The U.S. ambassador to South Korea said Tuesday that Washington is not concerned about the "speed or scope" of inter-Korean dialogue, signaling that its tough stance on North Korea doesn't conflict with Seoul's move to improve ties with Pyongyang.The remarks by Mark Lippert, Washington's ambassador to Seoul, came amid growing concerns here that Washington's recent sanctions on the North may hamper Seoul's initiative. Earlier this month, the U.S. imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea following t

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy left for Japan on Tuesday to hold talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on ways to resume the long-stalled multilateral talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear program, officials said.Hwang Joon-kook is scheduled to meet with Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, and Japanese chief envoy Junichi Ihara in Tokyo on Wednesday, according to the Foreign Ministry.Hwang will make a three-day visit to Tokyo that also in

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman will visit South Korea next week for discussions on North Korea and the alliance between Seoul and Washington, the State Department announced Friday.Sherman will be in Seoul on Jan. 28-29 for meetings with senior officials and non-governmental experts to discuss the alliance and North Korea issues, as well as regional and global priorities, the department said in a statement.It did not provide further specifics. Seoul is the secon

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more efforts to bolster tourism and cultural exchanges with South Korea, expressing his eagerness to further strengthen the already-robust economic ties between the two countries, an official Chinese government website said Saturday.Xi made the remarks in his congratulatory message marking the launch of the “Year of Visit to China” in South Korea on Friday, according to the message posted on the website of China’s foreign ministry on Saturday.During th

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe branded the murder of a Japanese hostage by Islamic State militants "outrageous and impermissible" on Sunday and demanded the release of a second hostage, amid a growing global chorus of revulsion.Abe spoke as the grieving father of self-employed security contractor Haruna Yukawa said he had gone "totally blank" since learning of his son's execution, announced in a video posted online by the militants late Saturday. Abe, speaking to public broadcaster NHK, said he was "

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more efforts to bolster tourism and cultural exchanges with South Korea, expressing his eagerness to further strengthen the already-robust economic ties between the two countries, an official Chinese government website said Saturday.Xi made the remarks in his congratulatory message marking the launch of the "Year of Visit to China" in South Korea on Friday, according to the message posted on the website of China's foreign ministry on Saturday. During t

Top economic policymakers of South Korea and China agreed Friday to work closely together to quickly ratify the bilateral free trade pact reached last year.In a meeting held in downtown Seoul, South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said the free trade agreement is an important issue that directly impacts all sides, the finance ministry said.The FTA, effectively agreed upon in November, has yet to be formally signed and must be approved by lawmakers

The United States is seeking to establish a formula for implementing a three-way military intelligence sharing deal with South Korea and Japan aimed at better coping with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, a source familiar with the matter said Thursday.The issue was a key topic when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo this week, the source said. Hagel is expected to talk about it again when he speaks with Japanese Defense Minister

The U.S. pointman on North Korea will visit Japan and China next week for discussions with his counterparts over how to deal with Pyongyang, the State Department announced Thursday.Amb. Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea policy, will be in Tokyo on Jan. 27-28 for a trilateral meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, the department said in a release.Kim will be accompanied by Sydney Seiler, special envoy for the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, as well

The top nuclear negotiators from South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Tokyo next week to discuss ways to resume the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea‘s denuclearization, officials said Thursday.Seoul’s top nuke envoy, Hwang Joon-kook, will meet with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Junichi Ihara, on Wednesday to discuss Pyongyang‘s nuclear weapons program and situations on the Korean Peninsula, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.For the talks, Hwang

An additional 2,091 South Koreans have been confirmed as victims of forced labor by imperial Japan who ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony during the first half of the 20th century, the Seoul government said Thursday.The new victims were discovered after new records were found kept at the South Korean Embassy in June, 2013. Out of the 5,157 names listed on the records, 2,091 were immediately confirmed as bona-fide victims of Japan's forced labor.The records were compiled in 1953 under the Rhe

South Korea has inked memorandums of understanding to promote financial cooperation with Costa Rica and Peru, the finance ministry said Thursday.The pacts, reached during Vice Finance Minister Bang Moon-kyu's visit to the Latin American countries, call for comprehensive cooperation aimed at sharing financial data and fiscal policy know-how. They also outline closer ties in policy implementation and management systems set up by the South Korean government.The finance ministry added that the lates