Most Popular
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Bae Doo-na shares portraying Korean identity in Hollywood's 'Rebel Moon'
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[From the Scene] Monks, Buddhists hail return of remains of Buddhas
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Medical schools granted enrollment quota flexibility for next year
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Yoon offers first one-on-one meeting with opposition leader next week
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France rejects opening Paris flight routes to T'way Air, deals blow to Korean Air merger
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Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
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Chinese man behind drug scam targeting teens nabbed in Cambodia
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US understands S. Korea's difficulty with vaccine shortage: Hwang
White House policy coordinator for Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell has said the United States understands the problem South Korea faces due to its vaccine shortage and is doing its utmost for its Asian ally, a former South Korean prime minister said Tuesday. Hwang Kyo-ahn said Campbell has also agreed during a meeting with him in Washington to personally report to the White House his request for 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. US President Joe Biden has said his country will become an "
May 12, 2021
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Head of US think tank CFR receives S. Korean state medal
WASHINGTON -- Richard Haass, head of a US think tank, was awarded a South Korean medal Tuesday for his contributions to the strengthening of the US-South Korea alliance. The chief of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) received the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit from South Korean Ambassador Lee Soo-hyuck in a ceremony in Washington. The Gwanghwa Medal is the highest honor in the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit that is given to those "who have r
May 12, 2021
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Prosecutor indicts suspect in tragic Atlanta shootings: report
WASHINGTON -- A man suspected of killing eight people in a shooting at three Atlanta-area spas was indicted on Tuesday on murder charges while the prosecution says it will also seek hate crime charges, a report said. The 22-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, was charged with killing the eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, in the March 16 attack. A grand jury in Fulton County indicted the suspect on charges of murder that took place at two day spas in Atalanta, according to an A
May 12, 2021
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US rebuts Chinese warning for Bangladesh to stay away from 'Quad'
WASHINGTON -- A US State Department spokesman rebutted a Chinese diplomat's warning for countries to stay away from the US-led regional forum, Quad, on Tuesday, saying the Quad is an informal but essential mechanism to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. Ned Price made the remark after the Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh, Li Jing, said in a statement that the South Asian country should not join the Quad or its relations with China will "substantially be damaged." "We have tak
May 12, 2021
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S. Korea, New Zealand share concerns over Japan's Fukushima water
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta held telephone talks on Tuesday and shared concerns about Japan's planned release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the ministry said. Last month, Tokyo approved a plan to dump more than 1 million tons of radioactive water from the wrecked nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking strong criticism from its local fishing industry and neighboring countries. During the talks, Chung exp
May 11, 2021
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US reaches out to North Korea again for policy briefing
The US government last week reached out to North Korea again to explain the outcome of its policy review on Pyongyang, and the North responded to confirm the contact, according to diplomatic sources on Tuesday. Even though North Korea didn’t immediately accept the overture for dialogue, its response, first in months, is raising expectations about the possible resumption of the stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang. There had been reportedly multiple attempts for the US to reen
May 11, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Sri Lanka adds Korean language as college entrance exam subject
Sri Lanka has decided to adopt the Korean language as a subject for the country's college entrance exams, a South Korean embassy there said Tuesday. According to the embassy, the Sri Lankan government recently added Korean to the list of foreign languages taught in the Advanced Level curriculum, as part of efforts to expand Korean education at schools. Under the policy, students entering 12th and 13th grade can choose Korean as their foreign language subject starting in the second half of this
May 11, 2021
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Source, destination of illicit weapons seized at sea still under investigation: Kirby
WASHINGTON -- The source and destination of illicit weapons seized over the weekend in Arabian waters are still under investigation, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, adding the US does not exclude North Korea from its list of potential destinations. The US Navy earlier said it has seized thousands of illicit weapons from a stateless dhow in international waters in the North Arabian Sea. John Kirby, the Department of Defense spokesman, said the seized weapons included Russian-made anti-tank mi
May 11, 2021
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S. Korea working closely with US to secure COVID vaccines before June: ambassador
WASHINGTON -- South Korea is closely consulting with the United States to quickly secure COVID-19 vaccines, South Korea's ambassador to the United States said Monday, adding the United States understands the difficulty South Korea faces. Amb. Lee Soo-hyuck also expressed hope that the US will soon expand exports of vaccines by US manufacturers. "The embassy is doing its utmost by contacting the White House and the State Department to have vaccines supplied before June. (We) are hearing f
May 11, 2021
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea denounces bomb attack in Afghanistan
