It was belatedly disclosed that the Uzbek government requested the South Korean government to arrest about 10 Uzbeks suspected of being members of a terrorist group who had entered the country. According to the National Police Agency on Thursday, the central Asian nation sent the Justice Ministry an official document asking for their arrest and repatriation around October last year.  (Yonhap)The South Korean police immediately kicked off a probe, but found no circumstantial evidence that they ha

Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-wha on Thursday called for humanitarian assistance to North Korea irrespective of the political situation, while stressing the need for stronger sanctions in the event of additional provocations. The former UN diplomat also said she is keen to meet with the victims of the Japanese military’s sexual enslavement during World War II, which has beleaguered relations between the two countries. 　“In fact, I reached out to one of them when I was here on vacation last

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok met with Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj on Wednesday and discussed joint climate change responses as well as ways to enhance ties between the two nations, the mayor’s office said Thursday. “As desertification in Mongolia and China is deepening due to global warming, the world should join hands to tackle the phenomenon and yellow sand that stems from it,” the South Korean mayor said during the meeting, which was held at the Mongolian presidential residence I

South Korea's Justice Ministry said Thursday it has officially received notification from Denmark that the daughter of former President Park Geun-hye's friend dropped the appeal against her extradition order. On Wednesday, Danish prosecutors confirmed that Chung Yoo-ra will be extradited to South Korea as she dropped her appeal to the High Court of Western Denmark regarding a lower court's decision to send her back to Seoul.  In this file photo taken on Jan. 12, 2017, activists perform in front

A South Korean senior diplomat will depart to the United States on Thursday to prepare a summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump set for next month, the foreign ministry said.During his three-day trip, Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam is expected to discuss the timing, agenda and protocol details for the first talks between the two leaders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam (Yonhap)Moon and Trump are expected to focus on North Korea's nucle

INCHEON -- President Moon Jae-in's nominee for the country's top diplomat said Thursday that humanitarian aid to the North should be provided regardless of political considerations.Kang Kyung-wha, recently tapped to lead the foreign ministry, still emphasized that it is necessary to seek "more powerful" sanctions against North Korea in case the regime carries out additional provocations."It is a universal value to provide humanitarian aid to where human beings are suffering. It is also the princ

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that his special envoys to the US, Japan and China help make up for what he called a monthslong diplomatic hiatus, also noting the country's diplomatic efforts have got back on the right track.The president was apparently referring to a policy vacuum created by the March 10 ouster of his conservative predecessor Park Geun-hye."Our diplomacy has been in a state of vacuum due to the prolonged political impasse, but it appears (the envoys) have comp

MOSCOW -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoy has told the Russian Far East development minister and parliament leaders that South Korea intends to increase economic cooperation with Russia as a means to dissuade North Korea from its nuclear weapons development and military provocations.After meetings with the Minister for Development of Russian Far East Alexander Galushka and parliamentary leaders on Tuesday, Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party said the Russian sid

South Korea and Japan will hold their annual aviation talks this week, with Seoul asking for adjustments in flight course and safety distance between planes, the transportation ministry said Tuesday.The talks will be held on South Korea's southern island of Jeju from Wednesday to Friday, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It will be the 12th round of the talks that began in 2005. (Yonhap)South Korea is asking Japan to adjust flight routes to shorten the flying dista

By Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Zahid Nasrullah KhanOn 6 June 1998, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1172 and expressed deep concern over the risk of a nuclear arms race in South Asia. Determined to prevent such a scenario from happening, it urged India and Pakistan to resume all of their bilateral dialogues covering outstanding issues and encouraged them to find mutually acceptable solutions that “address the root causes of those tensions, including Kashmir.” Nineteen yea

"The more Seoul harped on its unification rhetoric, the further it will drift away, as Pyongyang would suspect Seoul’s intention and interpret it as a strategy to topple the regime."

“Transactional diplomacy would decouple the nuclear issue from broader strategies and create conditions for success by not maximizing the interest of any party, but by optimizing the interests of all parties.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in's top security advisor on Monday voiced a need to resume talks with North Korea, though he said the dialogue must not get in the way of ongoing international sanctions against the communist state."We will have to try and gradually resume dialogue, starting with working-level talks," Chung Eui-yong, the head of the National Security Office, told reporters.(Yonhap)"I believe we must review the possibility as I believe we could resume exchanges in various areas, s

President Moon Jae-in's special envoy departed to Russia on Monday where he will seek to forge closer cooperation over North Korea and bilateral economic issues."I will do my efforts to deliver President Moon's visions for the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issues and economic cooperation issues and to make a meaningful agreement," Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party told reporters before his flight. President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy to Russia, Rep. Song Young-gil (cen

Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-wha said Sunday she is ready to help resolve North Korea’s nuclear issues by capitalizing on her yearslong experience at the UN, calling it a top priority. In her first press availability following President Moon Jae-in’s nomination earlier in the day, Kang said she felt a “heavy weight on her shoulders” due to various foreign policy challenges faced by Seoul.Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)“Though I’ve never dealt with it directly, the North K