A South Korean medical team flew into in Laos on Sunday to assist with recovery efforts following the deadly flooding that resulted from the collapse of a dam that was under construction by a Korean builder.An emergency relief team composed of 15 medical personnel and five support staff arrived at Pakse International Airport in Champasak Province, southern Laos, at about 6 p.m. (on local time) aboard a Korean military plane.A South Korean Air Force plane carrying relief workers lands at Pakse In

A South Korean medical team left for Laos on Sunday to assist with recovery from the deadly flooding that resulted from the collapse of a dam that was under construction by a Korean builder, Seoul's foreign ministry said.An emergency relief team composed of 15 medical personnel and five support staff embarked on a 10-day mission to treat displaced residents in southern Laos and prevent the spread of contagious diseases, it added.A dam built on a mountain saddle of a larger hydropower dam project

A South Korean military aircraft carrying relief supplies has left for Laos, the foreign ministry said Saturday, following the government's announcement that it will provide help with recovery from the deadly flooding that resulted from the collapse of a dam that was under construction.   The military jet took off at 8 a.m. from an airport in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.    The relief supplies include 1,200 blankets, clothing and sanitation

President Moon Jae-in on Friday met with a special envoy of his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, who is said to be seeking to host the leaders of both South Korea and North Korea during the upcoming Asian Games.In the meeting, held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi delivered a personal invitation from the Indonesian president for Moon to visit his country during the upcoming Asian Games, slated to begin Aug. 18. (Yonhap)"The reason I came here

Germany urges North Korea to take concrete steps toward denuclearization

The US issued an advisory on Monday warning businesses about North Korea’s sanctions evasion tactics, ramping up pressure on the reclusive country amid a lack of progress on denuclearization talks. 　The Departments of State, the Treasury and Homeland Security put out the advisory aimed at protecting manufacturers, buyers and service providers from the risk of violating US and UN sanctions on North Korea. 　The advisory does not add any new sanctions against Pyongyang, but appears to reflect the T

A US State Department official in charge of Korea affairs will travel to South Korea this week for discussions on North Korea and pending alliance issues, a government official here said Tuesday.Mark Lambert, the department's Korea desk director and acting deputy assistant secretary, plans to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday and meet foreign ministry officials. They include Kim Tae-jin, head of the North American affair bureau, and Jeong Yeon-doo, director general for the North Korean nuclear issue.

With the US and North Korea’s follow-up talks on denuclearization showing little progress, South Korea is left with the tough task of keeping up the momentum of dialogue and persuading both sides to meet each other halfway.  　Less than six weeks after the summit between the US and North Korea in Singapore, Washington is reportedly growing impatient with the pace of talks on denuclearization, while Pyongyang has accused Washington of making “gangster-like, unilateral demands.” 　North Korea has st

South Korea’s presidential security adviser Chung Eui-yong returned to Seoul on Sunday after a two-day visit to the US, as South Korea seeks to propel denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea.  Chung Eui-yong (Yonhap)Chung said he had “very helpful” consultations with his American counterpart John Bolton to successfully and rapidly push ahead with denuclearization negotiations between North Korea and the US. “We reaffirmed that settling peace on the Korean Peninsula through complete

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon was to leave Thursday for a weeklong trip to Kenya, Tanzania and Oman to bolster economic cooperation and business opportunities with the countries.Lee will travel with 74 businessmen from 49 companies on South Korea's presidential jet. It would be the first time that the prime minister has used Air Force One on a long distance trip. President Moon Jae-in suggested Lee use the plane, officials said.Lee will first stop in Kenya for a three-day visit that includes talks

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha did not rule out the possibility of a trilateral summit among leaders of the two Koreas and the US at the United Nations General Assembly in September. “It is hard to predict and we are not yet specifically consulting on it, but we cannot rule out the possibility,” Kang told reporters during her first visit to London since she took office in June last year. The top diplomat was in London from Tuesday to Thursday to meet her British counterpart before flying to New

Two ships suspected of having carried North Korean coal to South Korean ports in October last year were found to be operated by Chinese companies, as South Korean authorities investigate the alleged shipment in violation of United Nations sanctions.According to safety inspection data published by the Port State Control Committee in the Asia-Pacific region, the Panama-registered Sky Angel, which shipped about 4,000 tons of North Korean coal to the port of Incheon on Oct. 2, was operated by Dalian

The broadening trade war between the United States and China may neither deal a fatal blow to the global trade regime nor save ailing industries in the US, well-known economist Chang Ha-joon predicted Tuesday."The trade war (between the US and China) is currently fueling various kinds of tension and fanning a bad mood, but it's not a very big problem in terms of quantity," Chang, currently a reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge, said in a press conference

SEOUL/TOKYO -- South Korea denounced Japan's revision Tuesday of education material to intensify its territorial claim over the Dokdo islets in the East Sea.Earlier in the day, the Japanese government announced an amendment to the teacher's guide for use at high schools in the direction of further clarifying its position that Dokdo belongs to Japan.Publishers of Japanese high school textbooks were required to describe Dokdo as the country's territory starting in 2022 under a set of binding guide

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in New York on Friday to discuss the latest developments regarding North Korea, the State Department said.Pompeo's trip comes two weeks after he visited Pyongyang to follow up on a nuclear disarmament deal reached by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their historic summit last month.Pompeo then traveled to Tokyo to share the results of his talks with the Nort