“The Russians just come in on any given day, in broad daylight, start building barbed and razor wires around what had been Georgia’s lands for centuries, and call them borders.”

The United States congratulated South Korea Monday ahead of an anniversary of the Asian ally's independence from Japanese colonial rule.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a congratulatory message to mark Liberation Day, Aug. 15, the day Korea won independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonization."We reaffirm the ironclad alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea and honor our strong and historic people-to-people ties," he said. "This holiday also marks the bond our nations s

A special envoy of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, the North's state-run news agency said.Daniel Jean, national security advisor to the prime minister of Canada, and his party arrived in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency said, without elaborating further. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Yonhap)The visit drew speculation that the envoy was to discuss the issue of Korean-Canadian pastor Lim Hyeon-soo detained in the reclusive regime.Lim has

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that North Korea will be met with "fire and fury" if it continues to threaten his country, issuing a strong rebuke against a country that has reportedly succeeded in miniaturizing nuclear weapons."North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," Trump told reporters at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to a pool report.(Yonhap)The warning c

The United Kingdom government launched the first phase of its multimillion-dollar investment in battery technology, paving the way for the country’s lead in designing, developing and manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, according to the British Embassy in Seoul. The $320 million investment, known as the Faraday Challenge, comes as the UK tries to secure a strategic position in the global renewable energy market and fight against global warming. “The launch of the Faraday Challenge is a p

In an effort to streamline the consular process in Korea, the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul has instituted an immigration attache tasked with providing up-to-date services for its 40,000 nationals here. At the inauguration ceremony at the diplomatic mission in Seoul on July 31, newly appointed Indonesian Ambassador Umar Hadi highlighted the importance of protecting citizens and offering efficient assistance using an accurate database. “It was necessary to establish an appropriate system of service

The Moroccan Embassy marked the 18th anniversary of the accession to the throne of King Mohammed VI last week.The event also celebrated thriving ties between Morocco and Korea, now 55 years in the making diplomatically and expanding into all-inclusive realms.“The Throne Day is a symbol of love, loyalty, sacrifice, faithfulness and strong ties between the king and his people, based on a firm pledge of allegiance and obligations,” said Moroccan Ambassador to Korea Chafik Rachadi in a speech at a r

As Seoul shores up its diplomacy with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines is fully committed to the Korean peninsula’s denuclearization efforts as the chair of ASEAN this year, said the country’s top envoy here, also highlighting flourishing defense and law enforcement cooperation between the two countries.During the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on Saturday, the top diplomats of the 10-member bloc expressed their “grave concerns” over the escalating tension

Top diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan promised on Monday to cooperate to ensure a full implementation of new United Nations sanctions against North Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Manila on the sidelines of meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.  (Yonhap)"The foreign ministers of the three countries shared the view that the North's two ballisti

MANILA -- South Korea's top diplomat will make her debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage Sunday by joining ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where she will discuss cooperation on diverse issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Manila on Saturday and held back-to-back bilateral talks with counterparts from Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.On Sunday, Kang will participate in the S

MANILA -- South Korea's top diplomat arrived in the Philippines on Saturday to attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations where she will discuss measures with regional powers to curb growing threats from North Korea."This is my debut on a multilateral diplomatic platform," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters upon arriving at Ninoy Akino International Airport in Manila. "Having said that, we have arranged bilateral talks with as many countries as possible."She is to

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A proposed new UN sanctions resolution would significantly increase economic pressure on North Korea to return to negotiations on its nuclear and missile programs by banning mineral and seafood exports worth over $1 billion -- a third of its total exports last year, a Security Council diplomat said Friday.　 The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would also ban countries from giving any additional permits to North Korean laborers _ another source of money f

The UN Security Council will soon vote on a resolution imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea for its recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests, diplomats said Saturday.The US-drafted resolution aims to cut North Korea‘s export revenue by one-third to $1 billion a year, according to news reports.  “We tabled a UN Security Council Resolution and hope for adoption as soon as possible,” a US official told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity.After lengthy negotiations, the US reached a dea

South Korea and China will hold a meeting of senior officials next week over a dispute on their partially overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Yellow Sea, the foreign ministry said Friday. The director general-level meeting will begin in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day run, according to the ministry. Park Chull-joo, chief of the ministry's international law affairs bureau, will represent South Korea, while Wang Xiaodu, Chinese ambassador for Yellow Sea affairs, will lead the Chinese side