Sung Kim, the newly appointed US special envoy for North Korea, is set to visit South Korea on Saturday for a three-way meeting with his counterparts in Seoul and Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.  Kim’s five-day visit, which lasts till Wednesday, marks his first trip to South Korea since being appointed Biden’s point man on North Korea last month.  The US envoy is set to hold a bilateral meeting on Monday with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, to discu

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened an important ruling party meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to tackle the country’s food shortage and deal with the “current international situation,” state media said Wednesday. 　 The multiday plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party’s central committee opened Tuesday, the Korea Central News Agency said, with a mandate to review major state policies and measures to solve pending issues urgent for the economy and people&rsquo

Unification Minister Lee In-young’s planned trip to the US has been put off, his office said Tuesday, as Pyongyang remains largely unresponsive to overtures from Seoul and Washington. 　 Lee had sought to visit Washington this month to meet with officials, think tank leaders and experts to discuss a coordinated approach toward North Korea in hopes of a breakthrough in stalled inter-Korean ties. The US recently completed a policy review on the recalcitrant regime and is now pursuing an app

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had agreed to hold talks on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in England, but Japan unilaterally called the meeting off, citing the Dokdo issue, according to the Foreign Ministry on Monday. 　 The two countries had tentatively decided for Moon and Suga to have a pull-aside meeting on the fringes of the summit, which was held Friday through Sunday at Carbis Bay Hotel and Estate in Cornwall, southwestern England, accordin

CORNWALL, England/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in exchanged greetings with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Saturday at the G-7 summit in the UK. But a separate session does not appear to be in the cards this time, amid speculation that the two leaders might get together for a bilateral meeting or a trilateral one with the US. 　 Moon and Suga “exchanged greetings” just before the start of an expanded session of the G-7 summit at Carbis Bay Hotel and Estate

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy as evidence of a “Cold War mentality,” and called for China and South Korea to stick to their political consensus as President Moon Jae-in prepares for the G-7 summit, where Washington is expected to encourage its allies to take a tougher stance toward Beijing.  Wang’s remarks came during a phone conversation with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Wednesday evening, according to

The ruling Democratic Party and the government agreed Wednesday to push for the ratification of a 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement in hopes of reviving the stalled peace process on the Korean Peninsula, and to strengthen coordination with the US on the implementation of its North Korea policy. 　 During the policy consultation session between the Democratic Party and the government, ministers and lawmakers discussed follow-up measures to last month’s South Korea-US summit. They also tal

Slovenia is set to establish an embassy in Seoul this year, and Tuesday its visiting top diplomat asked for South Korea’s cooperation ahead of its opening. 　 Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar, at the start of bilateral talks with Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, stressed that one of the reasons he visited was to prepare to open the embassy. 　 “In order to organize everything that is corresponding to the opening of this embassy, I look forward to your help in that sense,

North Korea’s official newspaper on Monday urged officials to strengthen discipline in executing the country’s economic goals ahead of an important party meeting this month. 　 The Rodong Sinmun stressed that the five-year economic development plan laid out early this year was an order from the ruling Workers’ Party and was the “nation’s law,” one that all North Koreans were obliged to execute. 　 To strengthen discipline, the paper urged the officials to &ld

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s monthlong disappearance from state media has fueled speculation over his whereabouts, as it marked his longest absence this year.  The last time Kim appeared in a public setting was on May 6 when he held a photo session with military family members, according to state media.  Since then, there have been reports of him sending letters to foreign leaders and his people, but he was not seen in any official events.  When asked whether the S

The Unification Ministry on Thursday said it will spend 1.18 billion won ($1.06 million) to construct seven more video centers across the country where families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War may be able to reunite with relatives in the North virtually.  The decision to build additional video facilities was approved during a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges presided over by Unification Minister Lee In-young. 　 “I have never forgotten that solving the sep

A host of newly declassified US documents was released to the South Korean government on Wednesday, revealing Washington’s assessment of Choi Kyu-ha as a “helpless president” against military general Chun Doo-hwan. Chun took power after a military coup in 1979, leading to the nationwide democracy movement the following year. 　 The State Department released 14 documents related to the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, including the full text report sent from the US Embassy i

A global climate summit wrapped up its two-day run Monday, with host nation South Korea pledging stronger environmental action and a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, as the country seeks a bigger role in the global fight against climate change. 　 The Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, or P4G, summit brought world leaders together to discuss public-private partnerships toward carbon neutrality and sustainable growth. 　 Due to the coronavirus situation, the meeting w

North Korea on Monday slammed the US for terminating guidelines that have restricted Seoul’s development of ballistic missiles as a “stark reminder” of Washington’s hostile approach to Pyongyang.  This marked Pyongyang’s first reaction to the May 21 summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden, during which the US decided to abolish the decadeslong guidelines that had put limits on Korea’s missile development program, allowing Seoul t

The P4G summit kicked off in Seoul on Sunday, bringing together top government officials and heads of international organizations around the world to discuss climate change and ways to achieve green growth at a critical time when there are growing calls for a sustainable, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is hosting the two-day event, vowed to take on a larger role in fighting climate change as he attended the opening ceremony held at Dong