With the silver jubilee of diplomatic ties slated on Dec.1 this year, South Africa and South Korea can expand cooperation by exploiting economic areas of mutual benefit, according to Ambassador Nozuko Gloria Bam. South Africa’s recently adopted National Development Plan targets economic diversification and higher competitiveness, covering mining, agriculture, manufacturing and services. To achieve these measures, the government identified 40 projects in energy, infrastructure and manufacturing,

The Argentine Embassy last week promoted the country’s flagship Malbec wine at a tasting event in Seoul. In its seventh iteration of the annual event, “Malbec World Day” at Millennium Seoul Hilton showcased the finest wines of Argentina, whose unique flavors and properties are forming savory chemistries with Korean consumers. The event is a global initiative sponsored by Wines of Argentina, a public promotional agency supported by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Worship and the Argentine W

South Korea and the United States will hold working-level consultations later this week on a broad range of alliance issues including North Korea's military threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday.The two sides are scheduled to open the two-day Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue meeting in Washington DC on Wednesday (local time), according to the Ministry of National Defense. An image of South Korea-US alliance in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)It would be their first KIDD s

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump cited his decision to not label China a currency manipulator as an example of "flexibility," saying he made the decision against his campaign pledge because Beijing is helping solve the problem of North Korea."For me to call him a currency manipulator and then say, 'By the way, I'd like you to solve the North Korean problem' doesn't work. So you have to have a certain flexibility," Trump said in an interview with the Associated Press, according to a transc

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump is expected to visit China in the second half of this year, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai was quoted as saying.Cui made the remark during a film screening event held at his embassy on Friday, saying the envisioned visit by Trump will be the most important event in relations between the two countries in the second half, according to the China Daily.The envoy did not mention any specific dates.US President Donald Trump (L) and Chinese P

Seoul is pushing for the official identification of the waters between Korea and Japan as the East Sea at an international conference in Monaco this week in the face of robust resistance from Tokyo, officials said Sunday. The International Hydrographic Organization will kick off its triennial assembly in Monaco on Monday for a five-day run, during which its 87 member states are expected to discuss the amendment of the Limits of Oceans and Seas, its guideline for world maps and charts. For the me

South Korea voiced its "deep disappointment" on Friday after Japanese politicians paid their respects at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war criminals.Around 90 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine earlier in the day to mark an annual spring festival, Japan's Kyodo News reported.(Yonhap)They included Seiichi Eto, an aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Abe also sent a ritual offering, the report said. "The (South Korean) government expresses deep concerns and disappointment

South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet next week to discuss their coordinated approach toward North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the foreign ministry here said Friday.Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the South Korean foreign ministry, will meet with his US and Japanese counterparts -- Joseph Yun and Kenji Kanasugi -- in Tokyo on Tuesday, according to the ministry. Kim Hong-kyun (left), South Korea's chief envoy on North

The top diplomats of South Korea and Tanzania will sit down together in Seoul next week to discuss bilateral collaboration on economic issues as well as the North Korean nuclear issue, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.The talks between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Tanzanian counterpart Augustine P. Mahiga are scheduled for Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. It will be their second meeting in about four months following one held on Dec. 7 in Ethiopia during a regional f

Mystery persists over US President Donald Trump's dispatch of an "armada" toward the Korean Peninsula, leaving many people here puzzled and concerned about defense coordination between the allies.Early this month, the US Pacific Command announced the departure of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group from Singapore for waters near the peninsula.On April 12, Trump said in an interview with Fox News, "We are sending an armada (to the area). Very powerful." A day later, a US Pac

South Korea has been re-elected to the governing body of UNICEF, the United Nations' fund for children, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.In the elections held during the UN Economic and Social Council's Coordination and Management Meetings earlier this week, South Korea retained its seat on UNICEF's 36-nation executive board, as well as its membership in the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which promotes women's rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.  (Yonhap)South Korean has

South Korea's foreign minister will attend a United Nations Security Council meeting scheduled for next week to discuss North Korea's nuclear threats and efforts to make the North go nuclear-free, a ministry source said Thursday.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will join the UNSC meeting to be held in New York on April 28 that will focus on North Korea's nuclear stalemate and its denuclearization, the source told Yonhap News Agency. South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (Yonhap)The meeting wi

South Korea, the United States and Japan united on Wednesday in urging China to stop economic retaliation on Seoul in connection with the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system here.Senior defense officials from the three countries made the call at the Defense Trilateral Talks in Tokyo, which focused on their joint response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.In a joint press statement, they pointed the finger apparently at Beijing for its thinly veiled economic sanctions

WASHINGTON -- The White House praised China on Wednesday for making efforts to rein in North Korea after Beijing's Foreign Ministry warned the North not to make provocative remarks."I think it's encouraging to see China continue to move forward and join us in this effort to control North Korea," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at a regular briefing. "I think that the relationship that the president started building with President Xi down in Mar-a-Lago is clearly showing some positiv