Senegalese President seeks Korean rural development project

Visiting Senegalese President Macky Sall met with a South Korean provincial governor Thursday, seeking ways for cooperation in Seoul's community development program known as "Saemaul."South Korea launched Saemaul, the New Community Movement, in the 1970s, which focused on rural development to expedite the impoverished country's industrialization.The meeting was held at a Seoul hotel between the Senegalese President Sall, who was in the city for a four-day visit, and Kim Kwan-yong, the governor o

June 4, 2015

S. Korea pushes to participate in lucrative projects in Senegal

South Korea said Thursday that it hopes to participate in large-scale infrastructure projects worth more than $10 billion in Senegal.President Park Geun-hye expressed South Korea's hope to participate in the projects during a summit with her Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, in Seoul, Cheong Wa Dae said.The western African country has been pushing to build public transportation networks and industrial infrastructure and other projects worth $10.1 billion in partnership with private companies.S

June 4, 2015

S. Korean officials to visit Iran before nuclear deal

Senior South Korean officials will visit Iran in the coming weeks to secure a foothold in the oil-rich nation before international sanctions are lifted from the country under a pending nuclear deal, a senior official said Thursday.Iran and six world powers led by the United States have been in talks to complete the deal by the end of this month. The landmark agreement aims to curb Iran's nuclear weapons program in return for relief from sanctions that were imposed for the same reason."Because Ir

June 4, 2015

Japan considering offering new apology for sexual slavery: report

South Korea and Japan are in behind-the-scenes talks to resolve tensions over Tokyo's wartime sexual slavery in a way where Tokyo issues a new statement of apology in exchange for Seoul's promise not to litigate the issue again, according to a U.S. news report.The Washington Post also reported in a column that the two countries are trying to reach a compromise before South Korean President Park Geun-hye's visit to Washington later this month or at least by June 22, the 50th anniversary of the no

June 4, 2015

U.S. calls for S. Korea to speak out against China's behavior in South China Sea

South Korea should speak out against China's forceful assertion of its territorial claims in the South China Sea as it is a major stakeholder in the international order in which it thrived, a senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday.Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel made the remark during a seminar on Korea, denouncing the land reclamation projects that Beijing has been carrying out in an apparent effort to bolster its territorial claims in the waters also claimed by countries like the Phili

June 4, 2015

China quarantines 88, including 14 S. Koreans, over MERS fears

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have quarantined 88 people, including 14 South Koreans, who had contact with a South Korean MERS patient in China, authorities said Wednesday. Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have also stepped up precautionary measures against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the 44-year-old Korean man, the son of the third person reported to have the virus in South Korea, tested positive for the virus on Friday.He flew to Hong Kong on May 26 and subsequently went to

June 3, 2015

Kerry receives surgery for broken leg

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry underwent surgery Tuesday for a broken leg sustained in a cycling accident, and his doctor said he expects a speedy recovery for the top American diplomat."The procedure was uncomplicated, the fracture was fully repaired, and we plan to get him up walking on Wednesday," Dennis Burke, the doctor who performed the operation at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in comments provided by the State Department."I anticipate a short hospitalization, a full and comple

June 3, 2015

Korean Red Cross to offer $4 mln for quake-hit Nepal

The Korean Red Cross said Tuesday it has decided to increase its assistance to quake-hit Nepal to $4 million in a bid to help Nepalese people better cope with the disaster.In late April, the Korean Red Cross earmarked $250,000 in emergency relief funds to help refugees in Nepal as more than 8,000 people were killed in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the country on April 25. Another strong quake struck the nation in May.The organization said that it has decided to expand its support to the

June 2, 2015

S. Korea urges easing of tensions in South China Sea

South Korea Tuesday pushed for a peaceful resolution to growing tension in the South China Sea over China's construction of artificial islands in the contested waters. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said peace and stability in the area is important for South Korea as well."Protecting the freedom of navigation is indispensable for the stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region," ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said.He added that the government hopes that the relevant countries wil

June 2, 2015

Korean companies accused of exploiting workers in Vietnam

More than a year ago, nearly a thousand workers from a South Korean-owned company in Vietnam walked out in protest against the company’s “irrational regulation” that bans them going to the toilet. The employees at the handbag manufacturing company lamented that the company gave them a warning and slashed their wages when they went to the toilet “too often.” They were only allowed to use the restrooms from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and from 2-3 p.m., with only three keys to the toilet available per product

June 1, 2015

Park, Xi hail signing of FTA

President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed the signing of a free trade agreement between the two neighbors that could further boost bilateral ties.The FTA "will bring a wide-range of opportunities and benefits to people and companies of both countries and will become a historic milestone to further deepen our strategic cooperative partnership," Park said in a letter to Xi.Xi said in his letter to Park that the signing of the FTA will lead to a new takeoff between t

June 1, 2015

S. Korea, China formally sign free trade agreement

South Korea and China officially signed their bilateral free trade agreement Monday, taking a step closer to implementing what officials here call a mutually beneficial and significant trade pact.The agreement was signed by South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick and his Chinese counterpart Gao Hucheng in Seoul, about six months after the two countries declared the conclusion of their negotiations that began in May 2012. The bilateral trade pact was initialed in Beijing on Feb. 25.The countri

June 1, 2015

Australia to continue South China Sea surveillance

Australia will continue its surveillance flights over the disputed South China Sea and insists on unhindered access to the area’s trading routes, Defence Minister Kevin Andrews said.“We have been surveilling the area for close to thirty five years,” Andrews said on Sunday in an interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La security forum in Singapore. “We are doing it currently and we will continue to do it in the future.”Andrews would not be drawn on whether Australia may fly planes over reefs t

May 31, 2015

President Park’s visit to Colombia fortifies ties

Korean President Park Geun-hye’s visit to Colombia late last month as part of her four-nation tour of South America achieved concrete results in fortifying bilateral ties, Colombian Ambassador Tito Saul Pinilla told The Korea Herald last week. Park’s visit produced five memorandums of understanding in defense, commerce, green energy, health care and education, fleshing out the strategic partnership reached in 2011. The ambassador expressed his country’s appreciation while awaiting the approval o

May 31, 2015