Senate resolution calls for approval of Korea-U.S. civil nuclear accord

A U.S. senator has introduced a resolution calling for approval of the civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement with South Korea, a move that reflects the positive view Congress has about the deal.Sen. Benjamin Cardin brought the resolution (S.J.Res.20) to the Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. It is titled, "A joint resolution relating to the approval of the proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Peac

July 30, 2015

Scud missiles fired into Saudi Arabia from Yemen traced to N. Korea: official

Scud missiles fired into Saudi Arabia by Yemeni rebels in recent months came from North Korea, a South Korean intelligence official said Wednesday.Saudi Arabia has shot down about 40 percent of some 20 Scud missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels, said the official, who is familiar with the issue.He did not give further details on how South Korea reached the conclusion that the missiles originated from North Korea. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to medi

July 29, 2015

Park calls Mongolia's transition to democracy good role model

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that Mongolia's successful transition to democracy is a good role model for the international community.Mongolia's case "could help contribute to spreading democracy and establishing peace in Northeast Asia," Park said in a video message at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar to mark the 25th anniversary of Mongolia's first free elections after decades of socialism.Mongolia has become one of the most vibrant democracies in the word after its political transition with

July 29, 2015

China touts its intervention in Korean War as Kim Jong-un pays tribute

China has touted its intervention in the 1950-53 Korean War as an "indelible mark on history" of its friendship with North Korea after the North's leader Kim Jong-un paid tribute to the Chinese soldiers killed during the war. The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when tank-led North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the United Nations flag, while Chinese soldiers came to help North Korea. The conflict e

July 29, 2015

Pelosi says Abe should make clearer statement about sexual slavery

U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should make a clearer statement on the country's wartime sexual enslavement of women, according to a South Korean lawmaker.Pelosi made the remark during a meeting with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party and other party lawmakers, as Kim expressed gratitude for her role in passing a landmark 2007 House resolution on the issue, according to Rep. Na Kyung-won, chairwoman of the p

July 29, 2015

In Beijing, memories of Korean independence activist fade

For most Koreans, the Wangfujing shopping street in central Beijing is a bustling tourist destination filled with Western-style department stores and shops where they can buy everything they can name. But, few of them might know that there is an aging building near Wangfujing, which was used by the Japanese military police as a prison where Yi Yuk-sa (1904-1944), one of Korea's most famous poets and an independence activist, died. Universally known by his pen name, Yi's works symbolize the spiri

July 29, 2015

U.S. lawmakers urge Abe to offer sincere apology for sexual slavery

U.S. lawmakers urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday to offer a sincere apology for the country's wartime sexual enslavement of women as two surviving victims sued Tokyo for damages for insulting them as prostitutes.The victims, both in their 90s, filed the suit with a federal court in San Francisco, demanding $20 million in damages each.Named as defendants were the Japanese government, the late Japanese Emperor Hirohito, former Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi and seven Japa

July 29, 2015

Ruling party chief: U.S. more important than China

South Korea's ruling party chief has said the United States is more important to the country than China, stressing Washington is the "irreplaceable" ally for Seoul."I think we should not forget that the U.S. is the irreplaceable, unequaled and only ally for us," Kim said during a meeting with South Korean correspondents in Washington on Monday."So I came here for parliamentary diplomacy aimed at reaffirming the alliance through meetings with congressional leaders and government officials."Kim ha

July 29, 2015

Police say 41 phone fraud offenders arrested in China

South Korean police said Tuesday they have arrested 41 people in China for alleged telephone-based financial scams in rare cooperation with their Chinese counterparts.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they arrested 39 South Koreans and two ethnic Koreans in China for allegedly opening call centers in China and making random calls to South Korean citizens, fooling them by offering to grant loans or protect their deposits.After dividing their roles into team leaders and counselors, the sus

July 28, 2015

S. Korea to hold info session on doing business with Iran

South Korea said Tuesday it will hold an information session next week to help local businesses make inroads into Iran after the lifting of international sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plan to hold a joint session on Aug. 5 to help firms better understand the details of Iran's recent nuclear deal with the U.S. and five other global powers, according to a government press release.After years of tough negotiatio

