South Korea will deny entry to foreign nationals who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has seen over 540 COVID-19 cases so far, officials here said Wednesday as passengers began to disembark in Japan. 　 “There are possibilities that the passengers could enter Korea (en route to their home countries). In such cases, foreign nationals will be denied entry here. Korean nationals will be required to observe self-quarantine,” said Noh Hong-in, an official at the govern

A South Korean government jet left Tuesday to evacuate Koreans aboard the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship in Japan, amid concerns of rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 onboard. 　 The VCN-235 Air Force plane left Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at noon, and landed in Japan’s Haneda Airport, 20 minutes away from the Yokohama port where the cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked. 　 The plane is scheduled to leave Japan on Wednesday and arrive at Gimpo Airport at around 8 a.m.

South Koreans aboard a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship off the coast of Japan will face an additional two-week quarantine period back in Korea, if they wish to return, according to public health authorities on Monday. 　 Earlier on Sunday, Seoul announced it would repatriate Korean passengers and crew members from the Diamond Princess ship being held under quarantine at the Yokohama port, where 355 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed, in the largest cluster of virus cases outside o

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday and agreed to cooperate to combat COVID-19 and proceed with preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Seoul in the first half of the year. “I and Minister Wang reaffirmed that there are no changes in our plans for Xi’s visit to Korea,” Kang told reporters after the bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference. “As w

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left for Germany on Thursday to attend the Munich Security Forum. 　 During the annual three-day security conference from Friday through Sunday, Kang is set to speak about South Korean diplomacy to strengthen multilateralism, as a panel member at the conference’s main session. 　 While in Munich, the minister could hold bilateral or trilateral meetings with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who are also attend

South Korea and the US held a working group meeting on Monday in Seoul, aimed at coordinating policy on North Korea, as Seoul seeks to engage the North through inter-Korean exchanges, such as allowing South Korean travelers to visit North Korea. 　 Alex Wong, US deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea, arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in central Seoul for a closed-door meeting with his South Korean counterpart Rhee Dong-yeol, director general of the Korean Peninsula Peace

South Korea will take additional measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, if needed, after checking the situation not only in China's Hubei Province but also in other areas, the prime minister said Wednesday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's remarks apparently signal that the government could weigh the possibility for expanding its entry ban on foreigners who came from or through the ground-zero Chinese province in the past 14 days. "The government will take necessary measur

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday his country hopes to draw more investment from South Korea by taking advantage of a double taxation avoidance pact between the two sides. Meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae, he stressed that bilateral relations are continuously developing as shown in the signing of the pact and an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters last November. “Especially, I am happy that the two nations signed the double taxation av

Diplomats from South Korea and Japan will meet in Seoul this week to continue working-level talks on a protracted row over wartime history and trade, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Kim Jung-han, director-general for Asia and Pacific affairs, will meet with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeki Takizaki, on Thursday to discuss the pending issues, the ministry said in a release. Takizaki is expected to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday. This week‘s talks come about three weeks after their las

Travelers markedly fewer amid virus scare on first day of entry ban on China's virus-hit Hubei Province

Restricting only those from Hubei province not effective given spread of virus in other parts of China, experts say

South Korea has no plan to withdraw the last-remaining staff members from its consulate in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, an official said Monday. Eight people are still working at the South Korean consulate general in Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly virus outbreak under lockdown, including Vice Consul General Lee Kwang-ho serving as interim head of the mission, according to the foreign ministry. That is more than half of the entire workforce at the 14-member office, the minis

The Air Force said Monday that it has decided not to participate in an upcoming international airshow in Singapore as part of precautions against the new coronavirus. The Air Force's Black Eagles had planned to take part in the biennial Singapore Airshow 2020 from Feb. 11-16, but decided not to do so and notified Singapore of the decision, according to the military. "It is part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and to guarantee the safety of service personnel,&qu

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo was set to depart for India on Monday to hold talks with his Indian counterpart to explore ways to further bilateral ties, his office said Monday. During the four-day official visit at the invitation of Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Jeong will also attend DEFEXPO 2020, one of Asia's largest defense expos, set for Feb. 5-9 in the Indian city of Lucknow, according to his ministry. "During the visit, the two ministers will hold talks t

South Korea said Monday it plans to ask the European Union to review a safeguard measure against Korean-made steel products that went into effect last year. During the four-day meeting, set to kick off in Seoul on Tuesday, the two sides will discuss a variety of trade issues and review progress under their bilateral FTA, which went into effect in July 2011, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In particular, Seoul plans to raise the issue of the latest safeguard measure im