Seoul, Washington FMs to hold talks in Germany

South Korea's foreign minister is expected to hold talks with his U.S. counterpart in Germany this weekend, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.  Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is likely to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday or Sunday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that kicks off Friday for three days, the source said, adding the two sides are fine-tuning the details.  Yun will fly to Germany on Thursday for a four-day stay, which includes a planned meetin

Feb. 4, 2015

S. Korean foreign minister to visit Germany this week

South Korea's foreign minister plans to visit Germany this week to discuss ways to promote cooperation over North Korea's nuclear issue and Seoul's initiative for unification, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.  Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will leave for Berlin on Thursday and hold talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday, according to the foreign ministry.   "The two sides will discuss North Korea's nuclear issue and how to cooperate over Seoul's unification initiat

Feb. 3, 2015

S. Korea pushing to export FA-50 fighter jets to Peru

The South Korean military is seeking to export $1 billion worth of an indigenous light attack aircraft to Peru, informed sources said Tuesday.  "We've been pushing to sell 24 units of the FA-50 to Peru, and are planning to submit a proposal for Lima's fighter purchase project this month," said a source, requesting anonymity. "Factoring in the necessary logistics support, the total amount of the envisioned exports would reach $2 billion."  South Korea is likely to vie with Russia, Italy and China

Feb. 3, 2015

Seoul to send fewer health workers to Sierra Leone this week

South Korea plans to send a smaller-than-expected team of medical workers to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone this weekend as the epidemic shows signs of easing, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.Seoul initially planned to send 11 healthcare workers for its third and final batch, but a military medical team consisting of two doctors and three nurses will be dispatched instead to the West African country on Feb. 7, according to officials.The move will make the total number of medical workers sent to 24,

Feb. 2, 2015

Seoul to discuss safety of nationals in Middle East

South Korea plans to hold a pan-governmental meeting next week to discuss ways to beef up the safety of its nationals living in the Middle East, following terrorist acts by Islamic State militants, officials said Monday.The move comes amid concerns that the extremist Muslim militant group may target South Korean citizens in the region after two Japanese hostages have been purportedly killed by the IS in Syria."The government is preparing to come up with a set of measures related to protection of

Feb. 2, 2015

Top court confirms jail sentences for Chinese fishermen

South Korea's top court on Friday confirmed the prison sentences of two Chinese skippers convicted of illegally fishing in South Korean waters and injuring local Coast Guard officials in a violent clash about a year ago.The Supreme Court delivered sentences of up to three and a half years to the two and ordered the confiscation of their two boats.It also confirmed the sentences handed down to two of their subordinates, who had been given sentences of two years and one and a half years, after a t

Jan. 30, 2015

Seoul, Beijing to hold talks on demarcating maritime border

South Korea and China will hold preparatory consultation this week for the start of talks on demarcating their maritime border to resolve issues stemming from overlapping economic exclusive zones (EEZs), officials said Wednesday.Officials from the two countries' foreign ministries will get together in Shanghai on Thursday in the runup to the negotiations on drawing the maritime border as a follow-up to a summit between their political leaders, they added.Seoul and Beijing have been in talks over

Jan. 28, 2015

Seoul says no S. Korean casualties in Libya hotel attack

South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday that there have been no reported casualties of South Koreans in an armed attack that took place at a hotel in Libya's capital a day earlier.At least nine people were killed Tuesday (local time) when gunmen presumed to have links to Islamic State militants stormed into a luxury hotel in Tripoli. Several foreign media said that one South Korean national was among those killed.Seoul's foreign ministry said that no South Korean casualties have been repor

Jan. 28, 2015

Four S. Koreans freed after kidnapping in Philippines

Four South Korean nationals have been released after being held as hostages by an unidentified gang for four days in the Philippines, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.The release was made late Monday, four days after a 35-year-old man, only identified by his surname Cho, and another three men were kidnapped in the city of San Juan on Thursday, according to officials.They were found on a road outside Manila after being beaten by the suspects, but they did not sustain any serious injuries, th

Jan. 27, 2015

Seoul slams IS group for killing Japanese hostage

South Korea lambasted the extremist Islamic State (IS) group Monday for its killing of a Japanese hostage, saying that innocent civilians should not be the target of terrorism.The militant IS group claimed Sunday that it had executed Haruna Yukawa, one of two Japanese hostages it had been holding.The group is now demanding that Jordan release a female Iraqi terrorist in exchange for the other Japanese hostage, Kenjin Goto, a 47-year-old journalist.The South Korean government said it cannot help

