South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North and South Korea exchanged messages Tuesday in communication channels that have been dormant for more than a year and agreed to improve ties — positive steps but ones that still leave any resumption of stalled negotiations to rid the North of its nuclear weapons a long way off.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — America’s No. 2 diplomat on Friday expressed sympathy for North Koreans facing hardships and food shortages linked to the pandemic, and renewed calls for the North to return to talks over its nuclear program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has recently warned of a “tense” food situation and admitted his country faces “the worst-ever” crisis. But his government has steadfastly insisted it won’t rejoin the talks unless Washington drops its hostility.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Top U.S. and South Korean officials agreed Thursday to try to convince North Korea to return to talks on its nuclear program, which Pyongyang has insisted it won’t do in protest of what it calls U.S. hostility.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was in Seoul as part of her regional tour that will take her to China this weekend. She’ll be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office in January.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s prime minister on Tuesday apologized for “failing to carefully take care of the health” of hundreds of sailors who contracted the coronavirus on a navy ship taking part in an anti-piracy mission off East Africa.

The outbreak aboard the destroyer Munmu the Great is the largest cluster South Korea’s military has seen. A total of 247 of the ship’s 301 crew have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days and two military planes had to be dispatched to fly them all home.

SEOUL, July 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics which is slated to begin on Friday, the presidential Blue House said on Monday.

Park Soo-hyun, senior Blue House secretary for public communication, told a press briefing that the governments of South Korea and Japan had discussed a possibility for the summit on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is sending military aircraft on Sunday to replace the entire 300-member crew of a navy destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa after nearly 70 of them tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said.

Two multi-role aerial tankers will bring home 300 sailors aboard the 4,400-ton-class destroyer Munmu the Great, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Ministry officials said, requesting anonymity citing department rules.

They said 68 sailors have so far tested positive and the results on 200 of the 300 crew are still pending.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Olympic committee said Saturday it removed banners at the Olympic athletes’ village in Tokyo that referred to a 16th-century war between Korea and Japan after the International Olympic Committee ruled they were provocative.

SEOUL, Jul 15 (NNN-YONHAP) – Smuggled drugs caught by the South Korean authorities nearly tripled in the first half of the year, as contactless smuggling through international mail and express cargo jumped, amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, customs office data showed today.

Smuggled drugs, confiscated by the customs agency, reached 214.2 kg in the Jan-Jun period, up 153 percent from the same period last year, according to Korean Customs.

SEOUL, July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. humanitarian aid is a "sinister political scheme" to put pressure on other countries, a North Korean researcher said, after suggestions from U.S. allies such as South Korea that coronavirus vaccines or other help could promote cooperation.

North Korea's foreign ministry published the criticism of U.S. aid on an official website on Sunday, a clear indication that it reflects government thinking.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The North Korean and Chinese leaders expressed their desire Sunday to further strengthen their ties as they exchanged messages marking the 60th anniversary of their countries’ defense treaty.

In a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said it is “the fixed stand” of his government to “ceaselessly develop the friendly and cooperative relations” between the countries, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.