South Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to South Korea drew criticism from the highest levels of government in Seoul on Friday for suggesting that Seoul consult with Washington about the possibility of reopening tourism with North Korea.

U.S. ambassador Harry Harris has even been criticized by some local media and anti-U.S. activists over his moustache, which they have compared with those of officials in the Japanese colonial government that ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945.

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy will make a four-day visit to Washington this week for talks with his U.S. counterpart over the Korean Peninsula issues, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for the Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will travel to Washington on Wednesday to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun who also serves as the chief U.S. envoy in denuclearization talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A North Korean official on Saturday said that the U.S. and South Korea are dreaming if they think that President Donald Trump’s sending a birthday message would get leader Kim Jong Un back to the negotiating table.

North Korean Foreign Ministry adviser Kim Kye Gwan repeated the North’s deep frustrations over stalled nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration and stressed that the country will never fully deal away its nuclear capabilities for ending U.S.-led sanctions despite its economic difficulties.

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea would push for inter-Korean cooperation as much as it can, while continuing efforts to resolve issues on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Seoul's unification ministry said Wednesday.

Lee Sang-min, unification ministry spokesman, told a press briefing that South Korea, as a party directly involved in the Korean Peninsula issues, will expand room for maneuvers in relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) - South Korea's top national security adviser on Tuesday left for Washington for consultations on the Korean Peninsula issues with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, according to Yonhap news agency.

Chung Eui-yong, the top national security adviser for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, was quoted as saying at the Incheon International Airport, west of the capital Seoul, that the scheduled consultations were reported in the media though it was originally to be held closed-door.

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday offered a broader inter-Korean cooperation this year to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), while proposing concerted efforts to create conditions for top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un's visit to Seoul.

"It is very sorry that a bigger advance has not been made in inter-Korean cooperation for the past year," Moon said during his televised New Year's speech at the presidential complex Blue House.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. strike that killed Iran’s top military commander may have had an indirect casualty: a diplomatic solution to denuclearizing North Korea.

Experts say the escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran will diminish already fading hopes for such an outcome and inspire North Korea’s decision-makers to tighten their hold on the weapons they see, perhaps correctly, as their strongest guarantee of survival.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A group of 11 North Koreans who were detained in Vietnam while seeking to defect to South Korea have been released thanks to the help of European institutions, a Seoul-based activist group said on Saturday.

The eight women and three men were caught by border guards in northern Vietnam in late November after crossing from China, and had been held in the northeastern border city of Lang Son.

Peter Jung, who heads the group helping the refugees, Justice for North Korea, said they were freed and on their way to South Korea last month.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the Trump administration of dragging its feet in nuclear negotiations and warned that his country will soon show a new strategic weapon to the world as it bolsters its nuclear deterrent in the face of “gangster-like” U.S. pressure.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for active “diplomatic and military countermeasures” to preserve the country’s security in a lengthy speech at a key political conference possibly meant to legitimize major changes to his nuclear diplomacy with the United States.