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

Consultations to be focused on how to promote substantiative cooperation President Moon to attend Korea-Japan-China Summit in China on Dec. 23-24 According to Cheongwadae, President Moon Jae-in will visit China December 23-24 to attend the 8th Korea-Japan-China summit. This year’s trilateral summit

A humanitarian activist President Moon meets with leader of Rock Band U2 and Philanthropist Bono According to Cheongwadae, President Moon Jae-in met with Bono, the leader of the Irish rock band U2 and a humanitarian activist at Cheong Wa Dae for 40 minutes from 10:30 this morning. Bono is in Korea o

Political parties here appeared to be taking a breather Wednesday following a round of arguments over the handling of next year's budget bill.The National Assembly passed the bill, worth 512.3 trillion won (US$429.9 billion), Tuesday night, the last day of this year's regular session.

The United States is ready to be flexible in negotiations with North Korea on dismantling the regime's nuclear weapons program, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said Wednesday, urging Pyongyang to refrain from provocations.Ambassador Kelly Craft made the remarks at a U.N. Security Council se

South Korea's top negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States has said the allies have failed to produce a concrete result in this week's negotiations as Washington's demand for a sharp increase in Seoul's share remains unchanged.Jeong Eun-bo made the remarks Thur

An investigator who worked at the presidential office was found dead Sunday, police said, amid a prosecution probe into alleged attempts by Cheong Wa Dae officials to influence last year's local elections.The official, who was dispatched to the civil affairs office from the prosecution, was foun