BERLIN (AFP) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday hailed the release of Ukrainian helicopter pilot Nadiya Savchenko after nearly two years in a Russian prison."I am happy and relieved that Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko has finally been released and can return to her family in Ukraine," said Steinmeier, also the current chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."This is good news for which we worked a long time and for which we also had to wait

Korean-Americans have the most unfavorable view of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump among Asian-American voters in the U.S., a survey showed Tuesday.About 80 percent of Korean-Americans had negative views of Trump, followed by Japanese-Americans with 76 percent and Filipino-Americans with 62 percent, according to the survey of 1,212 Asian-American voters released by Asian Americans Advancing Justice.In total, 61 percent of the respondents had unfavorable views of Trump while only 1

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to seek protectionist trade policies that could include invoking the powerful "Super 301" trade sanctions against foreign countries, a report said Tuesday.The Super 301 tool, which authorizes the president to take retaliatory measures against countries engaged in unfair trading practices, is among a series of options Trump could take without consent from Congress, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in a report.Under his "Am

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is dealing with friends and allies with a tactic best suited to bargaining with enemies, a renowned U.S. foreign policy scholar said.Harvard University professor Joseph Nye, considered a key Asia policy adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, made the point in a recent article contributed to the Project Syndicate, expressing concern that Trump is taking a "disastrous approach" to allies."Weakening America's alliances, the likel

Encouraging South Korea to develop nuclear weapons could undermine American influence in Asia, unravel the U.S. alliance system and spark a nuclear arms race in the region, a congressional report said in apparent criticism of Donald Trump's suggestion to do so."Presidential candidate Donald Trump in spring 2016 stated that he was open to South Korea's developing its own nuclear arsenal to counter the North Korean nuclear threat," the Congressional Research Service said in the recent report on So

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Sunday that her Republican rival Donald Trump's foreign policy views, including "heaping praise on a dangerous dictator in North Korea," pose "immediate dangers.""Look what he's done this past week, you know, attacking our closest ally, England. Heaping praise on a dangerous dictator in North Korea. Reiterating his call to pull out of NATO, our strong military alliance. Talking about letting other countries have nuclear weapons," Clinto

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to refine his foreign policy now that he's clinched the nomination, a senior Korean-American Republican Party official said.Michelle Park Steel, vice chair of California's Orange County Board of Supervisors, made the remark, vowing to play a bridging role between her native South Korea and Trump amid concerns about the negative effects a Trump presidency could have on the alliance between the two countries.Steel, the first Korean-America

 U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday he will continue to defend South Korea, but wants the Asian ally to pay more for American defense support.   Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Trump also said that he's willing to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but won't go to the communist nation.   "As far as Japan and South Korea are concerned, all I'm saying is we defend them. They are paying us a tiny fraction of what it's costing. I want them to pay," Trump

Asian victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery denounced the agreement reached by Seoul and Tokyo last year by claiming their views were not properly considered.Wrapping up the 14th Asian Solidarity Conference for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, the surviving victims adopted a resolution saying the deal "cannot be a resolution of the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery." Under last year's landmark deal, Tokyo expressed its apology and contrition for its colonial-era atrocit

U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima will include laying a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and a "brief tour" of the memorial grounds, a senior White House official said Thursday."We anticipate that he will be able to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial to lay a wreath and engage in a brief tour of the memorial grounds after which he will be able to deliver a statement reflecting upon what his impressions are," Deputy National Security Advisor

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday accused her Republican rival Donald Trump of "praising" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying it is one of a series of statements that show the real-estate tycoon is not qualified to be president.Clinton made the remark in an interview with CNN, calling the North's leader "a despotic dictator.""Whether it's attacking Great Britain, praising the leader of North Korea, a despotic dictator who has nuclear weapons, whether it is sa

A U.S. House Republican lawmaker blasted Donald Trump's willingness to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying such a meeting will only bolster the stature of a dictator seeking to "nuke the United States.""You don't meet with a dictator like Kim Jong-un. All you do is, you feed into him at that point, you strengthen him. You put him in a better position," Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said on CNN, calling the real-estate tycoon a "populist.""The reality is, Donald, you may have goo

Japan must reassure the world that it will not repeat the past by walking down the path of militarism when U.S. President Barack Obama visits the Japanese city of Hiroshima late next week, China's foreign ministry said Thursday. On May 27, Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima since it was hit by an American nuclear bomb in 1945. Along with a second nuclear bombing on Nagasaki, these attacks forced Japan to accept unconditional surrender that hastened the end of W

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Wednesday for rejecting politicians who are unconcerned about climate change and make racist remarks, in what could be a swipe at U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump."We are appalled by war crimes in Syria and elsewhere. We are outraged by racism and hatred, especially when voiced by politicians and would-be leaders who have a duty to bring people together, not drive them apart," Ban said during a speech at the Columbia University commenc

A group of U.S. House lawmakers called Tuesday for President Barack Obama to award this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom to late Korean-American war hero Kim Young-oak.Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Mark Takano (D-CA) made the appeal during a joint press conference at the House Rayburn building, saying the late retired Colonel Kim contributed to safeguarding and promoting the U.S. founding ideals of freedom and equality.Joining the campaign are a total