Korea, U.S. to hold regular talks on space development

South Korea said Sunday it has agreed with the U.S. to hold regular talks on space development starting next year.The announcement came in line with President Park Geun-hye's visit to the U.S., where she agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama to push for exchanges in space development.Park and Obama decided to seek the signing of a space cooperation agreement in the near future, with the regular meeting starting in the first half of 2016. On Wednesday, Park visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight C

Oct. 18, 2015

Korea blasts Japan over Abe's offering to war shrine

South Korea lashed out at Japan Sunday over an offering to a war shrine by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the latest diplomatic offensive ahead of a trilateral summit with China.The Foreign Ministry also criticized Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi for visiting the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.Takaichi told reporters the visit was meant to express her heartfelt gratitude to those who sacrificed themselves for Japan and it is "a ma

Oct. 18, 2015

Japanese ministers visit controversial war shrine

Two Japanese ministers visited a war shrine at the center of diplomatic friction with South Korea and China, shrine officials said Sunday, a move that could cast a pall on the planned summit for their leaders.Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi visited the Yasukuni Shrine, a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a symbolic offering to the war shrine in Tokyo to mark its annual autumn festival."I expressed my heartfelt grati

Oct. 18, 2015

Park says she can meet Abe next month

President Park Geun-hye has said she could meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe early next month in Seoul on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with China.  Park said Thursday she is set to host the leaders of China and Japan in early November, though she did not provide a specific date.   A trilateral summit has not been held since May 2012 due to tensions mainly over Japan's attempts to whitewash its wartime atrocities and colonial occupation. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a co

Oct. 16, 2015

Park, Obama to adopt joint statement on N. Korea's nuclear program

President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama are expected to adopt a joint statement on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.  The two leaders are set to adopt the statement during their summit Friday, the South Korean presidential office said, adding that the two sides were working out the details.  The statement is expected to mention how to respond to North Korea's provocations and how to resume the long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapon

Oct. 16, 2015

Korea, Belarus need visa waiver program: envoy

South Korea and Belarus have the potential to expand bilateral cooperation in the information and technology industry as the Eastern European country has relatively cheap labor in the field, Seoul's top envoy here said Thursday.  Ambassador Yang Joong-mo emphasized the need for the two sides to sign a visa waiver agreement to boost their economic partnerships.  "A big stumbling block is inconveniences for people to get visas for trips to the other nation," he said in an interview at his office i

Oct. 16, 2015

Park: Korea's entry into TPP to bring benefits to U.S.

President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that South Korea and U.S. companies will stand to benefit if Seoul joins the world's largest trading bloc.  Trade ministers of the U.S. and 11 other nations reached the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal earlier this month, which accounts for about 40 percent of global gross domestic product.  "If South Korea joins the TPP, it will bring many benefits to companies of both sides," Park said in a speech for South Korean and U.S. business leaders in Washington. Par

Oct. 16, 2015

Pentagon throws 'full honor parade' for Park

The U.S. Defense Department threw an elaborate honor guard parade for South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday in a display of its respect for the leader of one of the country's strongest allies.  Park is the first South Korean president to attend what is known as a "Full Honor Parade" at the Pentagon, officials said. Her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, also visited the Pentagon in 2011, but a scaled-back parade was held at the time.  Such smaller-scale ceremonies were also held when other f

Oct. 16, 2015

Biden sidesteps question about presidential ambition with joke, 'I'll answer in Korean'

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday sidestepped a question about his presidential ambition with a joke that he'll give an answer in the Korean language.  Biden, who has been noncommittal about whether he'll run for president, was asked the question by a pool reporter while waiting for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to arrive at his residence for a lunch meeting.   "Mr. Vice President, Are you running for president?" a pool reporter asked.  "I'll answer in Korean," Biden responded.  A

Oct. 16, 2015

U.S. refuses to accept Korea's request for fighter jet

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter refused Thursday to accept South Korea's request for the transfer of key American technologies necessary for Seoul's "KF-X" indigenous jet fighter development project, officials said.  Carter stated the position when South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo asked him to reconsider the decision to reject the technology transfer during a meeting at the Pentagon, the South's Defense Ministry said in a statement. Han has been in Washington to accompany President Pa

Oct. 16, 2015

Park says S. Korea reliable partner of U.S.

