Seo Kyung-duk, a well-known professor at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, on Monday slammed the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for rejecting President Moon Jae-in’s Lunar New Year gift that bears an image resembling the Dokdo islets on the gift box, saying it was an attempt to make the island an area of conflict. 　 Cheong Wa Dae had sent a gift box with chestnuts, traditional liquor and other items to all the foreign ambassadors, including Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi, ahead

BEIJING -- People in a Beijing district with some 2 million residents were ordered Sunday to undergo mass coronavirus testing following a series of infections as China tightened anti-disease controls ahead of the Winter Olympics. The government told people in areas of the Chinese capital deemed at high risk for infection not to leave the city after 25 cases were found in the Fengtai district and 14 elsewhere. The ruling Communist Party is stepping up enforcement of its "zero toleranc

Iran has paid its dues to the United Nations with the country's funds frozen in South Korea in a move to immediately restore its voting power, Seoul's finance ministry said Sunday. Iran made an emergency request to South Korea on Jan. 13 for the use of Tehran's funds in Seoul to pay its dues after being informed by the UN it would immediately lose its voting rights for the arrears. Iran has more than $7 billion in funds for oil shipments frozen at two South Korean banks -- the Industrial Bank

South Korea is not considering lifting a ban on imports of Japanese seafood to win Japan's support for joining a mega free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's oceans minister has said. South Korea is working to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which involves 11 nations, including Australia and Japan. Japan has long been reluctant to South Korea's joining due mainly to Seoul's ban on Fukushima seafood. Since 2013, South Kor

WASHINGTON -- The United States and seven other members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday called on all UN members to fully implement UNSC sanctions on North Korea. The call came after China blocked a US proposal to impose additional UN sanctions against the North for conducting at least four missile launches since the start of the year. "We also call on all member states to implement Security Council resolutions, to which the Security Council unanimously agreed, and which cal

WASHINGTON -- The United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula Thursday, urging North Korea to quickly return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The countries also urged all UN member countries to fully implement UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea. "We are strongly committed to the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all of North Korea's nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and

WASHINGTON -- The United States is willing and prepared to talk with North Korea at anytime, US ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday, while also stressing that the option has always been on the table for Pyongyang. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, however, also stressed the need to respond to North Korea's recent missile tests that she said jeopardized peace and security in the East Asian region. "We have been clear from day one that we are willing to go to the negotiating table with th

WASHINGTON -- Sen. James Risch (R-ID) has called on the US government to enhance and improve its nuclear capabilities to provide added deterrence in support of US allies against threats posed by North Korea. The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also highlighted the need for joint military readiness to deter any North Korean aggression. "Our priority needs to be on US and allied cooperation and military readiness through a strong tempo of training and exercises -- n

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy had back-to-back phone talks with his American and Chinese counterparts on Thursday, the foreign ministry said, amid rising tension over North Korea‘s apparent threat of nuclear and long-range weapons tests. Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked with his American counterpart, Sung Kim, in their latest emergency consultations, hours after the North hinted at restarting “all temporally-suspend

South Korea will temporarily expand visa issuance for foreign children staying illegally in the country to better guarantee their right to education, the justice ministry said Thursday. Until now, undocumented foreign children eligible for visas have been middle and high school students, as well as high school graduates, who have been living in South Korea for at least 15 years after being born here. But from next month to March 2025, foreign children who have been living here for at least six

WASHINGTON -- The United States strongly supports humanitarian assistance for the people of North Korea but UN Security Council sanctions must be fully implemented at the same time, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson also noted the North often diverts humanitarian aid. "We strongly support and encourage the efforts of US and international aid and health organizations in seeking to prevent and contain the spread of coronavirus in the DPRK and to provide other

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Wednesday expressed support for a South Korea-proposed declaration for the formal end to the Korean War while urging North Korea to return to dialogue. He, however, said the proposed end of war declaration should come as part of a more "comprehensive process and talks" to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. "I commend the Biden and Moon Administrations for taking steps to engage North Korea and urg

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States had a phone conversation Wednesday to discuss North Korea's recent missile tests and reaffirmed the bilateral alliance's efforts to tackle regional challenges, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and his US counterpart Wendy Sherman talked over the phone after Pyongyang said it test-fired two tactical guided missiles Monday, the fourth show of force this month alone. "The vice ministers shared t

Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, who is running to be the next director general of the International Labor Organization, will face a public hearing to present her candidacy and take questions from the organization’s governing body on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland. 　 The ILO on Wednesday said public dialogues with five candidates for its top job will be held on Thursday and Friday. A Foreign Ministry official said Kang’s meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. (Geneva time) on Thur

The US has called for a new UN Security Council meeting to discuss North Korea’s fourth missile launch this month, as Washington seeks to ratchet up pressure on the reclusive regime to curb its prohibited weapons program.   Closed-door consultations of the UN’s most powerful body are expected to take place on Thursday, at the request of the US, along with the UK, France, Albania, Ireland and Mexico, according to Agence France-Presse. 　 “We will continue to ramp up the pre