Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi is set to visit South Korea and Japan this week, in a move widely seen as an effort by Beijing to secure ties with its two East Asian neighbors ahead of the inception of the Joe Biden administration in the US. 　 Wang is set to arrive in Japan on Tuesday for a two-day trip, during which he is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. 　 He will then visit South Korea from Wednesday to Frid

Foreign Affairs Nov. 23, 2020

A UN envoy on North Korea condemned South Korea for opting out of co-sponsoring a North Korean human rights resolution at the United Nations, saying this sends the wrong signal to the reclusive regime. 　 “They should have a more vocal and outspoken position with regards to the human rights agenda as it was in the past,” Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, said during a recent interview with Radio Free Asia. “I would like to see South

North Korea Nov. 23, 2020

A year has passed since South Korea decided not to scrap its intelligence-sharing deal with Japan in hopes that Tokyo would retract the export restrictions it had imposed on Seoul, but the frigid bilateral relations show no signs of thawing, even after a recent diplomatic overture from South Korea. 　 In August last year, South Korea decided to terminate a bilateral military information-sharing pact with Japan known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, in retaliation for J

Foreign Affairs Nov. 22, 2020

Acknowledging that the US policy of “maximum pressure” and its focus on North Korea’s denuclearization have failed to change the reclusive regime, Joseph Yun, former US special representative for North Korea policy, said the incoming Joe Biden administration should steer both denuclearization and peace building in tandem in dealing with the North. 　 Yun, who served as Washington’s point man on North Korea during the early Trump administration, stressed that Biden needs

North Korea Nov. 19, 2020

Unification Minister Lee In-young held a videoconference with former US Defense Secretary William Perry on Wednesday to discuss ways to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea under the future administration of US President-elect Joe Biden. 　 Jeong Se-hyun, a former unification minister and current executive vice chairperson of the presidential National Unification Advisory Council, also attended the hourlong session. 　 During the three-way meeting, Perry said using a “diplomatic so

North Korea Nov. 18, 2020

The International Hydrographic Organization has reached a consensus to adopt a new way of identifying seas by number, rather than by name, a move that could put an end to the long-standing dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over what the body of water between two countries should be called, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. 　 During a virtual General Assembly of the international organization on maritime data on Monday, the 65 member states agreed to revise the existing standard for a world map

Foreign Affairs Nov. 17, 2020

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi may visit South Korea later this month for talks on bilateral cooperation and to discuss Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Seoul, according to media reports Monday. 　 Citing diplomatic sources, the report said Seoul and Beijing officials have been in talks to arrange Wang’s visit to happen within this month, around his reported trip to Japan. 　 South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, however, declined to confirm the report, adding the t

Foreign Affairs Nov. 16, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a Politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party on Sunday to discuss COVID-19 measures, marking his first public appearance in 25 days, its state media said Monday. 　 During the meeting, Kim evaluated the country’s coronavirus situation and ordered that the emergency antivirus system be tightened in preparation for the worsening global public health crisis, the Korea Central News Agency said. 　 Kim stressed the “need to keep a h

North Korea Nov. 16, 2020

The South Korean government is seeking to make a breakthrough in its strained relations with Tokyo over a wartime labor dispute, with Seoul officials racing to Japan for talks with political leaders.  A delegation of bipartisan lawmakers from the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians’ Union, led by Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party, is in Tokyo from Thursday to Saturday to meet with its counterparts and officials to discuss ways to improve bilateral relations deteriorated by a f

Foreign Affairs Nov. 13, 2020

Pope Francis has expressed hope of visiting North Korea sometime in the future, reaffirming his previous stance of wanting to bring about peace on the Korean Peninsula. 　 The pontiff made the remark last month during a closed-door meeting with then-South Korean Ambassador to the Holy See Lee Baek-man, who paid the pope a farewell courtesy call before leaving his post, according to the Korean Embassy in the Vatican. 　 When Lee asked whether the pope still wanted to visit the North, as he had s

Foreign Affairs Nov. 12, 2020

After four tumultuous years of the Donald Trump presidency, countries around the world are trying to figure out what President-elect Joe Biden’s America will mean for them. 　 With Biden’s win on pledges to take the nation on a very different path from Trump on every front -- from COVID-19 responses and the economy to foreign policy -- a lot is at stake for Seoul, Washington’s key ally on issues from security to trade and North Korea diplomacy. 　 The Blue House appears to be

Foreign Affairs Nov. 11, 2020

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed their commitment for their countries to closely cooperate on ensuring the stable management of the Korean Peninsula situation. 　 Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the top diplomats of the two countries held talks during a luncheon in Washington on Monday, discussing pending bilateral and regional issues. 　 Kang and Pompeo agreed on continuing efforts to develop South Korea-US relations a

Foreign Affairs Nov. 10, 2020

Stressing the latest US presidential election as an important turning point, Unification Minister Lee In-young on Monday called on North Korea to act cautiously and refrain from provocations to make this period a time for peace between the two Koreas.  Noting it could take several months for the incoming Joe Biden administration to review and come up with policy on Pyongyang, Lee underlined that this period of uncertainty could in turn become an opportunity to obtain peace on the Korean P

North Korea Nov. 9, 2020

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha predicted that the incoming Joe Biden administration would not return to the Obama-era policy of “strategic patience” in dealing with a nuclear-armed North Korea.  Kang made the remarks to reporters on Sunday (US time) after visiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington. Seoul’s top diplomat is in the US capital through Wednesday for talks with her counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, about pending bilateral a

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2020

With Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential race, South Korea will seek to forge ties with the new administration to further bolster the alliance and make progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula. 　 South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to US President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, hours after major media outlets in the US announced Biden’s win over incumbent President Donald Trump. 　 “Congratulati

Foreign Affairs Nov. 8, 2020