10 S. Koreans, 1 Chinese killed in China bus plunge

Ten South Korean government employees and one Chinese person have been killed in a bus plunge in northeastern China, officials said Thursday.   The accident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. (local time) Wednesday, with the bus plunging 15 meters off the bridge in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian. The Korean passengers were on a training program organized by the South Korean government.  The cause of the accident was not immediately clear and the Chinese driver of the bus was pronounced dead ear

July 2, 2015

'Comfort woman' denounces Abe gov't in D.C. protest

A South Korean victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery staged a rally in Washington on Wednesday to demand Tokyo's apology and reparations.  Kim Bok-dong, an 89-year-old 'comfort woman,' joined a group of South Korean activists and supporters at the event held in front of the Japanese Embassy.   She is among the 49 surviving victims in South Korea of Japan's atrocity during World War II. More than 200,000 Korean and other Asian women were coerced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops at tha

July 2, 2015

S. Korean home affairs minister apologizes for bus accident in China

The South Korean home affairs minister apologized Thursday for a bus accident in China that killed 10 South Koreans, mostly government officials.   The bus, carrying 26 South Koreans, veered off a bridge in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian and fell into a river about 15 meters below on Wednesday as it was heading to the border city of Dandong.   The victims were part of a 140-person delegation of mainly government employees. The victims, nine of them public servants, were traveling in China

July 2, 2015

Chinese driver in bus plunge dead, raising death toll to 11

The Chinese driver of a passenger bus carrying a group of South Koreans that plunged off a bridge in northeastern China was pronounced dead Thursday, South Korean officials said Thursday, raising the death toll to 11.    Ten South Koreans, mostly government employees, were killed in the accident on Wednesday in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian while on a training program organized by the South Korean government.   A total of 26 South Koreans were on the bus at that time and the 16 injured w

July 2, 2015

7 S. Koreans die in Chinese bus accident

A bus carrying a group of South Koreans fell off a highway bridge in northeastern China on Wednesday, killing seven South Koreans and two Chinese, the official Xinhua News Agency said.    The report did not say what caused the bus to fall off the bridge or how many people were injured. South Korean officials said the 26 South Koreans on the bus were part of a 140-person delegation of mainly South Korean government employees.    They were in China to tour historical sites, including places where

July 2, 2015

China invites Koreas' militaries to parade marking end of WWII

The militaries of South and North Korea have been invited to take part in a Chinese military parade in September marking the end of World War II, a South Korean diplomatic source said Wednesday.  China is scheduled to hold the military parade on Sept. 3 with foreign militaries invited to join for the first time. Russia is widely expected to send troops, but Beijing has sidestepped questions on which foreign countries' militaries were invited.   "To my knowledge, China has sent invitations to the

July 1, 2015

Parliamentary leaders of four int'l powers to meet in Seoul

South Korea's parliamentary speaker is set to meet with his counterparts from Australia and two other countries on Wednesday ahead of a formal conference meant to discuss ways to boost cooperation in tackling global challenges.  The meeting would be the first of its kind since 2013, when South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, and Australia launched a cross-regional group, known as "MIKTA," from the initials of their English names.  But Turkey did not send its delegation to the meeting as Turkey

July 1, 2015

S. Korean elected to head IMO for first time

A South Korean candidate was elected for the first time to head the United Nations maritime body, diplomatic sources said Wednesday, with his four-year term set to kick off in 2016.  Lim Ki-tack, president of Busan Port Authority, which operates the port facilities in South Korea's second largest city, was elected to head the International Maritime Organization after five rounds of elections.   The International Maritime Organization is the leading global authority on safety, security and enviro

July 1, 2015

Regional powers likely to hold summit in early October: source

South Korea, Japan, and China are expected to resume a trilateral meeting of their leaders in early October, a diplomatic source here said Tuesday.  "Chances are high that the three nations hold summit talks within this year," the source said, requesting anonymity. "Given busy diplomatic schedules in the second half of this year, the meeting is likely to take place in early October or no later than mid-October."  It would be "natural" for President Park Geun-hye to visit Washington in late Octob

June 30, 2015

S. Korea pledges $9 mln in aid to conflict zones

South Korea will provide $9 million in aid to five major conflict zones around the world, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.  The aid will be sent to Iraq ($5 million), Ukraine ($1 million), South Sudan ($2 million), Sudan ($500,000) and the Gaza Strip ($500,000) in an effort to help millions of refugees who have been displaced due to conflicts in those areas, the ministry said in a press release.  "The aid is supplementary to the humanitarian aid our government has provided to some of the areas

