The top diplomats of South Korea, China and Japan began their trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday to discuss ways to expand cooperation and check pending issues of mutual concern.The talks, which started earlier in the day, marked the first time that foreign ministers of the three countries got together following the last such event held in Seoul back in March of 2015.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Fumio Kishida and Wang Yi, attended the gathering.T

Top diplomats of South Korea, China and Japan will hold a meeting this week to discuss cooperation and make preparations for a summit of their heads of state likely to be held this year, the foreign ministry here said Monday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the ministry.  (Yonhap)

Negotiations for a meeting of foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan are under way, but the timetable has yet to be determined, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.A Japanese media report earlier said that the three countries are fine-tuning the timetable for the trilateral meeting, saying that it could take place either Tuesday or Wednesday next week in Tokyo. Speculation spread that the three might not be able to get together within this month as territorial disputes between Bei

The United States will maintain a "credible deterrent" for friends and allies even though the administration is looking for additional ways to move President Barack Obama's vision for a nuclear-free world forward, the State Department said Tuesday.The Obama administration is reportedly considering renouncing the preemptive nuclear strike option to bolster his legacy as champion of a world without nuclear weapons. The so-called "no first use" policy has unnerved allies depending on U.S. nuclear w

The United States should focus on curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and reaffirm nuclear protection of South Korea, including giving Seoul a greater say in its nuclear contingency planning, if it wants to keep the Asian ally away from a nuclear path, a former senior U.S. official said.Robert Einhorn, who served as a top State Department nonproliferation official, made the point in a lengthy article to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, stressing that recent calls in South Kor

The Ivory Coast Embassy last week put the country’s rising prospects in the limelight at its 56th independence anniversary reception.Its National Day on Aug. 7 commemorated the West African nation’s liberation from colonial France, which ruled from the mid-19th century to 1960. The country’s late first President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who was a medical aide, union leader and planter before being elected to the French Parliament, led the country toward independence. He is widely credited for his

South Korea's government on Tuesday said it has agreed with Hong Kong to simplify the automated immigration procedures for each other starting next week, by eliminating the mandatory online preregistration.The Ministry of Justice said South Korean nationals and Hong Kong citizens will be able to use the automated immigration system when visiting each other's countries without preregistering online starting Monday.Under the new plan, South Koreans aged 17 or older visiting Hong Kong can register