The following is the full text of a joint statement issued by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the end of their bilateral summit in Jakarta on Thursday.　South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in (left) and Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo partake in a summit in Jakarta (Yonhap)　Republic of Korea-Republic of Indonesia Joint Vision Statement for Co-Prosperity and Peace　At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Indonesia His Excellency Joko W

JAKARTA, Nov. 9  -- The presidents of South Korea and Indonesia agreed Thursday to upgrade their relations to "special strategic partnership" to push forward all-compassing cooperation in economy, culture, politics and security issues. During their summit, Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joko Widodo also pledged efforts to sharply increase bilateral trade and diversify business cooperation between the two countries.Moon arrived in Jakarta Wednesday for a three-day state visit to further enhance diplo

A fresh diplomatic spat is brewing between South Korea and Japan over the presence of a victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery at the recent state dinner in Seoul for the visiting U.S. President Donald Trump. Japanese officials reacted angrily, saying the invitation of the "comfort woman" breaches the spirit of a 2015 agreement to settle the longstanding dispute between the two neighbors.  They have also fumed at the decision to serve "Dokdo Shrimp" from waters off South Korea's easternmost is

US President Donald Trump’s first state visit to South Korea has drawn an unexpected level of attention from Japan, with the country accusing Seoul of inviting a “comfort woman” to its dinner banquet with Trump and serving shrimp caught near a disputed island.Lee Yong-soo, the 88-year-old woman who was coerced into working as a sex slave for the Japan military during World War II, was invited to the state banquet attended by Trump and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday.Trump was even

As Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump met for a summit on North Korea, alliance and trade on Tuesday, their wives got chummy with confabs, tea time and a brief stroll around the presidential compound.South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook and her counterpart Melania Trump met for the third time when Trump visited the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul for talks with Moon in the afternoon.They previously met when Moon visited Washington DC in June for the first summit with Tru

US first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday stood in front of some 80 teenagers in South Korea to speak about gender equality in sports among youths, on the first day of her two-day stay here. US first lady Melania Trump gives a speech during "Girls Play 2!" Initiative, an Olympic public diplomacy outreach campaign, at the US Ambassadors residence in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)In blue stiletto heels and a structured dark brown coat, Melania set foot in South Korea alongside her husband Donald Trump on

South Korea is pushing to arrange reciprocal visits by the leaders of South Korea and China as the two countries are mending ties frayed by the deployment of a US missile defense system, its top diplomat said Monday. “(The government) plans to push to reinforce exchange, cooperation and strategic cooperative partnership with China by reinvigorating high-level personnel exchange, including (President Moon Jae-in’s) top-level visit to China by the end of this year and the Chinese leader’s South Ko

US President Donald Trump began his marathon 12-day tour of Asia on Sunday, which will lead him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. He will touch down in Korea on Tuesday for a two-day stay here. White House chief of staff John Kelly, as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster -- Trump’s key advisers on diplomacy -- will accompany Trump here, while Defense Secretary James Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence will stay behind in

　With US President Donald Trump in Japan and soon to arrive here with the North Korean nuclear and missile threat high on his agenda, it may be of US interest to keep the two -- arguably the US’ closest regional allies -- unified in resolving the standoff with North Korea. 　But for President Moon Jae-in, fresh off from a “let’s patch up” deal with China and now bent on performing a balancing act between two great powers, that is not a simple matter.　　Washington has long stressed the need for enh

   South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday there was no secret agreement with Beijing over a US missile shield deployment, denying claims Seoul made security concessions to restore economic ties with China. 　The ministry’s spokesperson Noh Kyu-duk said Seoul did not make any backroom deals with Beijing ahead of Tuesday’s South Korea-China joint statement. In the statement, the two sides vowed to repair their knotty relationship following Seoul’s decision to deploy the US’ Terminal High Alti

South Korea's foreign minister is pushing to visit Beijing this month to meet her Chinese counterpart and discuss cooperation on North Korea and other issues of mutual concern, a diplomatic source said Thursday.Kang Kyung-wha is seeking to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Her trip to China will likely come later this month after accompanying President Moon Jae-in to Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines from Nov. 8-15, according to the source. Kang is expected to discuss follow-up measure

A group of South Korean lawmakers will embark on a three-day visit to China this week for talks with Beijing officials over bilateral relations and North Korea's escalating nuclear threats, their aides said Wednesday.The bipartisan group will leave for the Chinese capital on Thursday, two days after Seoul and Beijing announced their agreement to normalize relations that were strained over the installation of a US missile defense system in Korea. The group consists of six lawmakers, including Chu

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Turkish-Korea relations, Turkey’s Anatolia Color military band visited Korea and performed in the Gwanghwamun area in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. The band held up signs in Korean, reading, “Brother land Turkey supports PyeongChang Winter Olympics (which is slated for February 2018).”The Mehters Military Band of Turkey is the world’s first military band established as a regular branch of the military service in the Turkish Ottoman Empire. (phko@heraldcorp.com)

WASHINGTON -- The United States said Tuesday it welcomes South Korea and China's decision to improve their ties despite a dispute over missile defense.Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the State Department, said the move paves the way for greater stability in a region rattled by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."We certainly welcome that China and the Republic of Korea would have a closer relationship," she said during a regular press briefing. "We tend to think that that is a good thing

The South Korean and Chinese presidents will hold a bilateral summit on the sidelines of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Da Nang, Vietnam next week, Seoul announced Tuesday. Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy chief of the National Security Council, said that the two sides agreed to the summit meeting, which could be the first step in normalizing the two countries’ fraught relations. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to attend the forum on Nov. 10 and 11. “This agreement is the first