Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday rebutted the Chinese government's recent allegation that China has nothing to do with hazardous fine dust over the Korean Peninsula.Park said in a radio interview that he has research papers from municipal and state labs that conclude around 50 to 60 percent of fine dust over South Korea is from China."The matter should be approached by environmental experts or from the scientific perspective," the mayor told an MBC Radio talk show. (Yonhap)"Researchers at the

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan agreed to pursue the "future-oriented" development of bilateral relations during their phone conversation Friday, Seoul's foreign ministry said amid an escalating spat involving military radar.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, discussed growing tensions over the row and South Korea's Supreme Court rulings last year in favor of South Koreans forced into hard labor by Japanese firms during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial ru

Seoul's defense ministry on Wednesday continued to express regrets over Tokyo's claim that a South Korean naval destroyer targeted a Japanese warplane with fire-control radar last month, and urged Japan to make an apology for making threatening moves against the vessel. The statement came as Japan released a 13-minute-long video clip showing the operation of its patrol aircraft to back up its claim that the South Korean destroyer targeted the warplane with the radar last month. 

Kim warns of seeking ‘different path’ if US pressure persists

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed his support for the recent progress in inter-Korean relations, and urged North Korea and the United States to swiftly enforce the agreement reached at the June summit."China has supported denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, establishment of a peace regime on it and resolving issues through talks consistently and made the efforts for more than 20 years,"Wang was quoted as saying by his office during an interview with local media Saturday.He sai

Defense cost-sharing negotiations between Seoul and Washington appear likely to remain tense following an unexpected suggestion from the US that the two sides sign a one-year agreement. In their latest round of talks earlier this month, the US negotiators suggested signing a defense cost-sharing deal that would remain valid for only a year, a diplomatic source said Friday, as Washington seeks a new approach to sharing defense costs with its allies. Seoul is said to have rejected the idea. The US

North Korea has conducted no nuclear or missile tests in 2018, sat down for three inter-Korean summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and a first-ever summit with US President Donald Trump

President Moon Jae-in on Monday sent a message of condolence to his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo over the deadly tsunami that hit coastal areas of Indonesia around the Sunda Strait over the weekend. (Yonhap)Foreign media reports said that the tsunami on Saturday night left at least 280 people dead and more than 1,000 injured."There is no other way to express deep sorrow over the fact that the tsunami around the Sunda Strait led to the deaths of many Indonesians," Moon said in the message."

Officials from South Korea and Japan held meetings Monday amid deteriorating relations over recent rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s occupation of the peninsula. 　Kim Yong-kil, director-general for Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, met with Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi in Seoul to discuss the ruling in favor of South Korean victims, as well as a South Korean destroyer’s naval operation in the East Sea. 　Last

South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that the much anticipated trip to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may materialize in the near future, though it will be difficult to occur this year.Seoul has been pushing for Kim’s unprecedented trip in the hopes that it will help further improve cross-border ties and give an impetus to the ongoing diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea and establish a lasting peace regime on the peninsula.During the third summit betwe

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has asked the Libyan government to help win the safe release of a South Korean and three Filipino workers abducted in the African country, the prime minister's office said Thursday.The request came in a telephone conversation with Fayez al-Sarraj, chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, according to the office. (Yonhap)The call was made Wednesday from Tunisia, where the South Korean prime minister is making a visit.The four workers were taken from t

The top diplomats of South Korea and India agreed Wednesday to enhance cooperation in the arms industry and expand people-to-people exchanges, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj held their joint committee meeting in New Delhi to evaluate bilateral ties and cooperation in various areas, including the economy, science and technology, the ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap)The two sides agreed to continuously consult over ho

Defense officials of South Korea and China held working-level talks over ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and exchanges in Beijing on Wednesday, Seoul's defense ministry said.During the 17th round of bilateral policy consultations, Lee Won-ik, director general of international policy at the Ministry of National Defense, and his Chinese counterpart Song Yan Chao discussed exchanges of high-level officials to strengthen "strategic communication" and other issues, the ministry said. (Ministry

The US plans to review sanctions slapped on North Korea and a travel ban preventing American citizens from traveling to the communist state to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to North Koreans, a US special envoy said Wednesday.(Yonhap)Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, made the announcement to reporters as he arrived in Seoul for a four-day trip to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, and other officials. “I’ll be sitting down with American aid

Military tensions between North Korea and the US could temporarily rise if the deadlock in denuclearization talks continues until August next year, according to a report from a think tank released Wednesday.　US President Donald Trump could resume South Korea-US joint military exercises if denuclearization talks continue to stall in the first half of next year, which could lead Pyongyang to conduct a long-range missile test, according to the Asan Institute for Policy Studies research titled “Kore