SEOUL -- The foreign ministry expressed gratitude Friday to countries near the besieged Gaza Strip for their efforts in helping a South Korean family evacuate from the war-torn region via a border crossing into Egypt. "The government expresses gratitude to the governments of Qatar, Egypt and Israel for their efforts in ensuring the safe evacuation of five South Korean nationals," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a commentary. "In particular, we extend our thanks t

Japan has brought back 15 South Korean nationals and one foreign national family member from Israel to Tokyo on a Japanese military plane, reciprocating for the second time Korea’s rescue flight last month that included Japanese nationals. According to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, the plane landed at Haneda International Airport on Friday evening. Aboard the aircraft are 20 Japanese nationals, four Taiwanese citizens, one Vietnamese national and their five foreign national family members

BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (AP) — The gray film covering the faces of children rushed to Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza Thursday made it hard to distinguish between the living and the dead. After two Israeli airstrikes flattened an entire block of apartment buildings in the Bureij refugee camp and damaged two UN schools-turned-shelters, rubble-covered Palestinians big and small arrived at a hospital too packed to take them. Tiny, motionless bodies lay flat against the hospital&rsq

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visited Norway and Finland on the final legs of a five-nation tour aimed at rallying support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, his office said Friday. Han arrived in Norway early Thursday after completing visits to Malawi, Togo and Cameroon, and met with Norwegian businesspeople to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation. Later in the day, he held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and expressed hope for deeper

The Kazakhstan Embassy in Seoul stressed the importance of promoting both high-level and people-to-people ties with Korea, marking the 32nd anniversary of Kazakhstan's declaration of sovereignty on October 25. Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union on December 16, 1991. Delivering remarks at the event, Kazakhstan Ambassador to Korea Nurgali Arystanov lauded South Korea's pivotal role as a friendly strategic partner to his country, contributing to a dynamic economy, vibran

A South Korean family living in Gaza crossed into Egypt through the Rafah border Thursday, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Media reports earlier said, quoting authorities from Gaza, that around 600 foreign nationals, including South Koreans, were allowed to leave through the Rafah border Thursday, the second such departure since the border opened up to foreigners and aid workers Wednesday for the first time since the armed conflict between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas group. "A

US President Joe Biden chose his top Asia aide as the nominee for deputy secretary of state, the White House said Wednesday, as Washington maintains its strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific despite growing tensions in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine. The White House said Biden expressed his intent to designate Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, for the State Department's No. 2 post that has been left vacant since former Deputy

Foreign Minister Park Jin will discuss North Korea’s nuclear threats and other key issues with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the US diplomat’s two-day trip to South Korea from Nov. 8, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday. The visit, the first in two and a half years, comes as South Korea doubles down on the importance of the US nuclear umbrella to prevent a North Korean strike. The two allies agreed on giving Seoul a bigger say in how Washington deliv

A US Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill requiring the Pentagon to annually submit to Congress a report on contributions that South Korea and other allies make to "common defense" efforts, his office said Tuesday. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) submitted to the House the Allied Burden Sharing Report Act, which calls for the report on contributions by South Korea, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, Arab Gulf allies and all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Or

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it has requested that the European Union "prudently review" its ban on the use of dangerous chemicals known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other non-tariff barriers that may hinder free trade. Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun met Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis of the European Commission in Seoul to discuss pending bilateral trade issues, including Europe's new carbon border tax, according to the Ministry of Trade

Commemorating the Republic of Turkey's 100th anniversary Monday, Turkey's ambassador said the nation is looking to foster closer ties with South Korea. "Our horizons and dreams are very big, but what Turkey and Korea have done and can do together encourages us and motivates us to work harder," said Turkish Ambassador to Korea Murat Tamer at a reception held in Seoul, citing South Korea as one of the world's most modern, democratic and liberal nations, with one of the t

South Korea, the United States and Japan have held their first trilateral working-level talks on ways to bolster cooperation in humanitarian aid policies, in a follow-up to the summit of the three countries' leaders in August, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The two-day policy dialogue that ended Monday in Honolulu, Hawaii, was led by Won Do-yeon, director general for development cooperation; Michele Sumilas, assistant to the administrator of the bureau for planning, learning an

The United States opposes any country supplying Hamas with anything that the militant group can use for "terrorist activities," the State Department said Monday, amid a report that Hamas has been using North Korean weapons in its war against Israel. Last week, the Voice of America cited Israeli Ambassador to South Korea Akiva Tor as saying that Israeli authorities know that North Korean-made weapons are in use by Hamas. "Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization and we oppose anyon

Foreign Minister Park Jin has spoken by phone with his counterparts from Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan and discussed the escalating conflict between the Jewish state and the Islamic militant Hamas group, his office said Monday. In the phone talks, Park expressed deep concerns over the expanding ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and the increasing death toll that has topped 9,400 from the fighting. Speaking to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Park condemned Hamas' indiscrim

President Joe Biden highlighted the need for the United States and China to "responsibly" manage their competition and cooperate to tackle global challenges during his talks with the top Chinese diplomat in Washington on Friday, the White House said. Biden met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as Washington seeks Beijing's cooperation in preventing the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group from spreading across the Middle East and in addressing other global challen