South Korea's chief nuclear envoy will visit Washington and Beijing next week for talks with his counterparts on how to restart long-stalled negotiations with North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.Hwang Joon-kook, special representative for Korean peninsula affairs, will meet with his U.S. counterpart, Amb. Sung Kim, in Washington on Monday before visiting Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, on Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement also released in Washing

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expressed regret Friday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to acknowledge Japan's wartime wrongdoing in his congressional speech earlier this week.Abe, in his speech before a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, acknowledged the suffering his country brought to other Asian nations during World War II but offered no apology for its wartime crimes.South Korea and other members of the international community had demanded an apology, especially o

South Korea on Thursday expressed deep regrets over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s refusal to apologize for his country’s wartime atrocities, including the sexual enslavement of Asian women, during his speech at a joint session of U.S. Congress on Wednesday.Much to the chagrin of Seoul and Beijing that have demanded Tokyo’s sincere contrition, Abe did not include any apology in the unprecedented speech. He expressed “feelings of deep remorse” over the war, saying Japan’s actions brought “s

South Korea and China have agreed to conduct a joint environment research in the Yellow Sea as part of efforts to help develop and protect marine resources in the waters shared by the countries, the Seoul government said Thursday.The research will mark a resumption of joint efforts to better understand the environment of waters between the two countries that had lasted for 12 years since 1997, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries."Through the joint research that will be resumed this

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declaring ``history is harsh,'' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan offered solemn condolences Wednesday for the Americans who died in World War II as he became the first Japanese leader to address a joint meeting of Congress.``My dear friends, on behalf of Japan and the Japanese people, I offer with profound respect my eternal condolences to the souls of all American people that were lost during World War II,'' said Abe.But as he did at a news conference Tuesday with President

South Korean Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo said Wednesday that an "emotional solidarity" between Seoul and Beijing is deepening as more people visit each other's country.   Kim made the remarks at a meeting with about 100 Chinese bloggers after naming them civilian delegates to promote South Korea's image in China.  "An emotional solidarity between the people of the two countries has been deeper than ever before as the number of the two nations' visitors to each other's country surpassed 10 m

South Korea Wednesday rejected an application by the two local umbrella labor unions to visit North Korea to discuss a football friendly in Pyongyang, citing its political nature.  The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions are seeking to hold a football game between workers of the two Koreas in May, hoping that the event could help promote peace on the divided peninsula.  The Unification Ministry said that it has decided not to allow the heads of the two

South Korea asked a U.N. organization Tuesday to help foil Japan's attempt to list facilities served by wartime slave laborers as world heritage sites.  The Shinzo Abe administration is pushing to win UNESCO's recognition for 23 coal mines, shipyards and other early industrial sites. The candidates include seven facilities where nearly 60,000 Koreans were coerced into slave labor during World War II. Japan colonized Korea from 1910-45.  Seoul's new ambassador to UNESCO, Lee Byeong-hyun, delivere

Four civic groups here on Monday called for top U.S. policymakers and politicians to induce Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to sincerely apologize for his country’s sex slavery and other wartime atrocities in a joint letter. The dispatch is designed to request the members of U.S. Congress, where the premier is scheduled to deliver an address on Wednesday, to urge him to “voice clearly and publicly” and offer a “heartfelt apology” for Tokyo’s colonial rule and aggression. The text was written

South Korea pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe  Tuesday to clarify his perceptions on wartime sex slaves.  The essence of the "comfort women" issue is that the Japanese military established and operated brothels against the will of the victims during World War II, Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said at a press briefing.  They were forced to work there, which is stated in Japan's 1993 Kono Statement, he pointed out.  On a visit to the United States, Abe again characterized the wo

South Korea said Tuesday it is not considering approving massive food aid to North Korea, although it is "desirable" to prop up the quality of civilian groups' aid to the North.  The Ministry of Unification said that Seoul is not expected to allow civilian organizations to provide large amounts of food aid to North Korea such as rice or flour for the time being, compared with its recent approval for fertilizer aid.  "But the Seoul government believes that it is desirable to boost humanitarian as

South Korea should place more emphasis on whether Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to apologize over Japan's wartime atrocities, rather than the "nuance" of the words for his upcoming speech, a former top U.S. official said Tuesday.   South Korea is closely watching whether Abe will sincerely apologize for Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women during his expected speech at a joint session of the U.S. Congress slated for Wednesday.  James Steinberg, a former