AIIB deputy head expects more role from Korea

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

Park discusses infrastructure plans in Europe

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

Korean man suspected in Yasukuni explosion

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

Improved Pyongyang-Beijing ties to help resume six-way talks: Hua

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

Korea, Czech Republic to boost nuclear energy cooperation

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

Korea offers extra $1 mln in aid to Iraqi refugees

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

Park vows to provide more than $11 mln in aid to African countries

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

Korea, Costa Rica FMs hope for stronger business ties

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Costa Rica expressed hope for stronger business ties between their nations as the Central American country develops its infrastructure, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Costa Rican counterpart, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz, met on the sidelines of a U.N. climate change conference in Paris on Monday to discuss a wide range of bilateral and other issues of mutual interest, the ministry said in a press release.Yun noted the

Dec. 1, 2015

Korea, U.S., Japan to hold trilateral meeting of nuclear envoys

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold a trilateral meeting in Washington this week to discuss how to deal with North Korea, the State Department said Monday.Amb. Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, will host Thursday's meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Hwang Joon-kook, and Japanese counterpart Kimihiro Ishikane "to exchange views on a wide range of issues related to the North," the department said in a release.Kim will a

Dec. 1, 2015

Korea elected as IMO's Category A member for 8th term

South Korea has been elected to serve the Category A group of the International Maritime Organization for the eighth straight term, solidifying the country's status as a global leader in seafaring affairs, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the assembly of the United Nations agency, which convened in London late last week, picked South Korea as one of the 10 council members of the Category A group, which are countries with the largest interest in providing inter

Nov. 30, 2015

Park arrives in France for U.N. climate change conference

President Park Geun-hye arrived in France on Sunday to attend a crucial U.N. conference on climate change, less than a week after she returned from a three-nation swing to attend a series of annual summits with regional leaders.Park is set to deliver a speech at the leaders' event in Paris on Monday and express South Korea's commitment to actively join global efforts to launch a deal on combating climate change.The leaders' event -- the opening of the conference -- is designed to build political

Nov. 30, 2015

Park to hold talks with Putin on bilateral issues, N. Korea's nukes

President Park Geun-hye plans to meet with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in France in their second summit in two years, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including bilateral economic cooperation, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other regional issues, the presidential office said.North Korea's nuclear weapons program is also expected to be high on their agenda.Russia has been involved in the long-stalled six-nation talks a

Nov. 30, 2015