WASHINGTON -- South Korea's new ambassador to the United States took office Tuesday, calling for "strategic, creative and bold" diplomacy at a critical juncture in Korean and global affairs.Speaking at his inauguration ceremony at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, Amb. Cho Yoon-je also underscored the importance of maintaining a firm South Korea-US alliance, the embassy said in a statement.Cho "stressed the need to conduct strategic, creative and at times bold diplomacy" in order to advanc

President Moon Jae-in called for stepped-up efforts Tuesday to form a regional community among Southeast Asian countries and three Northeast Asian nations including China and Japan. Moon’s suggestion of forming a regional community came at an annual summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as the ASEAN Plus Three. The regional forum involves the leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries, plus the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China. (Yonhap)On the sidelines of the event in Manil

MANILA -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in held talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev Tuesday and agreed to further develop their countries' economic cooperation and step up efforts to peacefully denuclearize North Korea.They met on the sidelines of a regional forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila."I believe our countries holding such close consultations between their highest officials clearly shows that cooperation between the two countries is develo

South Korea will host a multilateral forum to promote security cooperation in Northeast Asia this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.The forum to be held from Thursday to Friday in Seoul will bring together about 200 government officials and private experts. Regional players like the United States, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia will participate in the forum along with other interested partners like Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, the United Nations, the Association of Southe

MANILA -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to meet Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev later Tuesday, the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, for talks that will likely focus on ways to improve the countries' bilateral relationship and end North Korea's nuclear ambition.The discussion will be held on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Manila. The South Korean president arrived here Sunday following his trips to Indonesia and Vietnam.

MANILA -- The leaders of South Korea and the Philippines agreed Monday to further strengthen the countries' longstanding friendship and discussed measures to better protect their people in the other's country, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.During their summit, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte also agreed to work together in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully.The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Association of So

MANILA -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang reaffirmed their efforts Monday to quickly normalize the countries' ties soured by the deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea, while the Chinese premier noted a "bright" future for their bilateral relations."As they say one must sometimes take a step back to take nine steps forward, I believe we will be able to quickly develop the countries' strategic cooperative partnership in the very near futu

The top US envoy on North Korea will visit South Korea this week to hold a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, a diplomatic source here said Monday.  US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun (Yonhap)Joseph Yun will meet with Lee Do-hoon, the special representative for peace and security affairs on the Korean Peninsula, to discuss the security situation here, including North Korean nuclear issues, while attending events hosted by the US Embassy in Seoul. Coupled with sec

South Korea's foreign minister is expected to visit China soon to fine-tune preparations for the upcoming summit between their leaders, a government source said Monday.Kang Kyung-wha is to visit Beijing "as early as next week" to discuss detailed preparations for the third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping scheduled for next month, according to the source. (Yonhap)It would mark Kang's first trip to China since taking office in June.After tal

Trade ministers from 11 Asia-Pacific countries agreed Saturday to press ahead with a major trade deal without the United States, as the world's largest economy seeks to go it alone under President Donald Trump's 'America First' policy.Trump pulled his country from the Trans Pacific Partnership at the start of the year, dismaying allies and casting into doubt an agreement heralded for tying lower tariffs to strong environmental and labour protections.In a joint statement Saturday morning, the rem

President Donald Trump stood before a summit of Asian leaders keen on regional trade pacts and delivered a roaring "America first" message Friday, denouncing China for unfair trade practices just a day after he had heaped praise on President Xi Jinping in Beijing."We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore," Trump told CEOs on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. "I am always going to put America first, the same way that I expect all of

The leaders of South Korea and Vietnam agreed Saturday to work to further enhance their bilateral ties partly by increasing exchanges between their government officials and people.In a bilateral summit, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang also vowed efforts to boost the countries' bilateral trade to over $100 billion in 2020, according to South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.The Moon-Tran meeting, the first of its kind, was held on the sidelines

DANANG, Vietnam -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in was set to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and hold bilateral talks with the leaders of China and Vietnam on Saturday. After a visit to Indonesia, Moon arrived here on Friday, the second stop in his three-nation Southeast Asia trip, which will take him to Manila, the Philippines, on Sunday.Moon will hold his first summit with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in the morning, to discuss ways to boost trade a

South Korea has been roiled by a controversy over whether it should join a new foreign policy initiative of the US, apparently aimed at reining in the influence of China, as it seeks to strike a diplomatic balance between the two superpowers. The “Indo-Pacific” initiative, which originated with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, envisions the US working with Japan and other maritime democracies -- Australia and India -- to contain a rising China. South Korea was dragged into the matter when US

South Korea on Friday denounced a recent ballistic missile attack by Yemen's rebels on Saudi Arabia's capital and called for efforts to help build peace in the Middle East region.Saudi Arabia said its air force intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels toward King Khalid International Airport, near the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, on Nov. 4. Houthi rebels in Yemen (AP)"The South Korean government is paying attention to the Saudi Arabian government's announcement of the inte