South Korea has made big strides in promoting womens' rights over the past few decades, but there remain many difficulties and challenges for women, especially younger workers, the U.S. second lady said.Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, also said in an interview with Vogue Korea ahead of her visit to the country that she hopes to use her visit to South Korea to learn more about measures the country has been taking to "even the playing field for women in the workplace."Biden is s

The top diplomats from South Korea and France plan to have talks in Paris on Friday to exchange views on Iran's nuclear deal and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with his French counterpart Laurant Fabius to discuss the landmark Iranian nuclear deal and its implications on the North's nuke issue, the ministry added.Yun stopped by Paris on Friday after participating in a U.N. conference on financing for development held i

South Korea on Friday returned one of two Korean Buddha statues back to Japan, which were stolen by a Korean theft ring three years ago from a Japanese temple, a diplomatic source said.A group of seven South Korean thieves stole the two statues from the Kaijin shrine in Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture in October 2012. The two cultural artifacts were passed through Korean customs as they were mistakenly appraised as copied antiques.As South Korean cultural artifacts were looted by Japan during its 19

Japan's role in the event of a Korean Peninsula contingency would be to provide "logistical support" even if the country's controversial new security legislation passes through parliament, the country's military chief said Thursday.Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, made the remark during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, saying the security bill is aimed at strengthening the alliance with the U.S."In that instance

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry reiterated Thursday that Tokyo must secure Seoul’s consent should it conduct any military activities that would affect the peninsular security and Korea’s national interests.The ministry’s statement came as the lower house of Japan’s legislature passed 11 controversial bills to enable its troops to fight abroad to support the military operations of its ally, the U.S., under the concept of collective self-defense. South Korea cannot accept Japanese military activiti

South Korea called on Japan Thursday to push for its new defense policy in a transparent manner, as Japan's ruling party railroaded controversial security bills through the lower house of the parliament.The bills, boycotted by opposition parties, would allow the conservative Shinzo Abe administration to reinterpret the constitution and expand the country's military role abroad.The Abe administration plans to enact the bills by Sept. 27, when the current extended parliamentary session ends. The l

The United States welcomes Japan to play a more active role in the region and beyond as reflected in the new defense cooperation guidelines between the two countries that include Japan exercising its "collective self-defense" right, the State Department said Wednesday.The comment came as public opposition has been growing sharply in Japan to the collective self-defense initiative that empowers Japan to fight alongside its allies even when not under attack itself. The initiative is the centerpiec

South Korea will actively support local companies' inroads into the Iranian market after a landmark agreement was reached over the country's nuclear program, the government said Wednesday.The announcement comes a day after Iran reached a deal with the five permanent United Nations Security Council member states and Germany, easing global concerns about its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.The finance ministry said that it will take measures to set up a dedicated support center t

South Korea will constantly try to expand development assistance for countries in need, capitalizing on its own experience, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Wednesday."Korea is the prime example of a least-developed-country-turned-donor. As such, we know from experience what it takes to overcome poverty and promote sustainable development," he said in a keynote speech at a global summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on tackling poverty.The third International Conference on Financing for Developmen

South Korea and Japan are so wide apart in their positions on historical issues that it could be difficult for the two American allies to substantially improve relations even if they hold a formal summit, a U.S. congressional report said Sunday.The Congressional Research Service issued the analysis in a report on U.S.-South Korea relations, saying the approaches of South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to historical issues "appear to contradict one another a