Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called for strong support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for South Korea's policy vision toward North Korea in a conference on two-way cooperation Wednesday.Kang said she wants ASEAN to continue to be a "strong supporter" of the "Berlin initiative," President Moon Jae-in's new North Korea policy vision, during her keynote speech at the International Conference on ASEAN-Korea Partnership, hosted by the Seoul-based ASEAN-Korea Centre.She also apprec

HONGSEONG -- South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung will leave for Geneva this week to take part in a debate on local government and human rights organized by a UN panel, officials at the provincial government said Wednesday.An will head to Geneva on Thursday to attend the debate at the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that will focus on the role of local government in the protection and promotion of human rights.The debate comes after the council adopted a resolution on local government and human

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has paid his respects to a late victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, and instructed the government to fulfill her dying wish to be buried at a state cemetery, officials said.Ha Sang-sook, who died Monday at the age of 90, was forced to serve at an overseas military brothel in 1944 when she was only 16.After Korea was liberated from Japan's 36-year colonial rule in 1945, she lived in China for some six decades. She returned to South Korea only in 2003.On Tuesday ni

US President Donald Trump will name a Washington-based academic and former White House official, Victor Cha, as the next US ambassador to South Korea, Reuters reported, quoting an administration official as saying on Tuesday.Cha served as director for Asian affairs on the White House National Security Council and deputy head of the US delegation in multilateral talks with North Korea over its nuclear program during the administration of President George W. Bush.The Trump administration is expect

The Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation kicked off its three-day run in the biggest South Korean port city of Busan on Tuesday, bringing together foreign ministers from the two regions to discuss inter-regional collaboration and security issues stemming from North Korea's nuclear weapons development.This year's FEALAC ministerial meeting marks the eighth of its kind since the idea of bridging the regions through a regular channel was proposed in 1998. Foreign ministers from 36 FEALAC m

Piqued by growing educational and employment opportunities in Southeast Asia, a select group of Korean students will study across Indonesian universities for a year starting from the fall semester through the Darmasiswa scholarship program.The one-year scholarship is organized by Indonesia’s Ministry of National Education in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and offered to foreign students from countries with diplomatic ties to Indonesia. Students learn about the Southeast Asia

Marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Korea, the Turkish Embassy in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism will organize a series of cultural events this week ranging from music and dance to food and a reception. This year has also been marked the year of Turkey-Korea cultural relations, whose ties stretch back over 1,500 years.The first event at the National Theatre of Korea’s Daloreum Theater in Seoul at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday will featur

The following is the second of a two-part interview with the envoy, excerpted for convenience.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met a US congressional delegation Monday to discuss North Korea and pending bilateral issues.Ed Royce (R-CA), the chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a four-day trip with three other Congressmembers."We brought a large bipartisan delegation again here in order to express our desire to continue to build on a relationship between South Korea and the US," Royce said at the start of the meeting."We are loo

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for efforts to further strengthen the Korea-US alliance Monday, which he called the foundation of peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region."I thank you for your efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia," the president said, while meeting with a bipartisan group of US lawmakers at his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul."I especially thank you for imposing strong sanctions and pressure on North Korea th

South Korea's No. 2 diplomat is set to leave for Washington this weekend for talks with senior US officials to discuss North Korea and other bilateral issues, an official said Saturday.Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam is set to meet with US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and other senior officials on Monday, according to the South Korean foreign ministry official.The meeting came amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's launches of two intercontinental ballistic missil

MOSCOW (Yonhap) -- Top diplomats of South Korea and Russia on Friday agreed to closely work together to bring North Korea to the negotiating table over its nuclear programs. Foreign Ministers Kang Kyung-wha and Sergey Lavrov also shared expectations that the upcoming leaders’ summit will give new momentum to the development of bilateral ties between the two countries. Foreign Ministers Kang Kyung-wha (left) and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov (Yonhap)Kang arrived in Moscow Thursday for a three

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon met with Bulgaria's parliamentary speaker Wednesday and discussed ways to deepen substantial cooperation between the two countries and move their relations further forward, his office said.During the meeting with National Assembly President Dimitar Borisov Glavchev, Lee expressed hope that cooperation between the two countries will expand beyond trade and investment into areas of defense, energy and agriculture, according to a statement from Lee's office.Lee also said

South Korea will send a vice foreign minister to the Chinese Embassy's event this week to celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, amid a row over the ongoing installation of a US missile defense system in South Korea."Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will join the South Korean-based Chinese Embassy's reception in place of the foreign minister and give a celebratory speech there," ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing."Vice Mini

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold a summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok next month during a trip to take part in the Eastern Economic Forum, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.The forum, to be held Sept. 6-7, will largely focus on the economic and development potentials of Russia's Far East, and possible a chance for South Korean businesses to explore new business opportunities there.However, the venue is also expected to provide a crucial