President Park Geun-hye has said that South Korea is a reliable partner of the United States, calling their alliance a linchpin of Washington's strategy of rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region.   "South Korea and the U.S. are strongly bound to each other by common values and ideals of freedom, democracy and human rights," Park said Wednesday at a South Korea-U.S. friendship gathering in Washington.  Park said the dynamic and evolving alliance between South Korea and the U.S. is moving towa

Oct. 15, 2015

Park calls for increased cooperation with U.S. on lunar exploration

President Park Geun-hye has voiced hope that South Korea and the United States will boost cooperation in lunar exploration and other space programs.  South Korea joined the global space club with a successful launch of a satellite into orbit in 2013, though its rocket was built in cooperation with Russia.  South Korea is seeking to develop the country's own space vehicle and to launch an unmanned spacecraft to probe the Moon by 2020.  "I hope that South Korea and the U.S. will expand cooperation

Oct. 15, 2015

Park calls for cooperation with U.S. on R&D, engineering

President Park Geun-hye called Wednesday for close cooperation between South Korea and the United States in research and development and engineering as Seoul is seeking to open a new era of manufacturing.  South Korea views research and development and engineering as the key to bring innovation to manufacturing.  "The two countries can build up the technology and experiences that can lead manufacturing innovation" if they combine technology and excellent manpower, Park said in a Washington forum

Oct. 15, 2015

Park visits NASA space flight center

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday visited the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, a move that underscored South Korea's efforts to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. on space initiatives.  She received a welcoming message from an astronaut in the International Space Station and a briefing on NASA's Mars exploration program before touring facilities at Goddard.  Goddard Space Flight Center, set up in 1959, is a high-tech research institute for space exploration. It operates, among

Oct. 15, 2015

Park pays tribute to American soldiers killed in Korean War

President Park Geun-hye Wednesday paid tribute to American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as she began the second day of her visit to the United States.  Park laid down wreaths at the Korean War Veterans Memorial and observed a moment of silence as a military brass band played somber music.  "I came here to convey South Koreans' mind that (we) will not forget those who helped us when we were in trouble," Park told a group of surviving veterans and family members of those who served in t

Oct. 15, 2015

Korea, U.S. revise procurement pact to allow more Korean deals

South Korea and the U.S. signed an agreement Wednesday to allow more Korean firms to win commercial deals in the U.S. Forces Korea's defense goods procurement, the Defense Ministry said.  Because of the formerly loose definition of "Korean company" in the Logistics Cost Sharing Implementing Agreement, contracts were awarded to foreign companies posing as local firms, according to the ministry.  A revision of the agreement signed on Wednesday has re-defined the scope of Korean companies as those

Oct. 14, 2015

Northeast Asian nations seek to boost cooperation on nuclear safety

South Korea, Japan and China will seek to strengthen cooperation on nuclear safety as they gather for a meeting with related officials and experts next week, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.South Korea will host the International Forum on Northeast Asia Nuclear Safety Cooperation in Seoul on Oct. 22-23 with the aim of building a consensus on the need for a regional body tasked with promoting nuclear safety, the ministry said in a press release.The meeting will bring together government offic

Oct. 14, 2015

Korean-American Harvard student challenges Trump

A Korean-American Harvard University student said Tuesday he challenged Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump because he wanted to make it known that Trump has made wrong accusations about defense relations between South Korea and the United States."People tend to believe what influential people like Trump say even if they make wrong claims. I just wanted to make it known that (Trump's claims) are wrong," said Joseph Choi, 20, a Harvard University student majoring in economics, told

Oct. 14, 2015

Korea, Japan, China to hold cyber policy talks

South Korea, Japan and China will hold talks this week to boost cooperation on cyberspace issues, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.  The three sides will meet in Seoul Thursday to discuss the cyber security environment, including recent cyber threats, each country's policies on cyberspace issues, international rules governing cyberspace, and cooperation against cyber crime and terrorism, the ministry said in a press release.  The meeting will come about two weeks ahead of a trilateral summit to

Oct. 13, 2015