S. Korea pledges $300 mln to World Bank's developing nation program

South Korea has pledged$300 million to the World Bank for its program to build critical infrastructure in developing countries and deal with their environmental and energy issues, the government said Thursday.The finance ministry said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached in Washington on Wednesday calls for the fund to be transferred in the next four years with the World Bank to provide matching sums of money. Seoul's contribution will come from its Economic Development Cooperation Fund

April 16, 2015

Dozens of British war veterans to visit Korea

Dozens of British war veterans and their families will visit South Korea next week in a symbolic event, as many South Koreans still remember the international community's help in its fight against the invading communist North in the 1950s, the state veterans' service here said Thursday. Seoul's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has invited a total of 85 veterans, who took part in the 1950-53 war, and their families from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for a six-day trip starti

April 16, 2015

S. Korea to stick to stern position on historical issues with Japan, but seeks cooperation on other issues

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong said Wednesday Seoul will continue to take a "stern" position on historical issues with Japan while trying to increase cooperation with the neighboring nation on other matters.Cho spoke to reporters upon arriving in Washington for a trilateral meeting set for Thursday with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki, where historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo are expected to be discussed."We'v

April 16, 2015

U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to come out for sincere talks

The top U.S. envoy here Wednesday urged North Korea to show sincerity for its denuclearization prior to reviving the long-stalled multilateral nuclear disarmament talks."We have reiterated many times that we are willing to engage in talks with North Korea but the government in Pyongyang must demonstrate that they are ready to engage in authentic and credible negotiations that lead to denuclearization," Ambassador Mark Lippert said during a defense forum in Seoul. He was referring to the six-part

April 15, 2015

S. Korea's ambassador to China presents credentials

South Korean Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo has presented his credentials to Chinese President Xi Jinping, China's foreign ministry said Wednesday. Kim, a former defense minister who headed the National Security Council at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, took up the post late last month. Kim and eight other new ambassadors presented their credentials to Xi on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Xi told the ambassadors that China will step up friendly and practical coo

April 15, 2015

S. Korea, U.S. hold annual defense talks

Senior defense officials from South Korea and the United States met Tuesday for annual talks expected to center on strengthening deterrence against North Korean threats and other issues facing the two allies.The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue is one of a series of defense dialogues between Seoul and Washington and involves defense and foreign affairs officials. South Korea was represented by Deputy Defense Minister Yoo Jeh-seung, while his counterpart was Deputy Assistant Secretary of De

April 15, 2015

S. Korea to send $500,000 in aid to Yemen

South Korea will send $500,000 in humanitarian aid to Yemen as it struggles with a civil war, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.South Korea will deliver the aid through the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration and the International Committee of the Red Cross, it said.The chaos in Yemen comes as Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Gulf Arab nations have launched air strikes against Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, after they ousted Yemen's government and dissolved the parl

April 14, 2015

Exit ban lifted for Japanese reporter

An exit ban has been lifted for a Japanese reporter on trial here for defaming President Park Geun-hye, prosecutors said Tuesday.Tatsuya Kato had been prohibited from leaving South Korea since August pending a trial for libel.The former Seoul bureau chief for Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper is accused of defaming Park by reporting rumors that she might have been with a man at the time of the April 16 South Korean ferry sinking, one of South Korea's worst peacetime disasters.The Seoul Central Di

April 14, 2015

S. Korea, Japan to hold first security talks in 5 yrs

South Korea and Japan held their first high-level security talks in more than five years Tuesday amid renewed tension over historical and territorial issues.The so-called 2+2 talks, involving two senior foreign affairs and defense officials from each side, came as bilateral ties have been badly frayed over Tokyo's repeated claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo and other issues stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. A key focus of attention was on how S

April 14, 2015

U.S. likely to allow S. Korea to conduct 'first pyroprocessing stage'

The United States is expected to continue to ban South Korea from nuclear reprocessing and enrichment under a soon-to-be-announced nuclear cooperation agreement but is expected to allow Seoul to conduct a kind of experimental reprocessing for research purposes, U.S. experts said Monday. After more than four years of negotiations, Seoul and Washington are now close to announcing a revision to their 1974 nuclear energy cooperation pact, known as the "123 agreement." The agreement has centered on b

