The main opposition party's filibuster, designed to block a ruling party-led bill on electoral reform, ended at the stroke of midnight Wednesday night, as the extra parliamentary session came to a conclusion.The contentious bill will be put to a vote during the new extra session a

Chinese President Xi Jinping is "almost certain" to visit South Korea in the first half of next year, a presidential official said Wednesday.President Moon Jae-in invited Xi to visit the South in the near future when they held summit talks in Beijing on Monday. Xi said in response that he will pos

The United States and its allies stand ready to defend themselves even on Christmas day, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday, as officials remained on alert for a threatened "Christmas gift" from North Korea.The "gift" was widely expected to be an intercontinental ballistic missile launch after

U.S. President Donald Trump's policy on North Korea is "failing" and the communist nation poses an imminent threat to American troops and allies, one of his former national security advisers said Monday.John Bolton, who worked for Trump until September, made the remark in a tweet as tensions h

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will have his first summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in more than a year Tuesday over trade and historical affairs that have impaired relations between the neighboring countries.They are on a visit to Chengdu, a southwestern Chinese city, for a

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday that about 71 percent of next year's budget has been allocated for implementation during the first half of the year, as the government aims to boost recovery momentum for Asia's fourth-largest economy.According to the ministry, 71.4 percent of

Top trade officials from South Korea, China and Japan agreed Sunday to accelerate their trilateral free trade talks and ramp up efforts to conclude a mega Asia-Pacific trade deal, Seoul's trade ministry said.South Korea's Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo met China's Commer

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will head to China on Monday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, seeking to strengthen partnerships on the Korea peace process and address various other issues.Moon will travel to Beijing for a summit with Xi, their f

Outgoing Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has said he will accept whatever the ruling party decides over his role in next year's general elections, as he is set to resume his political career.Lee, a former four-term lawmaker, plans to return to politics as President Moon Jae-in named Chung Sye-kyun, a

South Korea and the United States were set to hold the last day of defense cost-sharing talks on Wednesday, but chances of a deal appear to be low as the two sides remain far apart over how much more Seoul should pay.Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's chief negotiator, and his U.S. counterpart, James D

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun was set to visit Beijing on Thursday amid speculation over whether he will meet with North Korean officials to talk about de-escalating tensions ahead of Pyongyang's year-end deadline for U.S. concessions.The previously unannounce

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold a summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, next week when he visits China for annual trilateral talks with Chinese and Japanese leaders, officials said Thursday.The Moon-Xi summit, scheduled for Monday in Beijing, comes as North Korea has been pre

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will visit Beijing later this week to discuss the need to maintain international unity on North Korea, the State Department said Tuesday.Biegun will be in the Chinese capital on Thursday and Friday following visits to Seoul and Tokyo, the de

Rival political parties resumed negotiations Tuesday to produce an agreement over a contentious electoral reform bill currently in a parliamentary fast-track process, but failed to make headway.The floor leaders and ranking officials from the ruling Democratic Party (DP), three minor parties and one

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he would be disappointed if something was "in the works" in North Korea and that the United States is watching the regime closely.Tensions between the two nations have escalated ahead of a year-end deadline set by the North, after which the regime has h

South Korea and Japan on Monday agreed to continue talks to resolve their monthslong trade row, sharing what they called an "expanded mutual understanding" of each other's export control system.The two sides held lengthy talks in Tokyo earlier in the day, the first step in seeking a breakthrou

China and Russia on Monday proposed a draft United Nations resolution that would give North Korea some relief from sanctions, including exempting inter-Korean rail and road projects from the restrictions, according to Reuters.The text seen by the news agency also seeks to lift sanctions affecting No

Uncertainties over electoral and prosecution reform bills loomed large Sunday as political parties failed to reach a consensus amid partisan strife. The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) have been mired in a political fight over the handling of contentiou

A North Korean radio station on Sunday criticized South Korean President Moon Jae-in's recent diplomatic efforts regarding the communist country and called for him to act independently of foreign countries. The criticism, made by the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station, was the latest in a series of

Top U.S. nuclear negotiator Stephen Biegun was set to meet President Moon Jae-in and other senior Seoul officials on Monday to discuss how to bring North Korea back to dialogue amid rising tensions over its apparent rocket engine tests this month. The special representative for North Korea arrived i