South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Tuesday his administration is willing to support Mongolia's efforts to reduce air pollution in its capital city.In meeting with Lee here, Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh said his government's most urgent task is to resolve the air pollution issue in Ulaanbaatar and requested South Korea's support, according to Lee's office. Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh (left) and Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon clink glasses in Seoul on Tue

South Korea-Japan relations may be facing yet another downturn, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rejecting the South Korean government’s calls for extra measures to resolve the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women. Abe reportedly said during a meeting with reporters that Japan could not accept South Korea’s unilateral demands for extra measures, and reiterated his call for Seoul to faithfully carry out the agreement reached in 2015. His remarks came after President

　South Korea, the United States and Japan are considering holding a trilateral meeting of their foreign ministers in Vancouver, Canada, next week on the sidelines of an international gathering aimed at discussing more effective sanctions on North Korea, a diplomatic source here said Friday. 　“There is a possibility of a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting during the meeting of the Vancouver Group, as all foreign ministers from South Korea, the US and Japan are scheduled to attend it,” the sou

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that he cannot accept South Korean government's announcement that the issue of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women has not been resolved through a controversial deal reached in 2015, a local news report said.Kyodo News quoted Abe as saying during a meeting with reporters that the deal is a government-to-government agreement and that Seoul's latest stance on the accord can never be accepted.Abe also reiterated his call for Sou

The South Korea-Japan feud over the wartime sexual mobilization of Korean women is a humanitarian issue that shouldn't have been put to political negotiations, the former head of a South Korean task force in charge of reviewing a 2015 bilateral deal on the matter said Thursday. The remarks by Oh Tai-kyu came two weeks after the foreign ministry task force announced in its conclusion of the review that the 2015 deal was reached in a secretive manner under the previous Park Geun-hye government, wi

Japanese Prime Minister is unlikely to make it to PyeongChang, according to a Japanese newspaper.

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday said that the government will consult with Japan, victims of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement and civic organizations on what to do with Tokyo‘s funds earmarked for victims.In a nationally televised press conference, Moon reaffirmed the Foreign Ministry’s announcement a day earlier that the government would not to seek a renegotiation of the deal, but would replace Japan’s funds with a governmental fund.“It means that we will heal the wounds of the victims wi

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo reassured the United States on Wednesday that their strong alliance will remain rock solid despite renewed inter-Korean dialogue.He delivered the message to US Army Secretary Mark T. Esper in their Seoul meeting.It was their first meeting since the secretary took office last November.They discussed the issue of successfully hosting the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, cooperating on North Korea and reforming the armies of the two countries, the Ministry o

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday urged Japan to accept historical truth and make a heartfelt apology to the victims of its wartime sexual slavery as part of efforts to resolve the longstanding feud over the issue between the two countries.In a nationally televised press conference, Moon reaffirmed that a controversial 2015 deal with Japan aimed at resolving the issue once and for all was reached "in the wrong way," which excluded the opinions of the victims. "Basically, the comfort women issue

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates agreed Tuesday to further enhance their bilateral relationship to upgrade their diplomatic ties into a comprehensive strategic relationship, a Seoul official said.The agreement came in a meeting between Im Jong-seok, Seoul's presidential chief of staff, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi."The United Arab Emirates is the only country in the Middle East with which we have a strategic partnership, and we have ag

South Korea said Tuesday that it will not seek renegotiation of a controversial 2015 deal it reached with Japan to settle long-running feud over former comfort women forced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops during World War II. The Seoul government said that it will also set aside its own money to help the victims heal their wounds and recover their dignity, instead of using the fund that Japan contributed to under the agreement.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha unveiled those plans during

WASHINGTON -- Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he hopes the upcoming talks between South and North Korea lead to more meaningful dialogue on ridding the North of its nuclear weapons.In an interview with CNBC in Shanghai, the South Korean said he was "encouraged" by the high-level talks that are to take place in the border truce village of Panmunjom Tuesday. The meeting will focus on arranging North Koreans' participation in next month's Winter Olympics in PyeongCha

South Korea will announce Tuesday its stance on and follow-up measures to a controversial deal with Japan to settle the grievances of Korean women forced into wartime sexual slavery for Japanese troops, the foreign ministry here said Monday. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will make the announcement at 2 p.m. on measures it will take on the deal reached in December 2015 between South Korea and Japan, according to the ministry. This follows a government task force's recent conclusion

A visit to South Korea by a leading United Arab Emirates figure on Monday has raised more speculations surrounding presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok’s visit to the UAE last month. Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak of Abu Dhabi -- chief of Abu Dhabi’s Organization & Administration Department and a key associate of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan -- arrived in Seoul on Monday.However, with the exception of his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, little

South Korea's foreign minister expressed hopes Monday that the North's expected participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will catalyze inter-Korean reconciliation and the resolution of the nuclear standoff."The government is looking beyond North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Olympics to consider ways to improve inter-Korean relations and seek close collaboration with the international community to bring about North Korea's denuclearization," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha sai