South Korea strongly denounces last week's bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 68 people and wounded over 160, mostly young schoolgirls, the foreign ministry said Monday. "Our government strongly denounces the attack that occurred near a school in the Afghan capital of Kabul on May 8. We also extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their bereaved families," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary. The car bombing came amid escalating tensions
May 10, 2021
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Israeli foreign, economy ministers visit Seoul
Israel’s foreign and economy ministers are visiting Seoul this week to hold talks with their Korean counterparts, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. From Monday to Thursday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Economy Minister Amir Peretz will sit down with the Korean foreign and trade ministers to discuss deepening senior-level exchanges and expanding ties ahead of marking 60 years of diplomatic relations next year. Israel will also sign a free trade agreement with Korea,
May 9, 2021
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'Quad is neither security alliance nor Asian NATO': White House official
The evolving US-led Quad forum is neither a security alliance nor an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a US White House official said Friday, stressing it is an open framework designed to tackle shared challenges. Edgard Kagan, senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks in a virtual seminar, amid a sense that the Quad, which consists of the United States, Australia, India and Japan, aims to counter the rise of Chin
May 7, 2021
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Top envoys of S. Korea, UK agree to tackle climate change, COVID-19 vaccines
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, and the two sides agreed to tackle climate change and cooperate on the fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The two envoys held a strategic dialogue Thursday at Chevening House near London, a day after the Group of Seven ministerial meeting ended in the British capital. Both sides agreed that the strengthening of international cooperation bey
May 7, 2021
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Top diplomats of S. Korea, Britain agree on cooperation on vaccine access, climate change
The top diplomats of South Korea and Britain have agreed to reinforce cooperation on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and the expansion of bilateral exchanges during their talks near London, the foreign ministry said Friday. The agreement came during a strategic dialogue between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, in the London suburb of Kent on Thursday, the day after a Group of Seven ministerial session ended. "The two minister
May 7, 2021
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Korean culture center to offer free online screening of 'Minari'
WASHINGTON -- The award winning immigrant film "Minari" will be screened online for some moviegoers in the United States next week, the Korean Cultural Center in Washington said Thursday. The film will be made available online free of charge to 600 viewers on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the culture center. "The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. is pleased to present a special screening of Minari in celebration of the broad critical acclaim for this Ameri
May 7, 2021
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S. Korea 'positively' views outcome of US policy review on N. Korea: NSC
South Korea's top security officials "positively" evaluated the outcome of the United States' monthslong policy review on North Korea recently completed by the Joe Biden administration, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. The assessment came during a regular standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC) after the White House said last week that it has completed its policy review on the communist state according to the presidential office. The U
May 6, 2021
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Foreign minister calls for greater vaccine cooperation at G-7 summit
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has called on the international community to work together for the fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines at the meeting of Group of Seven countries, amid Seoul’s rising concern over a looming vaccine shortage. Chung joined the in-person gathering of G-7 foreign and development ministers meeting in London from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. South Korea was invited as a guest -- along with Australia, India, South Africa and
May 6, 2021
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US supports waiver of property rights on COVID-19 vaccines: USTR
WASHINGTON -- US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that her country supports waiving the intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, which would allow mass production of the currently scarce vaccines in other parts of the world. The USTR stressed the need for extraordinary measures to meet extraordinary challenges. "The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we'll actively participate in @WTO negoti
May 6, 2021
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US encourages Seoul-Tokyo reconciliation over 'comfort women' issue: State Dept.
The United States has long encouraged South Korea and Japan to work together to resolve their thorny history issues, including the issue of comfort women, to promote reconciliation and cooperation, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson, also noted US foreign policy is centered around human rights, including the rights of women and children. "We have also long encouraged Japan and the ROK to work together on the history related issues
May 6, 2021
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G7 foreign ministers urge N. Korea to return to dialogue
The top diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) countries on Wednesday urged North Korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear programs, while also urging Pyongyang to engage in inter-Korean dialogue. The foreign ministers also expressed their support for US efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula diplomatically. "We call on the DPRK to refrain from provocative actions and to engage in a diplomatic process with the explicit goal of denuclearization. We remain committed to the goal of
May 6, 2021