South Korea is currently reviewing if China's recent trade actions, taken after Seoul's plans to deploy US missile defense systems on its soil, can be referred to the World Trade Organization, a high-ranking official said Tuesday."As we may happen to need to take legal action in the future, a working-level examination is under way on (the illegality of) all measures taken by the Chinese central and regional governments as well as the private sector following the Seoul deployment decision," the o

The top diplomats of South Korea and the US reaffirmed their commitment to shoring up the alliance Tuesday, calling for a joint approach to tackle North Korea’s “imminent threats,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se had his first phone conversation with new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was sworn in last week, days after US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ visit to Seoul. During the 25-minute talks, the ministers agreed to continue “coercive diplomacy” to thwa

The Sri Lankan Embassy on Friday marked the 69th anniversary of independence from colonial Britain as well as thriving ties with Korea officially extending to 40 years.The reception at Millennium Seoul Hilton drew dignitaries from both countries, including Kang Ho-in, Korean minister of land, infrastructure and transport, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Sri Lankan minister of disaster management, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Sri Lankan minister of public administration and management, and Chandrani Bandar

More than 33 years since quitting the African Union, Morocco was readmitted to the continental club of nations, heralding a new era of regional security and economic cooperation, according to the Moroccan Embassy in Seoul.The decision was made at the 28th Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Jan. 31, with the support of 39 countries and nine countries opposed in voting. Moroccan King Mohammed VI first signaled the country’s wish to rejoin the institution at the 27th summit in

Emerging from seven decades of Soviet rule, Belarus inherited an institutional legacy of excellence in scientific education and research, highly regarded across Eurasia. Since its independence in 1991, the country has moved toward a market economy, while preserving cardinal instruments in science and engineering. Now marking the silver jubilee of diplomatic relations with Korea on Feb. 10, Belarusian Ambassador to Korea Andrei Popkov believes cooperation in these fields is key to unlocking the t

Signs are growing over a strung-out standoff between Seoul and Tokyo as the Korean government is grappling with the statue of a wartime sex slave in Busan that has triggered a heated protest from Japan. On Jan. 6, Tokyo instructed its Ambassador to Korea Yasumasa Nagamine and Busan Consul General Yasuhiro Morimoto to return home in protest against the statue installed in front of the Japanese consulate general in Busan at the end of December. The Shinzo Abe government also declared a halt in hig

South Korea's foreign minister will meet leaders from a union of Korean residents in Japan on Monday to listen to their views on the relations between the two neighbors long plagued by historical and territorial feuds, his office said.Yun Byung-se plans to meet a delegation of the Korean Residents Union, also known as Mindan, later in the day, according to the foreign ministry. The meeting was arranged at the request of the union.This marked the first time since Aug 2013 that Yun is officially m

Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will likely meet in Washington in the middle of this month at the earliest to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's evolving nuke threats, a diplomatic source said Sunday.The gathering, if realized, would mark the first of its kind since the launch of the US administration led by President Donald Trump last month.The three nations would be represented by Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US State Secretary Rex Tillerson will hold their first telephone conversation this week, a South Korean foreign ministry official said Sunday."We're currently fine-tuning the timing for a phone conversation between South Korean and US foreign ministers on Tuesday (Korean time)," the official said, requesting not to be named. Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se (Yonhap)The conversation, if made, would mark the first formal contact between foreig

Moscow will take steps to protect its national security if US missile defense assets are deployed here as planned, the Russian ambassador to South Korea said Friday, warning it will bring a “dangerous impact” to the peninsula and the region. Alexander Timonin’s remarks came as the defense chiefs of South Korea and the US agreed during their talks in Seoul to complete the installment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system as scheduled for this year. They stressed the equipment was “onl

Retired UN envoy envisions role in linking civil society to world community

About 70 percent of Americans believe the US should have long-term military presence in South Korea, a survey showed Wednesday.The Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey, conducted jointly with research institutes in five other nations, also showed that 62 percent of South Koreans are supportive of long-term US military presence in their country."The South Korean public and the American public are closely aligned on their views of US bases in South Korea," the council said.The high American su

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and former US congressmen reaffirmed Wednesday that their countries need to react proactively in addressing North Korea's serious nuclear and missile threats, the foreign ministry here said.Yun held a meeting with an American delegation led by former US Representatives Dan Burton and Matt Salmon to discuss North Korean nuclear threats and alliance issues, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The delegation also included former US chief negotiato

South Korea has stopped issuing or extending visas for Chinese language instructors at the local branch of a Chinese non-governmental organization affiliated with its education ministry, sources said Wednesday.The Ministry of Justice has not issued or extended the one-year E-2 teaching visa for instructors at Confucius Institute in South Korea since late last year, according to local universities. Confucius Institute is a Chinese public institute that has some hundreds of branch offices worldwid

South Korea said Tuesday that it will not tolerate Japan's push to make clear its sovereignty over the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its textbook guidelines, saying that such an "unjust" territorial claim should be withdrawn immediately.In its Saturday edition, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that Japan's education ministry will specify that the islets are a "clear part of the territory of Japan" in its revised curriculum guidelines for textbooks to be used at elementary and mi