Yoon, Biden agree to closely cooperate to strengthen credibility of US extended deterrence

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden agreed Friday to continue to closely cooperate on strengthening the credibility of the US extended deterrence commitment to South Korea, the presidential office said. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting ahead of a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland and discussed the South Korea-US alliance, as well as regional and global issues, the office said in a pr

Aug. 19, 2023

Yoon, Biden, Kishida commit to immediately consult in event of common threat

Leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Friday to significantly expand trilateral security cooperation, pledging to immediately consult one another in the event of common threats, hold annual joint military exercises and cooperate closely for stronger missile defense against North Korea. The agreements were reached during a trilateral summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presid

Aug. 19, 2023

US, Japan, Korea leaders meet to bolster mutual security over objections of Beijing

President Joe Biden marked the historic summit with Japan and South Korea at Camp David on Friday by saying that “our countries are stronger and the world is safer … as we stand together.” He described the meeting as the first standalone summit among leaders of the three countries. Addressing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida , Biden said, “I want to thank you both for your political courage that brought you here.” He ad

Aug. 19, 2023

Biden ramps up three-way Japan, S. Korea ties in sign to China

US President Joe Biden on Friday will announce new security cooperation with Japan and South Korea including joint exercises at a first-of-a-kind three-way summit with their leaders that has already rattled China. The summit at the Camp David presidential retreat would have been unimaginable until recently, with the two treaty-bound allies -- together the base for some 84,500 US troops -- at loggerheads for decades over the legacy of Japan's harsh 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsul

Aug. 18, 2023

China blasts US-Japan-South Korea summit, warns of 'contradictions and increasing tensions'

China is renewing its criticism of this weekend’s summit among the leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea, saying no country should “seek its own security at the expense of the security interests of others and of regional peace and stability.” “The international community has its own judgment as to who is creating contradictions and increasing tensions,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing Friday. “Attempts to form va

Aug. 18, 2023

Yoon, Biden, Kishida plan to approve 'duty to consult' policy in case of crisis

President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plan to adopt a trilateral summit document stipulating a "duty to consult" with one another in the event of a crisis, a senior US official has said. The leaders are poised to issue the document during a landmark three-way summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Friday, the official said, in a sign of deepening solidarity amid North Korea's military threats, China's assertivene

Aug. 18, 2023

Yoon, Biden, Kishida to commit to consult in event of common threat: S. Korean officials

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will adopt a document committing each side to consult with one another in the event of a common security or other threat, officials said. The document titled "Commitment to Consult" will be adopted at a trilateral summit involving the three leaders at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Friday, according to the officials. It will be the first such commitment that has be

Aug. 18, 2023

US prepared to deter N. Korean aggression, ensure regional stability: Pentagon

The United States will continue to work with its allies to deter any potential aggression by North Korea, a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday, following reports that Pyongyang may be preparing to make various provocations, including a long-range missile test. South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, earlier noted that the North may test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile to protest against a trilateral summit between the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the

Aug. 18, 2023

Court dismisses complaint seeking to block Fukushima water release

The Busan District Court on Thursday dismissed a complaint seeking to block Japan from releasing its wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant, saying the court has no jurisdiction to review the case. In April 2021, a coalition of 166 local environmental groups asked the trial court to stop the discharge by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., citing the London Convention -- a global pact on ocean pollution by preventing the dumping of waste. The release, which could start

Aug. 17, 2023

[Photo News] India marks 77th Independence Day

INDEPENDENCE DAY – Members of the Indian community in South Korea and Indian Ambassador to South Korea Amit Kumar hoist up the Indian flag and sing the national anthem marking India’s 77th Independence Day in Seoul on Tuesday. India was a British colony from 1757 to 1947 and gained independence on Aug. 15, 1947. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald)

Aug. 17, 2023

S. Korea delivers relief supplies to Hawaii over wildfire damage

South Korea has provided Hawaii with food and other emergency supplies to help cope with a series of devastating wildfires that recently ravaged the island of Maui, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Lee Seo-young, South Korean consul general in Honolulu, expressed hopes for Hawaii's speedy recovery as he delivered water, food, blankets, electric generators, and other aid items to Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke on Wednesday (Hawaii time), it added. The relief items are part of th

