Abe renews call for summit with Park amid no sign of progress

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe again proposed a summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in his latest public appeal to Park on Thursday amid no apparent sign of a breakthrough in the strained relations.   Abe has been pushing to set up a summit with Park to try to repair frayed bilateral relations over historical disputes stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.   Japan and South Korea "should exchange frank dialogue at all levels, including top leaders,

Nov. 6, 2014

China's ambassador expressed opposition to referring N. Korea to ICC

China's ambassador to the United States has expressed clear opposition to efforts to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights abuses, saying the move amounts to meddling in the North's internal affairs.  "Other countries, including United States and China, should not try to interfere into the domestic affairs of North Korea. You could have your own opinion, but ultimately it's up to the Korean people to decide," Amb. Cui Tiankai said in an interview with Forei

Nov. 6, 2014

Kerry warns N. Korea of 'dead end'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday he hopes to work closely with China to get North Korea to realize that it is on a path to "a dead end" and that giving up its nuclear program is the only path to security and prosperity.   Kerry made his remarks in a speech at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, stressing the importance of cooperation with China on nonproliferation, days before he visits Beijing for multilateral and bilateral meetings.   "Our cooper

Nov. 5, 2014

N.K. mobile phone rates very low: report

North Korea’s mobile phone users pay about 15 cents a month on average for a basic plan that includes 200 voice minutes, a news report said Tuesday, indicating relatively low prices for the service despite a soaring number of customers. The number of subscribers of Koryolink, the sole telecom provider set up in 2008 as a joint venture with Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, has reportedly topped 2.4 million as of early September. But its basic plan costs only 1,000 North Korean won, which is equivalent to

Nov. 4, 2014

Seoul, Shanghai ink MOU to boost cooperation

South Korea's capital signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chinese business hub of Shanghai on Tuesday to boost bilateral friendship and cooperation, the city government here said.   The MOU, signed between Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and his Shanghai counterpart Yang Xiong in Beijing, calls for the two cities to cooperate in six fields: economy and trade, urban planning, urban traffic, culture and arts, tourism and human resources development.   On the economic front, the two citie

Nov. 4, 2014

U.N., U.S. officials due in Seoul over N. Korea's human rights abuse

Two of the most symbolic figures in the international community's campaign against North Korea's human rights abuse will travel to Seoul next week amid efforts to bring the issue to the International Criminal Court (ICC), diplomatic sources said Tuesday.   Marzuki Darusman, U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea, plans to visit Seoul from Monday through Friday, according to the sources.   Amb. Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will make a separate three-day tr

Nov. 4, 2014

S. Korea, China eye 11th-hour talks to seek free trade deal

South Korea and China were ready to lock in 11th-hour negotiations this week to wrap up a landmark free trade agreement, a senior Seoul negotiator has said, adding the two nations have intensified efforts to reach a "politically acceptable" deal.    Kim Young-moo, director-general for FTA negotiations at South Korea's Trade Ministry who leads the South Korean negotiating team in the free trade talks with China, also called for Beijing on Monday to make a "big compromise" to seal a deal before to

Nov. 4, 2014

Korea, China to launch joint crackdown on illegal fishing

South Korea and China have agreed to launch joint efforts before the year’s end to curb illegal fishing in their shared waters, the South Korean government said Monday.“The countries agreed to begin their joint inspection of fishing activities using their surveillance ships in the joint fishing zone at the earliest date possible before the end of the year,” the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a press release.The agreement came at the end of four-day talks last week that sought to renew

Nov. 3, 2014

No troop control transfer until full deterrence in place: P.M.

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won told lawmakers Monday that the U.S. control of South Korean troops in wartime should continue until Seoul is fully ready to deter the North’s war ambitions. South Korea and the U.S. agreed late last month to a “conditions-based” operational control transition, citing North Korea’s growing military threat. The transfer, previously scheduled for December 2015, is expected to take place in the mid-2020s.With no clear time frame set, opposition lawmakers and activists c

Nov. 3, 2014

Korean conscripts for Japanese army seek compensation

Three family members of Koreans who were drafted into Japan’s Imperial Army during World War II said Monday they have filed a lawsuit with a local court to seek compensation from the South Korean government.South Korea and Japan signed a treaty in 1965 in which Japan agreed to pay $800 million as compensation for its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea under Park Chung-hee’s rule, however, spent most of the payment to revitalize its economy and failed to adequately compe

Nov. 3, 2014

S. Korea, Dutch sign US$23 mln deal on upgrading atomic reactor in Netherlands

South Korea and the Netherlands signed a deal Monday to upgrade a Dutch experimental reactor in the first export of the Asian country's nuclear reactor technology to Europe.   The signing ceremony took place as South Korean President Park Geun-hye stood side by side with visiting Dutch King Willem-Alexander after a summit at the presidential office in Seoul.   A South Korean consortium is set to upgrade the capacity of an atomic reactor at Delft University of Technology to 3 megawatts from the c

Nov. 3, 2014

S. Korea, China agree to launch joint crackdown on illegal fishing

South Korea and China have agreed to launch joint efforts before the year's end to curb illegal fishing in their shared waters, the South Korean government said Monday.   "The countries agreed to begin their joint inspection of fishing activities using their surveillance ships in the joint fishing zone at the earliest date possible before the end of the year," the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a press release.   The agreement came at the end of four-day talks last week that sought to

Nov. 3, 2014

S. Korea, U.S. eye summit next week

South Korea and the United States are in talks to arrange a summit between their leaders on the sidelines of a series of regional conferences next week, government sources said Monday.   The meeting, if realized, would likely be held during the East Asia Summit in Naypyidaw, Myanmar between Nov. 12 and 13 or during a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Brisbane, Australia between Nov. 15 and 16, the sources said on condition of anonymity.   South Korean President Park Ge

Nov. 3, 2014