South Korea’s Personnel Ministry expressed support for personnel reform initiatives pursued by Uzbekistan on Tuesday. Seoul’s Ministry of Personnel Management and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations signed a memorandum of cooperation on Nov. 23 to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of personnel administration and mutual development, according to the ministry.  (Yonhap)“Following the recent signing of the memorandum, Korea will assist Uzbekistan with its successful

South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed Tuesday that top diplomat Kang Kyung-wha is pushing to visit Japan by the end of year, adding that relevant discussions are under way between the two countries."Detailed schedules are being arranged with Japan," Noh Kyu-duk, foreign ministry spokesman, told a regular briefing. "It would take place within this year."It would mark the first visit by a Korean foreign minister to Japan since July 2015.  Foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)South Korea and

South Korea's top diplomat is expected to visit Japan next week before a task force announces the results of its monthslong review of a controversial deal on Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women, multiple sources said Monday.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will likely visit Japan from Dec. 19-20 to hold a bilateral meeting with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, according to the government sources close to the matter.Her trip to Tokyo would be made before the task force is set to come

President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral summit meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Moon, who will begin the four-day state visit to China on Wednesday, will be meeting with Xi for the third time, and discussions will focus on security issues and ways to improve bilateral ties, Cheong Wa Dae said. Seoul and Beijing, however, will not issue a joint statement in light of differences in the two sides’ positions on issues surrounding t

The Donald Trump administration has nominated former White House official and Washington-based academic Victor Cha as the next US ambassador to South Korea and asked for Seoul’s approval, US sources said Sunday. According to sources in Washington, the request was recently delivered to the South Korean government in the form of an “agrement,” a formal request sent to the receiving state from the sending state before dispatching a diplomatic representative. The decision was made after an extensive

The leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party embarked on an eight-day trip to Russia on Monday for talks with top Moscow officials over North Korea's nuclear standoff, economic cooperation and other bilateral issues.Choo Mi-ae's visit as the chairwoman of the South Korea-Russia Interparliamentary Council is part of her initiative to support the government's efforts to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with major countries, including the United States, China and Japan.  "Russia has r

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has nominated former White House official Victor Cha as Washington's ambassador to South Korea and requested the approval of the Asian country's government, sources said Sunday.The request, known as an agrement, was recently sent to the South Korean government following an extensive vetting process, the sources said on the condition of anonymity.They said they expect Seoul to swiftly approve the nomination as the post has been vacant since the Trump admini

Laos, a landlocked Southeast Asian nation known for its mountainous terrain and spectacular waterfalls, is only a five-hour flight from South Korea. However, the distance felt much further not too long ago. Diplomatic ties were severed with Laos’ communization in 1975, a year after being established, only to be restored in 1995. Although the country still remains one of the very few allies of North Korea, South Korea-Laos ties have been blossoming recently on trade, investment, tourism and vario

South Korean President Moon Jae-In will visit China next week for talks on North Korea and other issues, his office said Wednesday, amid tentative signs of diplomatic movement after months of high tensions over Pyongyang‘s nuclear and missile threats.The announcement came as a high-level United Nations representative held talks with a senior North Korean official during a rare trip to Pyongyang.Jeffrey Feltman, UN undersecretary general for political affairs, arrived Tuesday to discuss what the

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim promised Wednesday to provide South Korean companies operating in his country with as much support as possible, saying his government will try to treat them as if they were domestic firms.Yildirim made the remark during a joint news conference after talks with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, where the two sides agreed to bolster cooperation in various infrastructure and other economic projects in Turkey."The Turkish government intends to lay the in

South Korea expressed regret on Tuesday over Japan not taking proper measures to commemorate the victims of its colonial-era forced labor as part of its promised follow-up action after some of its modern industrial facilities were listed as UNESCO heritage."The government expresses regret over the implementation report that Japan recently submitted as part of its follow-up measures on the world heritage listing of its modern industrial facilities," the foreign ministry said in a commentary issue

South Korea has agreed to strike a deal with other countries to refrain from fishing in the rapidly warming Arctic Ocean until they have a better understanding of the marine life in the area, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.(Yonhap)Five countries with Arctic shorelines -- the US, Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway -- and five other parties -- South Korea, China, Japan, Ireland and the EU -- have reached a draft agreement to prevent unregulated fishing in the high seas portion of the central

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is planning to make her first visit to Japan as Seoul's top diplomat later this month to discuss cooperation on reining in North Korean military threats and ways to resolve the countries' historical feud, diplomatic sources said Friday.Kang and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono discussed her possible visit during a telephone conversation two days earlier over North Korea's long-range missile launch, and agreed to have their ministries arrange detailed schedules

South Korea and Japan's foreign ministers had a telephone conversation Wednesday to discuss North Korea's launch of a new, longer-range ballistic missile early in the day and how to respond to the provocation, the South Korean foreign ministry said.In the 20-minute conversation that began at 4:40 p.m., South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed "deep concern"over the North's resumption of provocations despite repeated warnings from the international community. South Korean Foreign Mi

President Moon Jae-in will hold his first summit meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, continuing his plans for strengthening ties with South Asian countries. Sirisena, who began his three-day state visit on Tuesday, is the third foreign leader to come to Seoul on a state visit since Moon took office in May.  President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka (center) arrives in South Korea on Tuesday. YonhapSirisena will be welcomed in an official ceremony at Cheong Wa