MIKTA condemns terrorist bombings in Turkey

South Korea and three other nations Monday condemned the terrorist bombings in Turkey that killed at least 97 people over the weekend.  The foreign ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia, which together form the middle-power MIKTA group with Turkey, issued a statement condemning the attacks launched on a peaceful rally in Ankara on Saturday.  "We extend our sincere condolences to the victims and families of those involved and wish those injured a speedy recovery," the statemen

Oct. 12, 2015

S. Korea to chair multilateral aid assessment body

South Korea has been chosen as the next chair of an international body tasked with assessing development aid by multilateral organizations, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.South Korea will succeed the United States as chair of the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network, a 17-member body established in 2002 to assess the effectiveness and accountability of multilateral organizations offering development and humanitarian assistance, the ministry said in a press release.As the ch

Oct. 11, 2015

UNESCO panel publishes Japan's admission of forced labor on website

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has published on its website the minutes of a meeting in July where Japan admitted its use of forced Korean labor in the 1940s.The minutes, published on pages 220-224 of a summary of the annual meeting in Bonn, Germany, record the listing of 23 early Japanese industrial facilities, including shipyards and coal mines, on the UNESCO World Heritage list.Some of the facilities were sites of forced Korean labor in the 1940s, when the Korean Peninsula was under Japa

Oct. 11, 2015

Younger generations in Japan should learn about history

Younger generations in Japan should learn about the country's wartime history even if they don't feel personally connected to it, the head of a Japanese-funded think tank in Washington said Saturday."The Japanese do have a point that it's been three and a half generations since those things happened. Young people don't feel personally connected to it," said Dennis Blair, chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency, in response to a question about the "c

Oct. 11, 2015

Hangeul set to become writing system for South American tribe

A team of Korean researchers has developed a system for transcribing the spoken language of a South American indigenous tribe using the Korean alphabet, "hangeul," the team said Thursday.The team led by Kwon Jae-il, a linguistics professor of Seoul National University, said they finished matching proper Korean consonants and vowels with the sounds of the Aymaran spoken language in August.The tribe currently writes its language using the Spanish alphabet and is considering whether to switch to ha

Oct. 8, 2015

Progress in comfort women to lead to Park-Abe summit: FM Yun

If South Korea and Japan make any progress in their stalled negotiations over the wartime sexual slavery issue, it could open the door to a summit meeting between their leaders, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Sunday.The remarks come ahead of a trilateral summit of President Park Geun-hye and her Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Shinzo Abe and Xi Jinping, which will likely take place later this month or early next month.South Korea and Japan have yet to decide whether Park and Abe would use

Oct. 4, 2015

S. Korea, Central Asian nations to launch secretariat

South Korea and Central Asian countries will launch a secretariat next year to improve ties, an official here said Thursday.The initiative will be included in the Seoul Declaration to be issued at the end of the 9th South Korea-Central Asia Forum, which opens Monday, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.The forum will involve vice foreign ministerial officials from South Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. (Yonhap)

Oct. 1, 2015

Envoy says China's intervention in Korean War safeguarded peace

The Chinese intervention in the 1950-53 Korean War had safeguarded peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, according to China's ambassador to North Korea on Thursday, echoing controversial views from China that the war was waged out of U.S. aggression. Ambassador Li Jinjun made the remarks on Wednesday when he paid his tribute to the Chinese troops killed during the war. Wednesday marked China's Martyrs' Day on the eve of the country's National Day. The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950

Oct. 1, 2015

Boston University professor tapped as Korean arbitrator in Hanocal case

A professor of international business law at Boston University has been tapped to represent South Korea in a tax dispute case involving a Netherlands-based company, the government said Thursday.Hanocal Holding B.V., a Dutch paper company belonging to the International Petroleum Investment Company of the United Arab Emirates, has sued Seoul over double taxation during the sale of Hyundai Oilbank Co. shares five years ago. The case will be handled at the International Centre for Settlement of Inve

Oct. 1, 2015

S. Korea, Iran to expand cooperation

Iran's top diplomat has requested more investment by South Korean firms in his country as the lifting of U.N.-led sanctions nears, according to the Foreign Ministry in South Korea on Thursday.Meeting with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se in New York, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iranian people have a good image of South Korean companies."Minister Zarif requested that South Korean firms launch businesses in Iran more actively," the ministry said after the Yun-Zarif meeting.

Oct. 1, 2015

U.S. Pacific commander had asked for more B-52 bombers on Guam during tensions with N. Korea

The U.S. Pacific forces commander requested that an additional six B-52 bombers remain on Guam in August when military tensions were running high on the Korean Peninsula, according to a U.S. military commander.Gen. Robin Rand, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command, revealed the request during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, explaining the roles the U.S. strategic bombers play in defending the country and its allies."Most recently, in North Korea, when there was a fla

Oct. 1, 2015

S. Korea, Japan hold FM talks, but no agreement on bilateral summit

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan on Wednesday discussed preparations for a trilateral summit with China but produced no agreement on whether to hold a bilateral meeting of their leaders for the first time in more than three years.The meeting between Seoul's foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, came amid speculation that South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could hold their first bilateral talks when Seou

Oct. 1, 2015

Ex-U.S. intelligence chief criticizes Abe statement

A former U.S. intelligence chief has denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's war anniversary statement, saying it is a "disappointment." Marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a speech on Aug.14 that the position "articulated by the previous Cabinets will remain unshakable into the future." He, however, did not offer a fresh apology of his own, saying instead that Japan has repeatedly expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apologi

Sept. 30, 2015

Blinken due in Seoul for Park-Obama summit prep

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea next week to prepare for the upcoming summit talks between President Park Geun-hye and her American counterpart Barack Obama, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.He is scheduled to stay here from Tuesday through Thursday for meetings with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong.His visit will be in line with the "high-level policy coordination" between the two countries, which are growing close

Sept. 30, 2015

S. Korea to keep helping Syrian, Iraqi refugees: FM Yun

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has assured the Arab League that his government will continue to provide humanitarian aid for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, his ministry said Wednesday.He made the pledge in a meeting with the pan-Arab group's secretary general Nabil al-Arabi on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York Tuesday (local time).The two sides agreed on the need for the international community's constant assistance in dealing effectively with extremist terrorism forces, such as

Sept. 30, 2015

Japan cancels plan to send defense minister to S. Korean military sports event

Japan has called off its plan to send Defense Minister Gen Nakatani to a military athletic competition to be held in South Korea next month, a defense official said Wednesday."Minister of Defense Nakatani had hoped to come to South Korea early next month, but it has been decided Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Kenji Harada will come instead," the official said. The Summer Military World Games, a quadrennial athletic competition for military personnel to be held in Mungyeong, North Gyeongs

Sept. 30, 2015

Park, Putin reaffirm partnerships on regional security

President Park Geun-hye and her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday agreed on the importance of continued cooperation between the two nations in efforts for regional peace and stability.The leaders exchanged congratulatory messages on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Seoul-Moscow diplomatic ties, according to the Foreign Ministry.Park called South Korea and Russia "mutually beneficial and future-oriented" partners, it said.She also voiced hope for the expansion of coope

Sept. 30, 2015