Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
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NK troops disguised as 'indigenous' people in Far East for combat against Ukraine: report
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Opposition leader awaits perjury trial ruling
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S. Korea, Italy sign revised pact to prevent double taxation
South Korea and Italy inked a revised pact on double taxation prevention Tuesday to help expand investment and trade between the two countries, officials said. The pact, an amended protocol of a 1989 agreement, was signed in Seoul between First Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young and Italian Ambassador to South Korea, Sergio Mercuri. The signing of the revised agreement came a week after President Lee Myung-bak and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of th
April 3, 2012
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Uzbek asylum seeker deported for holding fake passport
An Uzbek asylum seeker in South Korea was recently deported to his native country for holding a fake passport, officials said Tuesday, a move likely to spark controversy amid Seoul’s protests over China’s similar treatment of North Korean defectors.The Uzbek national, whose identity was withheld, was sent home from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport two weeks ago, immediately after he was denied refugee status by Seoul’s Immigration Office, according to a source close to the asylum seek
April 3, 2012
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Seoul to offer $1m in aid for Syrian opposition
The South Korean government will provide $1 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syrian opposition, joining a series of international efforts to help end the bloody crackdown by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, government officials said.“The Syrian government has been using military force against protesters over a number of months, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the country by leaving some 9,000 people dead and 40,000 seeking asylum abroad,” the Foreign Ministry said in a sta
April 2, 2012
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Bangladesh celebrates independence
The Bangladeshi ambassador praised his country’s ties with Korea while celebrating its national day. Shahidul Islam marked the 41st anniversary of Bangladeshi Independence with a reception in Seoul on Thursday, where he paid respects to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.“We pay our humble tribute to the 3 million martyrs of the War of Liberation,” he added. “We pay our deepest homage to the valiant freedom fighters who gave their life so tha
April 1, 2012
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Students to get insight into Russia, Belarus
The top Russian and Belarusian envoys to Korea are to host a forum for students interested in their countries on April 7. Russian Ambassador Konstantin Vasilievich Vnukov and Belarusian Ambassador Natalia Zhylevich will deliver speeches to students from more than 30 Korean universities at the forum at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies’ Aegun Hall.A Q&A session will also be held by diplomats, as well as professors who have studied in the countries, with a chance for Russian language students t
April 1, 2012
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Czech minister meets Korean conglomerates
The Czech deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs met the main Korean investors in his country’s economy while in Seoul last week. Karel Schwarzenberg met representatives from Hyundai Motor Company, Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Hanwha and GS Caltex while in Korea to attend the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. He also met representatives from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, as well as Korean Air, which has been operating direct flights from Incheon to Prague four
April 1, 2012
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Australia picks ambassadors for Expo
Australia has appointed two honorary ambassadors to promote its participation in the 2012 Yeosu Expo in Korea. The Australian government held an event at the Sydney Opera House to appoint swimmer Ian Thorpe and Korean-born Australian fashion designer Bae Yeo-jin as honorary ambassadors for the international event to run from May 12 to Aug. 12 this year. Bae kicked off her honorary ambassadorship by presenting awards to winners of a uniform design competition that had taken place in Sydney. Cheri
April 1, 2012
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Celebration marks Korean-Iranian ties
The finer details may have been hidden from all except those fluent in both Persian and Korean, but it didn’t take long to understand what was happening. With actors on one side of the stage speaking Iran’s official language, and actors on the other side speaking Korean while dressed in the garb of Korea’s bygone times, it soon became clear that this was the story of how the two peoples first came into contact. The dramatic performance, backed by Iranian musicians playing traditional Persian ins
April 1, 2012
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Thai envoy heads for U.S. posting
Thai Ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon is leaving Korea to take up a new posting in the U.S. capital. Satjipanon will depart for America next month to become ambassador in Washington D.C.As part of his diplomatic duties here, Satjipanon most recently facilitated the visit of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on March 26-27.On her first official visit here, Shinawatra agreed on a target of $30 billion in bilateral trade between Thailand and Korea in the nex
April 1, 2012
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British deputy leader moved by N. Korean defectors’ stories
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg may have dined with scores of world leaders at the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit last week, but the following evening he enjoyed a more remarkable meal with five young North Korean defectors. Clegg said the dinner with North Korean students at a restaurant in Insa-dong was the most moving part of his trip. “The most powerful memory for me will be the dinner with five young North Koreans who fled from North Korea through various routes to make their homes
