North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s monthlong disappearance from state media has fueled speculation over his whereabouts, as it marked his longest absence this year. The last time Kim appeared in a public setting was on May 6 when he held a photo session with military family members, according to state media. Since then, there have been reports of him sending letters to foreign leaders and his pe...

The Unification Ministry on Thursday said it will spend 1.18 billion won ($1.06 million) to construct seven more video centers across the country where families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War may be able to reunite with relatives in the North virtually. The decision to build additional video facilities was approved during a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges presided ov...

A host of newly declassified US documents was released to the South Korean government on Wednesday, revealing Washington’s assessment of Choi Kyu-ha as a “helpless president” against military general Chun Doo-hwan. Chun took power after a military coup in 1979, leading to the nationwide democracy movement the following year. The State Department released 14 documents related to the May 18 Gwa...

A global climate summit wrapped up its two-day run Monday, with host nation South Korea pledging stronger environmental action and a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, as the country seeks a bigger role in the global fight against climate change. The Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, or P4G, summit brought world leaders together to discuss public-private partnership...

North Korea on Monday slammed the US for terminating guidelines that have restricted Seoul’s development of ballistic missiles as a “stark reminder” of Washington’s hostile approach to Pyongyang. This marked Pyongyang’s first reaction to the May 21 summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden, during which the US decided to abolish the decadeslong guidelines that had put limit...

The P4G summit kicked off in Seoul on Sunday, bringing together top government officials and heads of international organizations around the world to discuss climate change and ways to achieve green growth at a critical time when there are growing calls for a sustainable, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is hosting the two-day event, vowed to tak...

South Korean diplomacy in recent years has been increasingly complicated by a tough balancing act: Weighing the demands of its security ally the US against its top trading partner China. Seoul’s strategic dilemma was showed again recently when the joint Korea-US statement -- issued following the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart, Joe Biden -- triggered a sh...

South Korea is hosting the P4G summit starting Sunday, bringing together government, business and civil society leaders from around the world to tackle climate change and explore ways to achieve sustainable growth. The second P4G summit, originally planned for last year but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will kick off virtually on Sunday for a two-day run in Seoul. It is the first-ever...

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday said Seoul refrained from touching on Chinese human rights issues in the joint summit statement with Washington in light of its special relations with Beijing. “In regards to Chinese (human rights) issue, it’s true that there have been various discussions within the international community,” Chung told reporters during a briefing on the out...

The US has put the diplomatic ball in Pyongyang’s court, with its Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing that Washington is prepared to engage with North Korea to discuss denuclearization, but it remains uncertain whether the reclusive regime will respond. “We are waiting to see if Pyongyang actually wants to engage. The ball is in their court,” Blinken said in an interview with ABC on S...

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in’s vision for a global vaccine production hub has gained a big boost from his summit talks with President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday. The two leaders unveiled a new vaccine partnership to expand manufacturing and scale up global vaccine supply, pledging unified efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic. The US is home to high-tech vaccine developers li...

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- A joint statement by Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden after their summit talks at the White House on Friday is likely to acknowledge commitments made by the two Koreas under the Panmunjeom Declaration, according to a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official on Thursday. “The Panmunjeom Declaration, along with other commitments made between the two Koreas, will be included in the jo...

North Korea is reportedly refusing to cooperate with monitoring by the UN-backed vaccine-sharing program COVAX, which could further delay the supply of vaccines. Early this year, North Korea requested coronavirus vaccines from COVAX, a multinational program that provides the vaccines to developing countries. Pyongyang was to receive 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end ...

US President Joe Biden on Monday (US time) announced plans to send an additional 20 million doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines to other countries by the end of June, giving a boost to Seoul’s prospects of securing vaccines through a swap arrangement with Washington. The pledged vaccines were produced by US drugmakers Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, and this is the first time that the ...

South Korea and Japan are likely to form a joint consultative body to discuss Tokyo’s controversial plan to dispose of radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant by releasing it into the sea, media reports said Sunday. The Asahi Shimbun, citing diplomatic sources, reported that Seoul is said to have sounded out Tokyo on the possibility of establishing a consultative group betw...