Senators propose family reunion resolution

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― A group of U.S. senators has introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea, according to a diplomatic source and Congressional data Sunday.Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) submitted the “resolution encouraging reunions of Korean-Americans who were divided by the Korean War from their relatives in North Korea” to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, the source

Nov. 24, 2014

China calls for easing of tension as N. Korea's attacks U.N. rights resolution

China on Monday called for an easing of tension on the Korean Peninsula, a day after North Korea's top military body warned of "catastrophic consequences" in the latest angry reaction to the international community's stepped-up censure of its human rights record.    In protest against a United Nations resolution condemning its grave human rights violations, North Korea threatened last week to conduct a new nuclear test. On Sunday, the North's omnipotent National Defense Commission issued a fresh

Nov. 24, 2014

China expert pessimistic on N. Korea's 'diplomatic offensive'

North Korea's "diplomatic offensive" this year, including a visit by a special envoy of the North's leader Kim Jong-un to Russia, is unlikely to help Pyongyang escape isolation unless it changes course on nuclear weapons, a Chinese expert said Monday.    Zhang Liangui, a professor of Korean studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, told the state-run Beijing News that Russia is also unlikely to compete with China in providing economic support to North

Nov. 24, 2014

U.S. senators call for inclusion of Korean-Americans in family reunions

A group of U.S. senators has introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea, according to a diplomatic source and Congressional data Sunday.   Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) submitted the "resolution encouraging reunions of Korean-Americans who were divided by the Korean War from their relatives in North Korea" to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, the source said.  The website of Congress

Nov. 24, 2014

Senators introduce resolution calling for including Korean-Americans in family reunions

A group of U.S. senators have introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea, according to a diplomatic source and Congressional data Sunday.  The website of Congress also showed the resolution (S.RES.587) was introduced, but no text is currently available.   The resolution follows a similar one (H.CON.RES.91) introduced in the House of Representatives on March 6 by Reps. Charles Rangle (D-NY), John Conyers (D-MI), Sam Jo

Nov. 24, 2014

Korea, China, Japan sign agreement on fighting Ebola

　South Korea, China and Japan have signed a joint statement outlining their efforts to strengthen three-way cooperation for preventing the Ebola virus from spreading in the three countries, Seoul’s health minister said Sunday.　Minister Moon Hyung-pyo and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Li Bin and Yasuhisa Shiozaki agreed to enhance exchanges of information to keep the deadly virus from entering their borders and take precautionary measures.　Health officials from the three nations will hold

Nov. 23, 2014

S. Korea, China, Japan to step up cooperation on Ebola fight

The health ministers of South Korea, China and Japan on Sunday signed a joint statement to strengthen their three-way cooperation to help prevent the deadly Ebola virus from spreading to their nations. The joint statement was announced after a meeting of the three ministers -- South Korean Health Minister Moon Hyong-pyo and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Li Bin and Yasuhisa Shiozaki -- in Beijing earlier in the day. The statement calls for the three nations to enhance exchanges of inform

Nov. 23, 2014

S. Korea to hold fresh round of talks for 3-way FTA with Japan, China

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a new round of negotiations this week for a three-way free trade agreement (FTA), the South Korean government said Sunday.The talks, the sixth of their kind, will be held in Tokyo from Monday through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The last meeting in Beijing in early September ended with little progress.The ministry said the countries were again expected to seek a breakthrough."In the past five rounds of negotiations, the t

Nov. 23, 2014

Korea, Japan to resume sex slavery talks

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that Seoul and Tokyo plan to hold a fresh round of talks next week to resolve the issue of Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, as they strive to taper differences in their historical perceptions. Lee Sang-deok, director general for Northeast Asian affairs at the ministry, is scheduled to meet with Junichi Ihara, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Tokyo’s Foreign Ministry on Nov. 27 in Seoul. The consultations

Nov. 21, 2014

Rival parties girding for passage of NK human rights bills

South Korea's rival parties are gearing up to pass bills aimed at helping improve human rights conditions in North Korea, sources said Friday, amid growing international pressure on Pyongyang over the issue.Those bills have been pending at the National Assembly for years due to wrangling between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD).In line with a recent bipartisan agreement, the bills will be presented Monday to a parliamentary foreign affai

Nov. 21, 2014

Republicans vow to fight 'illegal' Obama immigration plan

US Republicans offered strident reaction Thursday to President Barack Obama's unilateral plan to bring millions of undocumented non-citizens out of the shadows and make them eligible for work permits."That's just not how our democracy works," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement after the White House unveiled details of Obama's plan, which lifts the threat of deportation for up to five million undocumented migrants."The president has said before that he's 'not king' and he's 'not an em

Nov. 21, 2014

Japan lower house dissolved ahead of election

The lower chamber of Japan's parliament was dissolved Friday in readiness for a general election, expected next month, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to consolidate his grip on power and reinvigorate his economic drive."In accordance with article seven of Japan's constitution, the lower house is dissolved," speaker Bunmei Ibuki told the chamber.Ibuki's move came after a mandate from Abe, who is going to the polls less than half way through a four-year term.Abe said earlier this week that he

Nov. 21, 2014

P.M. vows crackdown on illegal Chinese fishing

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won vowed Thursday to conduct a stronger crackdown on Chinese fishermen’s illegal fishing in South Korean waters amid their growing violence against South Korean authorities.Hundreds of Chinese fishermen are arrested each year for illegally crossing into and fishing in South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea, often leading to violent clashes with South Korean Coast Guard officials. In early October, a Chinese captain was shot dead while trying to escape a crackdown after

Nov. 20, 2014

S. Korean, Finnish premiers discuss economic cooperation

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb, discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and economic cooperation during their talks on Thursday in Seoul, Chung's office said.Chung, during the meeting, proposed enhancing cooperation in fields such as South Korea's "creative economy" vision, maritime shipping and the exploration of mineral resources, the office said.The Finnish prime minister is in Seoul on a four-day visit, his first trip t

Nov. 20, 2014

Russia's top envoy to N. Korea named as ambassador to Seoul: sources

Russia's ambassador to North Korea has been named as the country's top envoy to South Korea, diplomatic sources said Thursday, raising hopes that the move would help promote cooperative projects among the three nations.Alexander Timonin, Russia's top envoy to Pyongyang, is likely to replace the incumbent ambassador Konstantin Vnukov starting as early as March next year, according to the sources.Timonin has had experience in dealing with trilateral cooperation among the two Koreas and Russia befo

Nov. 20, 2014