South Korea has put the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia on its priority list for exporting quarantine supplies, such as coronavirus test kits, a Seoul official said Friday, as nearly 120 countries seek to secure the products manufactured here. The foreign ministry official made the remarks a day after the government held the first meeting of an interagency team formed for discussions on striking a delicate balance between domestic demand and the export or humanitarian prov

South Koreans stranded in Peru are to arrive home over the weekend via a repatriation flight, as the Latin American country has suspended commercial flights to and from the country to contain the novel coronavirus, the Korean Embassy in Peru said Friday. A total 198 Koreans, including tourists and volunteer workers with the Korea International Cooperation Agency, departed from a military airport in Peru’s capital Lima on Thursday afternoon, local time, on a chartered flight arranged by t

The leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies pledged Thursday to make every effort to ride out the COVID-19 crisis, saying they will ensure the cross-border flow of key response materials, including medical supplies and agricultural products.    They also agreed to continue "bold and large-scale fiscal support" to minimize the negative impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, according to a joint statement adopted during their special video conference.   

Italian authorities swiftly approved two evacuation flights for South Koreans living in the European country, sources here said Thursday, as the government here takes further steps to protect its citizens from the novel coronavirus.    Seoul asked Italian civil aviation authorities to operate the two flights early Wednesday, with Rome giving permission before the end of the same day.    The two planes will bring back 581 people, with the first to depart Italy next Tuesday

  South Korea on Thursday renewed its concerns about Japan's plan to release contaminated water from its disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.    South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination said Japan should ensure that its plan does not affect the health and safety of South Koreans or the maritime ecosystem.    South Korea's latest move came two days after Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the ruined nuclear power plant, came up with a p

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday held a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussing the pandemic and their governments’ responses, continuing his COVID-19 diplomacy hours ahead of the G-20 teleconference. According to Cheong Wa Dae, Trudeau said that Seoul was responding to the issue scientifically and had avoided putting too much pressure on the country’s health system, and that Canada plans to take a similar approach. Cheong Wa Dae spokespers

Around 600 South Korean nationals in Italy are set to be evacuated on government charter flights home next week, as the grim tally of coronavirus cases and deaths continues to surge. 　 There are 151 people in Rome and 430 in Milan who will fly on the charter flights, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. A majority of the passengers are Korean citizens and some are foreign family members. 　 The Korean government will send two flights to the country -- one will depart next

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump exchanged views over the phone Tuesday on bilateral cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the 23-minute conversation, made at Trump‘s “urgent request,” Moon said the two countries’ recent currency swap agreement, worth $60 billion, was a “very timely” measure to help stabilize the international financial market. Held two days ahead of the Group of 20 sp

South Korean President Moon Jae-in stressed the need for a “unified message” from this week‘s teleconference by the leaders of the Group of 20 nations on the coronavirus pandemic, during his telephone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday. He held out expectations for in-depth discussions on international cooperation in both quarantine and the economy during the “special summit” to be held on Thursday, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday the Group of 20 leaders will hold a “timely” teleconference on the coronavirus crisis, as international coordination is urgently needed to tackle the pandemic. In phone talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Moon said the Middle Eastern nation is credited with a “speedy response” to set up the session slated for Thursday. It holds the G-20 presidency this year. “Now that the coronavirus is spre

US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday he is working from home in accordance with the host government‘s social distancing guidelines. “I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to all South Koreans on the front line, who are working tirelessly to flatten the curve of coronavirus. Let me just say that we are all in this together,” he said in the message posted on his Twitter account. Behind him in the video were desktop monitors in what appeared to be his pri

Around 200 South Korean nationals stranded in Peru after the country sealed its borders and halted all flights amid the global coronavirus pandemic will be able to return home on a charter flight this week. 　 The flight, operated by Mexican airline Aeromexico, is set to take off from Lima on Thursday afternoon and arrive at Incheon International Airport, according to the Korean Embassy in Peru on Monday. 　 The total number of passengers has yet to be confirmed but is estimated to be around 20

The South Korean government sent a charter flight to Iran on Thursday and evacuated 80 people from the Middle Eastern country, which is struggling with a severe coronavirus outbreak. 　 The Asiana Airlines flight departed from Al Maktoum International Airport near Dubai at 8:05 a.m. (Korean time), carrying 74 Korean nationals and six Iranian family members, and arrived at Incheon International Airport on Thursday at around 4:30 pm. The passengers had flown to Dubai on an Iran Air flight. 　 Up

South Korea’s national fencing team reported that a third athlete on the team had been confirmed to have the novel coronavirus, health officials said Thursday. The 36-year-old athlete tested positive Wednesday. She had returned home from an international competition in Budapest, Hungary, over the weekend, according to South Chungcheong Province health authorities. She was tested for the virus at a test center in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, earlier this week after a teammate was

South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday it has issued a travel advisory for all countries previously not affected by its travel warnings prompted by the global spread of the new coronavirus. Under the unprecedented move, all South Koreans are advised to take caution when visiting any foreign country, the ministry said, adding that the level-1 travel advisory will be effective as of Thursday. "All those planning an overseas trip are advised to carefully consider the need and possibl