Kerry: U.S., China stand firm against N. Korea's nuclear ambition

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that Washington and Beijing "stand firmly" on North Korea's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons, calling for the North to stop all activities that escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.    Kerry made the remarks at the opening of the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), which is the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two countries.   U.S. and China have been at odds over China's aggressive military behavior i

June 6, 2016

U.S., China open annual strategic talks amid tensions over S. China Sea

The United States and China on Monday opened annual high-level talks amid tensions over China's aggressive island-building activities in the South China Sea as well as trade disputes between the world's two largest economies.    North Korea was also expected to be on the agenda for the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). The talks are the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two countries.   Representing the U.S. at the talks are Secretary of State John Kerry

June 6, 2016

Financial institutions should choose either doing business with North Korea or U.S.: Royce

Financial institutions around the world should choose between doing business with North Korea and being denied access to the U.S. financial system or severing dealings with the communist nation, the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said.Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) made the remark at the end of his two-day visit to Seoul, referring to the U.S. blacklisting last week of the North as a "primary money laundering concern" in a move designed to cut off Pyongyang from the international ban

June 6, 2016

Clinton underscores 'power of allies,' warns of dangers of Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Thursday the United States is stronger and safer thanks to the "power of allies," warning that her Republican rival, Donald Trump, would significantly weaken the relationships.In a foreign policy speech, Clinton cited as an example how the U.S., South Korea and Japan worked together to cope with threats from North Korea, a country she called "the most repressive regime on the planet run by a sadistic dictator who wants to develop long-range

June 3, 2016

Korea, Brazil develop Zika test kit in joint project

South Korea said Thursday that it has developed a new technology to detect the Zika virus within 20 minutes in a joint project with Brazil.Only one or two drops of human blood is needed to check whether he or she is infected with the virus, which spreads primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning."It can be used as conveniently as a pregnancy test kit," the ministry said.Existing DNA tests require an analysis at

June 2, 2016

U.S. Republican senator reaffirms strong Seoul-Washington alliance: Seoul

A visiting U.S. Republican Senator said Monday that the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. will remain firm regardless of who will win the upcoming U.S. presidential election, Seoul's foreign ministry said.   The remarks by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) were made at a luncheon between Lim Sung-nam, a South Korean vice foreign minister and a group of U.S. Republican senators in Seoul earlier in the day, the ministry said.   Sullivan, who leads the U.S. delegation, said that the U.S. Congres

May 30, 2016

Korea to spend 2.73 tln won on development assistance for 2017

South Korea plans to spend around 2.73 trillion won (US$2.29 billion) on its development assistance projects next year aimed at helping less developed countries in many areas, the foreign ministry said Monday.The amount is up 289.2 billion won from 2.44 trillion won set aside for the country's official development assistance (ODA) efforts for this year, according to the ministry.   The government earlier held an ODA committee and finalized its plan to push for a total of 1,295 projects next year

May 30, 2016

Suspect nabbed in relation to murder of Korean in Philippines

Police said Monday a 25-year-old Filipino has been arrested in connection to the murder of a South Korean missionary in the Southeast Asian country last week, thanks to close collaboration between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries.The Filipino is suspected of killing the 57-year-old man, surnamed Shim, earlier this month. The victim was attacked with a blunt weapon when he returned home from a workout early in the morning.Following the incident, South Korean police immediately di

May 30, 2016

Trump raps Obama for visiting Hiroshima visit without noting Japan's aggression

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has faulted President Barack Obama over his recent visit to the atomic-bombed Japanese city of Hiroshima, saying he didn't even mention Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor."Does President Obama ever discuss the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor while he's in Japan? Thousands of American lives lost," Trump said of Obama's visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in a Twitter message Saturday ahead of Monday's Memorial Day.Obama visited Hiroshima on Friday,

