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Korea, China, Japan to hold talks in Beijing South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for meetings with her Chinese and Japanese counterparts over three-way cooperation and a possible summit among their leaders.Her trip drew keen attention as she plans to meet bilaterally with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Wednesday afternoon amid heightened tensions between the two countries over trade and history.Their meeting comes at a delicate time when Seoul is mulling whether to renew a bilateral military i Today Politics [News Focus] Moon to pass halfway point with challenges at home and abroad SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in will pass the halfway point in November, finishing the first 30 months of his 60-month term.The Moon administration launched in May 2017, several months after a political scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil swept the nation and ignited public fury.The people pinned great hopes on Moon, who stressed justice and fairness in his inaugural speech.Moon’s approval ratings hovered around 70-80 percent during the first y Today Foreign Affairs Kang and Kono to seek diplomatic breakthrough in Beijing South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet her Japanese counterpart in China in another attempt to ease tensions with Tokyo after a diplomatic feud developed into a trade row and now threatens to weaken security cooperation. Kang, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gathered in Beijing on Tuesday for the ninth in an ongoing series of trilateral foreign ministers’ meetings involving the top diplomatic officials of the three countries. Th Aug 20, 2019 Social affairs Police impose exit bans on ex-YG Entertainment chief, Seungri over alleged gambling Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, and Seungri, a former member of the company-managed K-pop boy band BIGBANG, have been slapped with an exit ban over allegations that they engaged in habitual gambling abroad and violated the foreign exchange law to secure gambling money, police officials said Tuesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has recently obtained an approval from the Ministry of Justice to ban Yang and Seungri from leaving the country after booking them on charges of hab Aug 20, 2019 Defense S. Korea, US wrap up summertime combined exercise South Korea and the United States wrapped up their weekslong combined military exercises on Tuesday, raising hopes for a halt in a series of missile launches by North Korea and a possible resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.The North has strongly bristled at the Combined Command Post Training and Crisis Management Staff Training, ratcheting up tensions with six rounds of missile or projectile launches and bellicose rhetoric over about three weeks."We've wrapped up t Aug 20, 2019 Foreign Affairs S. Korean, US diplomats meet in Seoul ahead of negotiations on defense cost sharing South Korean and US diplomats held talks in Seoul on Tuesday over the allies' envisioned negotiations on the sharing of the cost for the upkeep of American troops here.Chang Won-sam from Seoul's foreign ministry and his US counterpart, Timothy Betts, had the closed-door meeting, as Seoul and Washington are bracing for a new round of talks on how much Seoul will pay for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK). Chang and Betts were the chief negotiators of the previous negotiati Today Defense [Feature] Seoul takes time mulling renewal of military intel-sharing pact with Japan Koreans divided on GSOMIA as the deadline for renewal emerges on Saturday Today Politics [Newsmaker] Corruption allegations have Cho Kuk in a corner Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk is in a corner over mounting corruption allegations involving his family ahead of his confirmation hearing, which hasn’t even been scheduled yet.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party filed a complaint against the former senior presidential secretary and his family on Monday over what the party called questionable investments in a private equity fund.The latest of the allegations involves Cho’s 28-year-old daughter, who received scholarships to atten Aug 20, 2019 North Korea N. Korea slams S. Korea for joint military drill, warns of consequences North Korea's official newspaper blasted South Korea on Tuesday for conducting a joint military exercise with the United States on the last day of the drill, warning that Seoul will pay dearly for such "stupid" acts. South Korea and the US were to wrap up their weekslong joint exercise later in the day. Seoul has said that it is part of its preparations to regain wartime operational control of its troops from Washington, but Pyongyang has called it a rehearsal for invasion. Aug 20, 2019 North Korea US extends travel ban on N. Korea for another year The United States on Monday extended a ban on American citizens traveling to North Korea for another year.The State Department announced the extension in a notice, saying "there continues to be serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention" in the North. The notice is due to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.The travel ban was imposed in Sept. 2017 in the wake of the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in the No Aug 19, 2019 Diplomatic Circuit Seoul pledges $200K in humanitarian aid to drought-hit Namibia South Korea will provide about $200,000 worth of humanitarian aid to Namibia, which has declared a state of emergency over drought, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the African country has suffered from drought since October 2018, which has left up to 500,000 people or about 20 percent of the country's entire population short of food and water. "The country will continue to expand its humanitarian assistance as a responsible member of the international c Aug 19, 2019 Social affairs Unionized workers of Hyundai Heavy to stage partial strike Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries decided Monday to stage a partial walkout this week as part of a general strike planned by their umbrella organization.The walkout will be staged for three hours from 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the company's labor union said.It will mark the first of its kind this year by the unionized workers at the shipbuilder.The decision came hours after the Korean Metal Workers' Union and its member unions announced a plan to stage a general strike next Wednesday in p Aug 20, 2019 Foreign Affairs Seoul summons Japanese envoy over radioactive water disposal plan South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Monday sought a detailed explanation on Japan’s reported plan to release radioactive water from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown, while expressing safety concerns. Climate, Environment, Science and Foreign Affairs Director Kwon Se-jung summoned Tomofumi Nishinaga, economic counselor at the Japanese Embassy here, to convey the government’s concerns on the possible disposal of contaminated water. “Our government very gravely recogn Aug 20, 2019 North Korea Resumption of US-NK dialogue a matter for speculation as drills come to end A possible resumption of talks between the US and North Korea is in the spotlight as the top nuclear negotiator from Washington is due in Seoul on Tuesday, the final day of their joint military drills. According to the US Department of State, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is set to arrive here after visiting Tokyo. His trip to both countries is intended to “further strengthen coordination on the final, fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea. Aug 20, 2019 Social affairs Something to get off your chest? Women question need for bras 'What women want is the choice -- or rather, the right -- not to wear a bra.' MORE 15 / 165784
