in

A US nongovernmental organization has launched a campaign urging President Donald Trump to discuss possible reunions of Korean-Americans with their long-lost relatives in North Korea when he meets the North's leader Kim Jong-un later this month.The American Friends Service Committee said on its website that the summit, set for Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam, provides an opportunity to reunite Korean and Korean-American families that have been separated for almost 70 years since the 1950-53 Korean War. In

The US envoy for North Korea is expected to fly back to South Korea on Friday to share the outcome of his Pyongyang visit, diplomatic sources have said.Stephen Biegun has been in North Korea since Wednesday, following his arrival in the South at the weekend.His mission is apparently to work out agenda and logistical details of a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to take place in Vietnam from Feb. 27-28. (Yonhap)Biegun's new North Korean dialogue par

After two years of bitter partisanship and personal attacks, President Donald Trump will call for unity and cross-party cooperation in Washington during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, a message likely to ring hollow with Democrats determined to block his push for a border wall.Trump’s prime-time address comes at a critical moment in his presidency. He pushed his party into a lengthy government shutdown over border security, only to cave to Democrats. With another shutdown deadline looming

South Korea's special envoy met with top Iraqi leaders this week, reaching an agreement to expand substantive cooperation in infrastructure, plant construction, the defense industry and energy sectors, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. (Yonhap)Han Byung-do, President Moon Jae-in's special adviser for Iraq, led a government delegation to Baghdad from Monday till Wednesday.It included officials from the foreign, finance and construction ministries, the Defense Acquisition Program Administra

President Moon Jae-in and Qatar’s emir held a summit Monday to discuss ways to expand economic ties and promote bilateral cooperation, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.As part of his first summit diplomacy in the new year, Moon met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day official visit. The monarch is Qatar’s head of state. President Moon Jae-in (right) shakes hands with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, ahead of their s

Japan's top diplomat stated again Monday that Dokdo, a pair of rocky islets in the East Sea over which Seoul maintains effective control, belongs to his country, a remark Koreans regard as reckless.   "(The government) will stand firm in its response (to the issue), delivering Japan's claim over Takeshima, which is Japan's indigenous territory, with patience," Foreign Minister Taro Kono said in his new year's speech in the Japanese parliament, using the Japanese name for Dokdo.Dokdo (Yonhap)   J

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday made public his determination to have talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a bid to normalize bilateral diplomatic relations.In a policy speech to the Diet, Abe said he will "act decisively without losing any opportunity" to settle the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by the communist nation decades ago and its nuclear and missile programs. (Yonhap)"(We) should break the shell of mutual mistrust in order to resolve the North Korean nuclear

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday that it will maintain its restrictions on travel to certain areas of the Philippines because of political instability, poor public security and terrorism. 　The ministry launched a subcommittee under the Passport Policy Deliberation Committee on Wednesday, which decided to maintain the travel ban on parts of Mindanao -- including the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Sulu Archipelago, which includes the island province of Basilan -- for si