Envoys discuss aging, retirement in Japan and India

Foreign envoys, industry experts and local VIPs participated in a panel discussion on the current trends and future challenges of retiring in Asia at the latest in the continuing luncheon lecture series run by Asia Society’s Korea Center at a hotel in Seoul on Tuesday.For the vast majority of Indians, retirement does not involve IRAs or pension schemes, according to Shashi Maudgal, president of Novelis Asia and chairman of Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. It is a family affair.“If you asked

May 25, 2014

Territorial rows to overshadow Shanghai forum

A much-trumpeted Beijing-Moscow summit, coupled with heightened territorial tensions between China and Vietnam, is poised to steal the limelight when world leaders and policymakers gather in Shanghai on Tuesday for a security forum. At the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping will address the security situation in Asia and ways to strengthen strategic dialogue and cooperation, Beijing officials said. At least 46 heads of state and chief

May 19, 2014

Malaysia fetes trade with Korea, palm oil sector VIPs

The Malaysian Embassy and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation co-organized a seminar and dinner reception with the Malaysia Palm Oil Council to boost bilateral trade in Seoul on Wednesday. The event provided an opportunity for Malaysian trade delegates and experts, as well as leaders in the palm oil sector, to network with South Korean partners, according to Rashid Mohd. Zain, Malaysia’s trade commissioner here.“Malaysia’s major exports to South Korea are oil and gas products, el

May 18, 2014

EU envoy visits students in new European initiative

European Union Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski visited 77 10th graders at Ogeum High School in southern Seoul on Thursday to discuss the EU, European history and culture, and South Korea’s ties with Europe.His visit was part of a new program in which European ambassadors from the EU and about 20 European nations have joined up to visit high schools in and around the Seoul area to discuss European history, politics and culture, as well as what it is like to work as a diplomat.Dubbed “EU Goes to Schoo

May 18, 2014

Tears for relatives after fatal US hunger strike

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- Hope Keown was reading the newspaper in her kitchen when she noticed a face she hadn't seen in years. Staring up from the page was her estranged stepfather's mug shot, next to a story about how he starved himself to death in a Kentucky prison.The story triggered tears, confusion and a torrent of memories about James Kenneth Embry, the man she knew as ``Kenny'' and ``Spider Red.'' She recalled the good times, such as when a sober Embry helped with homework and folded

May 16, 2014

Korea reaffirms stance on Japan's 'collective self-defense'

South Korea said Thursday that Japan should dispel doubts and concerns shared by its neighboring countries as it moves closer to exercising the right to "collective self-defense."   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a review of the interpretation of the pacifist constitution that has banned Japan from exercising the right to collective self-defense. The right would allow Tokyo to fight alongside its allies and beyond its borders.   Seoul's foreign ministry said that Japan's move shou

May 15, 2014

Korea, Japan resume sex slavery talks

Korea and Japan on Thursday discussed ways to resolve the long-festering issue of Tokyo’s mobilization of Korean women as sex slaves during World War II. Lee Sang-deok, director general for Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, touched down in Tokyo early in the day for a two-day stay. He held talks with Junichi Ihara, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Tokyo’s Foreign Ministry, and was expected to meet with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki. The meeting

May 15, 2014

Korea, Japan set for new talks on sex slavery

Seoul and Tokyo plan to hold working-level talks Thursday on the long-standing issue of Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, the Foreign Ministry here said Tuesday.The meeting will mark a second round of consultations aimed at improving the two countries’ relations frayed by revisionist moves by Japanese officials and politicians. Lee Sang-deok, director general for Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Thursday for a t

May 13, 2014

Korea, Japan to resume talks on sex slavery this week

South Korea and Japan will hold director-general level talks in Tokyo later this week to discuss the Japanese wartime army's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.Lee Sang-deok, director general for Northeast Asian affairs from the foreign ministry, will meet with his Japanese counterpart, Junichi Ihara, on Thursday and Friday in their second negotiations to discuss the issue of comfort women, a source of diplomatic tension between the two

May 13, 2014

39 U.S. lawmakers offer condolences to victims of Korean ferry accident

Thirty nine U.S. lawmakers have joined a wave of sympathy for South Korean people suffering the loss of hundreds of people in a ferry sinking last month, the nation's embassy here said Monday."If you share happiness, it multiplies by double, if you share sadness, it lessens by half. We go together," wrote Sen. Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. His words were inscribed in a book kept at Capitol Hill last week, according to the embassy.Rep. Ed Royce, who chair

May 13, 2014

Korea, China to hold security talks

BEIJING (Yonhap) ― South Korea and China plan to hold high-level security talks in Beijing later this month, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter said Monday, as Seoul seeks to persuade Beijing to do more in dissuading North Korea from conducting its fourth nuclear test. South Korea‘s Presidential Security Adviser Kim Jang-soo is scheduled to visit Beijing and hold talks with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China’s top foreign policymaker, in the fourth week of this month, the s

May 12, 2014

China rejects potential Japanese protest at monument to Korean independence fighters

China on Monday dismissed a potential protest by Japan over a stone monument honoring Korean soldiers who fought for their peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, saying such a monument would help remind people of Japan's wartime past.Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also confirmed that the Chinese authorities have completed setting up the monument in the ancient city of Xian, where the Korean independence fighters were based, and will unveil it to the public

May 12, 2014

Nine ancient Korean seals returned from U.S. to go on display

Nine ancient Korean seals that were returned last month after being illegally transferred to the United States during the 1950-53 Korean War will be on display at a Seoul museum starting this week, the government said Monday.The Cultural Heritage Administration said it will hold a special exhibition of the seals at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul from May 13 to Aug. 3.  The nine are three national seals and one royal seal of the Korean Empire and five signets of the royal co

May 12, 2014

U.S. to continue to return looted artifacts from abroad: HSI

The U.S. government will continue efforts to return stolen artifacts from abroad although the process could be quite arduous, the chief of the Seoul regional office of the primary investigative arm for the U.S. customs authorities said."The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations has a commitment between the United States of America and partnering countries like South Korea to combat the illegal trade in stolen art and antiquities," HSI Attache Seoul Cho Taeku

May 12, 2014