Korea to attend international meeting on Somali pirates

A South Korean delegation plans to attend an international conference this week on how to tackle piracy problems in waters off the coast of Somalia, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.The 14th plenary session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, set for Wednesday at the U.N. headquarters in New York, is aimed at strengthening international cooperation and drawing up viable means to tackle piracy in Somalia and neighboring nations, the ministry said in a statement.The CGPCS

April 30, 2013

Local group claims 113 war prisoners alive in N. Korea

About 113 South Korean prisoners of war have been confirmed to be alive in coal-mining regions in North Korea’s border with China, a local group claimed Monday.Dream Makers for North Korea, which campaigns for the release of South Koreans abducted by the North, disclosed the list of the names and North Korean addresses of the 113 war prisoners. The prisoners, formerly South Korean soldiers who could not escape the North following the 1950-53 Korean War, are currently living in several coal-minin

April 29, 2013

Expert on N.K. to head state diplomatic academy

An academic with extensive knowledge of North Korean and Asian security affairs has been named as the new head of South Korea’s elite, state-run diplomatic academy, a government official said Monday. Yun Duk-min, who serves as a professor of international relations at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, was recently tapped as new chancellor of the academy, succeeding Kim Byung-kook who tendered his resignation in February before the new government of President Park Geun-hye was launched, the

April 29, 2013

Mexican Embassy offers help for Spanish-Korean translators

The Mexican Embassy is extending financial support for Korean translations of Spanish-language Mexican literature and other publications, the Mexican Embassy in Korea said in a statement on Thursday.The Mexican Embassy will provide $15,000 for the translation and publication of specialized books in literature and the humanities that can be completed in 12 months, $15-20,000 for art books, and $30-50,000 for translation/publication series to be completed in two years or less.The support for trans

April 28, 2013

UNESCO Korea puts on concert for International Jazz Day

The Korean National Commission for UNESCO organized a special jazz concert as part of celebrations for International Jazz Day at Olympus Hall in Samseong-dong, Seoul, on Friday.The concert featured well-known local jazz musicians including renowned jazz vocalist Na Yoon-sun, who is also the KNCU’s International Jazz Day ambassador.The 1st Generation Korean Jazz Band and the Yun Seok Cheol Trio also performed in the concert, which streamed live online Friday night on the KNCU’s website and on Ust

April 28, 2013

Israeli envoy points to innovation in nation’s history

Israeli Ambassador to Korea Tuvia Israeli highlighted the role of innovation in his nation’s history during a reception for the 65th anniversary of Israeli national independence in Seoul on Thursday.A book about innovation in Israel’s national development, which is being promoted by the Park Geun-hye government, was highlighted during the reception.“We are willing to share our experience in innovation and entrepreneurship,” he said. “We will encourage and welcome cooperation and partnership in f

April 28, 2013

Seoul, Moscow fail to reach 4th deal on fishing quota

MOSCOW (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Russia have failed to reach an agreement to determine the quota for Korean fishing boats operating in Russian waters, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.After the fourth round of bilateral negotiations held between Tuesday and Thursday in Moscow came to an end, the two sides agreed to resume the discussion on May 13 in the same city."During the talks, both sides narrowed significantly their differences on the quota for Korean fishing boats, but Rus

April 27, 2013

China cancels top finance meet amid tensions: Japan

Japan's finance ministry said Friday that China has cancelled a top annual finance meeting with Japan and South Korea, as diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing soar.An official with the ministry told AFP that "China has informed us that the meeting won't be held" on the sidelines of an Asian Development Bank meeting in Delhi next month.Finance ministers and central bankers from the three countries have been meeting once a year in the lead up to separate talks with their Association of So

April 26, 2013

P.M. vows thorough probe into river project

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won vowed Friday to conduct a thorough investigation into the previous government’s highly controversial project to refurbish the country’s four major rivers.The administration of then President Lee Myung-bak carried out the project in an attempt to prevent floods and promote tourism along the rivers, but environmental activists and the opposition party have long accused it of causing irreversible environmental damage.There are also allegations that several local constr

April 26, 2013

‘Japan impedes Seoul’s efforts to mend ties’

Recent remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that appeared to revisit Tokyo’s wartime history have thrown “cold water” on efforts by South Korea to improve bilateral ties, Seoul’s top diplomat said Friday. The relations between Seoul and Tokyo have come under fresh strain since late last week when Japanese ministers paid homage to a controversial war shrine that glorifies Japan’s military past and Abe raised doubts over whether Tokyo’s World War II occupation of nations, including Korea,

April 26, 2013

Seoul proposes Gaeseong talks

South Korea on Thursday proposed formal talks with North Korea to normalize the Gaeseong industrial park with a warning that it would take “grave action” unless the North accepted its offer by Friday morning. North Korea suspended the joint industrial park north of the border amid heightening military tension in early April, “We cannot let the Gaeseong industrial complex be in the current situation for the long haul,” Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk told a news conference. “Accordin

April 25, 2013

China sounds positive note on 3-way talks with Korea, U.S.

China has been “positively” considering holding a trilateral, but informal, dialogue with South Korea and the United States for effective policy consultations on North Korea, a Seoul official said Thursday. The idea of holding a so-called 1.5-track security dialogue, in which government officials and academics from South Korea, the U.S. and China participate in their individual capacity, has been floated by South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se with the aim of stepping up their joint policy

April 25, 2013

S. Korea voices 'strong regrets' over Abe's remarks, shrine visits

Diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Japan escalated Wednesday when Seoul summoned Tokyo's ambassador and expressed "strong regrets" over nationalistic remarks made by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visits to a controversial war shrine. South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun summoned Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho and urged Japan to "correct its distorted understanding of history and anachronistic remarks." The fragile ties between South Korea and Japan came under

April 25, 2013