South Korea, U.S. to promote 'strategic cooperation' in nuke energy use

South Korea and the United States are likely to seek to promote "strategic cooperation" in civilian nuclear energy areas as they are discussing renewing a bilateral nuclear energy pact, sources said Thursday.South Korea and the U.S. have been in talks on the renewal of the 1974 accord over Seoul's civil nuclear energy use, also known as the "123 Agreement," which bans Seoul from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel on proliferation concerns.South Korea has been seeking to revise

July 17, 2014

Portuguese president to visit Seoul this week

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva will visit Seoul this week for summit talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on expanding bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and other areas, Park's office said Wednesday.The Portuguese leader will visit Seoul for three days starting on Saturday at Park's invitation, according to the office."President Cavaco Silva's official visit will be an opportunity to build on the trust and bonds between the two countries' leaders and serve as an opp

July 16, 2014

Seoul slams Japanese ministers for paying homage to war shrine

South Korea on Tuesday lambasted five Japanese ministers for paying homage recently to the Yasukuni Shrine, calling it a pointed challenge to neighboring nations that suffered from Japan’s militarism.The Japanese cabinet members, including Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, on Sunday dedicated paper lanterns to the war shrine in Tokyo during the annual Mitama festival. The controversial shrine honors a number of class-A war criminals from World War II.“The international community voiced critici

July 15, 2014

Korea freezes 2015 budget for Dokdo promotion

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Monday it has allocated 4.84 billion won ($4.75 million) in budget for next year to publicize Seoul’s sovereignty over its easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea.The budget request remains unchanged from the money set aside for this year to be used toward a series of projects aimed at promoting the country’s ownership of Dokdo, officials said.It will be finalized after consultation with related government ministries and parliamentary reviews, the ministry

July 14, 2014

S. Korea seeking to set up office of U.N. Information Centers in Seoul

South Korea is seeking to set up a regional office of the United Nations Information Centers (UNIC) in the country, officials at the foreign ministry said Friday.The UNIC delivers information about the U.N. to people in the countries where they are located and promotes U.N.-related activities through education and partnerships with civic groups.The U.N. operates such information centers in 63 countries worldwide.The foreign ministry has requested the finance ministry allocate 535 million won (US

July 11, 2014

‘N.K. admits to some surviving Japanese abductees’

North Korea has allegedly confirmed the survival of some Japanese nationals kidnapped decades ago, a Japanese news report claimed Thursday, suggesting a potential breakthrough in the two countries’ long-festering diplomatic tug-of-war. During a meeting in Beijing last week, North Korean officials presented a list of 30 survivors along with their birthdates, occupations and family members’ names, including “several” of the 17 people officially recognized as abductees by Tokyo, the Nikkei daily re

July 10, 2014

S. Korea, China set for fresh round of FTA negotiations next week

South Korea and China will hold a new round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement next week, the South Korean government said Thursday, the first such meeting after the leaders of the two countries agreed to conclude the pact within this year.The 12th round of the FTA talks will be held in Daegu, 300 kilometers south of Seoul, from Monday through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping ag

July 10, 2014

WTO chief rules out another delay of S. Korea's rice market opening without cost

South Korea will have to make compensation to other member nations should it decide to again delay opening its rice market, head of the world trade negotiation body said, as the country nears a deadline to make a decision on one of the most sensitive domestic issues.In a written interview Monday with Yonhap News Agency in Geneva, Director General Robert Azevedo of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said South Korea, pursuant to an earlier agreement, will be required to liberalize its rice market

July 10, 2014

Iran's supreme leader reveals demands in nuclear talks

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran's supreme leader revealed Tuesday his country's demands for a massive long-term increase in its nuclear enrichment capability, laying bare huge gaps between Tehran and world powers negotiating a deal.The comments, published on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's website, represent a dramatic intervention in the talks currently taking place in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, for a nuclear accord.His remarks re

July 8, 2014

U.S., China launch joint projects to cut greenhouse gases

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- The United States and China on Tuesday kicked off eight joint projects to reduce greenhouse gases, committing to work together in fighting the disastrous effects of climate change despite their differences on diplomacy and security in this region.U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, and Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, oversaw the signing ceremony for the joint projects at the China Hall of

July 8, 2014

Abe hails start of ‘special’ relationship with Australia

Shinzo Abe used the first speech by a Japanese prime minister to Australia’s parliament to mark the beginning of what he termed a “special” bilateral relationship that will expand into the field of security.Japan and Australia, key allies of the U.S. as it pivots power into the Asia-Pacific to counter China’s military expansion, signed a trade agreement and an accord on the transfer of defense technology during Abe’s meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott today. The trip is the first formal vis

July 8, 2014

U.S.-China strategic talks get test this week

BEIJING (AP) -- The United States and China will spend time over the next couple of days testing whether their annual "Strategic and Economic Dialogue'' can produce tough compromises or just serve as a venue to talk about greater cooperation.The Obama administration comes with a clear set of priorities to this year's meeting in the Chinese capital: closer coordination against climate change, an end to Chinese industrial cyber-espionage and stricter rules governing maritime claims in Asia's conte

July 8, 2014

[Reporter's Column] Park’s short-sighted diplomacy limits her policy options

Just like the namesake board game, diplomacy needs at least two players. Your every move entails a message for your counterparts, while shaping your options for the next step. Seoul officials have long been grumbling about the cozy relationship between the Japanese government and the media. In particular since Shinzo Abe was sworn in as prime minister in late 2012, Tokyo officials have apparently been trying to test public opinion by leaking a secret policy agenda or pursue domestic political in

July 7, 2014

S. Korea, Turkey reach de facto free trade agreement for service, investment

South Korea and Turkey have reached a de facto agreement for free trade in the investment and service sectors, the trade ministry here said Monday.The agreement, once implemented, will complement a free trade pact for products between the countries that went into effect in May 2013, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA) in the investment and service sectors were resumed in August 2013 after a 17-month suspension due to what minist

July 7, 2014