April 14, 2015

S. Korea's commerce minister vows support for Japanese investment

South Korea's commerce minister promised enhanced support for Japanese investors here Tuesday, also vowing to continue removing any red tape hindering investment.In a Seoul meeting with members of the Seoul Japan Club, Yoon Sang-jick also praised the efforts of local and Japanese businesspeople here to help improve economic and trade conditions between the two neighboring countries, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy."The minister said his government will continue to improve

April 14, 2015

S. Korea, Japan, China vow to boost cooperation in tackling water issues

South Korea, Japan and China on Monday vowed to further boost their cooperation in dealing with issues related to water while agreeing to share their knowledge with others to help them overcome such problems.The agreement came at a ministerial meeting held on the sidelines of the 7th World Water Forum in South Korea's southeastern cities of Daegu and Gyeongju.The meeting involved South Korea's minister of land, infrastructure and transport, Japan's transport and tourism minister, and China's min

April 13, 2015

FM Yun, U.N. official to discuss N. Korea, global issues

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with a visiting top United Nations official Monday on regional security and global issues, the foreign ministry said.Yun plans to hold a bilateral meeting with U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson at his office for consultations on the 2015 Development Agenda and peacekeeping operations as well as the North Korean nuclear issue and security conditions on the Korean Peninsula, according to the ministry."As the U.N. marks the 70th anniversary of its bi

April 13, 2015

No plan for defense pact with Japan: Seoul ministry

South Korea has no immediate plan to push for a military acquisition pact with Japan although it could be necessary in the long term, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. The Japanese daily Nikkei reported on Sunday that Tokyo is gearing up to sign the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement with South Korea in a move to strengthen security ties with the neighbor.   "(South Korea) has not discussed the issue of signing the ACSA with Japan recently and has no such plan for now," defense minist

April 13, 2015

U.S. condemns armed attack on S. Korean Embassy in Libya

The United States on Sunday strongly condemned a recent armed attack on the South Korean Embassy in Libya that left two local security guards killed and another wounded."We condemn in the strongest terms the attack on the Republic of Korea's Embassy in Tripoli on April 12," a State Department spokesperson said in response to the Yonhap News Agency's request for comment. "We send our condolences to the families of the victims."Militants claiming to be affiliated with the Islamic State said they w

April 13, 2015

S. Korea to hold emergency meeting on Libya attack

Rattled by a shooting attack on its embassy in Libya, South Korea will convene an interagency meeting Monday to assess the situation and discuss ways to protect its nationals there, an official said.Gunmen opened fire on the embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday, killing two local security guards and wounding another. There were no South Korean casualties.Militants claiming to be affiliated with the Islamic State said they were behind the attack."The government plans to hold a meeti

April 13, 2015

S. Korea's embassy in Libya attacked by gunmen

An armed group of Islamic militants attacked South Korea's embassy in Libya on Sunday, killing at least one guard, Seoul's foreign ministry said.  The ministry said that the unknown armed group in a car fired at the front of the embassy compound.  "There are no reported casualties of South Korean nationals," said an official.  China's Xinhua News Agency reported that the incident was committed by the Islamic State while the motive was not known. Xinhua also said the attack killed two guards and

April 12, 2015

Seoul completes 3-month Ebola response team mission

South Korea said Sunday that its 24-member Ebola response team has completed a three-month mission to treat patients in Ebola-hit Sierra Leone.  South Korea sent a team of doctors and nurses in three batches between late December and March to join the global community's move to fight the highly contagious disease in West Africa.  South Korea's foreign ministry said that the mission has been officially completed as the final group of medical staff members on Sunday were released after a 21-day-lo

April 12, 2015

Obama, Castro shake hands at historic summit

Panama City (AFP) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro shook hands and sat near each other at a historic Summit of the Americas, a new milestone in efforts to shed decades of animosity.Obama and Castro greeted each other as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon looked on, before taking their seats with other regional leaders at a Panama City convention center.The sight of Obama and Castro in the same room instantly became a potent symbol of their bid to renew diplomatic ties that were severed i

April 11, 2015

Chinese media warns against U.S. missile-defense system in Korea

A Chinese state-run newspaper warned Friday that bilateral ties between Seoul and Beijing would be "shattered" if an advanced U.S. missile-defense system is deployed in South Korea. The Global Times made the comments in an editorial on the day when U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was in South Korea, a visit that is aimed at bolstering America's diplomatic and military rebalancing to Asia. In Seoul, Carter told reporters that the U.S. is not yet ready to discuss with South Korea the possible

April 10, 2015