Solving leaflet issue key to inter-Korean talks: ex-minister

South Korea should first resolve the controversial issue of anti-Pyongyang leaflet scattering if it wants to resume a dialogue with North Korea, a former unification minister said Wednesday.  The comment by Jeong Se-hyun, who served as unification minister from 2002 to 2004, came amid fears of escalated inter-Korean tension over local activists' plan to send anti-North Korea leaflets in balloons to the communist country next week.  North Korea has threatened to shoot them down with cannons or mi

March 18, 2015

U.S. issues new advisory on financial deals with N. Korea

The United States has issued another advisory on financial transactions with North Korea, designating the communist country as a jurisdiction with high money laundering and terrorist financing risks, a U.S. report said Wednesday.  The guidance to U.S. financial institutions, issued Monday by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is based on the international money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force's updated list of countries with anti-money laundering and

March 18, 2015

U.S. newspaper ad to urge Abe to apologize for wartime sexual slavery

A full-page advertisement will appear in a U.S. newspaper this week to urge Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to apologize for the country's sexual enslavement of women for its troops during World War II, the ad's sponsor said Tuesday.  The Korean American Civic Empowerment, an organization of Korean-Americans, helped sponsored the advertisement that will appear in the Wednesday edition of the Hill, a Washington-based newspaper specializing in congressional topics.   The ad comes as Abe seeks t

March 18, 2015

Top U.S. official calls for strong Korea-Japan relations

U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Tuesday underscored the importance of strong relations between South Korea and Japan when she met with her counterpart from Tokyo, the White House said.  North Korea's nuclear and missile programs were also discussed during Rice's meeting with Shotaro Yachi, secretary general of Japan's National Security Secretariat, the White House said in a statement without providing details.  Rice also told Yachi that U.S. President Barack Obama looks forward to h

March 18, 2015

China, Japan preparing for bilateral FM talks in S. Korea

China and Japan have been in preparations for bilateral talks of their foreign ministers on the sidelines of a three-way meeting of top diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan in Seoul later this week, China's foreign ministry said Tuesday. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, are set to meet on Saturday, resuming their trilateral meeting for the first time in nearly three years. Such meeting has not been held mainly

March 17, 2015

Gov't to counter illegal leaflet scattering by drones

South Korea will take measures to counter anti-North Korea leaflet scattering that illegally involves unmanned aerial vehicles, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.  The government move comes as some activists plan to resume the controversial campaign to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea next week. They have also said drones may be employed in the campaign meant to spread dissenting messages in the reclusive country.  "As far as I know, the act of scattering anti-North leaflet

March 17, 2015

S. Korea takes a sideswipe at China's pressure on THAAD

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a foreign ministers meeting this weekend for the first time in about three years, in a bid to restore stagnant trilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.  The meeting scheduled for Saturday in Seoul will bring together South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, the ministry said.  "The meeting will pave the way for restoring three-way cooperation," Seoul's foreign minis

March 17, 2015

Ruling party chief says THAAD decision lies with gov't

South Korea's ruling party chief said Tuesday that a decision on whether to deploy a U.S. anti-missile defense system in South Korea should be left to the government, not his party.  Kim Moo-sung's remarks came in response to a reporter's question about how he views China's concerns over the possible deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea.  Seoul maintains that the issue has never come up for consideration, but Washington has previously hinted it would deploy

March 17, 2015

S. Korea, China, Japan eye 3-way FM meeting this weekend

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a foreign ministers meeting this weekend for the first time in about three years, in a bid to restore stagnant trilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.  The meeting scheduled for Saturday in Seoul will bring together South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, the ministry said.  "The meeting will pave the way for restoring three-way cooperation," Seoul's foreign minis

March 17, 2015

China names new ambassador to N. Korea: source

China appears to have appointed a vice minister of the Chinese Communist Party as Beijing's new ambassador to North Korea, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.   Li Jinjun, 59, vice minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of China's Communist Party, is likely to succeed Liu Hongcai, who returned home after serving his five-year stint in Pyongyang, according to the source.   Li steps into the new job as political relations between North Korea and China remain strained becau

March 17, 2015

S. Korea to help develop fish farms in N. Korea

South Korea, together with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, plans to help develop fish farms in North Korea as an aid to the impoverished state, the government said Tuesday.  According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Korea Maritime Institute will soon sign an agreement with the FAO to launch a joint study on the fish-raising industry in the North.  The two parties will study climate conditions in North Korea and find the best species for farming, and based on the outcome

March 17, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. set to have talks amid THAAD row

South Korea's deputy foreign minister met with his U.S. counterpart in Seoul on Tuesday to reaffirm their strong alliance and discuss North Korea's nuclear program, the foreign ministry said.  The meeting between South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel came amid a mounting Washington-Beijing row over an advanced U.S. missile-defense system and a China-led Asian development bank.  Russel arrived in Seoul on Monda

March 17, 2015

Korea, New Zealand to sign FTA next week

President Park Geun-hye will hold a summit with her New Zealand counterpart in Seoul next week to ink a free trade agreement aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation on economy, security and culture, the presidential office said Monday.New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is set to arrive in South Korea for a three-day trip on Sunday. The two leaders will meet on Monday at Cheong Wa Dae. Key has visited Seoul three times since 2010 and met Park twice since she entered office in 2013, officials sa

March 16, 2015

All options should be on table against N. Korea's threats: spy

The nominee to be South Korea's new spy chief said Monday that all options should be on the table when dealing with threats posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.  Lee Byung-ho made the comment when asked by a lawmaker about an advanced U.S. missile-defense system that Washington hopes to deploy to South Korea.  Lee said a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery is an issue of South Korea's sovereignty.  His comments came as South Korea is struggling to walk a diplomatic tight

March 16, 2015

Seoul’s dilemma deepening over China-led Asian bank

South Korea’s dilemma over whether to join a China-led development bank is deepening, with the announcement of support for the $50 billion mechanism from the U.K. and other major countries, despite U.S. opposition. Beijing unveiled plans for the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank in October 2013, aiming to shore up the region’s development by financing projects in such sectors as energy, transportation, telecommunication and agriculture. Its establishment was officially announced last October w

March 15, 2015