May 30, 2016

Trump renews calls for allies to pay up for U.S. protection

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday renewed his calls for allies to pay more for American defense support."We protect Japan. We protect Saudi Arabia," Trump said at the annual bikers' rally in Washington, repeating his long-running point that the U.S. has been providing protection for wealthy nations like South Korea and Japan in exchange for little and should end such protection unless those countries agree to pay more."It's going to be a whole new ballgame," Trump sai

May 30, 2016

Park holds talks with Museveni on trade and N. Korea

Park holds talks with Museveni on trade and N. KoreaPresident Park Geun-hye met with her Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on Sunday as South Korea is reaching out to Africa to boost business opportunities with the continent that has huge growth potential.   The summit -- the third such meeting between the two leaders -- came as Museveni has cited South Korea as a model for his country’s economic development.   South Korea has become a donor country from a key recipient of U.N. aid in half a c

May 29, 2016

S. Korea, Uganda ink MOUs on health cooperation

South Korea has signed a series of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Uganda to strengthen cooperation in the health sector, health ministry officials here said Sunday.   The agreement was made in Kampala as South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni watched their representatives sign three MOUs in the health care sector and one MOU in the social welfare sector, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.    The MOUs call for, among other things, advancing a br

May 29, 2016

Preparation committee for 'comfort women' foundation likely to launch this week

A committee will likely be launched this week to lay the groundwork for a foundation for South Korean women who worked in Japanese military brothels during World War II, sources said Sunday.   The committee will be tasked with the implementation of a slew of compensation measures announced during a historic agreement between South Korea and Japan in December last year for the "comfort women."   "As far as I know, the committee will be launched around May 31," a person familiar with the matter sa

May 29, 2016

U.N. NGO conference to open in Korea

A U.N. conference of civic organizations will be held to discuss the theme of "Education for Global Citizenship: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Together" in South Korea's ancient city of Gyeongju next week, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to be on hand, the event's organizer said Friday. Some 2,000 NGO representatives, scholars and experts from more than 100 nations are expected to take part in the 66th U.N. Department of Public Information and Non-Governmental Organi

May 27, 2016

Two rebels killed in fresh clashes in eastern Ukraine

KIEV, (AFP) -- Two pro-Russian rebels were killed and another injured in fresh clashes with government forces in the country's war-torn east as simmering violence showed little sign of abating, separatist authorities said on Thursday.The new casualties came the day after Ukraine scored a major diplomatic  victory by securing the return of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko as part of a  prisoner swap with the Kremlin.Senior rebel commander Eduard Basurin said Ukrainian forces attacked rebel positi

May 26, 2016

U.S. acknowledges 'pain of the past' associated with atomic bombings of Japan: State Department

The United States acknowledges the "pain of the past" associated with its 1945 atomic bombings of Japan, and wants to move toward building a stronger alliance with the foe-turned-ally, the State Department said Wednesday.State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner made the remark when asked to comment on Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida's reported statements that the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were "extremely regrettable.""I would just say that, you know, we acknowled

May 26, 2016

Obama says U.S., Japan agree on strengthening defense

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen defense capabilities against threats posed by North Korea.Obama made the remark during a joint press conference in Japan after holding a summit meeting with his Japanese counterpart. The two leaders talked for little over an hour."Given the threat from North Korea, we agreed to continue reinforcing deterrence and strengthening our defense capabilities," Obama said.Later this week, Obama

May 26, 2016

Kerry says U.S. focus is on N. Korea, not China

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un, are the "primary threats" in the region and the "lead threat globally," rejecting speculation the U.S. is focused on countering China.Kerry made the remark at a press briefing at the end of President Barack Obama's visit to Vietnam that included the lifting of a decades-long embargo on U.S. arms sales to the Southeast Asian nation, a decision seen as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China."We e

May 26, 2016

Obama urges Vietnam youth to tackle climate change

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) -- Wrapping up a historic visit to Vietnam, U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the country's next generation of leaders for being more conscious of the environment than previous ones and urged them to ``do something about'' climate change.During his final public event here, Obama basked in the admiration of hundreds of young leaders who participated in a town hall-style event and prefaced some of their questions to him with praise about his leadership

May 25, 2016