Aug. 17, 2023

US continues to seek safe return of American soldier in N. Korea: Kirby

The United States is seeking and will continue to seek the safe return of a US service member who crossed into North Korea last month, a White House official said Wednesday, dismissing the North's claim that the American soldier is seeking asylum in the reclusive country. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, insisted that North Korean claims cannot be trusted. "I think anything that comes out of Pyongyang, you got to look at skeptically,"

Aug. 17, 2023

S. Korea, Japan, US summit to move trilateral cooperation to 'new level': Kirby

The upcoming trilateral summit between the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States will take their countries' three-way cooperation to a new level, a White House official said Wednesday. John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said the leaders will also focus on ways to institutionalize such cooperation among their countries. "This trilateral summit is all about taking affirmative steps towards improving our cooperation with each othe

Aug. 17, 2023

Joint defense initiatives to be unveiled at Camp David: report

The US, South Korea and Japan will roll out joint initiatives on defense and technology at a Camp David summit in Maryland on Friday, according to a report. Citing senior US officials, Reuters said Wednesday that the gathering US President Joe Biden is hosting at the presidential retreat will lead to a three-way hotline and mutual understanding about regional responsibilities amid North Korea’s aggression and China’s influence. “It’s too much to ask -- it’s a bridge

Aug. 16, 2023

US commitment to defense of S. Korea remains firm, supports inter-Korean dialogue: Pentagon

The United States remains committed to the defense of South Korea and will work with its allies to address threats posed by North Korea, a US Department of Defense spokesperson said Friday. The spokesperson also reiterated that the US holds no "hostile" intention toward Pyongyang. "We have been very clear about the threat posed by North Korea, and we have been very clear in our defense to South Korea and Japan and our commitment to the region in order to ensure stability," de

Aug. 16, 2023

Trilateral summit of S. Korea, US, Japan to strengthen global peace, stability: Blinken

The upcoming trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan and the United States will help strengthen their joint efforts to promote peace and stability not only in the region but around the world, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. The top US diplomat also noted that the countries will likely hold regular meetings down the road. "This summit comes at a moment when our region and the world are being tested by geopolitical competition, by climate crisis, by Russia's war o

Aug. 16, 2023

S. Korea expresses regret as Japan honors war criminals

South Korea on Tuesday expressed regret over visits by Japanese lawmakers to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead from 1868 to 1954, including 14 convicted Class A World War II war criminals. Marking its liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, the Korean government issued a statement, urging Japanese leaders to “face up to the country’s past.” “We express deep disappointment and regret that the Japanese leaders in the governm

Aug. 15, 2023

Summit to set protocol for trilateral ties

The US, South Korea and Japan are expected to set up protocols to bolster three-way ties at a Camp David summit in Maryland on Friday, according to a media report. News website Axios said Monday that Biden, South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will unveil the “Camp David Principles,” which will institutionalize progress in relations and make it harder for the two Asian leaders to reverse course amid their recent thaw over historical disputes.

Aug. 15, 2023

Iranian funds held in S. Korea will only be used for humanitarian purposes: state dept.

WASHINGTON -- The Iranian funds currently held in South Korea can only be used for humanitarian purposes while the United States will continue to hold Iran accountable for any destabilizing actions, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, also emphasized that the money had always been available to Iran for humanitarian use. "Allowing Iran to use such funds for humanitarian purposes is consistent with long standing US

Aug. 15, 2023

Park to meet US, Japan top diplomats virtually

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that it was in talks with the US and Japan to hold a virtual meeting of foreign ministers ahead of their first three-way summit at the US presidential retreat Camp David in Maryland on Friday. A day earlier, the US State Department said the three top diplomats would hold talks on Tuesday, Korean time, which was a misunderstanding according to a source with knowledge of the matter. “The date had been floated as one possibility but it was neve

Aug. 14, 2023