South Korea and China have exchanged a total of 18 most-wanted fugitives caught in their respective countries since last year, the Korean police said Friday.They were among 80 people on lists exchanged between the police authorities of the two countries since they reached an agreement on law enforcement collaboration in June 2013, according to the National Police Agency.Under the accord, in the first year five Chinese nationals were arrested and sent back to their country, and four fugitives wer

Dec. 4, 2015

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Thursday to work together to deter North Korea from submarine-launched ballistic missile tests and other provocations, Seoul's nuclear envoy said.Hwang Joon-kook, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark after trilateral talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts -- Amb. Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy; and Kimihiro Ishikane, director-

Dec. 4, 2015

President Park Geun-hye and the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and three other central European countries pressed North Korea Thursday to stop its nuclear and missile programs and return to the negotiating table.South Korea and the so-called Visegrad Group "urged North Korea to respond to diplomatic efforts to create favorable conditions for the resumption of six-nation talks," according to a joint statement issued after the summit.The Visegrad Group is composed of the Czech Republic, Hun

Dec. 4, 2015

PRAGUE (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye met with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on Thursday for talks on how to boost substantial cooperation in a wide-range of areas.The two leaders are set to adopt an action plan meant to implement a bilateral strategic partnership signed earlier this year.The action plan calls for, among other things, political dialogue, consultations on cybersecurity as well as cooperation in nuclear energy.It marked the second time that Park has met with Sobotka t

Dec. 3, 2015

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- South Korea is expected to "play a more active role" in the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the bank's deputy head was quoted as saying by a Chinese state media service on Thursday.The AIIB's deputy chief, Chen Hun, told state-run China News Service that South Korea would support bonds that will be issued and rated by the new regional lender for the first time. Chen also said the AIIB will hold its opening ceremony in the middle of next month.  The remarks b

Dec. 3, 2015

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday held summit talks with the Visegrad Group countries in Prague and sought ways for Korea to make advancements into the middle European countries’ large infrastructure market.The Visegrad Group, also known as the Visegrad Four or V4, comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. They boast high incomes and steady economic growth, with the group combined ranking as the fifth-largest economy in Europe and 12th in the world. All four nations have acti

Dec. 3, 2015

A South Korean man is suspected of triggering an explosion in a restroom at the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war dead, in Tokyo last month, Japanese news reports said Thursday, citing police officials.Mainichi Shimbun reported that an investigation is underway after the police found that a South Korean man in his 30s appeared in the footage of a surveillance camera installed near the restroom right after an explosion that caused no casualties.In the footage, he was seen wandering aroun

Dec. 3, 2015

China's "normal and stable" relations with North Korea will be conducive to a resolution to the nuclear issue and regional peace, a senior Chinese official said.Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, admitted that the bilateral relationship was frosty until recently due to a dispute over Pyongyang's continued nuclear development but that it is warming up again.With regard to the matter, she said, China has three unswerving principles--realizing the denuclearization of the Ko

Dec. 3, 2015

South Korea and the Czech Republic have held a consultative meeting on nuclear energy and signed a memorandum of understanding calling for greater bilateral cooperation in the sector, the government said Thursday.The meeting, held on the sidelines of President Park Geun-hye's visit to the European country on Tuesday, took place as the two nations move to strengthen ties in the atomic energy field, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. Prague is seeking to build new nuclear power react

Dec. 3, 2015

South Korea has offered an additional $1 million in aid to Iraqi refugees, bringing the total to $6 million this year, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.Iraq's humanitarian crisis is one of the worst in the world, with some 8.2 million people requiring humanitarian aid as of last month, the ministry said in a release. There are 3.2 million internally displaced persons, and that number is expected to increase.South Korea has offered aid through various international organizations such as UNICEF

Dec. 2, 2015

PARIS (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye pledged Tuesday to provide more than $11 million to 10 African countries over the next five years for vocational training, calling education a solution to ending violent extremism and "an integral ingredient" to economic success.South Korea has helped five African countries -- Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- in developing and distributing textbooks under the $10 million project since 2011. The project is set

Dec. 1, 2015