North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages Monday in which Kim stressed unity and stronger cooperation against hostile forces, in what is seen as a move to bolster their traditional alliance in the face of intensifying tension between China and the US, as well as stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington. 　 The North’s state-run Korea Central News Agency on Tuesday reported on the exchange of messages between the heads of the two coun

North Korea March 23, 2021

For many South Koreans, coffee is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Colombia.   　 As one of the largest coffee producers in the world, Colombia enjoys a presence in cafes here with fresh, high-quality coffee beans that feed this coffee-loving nation.   　 Along with coffee, there are many more areas where the two countries can share what they have to offer, said visiting high-ranking officials from Colombia last week. These include agriculture, trade, culture and

Foreign Affairs March 22, 2021

A senior US diplomat on Friday stressed South Korea’s “input” in Washington’s ongoing policy review on North Korea, reiterating the importance of close consultations and coordination between the allies in dealing with the reclusive regime.  The remarks were made by Sung Kim, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, during his meeting with Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy, at the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day

North Korea March 19, 2021

South Korea and the US on Thursday stressed that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a “priority” for the alliance, while Washington renewed pressure on Beijing to use its influence to convince Pyongyang to denuclearize.   　 The two allies issued a joint statement detailing the pledge, after the “two-plus-two” talks at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul earlier in the day, which involved South Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and De

Foreign Affairs March 18, 2021

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with their respective counterparts in Seoul on Wednesday and reaffirmed their alliance as a bulwark against unprecedented challenges posed by Beijing and Pyongyang.  The pair arrived in Seoul after a two-day visit in Tokyo, in the first overseas trip by top members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet since his inauguration in January.  The high-profile trip in the region is seen as Washington&rsquo

Foreign Affairs March 17, 2021

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful younger sister, slammed South Korea and the US for conducting joint military exercises and threatened to scrap an inter-Korean military pact Tuesday, a day before high-level US officials are to arrive in Seoul. 　 Kim, who has taken center stage in attacking Seoul and Washington in the past, also sent a direct message to the US for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January. She warned the US against “causi

North Korea March 16, 2021

The US stressed the importance of the trilateral relationship with South Korea and Japan, as well as between the two neighbors, as the country’s top diplomat embarked on a trip to East Asia amid the rising possibility that Washington could pressure the bickering allies to bury the hatchet and move forward.   　 The State Department released a statement titled “Reaffirming the Unbreakable US-Japan Alliance” on Sunday in the US, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secr

Foreign Affairs March 15, 2021

As the Biden administration is conducting its policy review on Pyongyang with a chance of doubling down pressure on the reclusive regime, a former Trump official on North Korea stressed that the pressure in itself is not “sustainable,” but has to be paired with diplomacy to achieve any kind of progress.  “Pressure without openness to diplomacy is not sustainable. But diplomacy also on the other hand without pressure, or the openness to diplomacy in negotiation without pre

North Korea March 12, 2021

The United States will not release any of the Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under the US sanctions until Tehran complies with the 2015 nuclear deal, raising concern that the standoff between Seoul and Tehran over the locked assets may be prolonged. 　 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the remark Wednesday (US time) at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, when he was asked about recent reports that Washington had agreed to release some of the Iranian money held in Kore

Foreign Affairs March 11, 2021

South Korea has agreed to pay 13.9 percent more in its contribution to host American troops here for 2021, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.  Under the new six-year accord, Seoul will pay 1.183 trillion won ($1.04 billion) this year for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The 13.9 percent hike from the previous 2019 deal represents the biggest annual rise for Seoul in nearly two decades.  The six-year agreement is effective until 2025, and also covers last year

Foreign Affairs March 10, 2021

With South Korea and the US clinching a new accord on how to share the cost of maintaining the US troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, the deal has drawn attention to how this arrangement was first forged and how it has transformed over the decades. 　 From the US forces landing in the southern half of the peninsula after World War II to the US-led allies helping South Korea repel an invasion by the communist North and the troops’ presence hereafter, the US military has been a key pa

Foreign Affairs March 10, 2021

South Korea and the US have reached an agreement on how much Seoul should shoulder for hosting US troops here, both countries announced Monday, ending years of standoff over the thorny issue.   　 A major breakthrough to the talks on renewing the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of US Forces Korea, came amid three days of face-to-face meetings on Sunday in Washington, led by Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul’s chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton. &nb

Foreign Affairs March 8, 2021

South Korea and the United States will stage their annual springtime military exercise this week, but it will be reduced in scope due to the coronavirus pandemic.   　 The allies decided to hold the computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training for nine days starting Monday and ending March 18, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday, after “comprehensively” taking into consideration the “COVID-19 situation, the maintenance of the combat readiness posture, the denucle

Defense March 7, 2021

The Korea International Cooperation Agency has broken ground on the first hospital specializing in critical care in Iraq slated for completion in 2023, the state-run overseas aid agency said Thursday.  The four-story Iraq-Korea Critical Care Specialty Hospital will be built on a 7,000-square-meter site in the country’s capital, Baghdad, with the KOICA injecting a total of $39.5 million for the project.  Once completed, the hospital will be equipped with eight operating ro

Foreign Affairs March 4, 2021

Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea’s chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks, raised expectations that a deal with the US will come soon, as he departed for Washington on Thursday for a new round of negotiations. 　 Jeong and his US counterpart, Donna Welton are set for talks in the US capital Friday to negotiate the cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of the roughly 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The two last held talks via video li

Foreign Affairs March 4, 2021