June 30, 2015

Korean sexual slavery victim urges Obama to guide Abe onto right path

An elderly South Korean victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery on Monday urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to own up to the atrocity while at the same time calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to "guide a friend onto the right path."  Kim Bok-dong, 89, issued the appeal after arriving in Washington to attend a protest rally to be held in front of Japan's embassy on Wednesday to denounce Tokyo's attempt to whitewash the atrocity and to call for a clear apology and compensation.  The ra

June 30, 2015

S. Korea set to chair int'l anti-money laundering policymaking body

South Korea will serve as chair of an inter-governmental policymaking body on preventing money laundering starting next month, the country's financial regulator said Monday.  South Korea was appointed as the chair country of the Financial Action Task Force at its plenary meeting in February last year to become the third Asian country to hold the chairmanship, following Japan and Hong Kong, according to the Financial Services Commission.  Former FSC Chairman Shin Je-yoon will hold the FATF post i

June 29, 2015

S. Korea becomes fifth-largest shareholder in China-led AIIB

South Korea will contribute $750 million of paid-in capital over the next five years in the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to become the fifth-largest shareholder, the South Korean Finance Ministry said Monday.   A total of 57 countries, including South Korea, have joined the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.  Overall, the AIIB, set to be operational by the end of this year,

June 29, 2015

S. Korea vows active cooperation with AIIB over N. Korea

South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said Monday that his government will seek active cooperation with a China-led development bank to help develop infrastructure in North Korea, although the reclusive North is not a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.  Choi made the remarks at a meeting with South Korean correspondents in Beijing as he signed articles of agreement that decide the shareholdings of each member of the AIIB.   South Korea became the fifth-largest shareholde

June 29, 2015

Top S. Korean official due in Iran, Turkey

A top South Korean diplomat will make a rare trip to Iran this week, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, with a deal in sight in the U.S.-led talks over Tehran's nuclear program.The two-day trip starting Friday by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong is apparently aimed at laying the groundwork for closer bilateral economic cooperation and partnerships in other fields.Cho is scheduled to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart, Morteza Sarmadi, on Saturday."The two sides plan to consult on ways for

June 23, 2015

U.N.'s Seoul office on N.K. human rights to open this week

The United Nations will open its field office in Seoul this week to deal with the human rights situation in North Korea, foreign ministry officials said Sunday.  The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is scheduled to open the envisioned rights office in downtown Seoul on Tuesday, they said, adding that it will work on monitoring and documenting human rights in North Korea.  The role is based on a report released in February by the Commission of Inquiry, a U.N. panel tasked wit

June 21, 2015

Growth of foreigners' trip cancellations tumbles amid waning MERS

Growth in foreigners' cancellations of trips to South Korea slowed sharply last week, data showed Sunday, amid signs the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak is subsiding thanks to stepped-up efforts to contain the potentially deadly virus.  South Korea reported three more MERS cases Sunday, bringing the total number of people diagnosed with the disease here to 169. The death toll stood at 25, as the number of people in isolation for suspected infections came to 4,035, down from 5,197 the p

June 21, 2015

World War II sex slave to sue Japan in U.S. court

A former Korean wartime sex slave said Friday she will soon file a suit against the Japanese government with a U.S. court, seeking an apology and financial compensation for the atrocities done by the Japanese military during World War II. Yoo Hee-nam, 87, will not only sue the Japanese government and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe but also seek damages from Japanese firms and a Japanese daily, said Ahn Shin-kwon, who heads House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, which houses a group of victim

June 19, 2015

S. Korea declares start of FTA talks with six Central American states

South Korea and a group of six Central American countries, including Guatemala and Panama, have declared the official launch of their negotiations for a free trade agreement, the Seoul government said Friday.The declaration came at the end of a meeting between South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick and his counterparts from the six nations held in Houston, the United States, on Thursday (U.S. time), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy."The Ministers shared the view that t

June 19, 2015

U.S., China to discuss ways to get N. Korea out of 'fantasy' of 'byeongjin' policy

The United States and China will use next week's high-level strategic talks to discuss ways to get North Korea out of the "fantasy" that it can revive its broken economy without having to give up its nuclear program, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday.Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel made the remark during a Foreign Press Center briefing previewing the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue to be held in Washington from Monday through Wednesday, saying Washington and Beijing shar

June 19, 2015