Photo exhibition on ‘dark’ chapter of Azerbaijani history

Ramzi Teymurov, Azerbaijani charge d’affaires to South Korea, inaugurated a photo exhibition at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies on Wednesday that portrays a tragic period in Azerbaijan’s history as an independent nation.The photo exhibition, entitled “Azerbaijani Realties,” depicts the mass killing of 613 people, including 65 children, near the small town of Khojaly on the night of Feb. 25 and 26, 1992, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War with neighboring Armenia. The incident became known as t

March 16, 2014

Envoys praise Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid

The ambassadors of both Iraq and the United Kingdom expressed pride in Iraqi-born British architect and Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid, during an opening reception for the new Dongdaemun Plaza in Seoul on Tuesday.The new design plaza is poised for its official public opening March 21 ― more than seven years after the plans were first floated. Hadid came to Seoul to take part in a reception celebrating the new addition to the city’s mecca for 24-hour shopping. Joining her were foreign envoys, V

March 16, 2014

Korea mulls sending aircraft for Malaysia jet search

South Korea is considering dispatching two military aircraft to assist with ongoing international search efforts for the missing Malaysia airplane, a military source said Friday, amid deepening mystery surrounding the jet's fate.Seoul is reviewing a plan to send the P-3C Orion patrol aircraft and C-130 military transport airplane to find the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared somewhere over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam last week."The South Korean military has participated in t

March 14, 2014

China welcomes Japan's help in search for missing Malaysian jet

China on Wednesday welcomed the decision by Japan to send military aircraft to help locate a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner, with multinational search operations still having found no trace of the jet carrying 239 people days after it vanished.The Japanese government is set to dispatch four military aircraft to join the widening search operations to find the Boeing 777 plane, which disappeared from radar early Saturday while en route to Beijing.Asked about the Japanese government's decision,

March 12, 2014

Seoul, Tokyo fail to make progress in strained relations

South Korea and Japan held vice ministerial level talks on Wednesday to discuss their strained relations, but not much progress was made despite hopes for a diplomatic thaw, a government official here said.In the meeting between South Korea's newly named Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and his Japanese counterpart Akitaka Saiki, the officials only reiterated their previous stances, the foreign affairs official said.The Seoul-Tokyo high-level talks, the first of their kind since Japanese Prime

March 12, 2014

U.N. panel says ties with N. Korea's Air Koryo breach arms embargo

  Doing business with North Korea's flag carrier, Air Koryo, could violate U.N.-led sanctions, according to U.N. report issued Tuesday.   An eight-member expert panel with the U.N. Security Council said the airliner, as well as all airports and airfields in the nation, are actually run by the Air Force through its Civil Aviation Bureau.   Accordingly, U.N. member states "should be aware that providing financial transactions, technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the provi

March 12, 2014

Obama to bestow medals on 'overlooked' Korean War veterans

The sacrifice of U.S. soldiers in the Korean War and two other major conflicts decades ago will be highlighted once again by the White House next week, when President Barack Obama bestows top medals on two dozen Army veterans.   Obama plans to award them the Medal of Honor "for their conspicuous gallantry" in an unusually massive White House ceremony on Tuesday, followed by a Pentagon induction event the following day.   The 24 recipients include nine Korean War veterans, eight who served in the

March 12, 2014

Japan says no plan to revise wartime sex-slave apology

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan has no plan to revise a landmark 1993 apology over wartime sex slavery, the government‘s top spokesman said Monday, despite a controversial review of the statement which has sparked a backlash at home and abroad.The landmark apology, known as the Kono statement, acknowledged official complicity in the coercion of women from across Asia into a system of wartime brothels, an issue that draws particular resentment in neighboring South Korea.South Korean President Park Geun-hye h

March 10, 2014

Sudanese foreign minister to visit Seoul

After more than a decade since their last meeting, South Korean and Sudanese diplomatic officials sat down for their fourth bilateral consultations in Seoul on Wednesday with the aim of forming two-way ties. The last time the two nations held such bilateral talks was 11 years ago in 2003.The Sudanese side was led by Abdel Mahmood Abdel Haleem, director general of bilateral and regional relations at the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the previous Sudanese ambassador to the United Nation

March 9, 2014

Malaysia to take part in medical trade show at Coex

Korean society is aging rapidly, making family-centered health care a big issue for many South Korean baby boomers.The effects of this phenomenon on the local medical industry is bound to make its annual trade show more important than ever. Six Malaysian health care equipment providers are looking to expand commercial ties between South Korea and the Southeast Asian nation. Malaysia is the leading supplier of medical gloves, with a market share of about 50 percent in more than 180 countries. It

March 9, 2014

Aussie volleyball star named goodwill ambassador

The Australian Embassy here honored professional volleyball player Thomas Edgar with the designation of goodwill ambassador for his role in promoting friendly bilateral ties on Monday.Australian Ambassador to South Korea William Paterson named the 24-year-old star athlete a goodwill ambassador in a small ceremony at the chancery’s Australia Center in downtown Seoul.Edgar joined the LIG Greaters in South Korea during the 2012-2013 V-League season. He previously played for the Italian Serie A2 clu

March 9, 2014

Polish Embassy brings cultural collaboration in exhibition

The Polish ambassador here hosted foreign envoys and art enthusiasts at the opening of an art exhibition that featured two Polish painters who participated in three-week residencies in South Korea.“Both artists visited Korea and became fascinated with Korean culture and its natural surroundings,” said Polish Ambassador to South Korea Krzysztof Majka during the exhibition’s opening reception at Samsung Raemian Gallery in Seoul on Tuesday.The artists were hosted by Mosan Art Museum in Boryeong Cit

March 9, 2014

Embassy brings taste of Ecuador to Seoul

Seoulites can experience authentic Ecuadorian cuisine throughout the month for the first time ever thanks to a special promotional drive by the Ecuadorian Embassy here.The embassy’s commercial office has organized a special program focusing particular attention on the South American country’s shrimp products, at the Orangerie Dining Salon at the Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel until March 31.Ecuadorian chef Ruth Maria Moreno was flown in to Seoul to prepare a menu of traditional Ecuadorian food ad

March 9, 2014

U.S. congressmen urge reunions of divided Korean-American families

Four U.S. congressmen submitted a resolution to a House committee calling for the reunion of Koreans in the United States with their long-lost families in North Korea, according to the Library of Congress.   The measure was sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel, Howard Coble, John Conyers and Samuel Johnson, all Korean War veterans.   "The division on the Korean Peninsula separated more than 10,000,000 Korean family members, including some who are now citizens of the United States," said the resoluti

March 8, 2014