April 1, 2012
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Korea spied through spouses’ eyes
Ambassadors’ wives are showcasing their snapshots of Korea at a special exhibition in Seoul. The spouses of envoys posted here are sharing 52 pictures taken by them and their predecessors at the Raemian Gallery until April 6.Maria Ligaya Fujita, who is married to the Brazilian ambassador, was inspired to start the project after a Brazilian photography exhibition in Seoul last September. She decided to organize another exhibition to show Koreans the images that diplomats show their families and f
April 1, 2012
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S. Korea to work with U.S. to reduce Iran oil imports
SEOUL (AP) -- South Korean officials said Saturday that they will continue working with the U.S. to reduce oil imports from Iran after President Barack Obama greenlighted potential sanctions against countries that continue to buy Iranian oil. South Korea is one of sever
March 31, 2012
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Foreign ministers of S. Korea, China, Japan to meet on N. Korea
Top diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan will hold three-way talks early next month on regional security and cooperation, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday, with North Korea’s rocket plan expected to be a hot topic on the sidelines. South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will hold the two-day tripartite talks with China’s Yang Jiechi and Japan’s Koichiro Gemba in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo starting April 7, ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae said. The three-way meeting, th
March 29, 2012
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P.M. holds talks with leaders of Algeria, Israel, Pakistan, Ukraine
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Wednesday held a series of talks with visiting leaders from Algeria, Israel, Pakistan and Ukraine to discuss cooperation over this week’s Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and other bilateral issues, his office said.Kim held separate meetings with Abdelkader Bensalah, head of Algeria’s upper house of parliament, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor and Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, followed by lunch with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych
March 28, 2012
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S. Korea, Indonesia announce launch of free trade talks
South Korea and Indonesia announced Wednesday they will kick off official negotiations to open up trade between the two countries and agreed to hold the first round of talks as early as possible.The two sides made the announcement on the launch of talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreem
March 28, 2012
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Seoul rebukes Tokyo over textbooks' claim on Dokdo
Noda’s remarks on Korean WWII sex slaves triggering backlashThe Japanese government on Wednesday approved three new high school textbooks that claim Dokdo as Japanese territory, sparking protests from the Korean government.The Japanese education ministry announced the first results of the textbook screenings, running from 2012-2014, as part of the country’s 2008 and 2009 programs to enhance territory-related education in its schools.Dokdo still remains a thorny issue between Korea and Japan. Loc
March 27, 2012
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Seoul Communique considers new dimensions of nuclear security
Some progress has been made in global efforts for nuclear security as leaders of more than 50 nations and four international organizations put their heads together to strengthen their cooperation at the Nuclear Security Summit here. Adopted Tuesday at the close of the summit, the Seoul Communique saw leaders agree on more concrete plans than at the inaugural Washington summit in 2010.The communique urged states to develop multilateral cooperation, involving international organizations such as th
March 27, 2012
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Full text of Lee’s opening address to nuclear summit
The following is the full text of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s speech at a plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit on Tuesday. ― Ed.Distinguished leaders from around the world, Your excellencies, distinguished delegates,I would like to extend, on behalf of the Korean government and its people, a most heartfelt welcome to all of you who are here attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. It is with great pleasure that we host the Seoul Summit.The maintenance of peace and s
March 27, 2012
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N. Korea’s rocket plan hijacks nuclear summit
The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit was supposed to be an opportunity for President Barack Obama and other leaders to find ways to keep nuclear material away from terrorists. So far, North Korea has upstaged that agenda.And that may be just what Pyongyang intended.Several of the heads of state meeting in Seoul have criticized the North’s surprise announcement 10 days ago that it plans to blast a satellite into space next month aboard a long-range rocket ― a launch that Obama’s government view
March 27, 2012
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Korea, Vietnam, IAEA in joint project to track radioactive sources
The South Korean government said it has agreed with Vietnam and the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider undertaking a pilot project to build a system in Vietnam for tracking radioactive sources.The agreement came on the sidelines of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, aimed at enhancing nuclear security by minimizing global stocks of nuclear materials and preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists.“The Radiation Source Location Tracking system has been developed and
March 27, 2012
