South Korea plans to increase the number of personnel working at international organizations to 100 next year, the Ministry of Personnel Management said Sunday, amid the country's stepped-up efforts to bolster its diplomatic profile on the global stage.The ministry said that it would expand a government system that allows public servants to take a leave of absence to serve at international organizations for three years and extend the period by two years if necessary.Currently, 85 public servants

May 8, 2016

North Korea may carry out a live fire exercise during the key party congress that kicks off Friday as part of its ongoing effort to ramp up tensions and get the people to rally behind its leader, an informed source said.The government insider said there is a chance that Pyongyang could show off an artillery attack against a mockup Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, to participants who have converged on the capital city this week to take part in the critical Workers' Party of Korea

May 6, 2016

South Korea's alliance with the United States "based on shared values" will continue to develop irrespective of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November, a senior Seoul official said Wednesday.His remarks came amid growing concerns that Republican front-runner Donald Trump's electoral win could hurt the alliance given his past statements depicting America's core allies -- South Korea and Japan -- as free riders on U.S. security protections."We are confident that regardless of th

May 4, 2016

President Park Geun-hye said South Korea could work with Iran to try pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.Iran maintains traditional friendly ties with North Korea and the two countries have long been suspected of cooperating in missile and nuclear programs.Still, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced his country’s opposition to nuclear development on the Korean Peninsula in a news conference on Monday after his summit with Park in Tehran, in an apparent reference to Nort

May 4, 2016

China's foreign ministry said Tuesday it had "no relevant information" about a Chinese pastor who was found dead three days ago near the sensitive border with North Korea.    The Chinese pastor, who is an ethnic Korean and only identified by his surname Han, was found dead on a hill on Saturday evening in Changbai county in Yanbian, according to a source with knowledge of the matter there.    Han is said to have supported North Korean defectors since 1993.    Choi Sung-yong, a South Korean activ

May 3, 2016

Leading business groups of South Korea and Iran agreed Tuesday to promote commercial and industrial partnerships by establishing consultative bodies.The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry  said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.The KCCI will establish an Iran desk and the ICCIMA will operate a Korea desk under the deal inked on the occasion of President Park Geun-hye's landmark trip to Tehran.The offices will provid

May 3, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have forged a consensus on boosting bilateral relations, a South Korean official said Tuesday. Park proposed that Seoul and Iran pursue mutual cooperation in various fields and expand cultural and personnel exchanges between the two countries, said Kim Kyou-hyun, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs."Park’s meeting with Khamenei has served as an occasion to form relations with the top leader and

May 3, 2016

A U.S. senator, considered a key foreign policy adviser for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, has expressed negative views of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, saying the deal brought no benefits to the U.S.Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) made the remark during a Senate plenary meeting last week, arguing that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement among 12 Asia-Pacific nations awaiting congressional approval, will be bad for the U.S. just like the deal with Kor

May 3, 2016

President Park Geun-hye has become publicist-in-chief for South Korean culture in Iran on the second day of her state visit.She watched the display of South Korean culture at the Milad Tower in Tehran after two separate meetings with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.The event, called K-culture, featured South Korea’s traditional dishes, known as “hanshik,” and Korean traditional dress, known as “hanbok,” and "hanji," the traditional Korean paper

May 3, 2016

South Korea and Iran agreed to build a complex to promote the Korean Wave in the Middle East country, South Korea's presidential office said Monday, the latest in a series of Seoul's efforts to spread the Korean Wave.The complex -- tentatively named K-Tower -- will display contents of the Korean Wave and offer Korean and Taekwondo classes, a traditional Korean martial art.It will also house Korean restaurants and shopping malls for Korean cosmetic products and other South Korean goods, according

May 2, 2016

South Korea and Iran agreed Monday to promote partnerships in science and technology, riding on President Park Geun-hye's landmark visit to Tehran.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning here said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran's Ministry of Science Research and Technology on "various research cooperation" in both the basic and applied science fields.The two sides plan to launch a joint science-technology committee next year to discussion the details, it added.T

May 2, 2016

Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti will visit South Korea next week for a series of high-level meetings as the two nations seek to expand bilateral ties, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.Michetti, who doubles as president of the Argentine National Senate, will arrive in Seoul on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and stay here for three days, the ministry said in a press release.She is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Park Geun-hye, hold talks with Hwan

May 2, 2016

South Korea and East Timor will hold a "friendship week" in the Southeast Asian nation next week to build closer ties between their people, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.The 2016 Korea and Timor-Leste Friendship Week will be held in the capital Dili from Monday through Saturday featuring a Korean film screening and a joint concert, the ministry said in a press release.Under the program, the film "Ode to My Father," which tells the story of South Korea's economic development in the 20th centur

May 2, 2016

Kuwait's Prime Minister Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah will visit Seoul this week for talks with high-level South Korean government officials and business leaders to bolster bilateral economic cooperation, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.Jaber will arrive here on Sunday for a four-day visit on the invitation of South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. Korea is the fourth leg of his five-nation trip to Asia that includes Bangladesh, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Japan.During his stay here, he is scheduled to

May 2, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye is to hold talks with her Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, on Monday, a historic meeting that could set the tone for relations between the two countries.It will be the first summit between the leaders of the two countries since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1962.South Korea is seeking to tap into business opportunities in Iran, which has emerged as a promising market following the lifting of international sanctions earlier this ye

May 2, 2016