Jan. 26, 2015

Anti-austerity Syriza storms to historic Greek victory

Greece awoke to a new era of defiant anti-austerity Monday after voters handed a decisive victory to radical left party Syriza, putting the country on a collision course with the EU and international creditors.In a result that exceeded analysts' expectations, Syriza and its 40-year-old leader Alexis Tsipras won 149 seats in the 300-seat Greek parliament, just two short of an absolute majority, with most of the votes counted.Incumbent Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy party was route

Jan. 26, 2015

Seoul urges Japan to show sincerity in addressing wartime atrocities

South Korea called on Japan Monday to show sincerity toward healing the wounds of history amid concerns Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may not apologize for wartime wrongdoings in a landmark statement due in August.Abe told public broadcaster NHK Saturday that he would not use key words describing Japan's apology over its wartime atrocities shown in the past when he issues a new statement in August to mark the 70th anniversary of the country's defeat in World War II.Japan issued two key stat

Jan. 26, 2015

Japanese hostage killing Abe's fault: China paper

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to blame for the death of a hostage at the hands of the Islamic State group, an editorial in Chinese state media said Monday.The Islamic State group said Sunday it had executed Haruna Yukawa, one of two Japanese hostages it has been holding, in an apparent beheading that has been slammed by leaders around the world.But China's Global Times, which is affiliated with Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, wrote in an editorial that the Japanese leader'

Jan. 26, 2015

Malaysia Air site hacked by group claiming support for IS

The website of embattled Malaysia Airlines has been hacked by a group proclaiming support for Islamic State group. The airline's site was changed on Monday, at first with a message saying “404 - Plane Not Found” and that it was “Hacked by Cyber Caliphate.” The browser tab for the website said “ISIS will prevail.”  Malaysian Airlines is struggling to recover from twin disasters last year, including the disappearance of Flight 370.  The website was later changed to a picture of a lizard, with the

Jan. 26, 2015

IS claims it executed Japanese hostage

The Islamic State group has said it executed one of two Japanese hostages it has been holding, in an apparent beheading that has been slammed by leaders around the world.The claim, made Sunday, came a day after the release of a video announcing the murder of security contractor Haruna Yukawa by the jihadist group, which has beheaded five Western hostages since August last year.It sought to raise the pressure on Japan by saying the fate of the other captive, freelance journalist Kenji Goto, depen

Jan. 26, 2015

Hollande congratulates Tspiras on Greek election victory

France's President Francois Hollande congratulated Alexis Tsipras on his radical left party Syriza's victory in Greek elections Sunday, the French presidency said in an statement.The French president recalled "the friendship that unites France and Greece and expressed his desire to Mr Tsipras to continue the close cooperation between our two countries, to support the growth and stability of the eurozone, in the spirit of progress, solidarity and responsibility that is at the heart of our shared

Jan. 26, 2015

S. Korea asks China to invest in industrial complex in N. Korea

South Korea's state trade agency asked Chinese firms Friday to invest in an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea as Seoul and Beijing reached a bilateral free trade agreement last November.The industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong opened in 2004 as a landmark symbol of rapprochement between South and North Korea. About 120 South Korean firms employ some 53,000 North Korean workers there.Goods produced at the Kaesong complex are covered by the bilateral free trade a

Jan. 23, 2015

S. Korea to open consulate in Cebu

South Korea plans to open a consulate on Cebu, the Philippines, around next month to better provide consular services for a growing number of Korean visitors there, the foreign ministry said Friday.The South Korean Embassy in the Southeast Asian country "plans to open a branch office on Cebu at the end of next month at the earliest," said a foreign ministry official.The new office "is to take charge of Cebu and its adjacent resort islands, where an increasing number of South Koreans visit," he a

Jan. 23, 2015

Euro under pressure in Asia ahead of ECB meet

The euro struggled against the dollar in Asia on Thursday as traders await a European Central Bank meeting where policymakers are widely expected to launch a huge bond-buying programme to kickstart the ailing eurozone economy.The single European currency fetched $1.1604 and 137.22 yen at midday in Tokyo, mixed from $1.1607 and 136.85 yen in New York.The dollar rose to 118.29 yen against 117.90 yen in US trade, after the Bank of Japan on Wednesday slashed its outlook on consumer prices, throwing

Jan. 22, 2015