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 impleme...

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 irreversib...

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 regi...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 organizatio...

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 com...

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 ...

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 Fo...

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 Mexic...

The top trade officials of South Korea and the United States on Wednesday agreed to strengthen their strategic partnership to actively respond to supply chain issues, new technologies and other major trade issues, Seoul's industry ministry said. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai held a teleconference earlier in the day ahead of Yeo's planned...

The United States takes very seriously the threat posed by North Korea's "improving" missile programs, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Tuesday. He, however, said the US is still assessing the nature North Korea's recent missile launches, apparently to learn their exact capabilities. "We will continue to take this threat and this improving program of Pyongyang's very, very seriously," h...

Kazakhstani Damir Kusheyev, a former professional cyclist, has finished a 793.8-kilometer bicycle trip across Korea, which he embarked on to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Kazakhstan and to support Busan in its bid to host the World Expo 2030. Kusheyev began his trip at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Jan. 8. He cycled over nine days, passing through Samnan...

Seoul on Monday strongly protested against Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi’s remarks that renewed territorial claims over South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, demanding an immediate retraction. South Korea’s reaction came after Hayashi reiterated Tokyo’s stance that Dokdo, which is known as Takeshima in Japan, is a territory inherent to Japan in view of historical facts and int...