South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Tuesday that his government will do its utmost to make up for the slow progress in its relations with Tunisia.Lee made the remarks in a meeting with Korean nationals here after becoming the first South Korean prime minister to visit Tunisia.He arrived in Tunis, the capital of the northern African nation, earlier in the day from Algeria, as part of his three-nation African trip that will also take him to Morocco. (Yonhap)Lee was greeted by Tunisian Pri

The US could accept a limited version of North Korea’s denuclearization and offer a reward short of sanctions relief to move forward stalled denuclearization talks, experts said Tuesday. (Yonhap)Although the extent of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities is uncertain, there is strategic value for South Korea and the US to contain the risks with measures that are short of full denuclearization, said James Acton, a research fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “There would be some s

A second South Korea-US working-group meeting on North Korea issues will be held Friday in Seoul, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, amid stalled denuclearization talks between North Korea and the US.  (Yonhap)Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his US counterpart Stephen Biegun are scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting Thursday and to host a working-group meeting Friday. Biegun is set to be in South Korea from Wednesday thr

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Russia discussed ways to enhance cooperation on denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula, in Seoul on Tuesday.  (Yonhap)“I am pleased about close communication between South Korea and Russia at a very critical moment for complete denuclearization and permanent establishment of peace,” Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, said ahead of the meeting.Lee added that momentum for dialogue

South Korea has been elected a "member state" of a major United Nations panel on international trade, the nation's foreign ministry said Tuesday.South Korea received 155 votes out of 193 up for grabs in the election held in New York on Monday (local time) to win member status of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Yonhap)It will serve as a member state of the body from 2019-2025.In the Asia-Pacific region, nine natio

New Southern Policy could help mitigate impact of intensifying US-China competition, and resolve North Korean nuclear issue, experts say

The US wants to hold working-level talks with North Korea without set preconditions, a senior Korean government official said Thursday, amid Pyongyang’s continued silence in its denuclearization talks with Washington.  (Yonhap)“I heard that Washington’s position is ... that it wants to meet North Korea at working-level negotiations without any conditions and listen to what the North wants first,” the official said on condition of anonymity.Denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea ap

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon will visit three northwestern African countries next week in a bid to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, his office said Thursday.Lee will leave for a seven-day trip on Sunday that will take him to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in the Maghreb region. (Yonhap)It will be the first time for a South Korean prime minister to make an official trip to Algeria and Tunisia, countries that lie at a strategic point linking Europe, Africa and the Middle East. I

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely to visit Russia this year, Seoul’s top envoy in Moscow said Thursday, amid speculations about his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ambassador Woo Yoon-keun said it is difficult to predict when the North Korea-Russia summit will happen, given that a second summit between North Korea and the US and Kim’s visit to Seoul have yet to be confirmed. (Yonhap)“The mood for Chairman Kim’s trip to Russia took form after September,” Woo told reporters

A government civil rights watchdog said Thursday it has asked the Ministry of Justice to allow foreigners staying in South Korea to use their credit cards to pay immigration fees.According to the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission, foreigners are currently required to pay fees related to immigration and nationality in cash only, causing them inconvenience. (Yonhap)The fees include 50,000 won ($44) to 100,000 won for an application for a reentry permit, 120,000 won for an application for a

South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday urged Japan to make a “prudent” response to rulings on Japan’s wartime use of South Korean forced labor, in a phone conversation with her Japanese counterpart amid an intensifying diplomatic row. According to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono exchanged views on the South Korean top court’s recent rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims forced into lab

South Korea joined 163 UN member states in signing a nonbinding migration pact aimed at better handling the rising flow of migrants worldwide, despite growing anti-immigrant sentiment at home.The Global Compact for Migration was formally approved by 164 countries at a two-day conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is the first international accord on managing migration.(Yonhap)The pact is not legally binding, and signing it would not immediately result in changes in South Korea’s immigration and r

North Korea condemns the US’ decision to impose sanctions on its high-ranking officials for human rights abuse

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called on South Korean ambassadors and consuls general Monday to increase their diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of North Korea and establish peace. “Now, we are facing an important opportunity for a resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue,” Kang said at the opening of the annual meeting of some 181 ambassadors and general consuls abroad.  “The journey, going forward, will not be smooth, but I believe in the power of our di

US President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding South Korea pay as much as double its current funding for American troops stationed in South Korea, as Seoul and Washington negotiate how to shoulder defense costs in the coming years. (Joint Press Corps)The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wants South Korea to pay roughly double the current amount, equivalent to $1.6 billion per year for the next five years, citing people familiar with the talks. Other sources cited in the report say the