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Seoul, Tokyo may resume high-level talks

By Do Je-hae Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho's July 16-18 visit to Tokyo is drawing keen attention amid escalating tensions over Japan's tightened export controls on items crucial to Korea's tech industry. Suh is the highest official to visit Japan following Tokyo's July 4 implementation of export restrictions interpreted by Seoul as Japan's retaliation over last year's Supreme Court ruling awarding compensation for Korean victims of forced labor at Japanese companies during World War II.Ministry spokesperson Lee Sang-min confirmed Suh's visit Monday, but he did not elaborate on who the vice minister will be meeting in Japan. “We are in the process of arranging a meeting with relevant Japanese officials,” Lee said during a regular press briefing.The main purpose of Suh's visit is to participate in a joint forum arranged by the Ministry of Unification, the Sejong Institute and Keiko University and deliver a keynote address on Japan's role in Korean Peninsula peace process, the ministry said. Reports said Suh plans to meet high-level officials in the Japanese foreign minis

Jul 16, 2019By Do Je-hae

US diplomat to discuss trade scuffle between Seoul, Tokyo

David R. Stilwell, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, answers questions from reporters after arriving at the Narita International Airport on Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungA top U.S. diplomat for East Asia is visiting here to convey Washington's view that Seoul and Tokyo should seek a diplomatic solution to their burgeoning trade war.David R. Stilwell, the new U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will arrive in Seoul, Wednesday, to hold talks with foreign ministry officials including Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and senior presidential aides. Some analysts expect he may speak publicly about the feud.“Stilwell will deliver Washington's message that both sides need to seek a diplomatic solution as soon as possible,” a presidential aide said Tuesday. “Washington will engage in the dispute in a low-key manner, rather than actively mediating.”Before arriving in Seoul, the U.S. diplomat stayed in Tokyo for four days during which he underlined the need for the two nations to resume a process to reso

Jul 16, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
US diplomat to discuss trade scuffle between Seoul, Tokyo

Moon to meet party leaders on Thursday over Japan's trade curbs

Secretaries-general of five political parties hold hands at the National Assembly, Tuesday, after agreeing to a meeting between leaders of the parties and President Moon Jae-in on Thursday to tackle Japan's trade restrictions on South Korea. From left are Reps. Kim Kwang-soo of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace; Lim Jae-hun of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party; Yun Ho-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea; Park Maeng-woo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party; and Shin Jang-sik of the Justice Party. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonPresident Moon Jae-in and leaders of five political parties agreed Tuesday to hold a multi-partisan meeting Thursday to discuss ways to tackle Japan's export restrictions on South Korea.“The five parties agreed on making bipartisan efforts and meeting with Moon to minimize the impact of Japan's trade retaliation on the Korean economy and resolve the issue as soon as possible amid the unprecedented trade spat between Seoul and Tokyo,” Rep. Yun Ho-jong of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) told reporters, Tuesday. Cheo

Jul 16, 2019By Park Ji-won
Moon to meet party leaders on Thursday over Japan's trade curbs

Ex-lawmaker Chung Doo-un found dead on Seoul mountain

Former conservative lawmaker Chung Doo-un / Korea Times fileFormer conservative lawmaker Chung Doo-un was found dead on a mountain near an apartment complex in Seoul on Tuesday after an apparent suicide, police said.Chung, who was a lawmaker of the now-defunct Saenuri Party, was a close confidant of President Lee Myung-bak.Chung left a suicide note that his wife found and reported to police. Police are now working to determine the cause of his death. (Yonhap)

Jul 16, 2019
Ex-lawmaker Chung Doo-un found dead on Seoul mountain

Trade war approaching critical point

President Moon Jae-in with a stern look on his face presides over a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyung, Kim Yoo-chul This week will be crucial for both South Korea and Japan as the feud between the two countries continues after working-level talks over Japan's export controls ended without results.July 18 is the deadline for South Korea to decide whether to accept Japan's request to refer their history-related dispute to an international arbitration panel.Political experts and observers in Seoul believe the ongoing tech trade conflict between Seoul and Tokyo is about South Korea's outrage at Japan's forceful use of laborers during World War II. South Korea's highest court ruled that Japan's top steel manufacturer, Nippon Steel, used forced labor during the war and ordered the company to compensate South Korean survivors with about $89,000 each. A similar case against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and other cases are being heard in the country's lower courts. Japan argued all monetary settlements were settled through a 1965 accord when th