July 28, 2015

Ruling party chief calls for candid apology from Abe

South Korea's ruling party chief said Monday he told U.S. government officials and congressional leaders that Japan should offer a candid apology for its wartime atrocities if the frayed relations between Seoul and Tokyo are to improve.Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the Saenuri Party, said he also told U.S. officials and congressmen that it is unacceptable for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to issue a statement backtracking from previous statements of apology. "One of the things that U.S. of

July 28, 2015

S. Korea, Russia seek to boost ties

Top diplomats of South Korea and Russia met in Moscow this week as the countries seek to expand their ties in a key anniversary year, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and his Russian counterpart, First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov, met Monday to discuss their countries' ties as they mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the ministry said in a press release.Cho thanked Titov for Russia's cooperation on the Eurasia Express

July 28, 2015

American veterans celebrate groundbreaking for 'Changjin' battle memorial

Elderly American veterans of the Korean War celebrated the groundbreaking Monday for a memorial commemorating "Changjin Reservoir Battle," one of the fiercest battles in the war that also helped make a massive evacuation operation possible.The November-December 1950 battle, also known as the "Battle of the Chosin Reservoir," came as the U.S.-backed South Korean forces began retreating from North Korea after China sent massive numbers of troops to fight alongside the communist neighbor.In the bat

July 28, 2015

Beauty queen named world taekwondo ambassador

American beauty queen Nia Sanchez was named a global taekwondo ambassador on Monday.The Seoul-based World Taekwondo Federation introduced the 2014 Miss USA as its latest goodwill ambassador. Sanchez is a fourth-degree black belt in the traditional Korean martial art and began practicing at the age of 8.The 25-year-old is the first Miss Nevada and the fourth Hispanic to win Miss USA. She represented the country at the 2014 Miss Universe and finished as the first runner-up.Sanchez started teaching

July 27, 2015

S. Korea, U.S., Japan to discuss N. Korea nuke

South Korean and U.S. nuclear envoys on Monday discussed ways to bring North Korea back to the bargaining table in the run-up to a trilateral session also involving their Japanese counterpart.  Kim Gunn, director general for North Korean nuclear affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, met here with Sydney Seiler, the U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks.  Arriving in South Korea on Sunday, Seiler said his trip comes at an "important" time for the long-stalled efforts to resume full-scal

July 27, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. in no consensus on China military parade: report

South Korea and the United States had discussed an invitation by China to get South Korean President Park Geun-hye to attend a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, but there was no consensus on the matter between the allies, a Hong Kong-based newspaper reported Monday.China has invited world leaders to attend the huge military parade in September that is expected to highlight Japan's surrender in the war, but many Western leaders are likely to shun

July 27, 2015

S. Korea's ruling party chief calls for U.S. bill on Korean War memorial project

South Korea's ruling party chief said Sunday he will ask U.S. lawmakers to pass a bill that calls for establishing a "Wall of Remembrance" at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington to honor American service members killed during the war.Rep. Kim Moo-sung of the Saenuri Party made the remark after paying his respect at the memorial, referring to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act of 2015 that Rep. Sam Johnson introduced in the House in March, together with Reps. Char

July 27, 2015

U.S. calls shipment of live anthrax sample 'inexcusable mistake'

The United States said Thursday it was an "inexcusable mistake" to ship a live anthrax sample to an American military base in South Korea, promising to consult the Asian ally in case of a similar shipment in the future.  "This was a mistake. As the secretary said, it was a serious mistake. It should never have happened. It's an inexcusable mistake. We're taking the actions to correct it," Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall told reporters.  Kendall m

July 24, 2015

FM Yun to visit Poland, Germany on Eurasia Express program

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will travel to Poland and Germany next week on a train expedition program, his ministry announced Thursday.  A special train carrying more than 250 South Koreans is running through Russia under the Eurasia Express project that began July 14. Yun plans to join the Warsaw-Berlin leg of the journey, according to the ministry's spokesman Noh Kwang-il.  The program is aimed at drawing attention to South Korea's cross-continent railway ambitions.   President Park Geun-hye

July 23, 2015