South Korea will lift restrictions on arrivals from China's Hubei province, believed to be the epicenter of COVID-19 outbreaks, starting Monday, as virus cases have eased there and China has relaxed entry bans for South Koreans, health authorities said Friday. Since Feb. 4, South Korea has imposed entry bans on foreigners who visited or traveled to Hubei province in the preceding two weeks and holders of visas issued by Hubei authorities. South Korea also has suspended visa-issuance work by i

DAEGU -- A Japanese company has appealed a South Korean court's ruling to seize its assets in the country to compensate victims of wartime forced labor in a move expected to worsen tensions between the two countries. Nippon Steel Corp. has submitted an immediate complaint against the court's decision to seize some of its stake in PNR, a joint venture established with Korea's top steelmaker, POSCO, the Daegu District Court in the southeastern city of Daegu said Friday. The move, which came day

The homes of two South Koreans in Beirut were damaged in the massive deadly blast in the Lebanese city that killed at least 135 people and injured over 5,000, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. "We have found that two of our nationals suffered partial damage to their houses," the ministry said, adding that no South Korean casualties have been reported so far.  The South Korean Embassy in Lebanon is mobilizing all available resources to find out if any other Koreans have

The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that there were no reports so far of South Korean casualties in a huge explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut that left more than 100 people dead and more than 4,000 injured. 　 On Tuesday, two massive explosions at port warehouses storing highly explosive materials rocked the Port of Beirut, shaking buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. It is still unclear what exactly caused the blast, according to t

The foreign ministry said Wednesday that there have been no reports of South Korean casualties yet in this week's massive explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut that left more than 70 people dead and thousands injured. Tuesday's blast at Beirut's port occurred after a warehouse that had unsafely stored large amounts of confiscated ammonium nitrate, an explosive compound, for six years caught fire, reports said. About 140 South Korean citizens are currently in the country. There are also

SEOUL/TOKYO -- A Japanese company plans to appeal a South Korean court decision on the seizure of its assets here to compensate victims of wartime forced labor, reports said Tuesday, a move that would defer the judicial process feared to worsen tensions between the two countries. Nippon Steel Corp. will file an appeal immediately, as a branch of the Daegu District Court has become able to kick off the procedure to liquidate some of its stake in PNR, a joint venture established with Korea's top

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Monday ordered a senior diplomat who has been accused of sexual assault when he was stationed in New Zealand to return home immediately.  A senior ministry official said the order is part of disciplinary action taken for the diplomat causing a lot of trouble. He also said the government is willing to cooperate if New Zealand requests extradition of the diplomat.  “We can cooperate in accordance with the procedure for mutual assistance on

A Korean court’s action to liquidate seized assets of a Japanese firm involved in wartime forced labor is set to kick off Tuesday, which could aggravate already fragile bilateral relations and prompt Tokyo to retaliate further. 　 　 Japan has warned of strong retaliation if Seoul goes ahead with the sales of assets to compensate victims, with its Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying that Tokyo is looking at “all available measures” and has a “clear direction abou

The foreign ministry has ordered a senior diplomat to return home immediately over allegations that he sexually assaulted a local embassy employee when he was stationed in New Zealand, an official said Monday. The New Zealander has accused the diplomat of groping parts of his body on three different occasions in 2017. The case has drawn fresh attention after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised the issue in a phone call with President Moon Jae-in last week. "We issued an or

New Zealand authorities have heightened pressure on South Korea to cooperate in its probe of a Korean diplomat who has been accused of sexual assault. 　 Winston Peters, New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, urged the Korean government to cooperate by waiving the accused man’s diplomatic immunity and sending him to New Zealand to defend himself. 　 “It’s over to the Korean government, and for them to allow him to waive the diplomatic immunity

New Zealand said Thursday it has expressed disappointment that South Korea's government did not cooperate with a police investigation into allegations that one of its diplomats sexually assaulted a local embassy employee when he was stationed in Wellington. The male employee has accused the Korean diplomat of groping parts of his body over three different occasions in 2017. The case has drawn fresh attention after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised the issue in a phone call with

A South Korean national has been arrested in Cambodia on charges of attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into South Korea and Japan, prosecutors here said Wednesday. The drug suspect was apprehended in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, after having allegedly been involved in drug trafficking in five Asian countries, according to the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) and the Incheon District Prosecutors Office. An accomplice was also taken into custody on drug charges, they said. The suspe

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has mentioned South Korea as one of America's "democratic friends" that value freedom and economic prosperity under the rule of law, as he criticized China for undermining such values. Pompeo made the remark Tuesday after he and Defense Secretary Mark Esper held annual "two plus two" ministerial consultations in Washington with their Australian counterparts. China was a key topic in this year's meeting. "I'm confident t

A statue installed in a private garden in South Korea showing a man bowing to a sitting girl is stirring controversy both in Seoul and Tokyo, for its potential to further aggravate already fragile bilateral relations. The installation work, entitled “Eternal Atonement,” has been erected on the grounds of the privately run Korea Botanic Garden in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.  The two-piece bronze sculpture features a man in a formal suit bowing on his knees in front of a sea

BEIJING/SEOUL -- China has agreed to resume visa issuance for South Korean students, employees hired to work in the country and those with residence permits, Seoul's top envoy in Beijing said Monday. Ambassador Jang Ha-sung told reporters that the two countries have recently agreed on visa issuance for the three groups: students who were studying or plan to study in China, employees holding Z work visas and those who have valid residence permits. Sources said that visa issuance is expected t