Jul 16, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Trade war approaching critical point

Far-right party removes illegal tents from Gwanghwamun Square; warns of comeback

Members of the Our Republican Party remove protest tents which they had illegally set up in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, Tuesday, minutes before Seoul City's move to tear down the tents. YonhapBy Kim Hyun-binMembers of a far-right political party demanding the release of imprisoned former President Park Geun-hye voluntarily removed tents they had set up illegally in Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Tuesday.According to the Our Republican Party, around 1,000 members began pulling down four tents in the square at 5 a.m., about 20 minutes before the city government planned to remove the illegal structures.The removal comes 10 days after the party set up the tents there again following a series of establishments and demolitions.After voluntarily removing them, the party tried to set up them again in front of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, but decided not to do so after less than an hour, citing safety issues.“The tents the city government wanted to forcefully remove through an administrative execution are gone. We have neutralized Seoul's execution efforts,”

Jul 16, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin
Far-right party removes illegal tents from Gwanghwamun Square; warns of comeback

Moon warns Japan of bigger damage

President Moon Jae-in speaks about his government's resolve to deal with the trade dispute with Japan during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. YonhapBy Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in said Monday that Japan was inflicting a serious challenge to his government by linking sanctions against North Korea with its recent export restrictions targeting South Korean companies.The President warned that Japan would end up with more damage from its economic retaliation against a ruling by the Supreme Court here that ordered Japanese firms to compensate Koreans forced to work for them during Tokyo's colonial rule of the peninsula. In yet another highly critical public message, Moon called on Japan to drop the false claims it is making against Korea to justify the export curbs and return to diplomatic negotiations.“I must first point out that it is extremely unwise for Japan to make the unprecedented move of linking economic and historical issues,” he said during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae. The President underscored the false claims Japan has been

Jul 15, 2019By Do Je-hae
Moon warns Japan of bigger damage

S. Korea, Israel agree on early FTA

President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the start of the bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulPresident Moon Jae-in has agreed to sign a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) earlier than expected with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in a move to further boost the trade volume between Seoul and Tel Aviv, Cheong Wa Dae said, Monday.“Two-way trade between South Korea and Israel is growing as Jerusalem has been one of Seoul's important trading partners over the last few decades and vice versa. Given that situation, an early FTA will clearly play the role of an extra booster, which is mutually beneficial,” Moon told Rivlin at the start of his summit in the presidential office, according to Cheong Wa Dae press pool reports.In response, Rivlin said the bilateral trade pact would become a key framework for South Korea in terms of creating synergy between South Korea's manufacturing prowess and Israel's innovation strength in emerging industries such as future mobility and biotech, which Seoul identified as the

Jul 15, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
S. Korea, Israel agree on early FTA

Abe jeopardizes S. Korea-US-Japan security cooperation

Seen above is a United Nations Security Council report in 2016 that shows Japan's illegal export of radars to North Korea. The photo, released by the North's propaganda Rodong Sinmun on Feb. 7, 2015, shows a North Korean warship.By Lee Min-hyungThe Japanese government is threatening the cornerstone of security in Northeast Asia ― the United States-initiated trilateral system on which both South Korea and Japan rely ― as Tokyo is suspected of selling sensitive materials and dual-use technology.Earlier, Tokyo said Seoul had “illegally exported some sensitive components to Pyongyang” without providing evidence. South Korea proposed a plan to launch a United Nations-led body to probe Japan's assertion by saying Japan “should present clear clues and evidence” to back up its claim. The unproven assertion by Japan is raising concerns that it is creating a security gap between South Korea and the United States at a time when Washington wants solid cooperation between its two key East Asian partners in response to the rise of China and North Korea's nuclear program. Po

Jul 15, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Abe jeopardizes S. Korea-US-Japan security cooperation
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