The South Korean foreign ministry on Thursday denied news reports that China reimposed a ban on group tours to South Korea.News reports said earlier that the China National Tourism Administration's Shandong Province branch notified local tour agencies of the ban starting on Jan. 1.If confirmed,
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday on new sanctions against North Korea, including further restrictions on its imports of oil, according to a news report.The measures come in response to North Korea's latest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29, w
A Seoul district court on Thursday handed down prison terms for two former party campaign officials of the minor opposition People's Party for fabricating a tip-off about President Moon Jae-in's son in the runup to the May presidential election this year.The Seoul Southern District Court sen
A North Korean soldier fled to South Korea through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the inter-Korean land border, Thursday, five weeks after a dramatic Panmunjom defection by a fellow serviceman. the South's military said.The "low-ranking" soldier appeared in front of a guard post on the mid-west
The United States on Wednesday distanced itself from South Korean President Moon Jae-in's call to postpone the allies' military exercises until after the PyeongChang Olympic Games.Moon told U.S. broadcaster NBC Tuesday that the two countries could review the timing of the regular drills to r
South Korea will more than double the number of its female soldiers to 2,450 by 2022 as part of defense reform, the ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.Currently, there are 1,100 active-duty female troops, 5.5 percent of the country's 625,000-strong armed forces.The ministry plans to rai
Prosecutors on Tuesday maintained their sentence demand for two former aides of ousted President Park Geun-hye for allegedly keeping a secret register of artists deemed critical of her government to disadvantage them in various ways.Special Counsel in charge of the case asked the appellate court to
South Korea will search for ways to bring North Korea back to dialogue to negotiate a peaceful resolution of its nuclear weapons development, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Monday, labeling the issue as the biggest diplomatic challenge facing the South."The North Korean nuclear issue still re
SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top diplomat will visit Japan this week to discuss North Korea and pending bilateral issues, the foreign ministry here said Sunday.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will leave for Tokyo on Tuesday for a two-day stay for talks with her Japanese counterpart T
The United Nations is expected to adopt a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights violations for the 13th consecutive year this week, diplomatic sources said Sunday.The U.N. General Assembly is scheduled to convene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday to deal with a new draft resolution on North Korea
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for increased cooperation between his country and Chongqing in a meeting with the city's Communist Party leader, who is also China's rising political star."I believe economic cooperation between South Korea and Chongqing will greatly contribute to C
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday vowed efforts to boost his country's economic cooperation with China, saying cooperation between the countries will benefit both.The president also vowed efforts to link his New North and New South policies with China's One Belt, One Road develo
A close aide of ousted President Park Geun-hye was arrested early Friday for his alleged involvement in the state spy agency's illegal surveillance of government officials.The Seoul Central District Court approved the warrant for Woo Byung-woo, a former senior presidential secretary for civil af
A senior foreign ministry official will protest the European Union's recent blacklisting of South Korea as a tax haven country during a meeting in Brussels Friday, a government source said.Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon left for Brussels on Thursday to attend a regul
Prosecutors on Thursday demanded a 25-year prison term for a woman at the center of a corruption scandal that led to the ousting of former President Park Geun-hye early this year.Choi Soon-sil, 61, Park's longtime friend and confidante, was arrested and indicted in November last year on 18 charg
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a former four-star Army general, known for bullying soldiers assigned to his residence, should be tried in a civilian court because he is considered to have been discharged from the military after he was transfered to a temporary position.Park Chan-ju, who serv
The leaders of South Korea and China were set to hold a bilateral summit here Thursday as their countries are seeking to find ways to peacefully end North Korea's nuclear ambitions and also normalize their ties estranged by the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.The meeti
South Korean President Moon Jae-in left for China Wednesday for a four-day state visit that will include talks with President Xi Jinping.The two leaders plan to hold their third bilateral summit on Thursday focusing on North Korea's growing threats and ways to improve bilateral ties, according t
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that Washington is willing to begin talks with North Korea without preconditions.Tillerson's remark came as tensions have increased over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs with its latest test of an intercontinental ballist
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has sent his chief of staff as a special envoy to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Lebanon, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.Im Jong-seok paid a visit to Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, earlier Sunday, one day after h