In Iran, booming Korean culture leads many youngsters to study the language

It was a rainy afternoon, but a small classroom at a South Korea-sponsored Korean language school in Tehran was packed with 15 young people eager to learn a foreign tongue.The students were good enough to complete a few simple sentences although they were in the beginner's class.They looked quite serious while practicing conversation in Korean in pairs, such as, "How did you get to the King Sejong Institute?" "I came by taxi."The King Sejong Institute opened two years ago with 52 students in thr

May 13, 2016

Obama's Hiroshima visit to honor not only A-bomb victims, but 'all innocents lost in WWII': White House

U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima is aimed at honoring the memory of not only Japanese victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing, but also all innocents lost during the war, the White House said Thursday.Obama is scheduled to visit Hiroshima on May 27 in what the White House described as a "historic" trip that will make him the first sitting American president to do so since the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb in the city to end World War II. White House off

May 13, 2016

U.S. opposed Hiroshima memorial's inscription on UNESCO list: records

The United States was against Japan's bid to gain world heritage status for a building damaged in the Hiroshima atomic bombing, records showed Thursday, as keen attention is being paid to U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to the city.On May 27, Obama will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima since the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb on the city on Aug. 6, 1945, to end World War II.Critics in the U.S. and elsewhere have raised concerns the highly symbolic visit co

May 12, 2016

Cuban President Castro sent congratulatory message to Kim Jong-un: media

Cuban President Raul Castro sent a congratulatory message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his recent appointment to the chairmanship of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the communist country's official news outlet said Thursday.Kim was elected chairman of the North's ruling party in the recent four-day party congress which closed on Monday. The move is expected to further consolidate his hereditary one-man leadership over the reclusive country.Calling Kim "honorable comrade," Castro sa

May 12, 2016

China media calls N. Korea's nuclear ambitions 'poison'

The policy of pursuing nuclear weapons in tandem with economic development by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is doomed to fail, a state-run Chinese newspaper said Wednesday, calling the North's nuclear ambitions a "poison" for its economy. North Korea's just-concluded party congress officially endorsed Kim's "byeongjin" policy of simultaneously pursing both nuclear and economic development, dashing hopes that Kim may chart a different course on its nuclear weapons program. In an editorial, the

May 11, 2016

Trump book shows he had advocated surgical strike on N. Korea in 2000

Republican presidential presumptive nominee Donald Trump had advocated a surgical strike against North Korea's nuclear facility, according to a book the real-estate tycoon published when he first ran for president in 2000."What would I do in North Korea? Fair question. It's easy to point out the problem, but what should be done to solve it? Am I ready to bomb this reactor? You're damned right," Trump said in the book titled, "The America We Deserve."Trump said that Israel's 1981 strike on Iraq's

May 11, 2016

Obama to become first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima

U.S. President Barack Obama will visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima later this month, making him the first sitting American president to do so since the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb there to end World War II.Obama will make the "historic visit" with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to "highlight his continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.The visit will take place on May 27 after

May 11, 2016

China vows implementation of U.N. sanctions over N. Korean leader's nuke remarks

China said Monday it would "faithfully" implement U.N. sanctions against North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, responding to remarks by the North's leader Kim Jong-un that Pyongyang will not use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty is jeopardized.The remarks by Kim, announced during a rare congress of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party and reported by the North Korean media on Sunday, reaffirmed the North's bid to become a nuclear weapons state. "Our republic is a responsible nuclea

May 9, 2016

U.S. won't 'stand unmoved' in face of N. Korean threats: senior U.S. diplomat

The United States and its allies "will not stand unmoved" in the face of North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, a senior American diplomat said, calling for the communist nation to forswear its weapons programs.Frank Rose, assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance, made the remark last week as he talked about U.S. efforts to strengthen missile defense, including the potential deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea."The Obama administration is comm

May 9, 2016

Deputy FM to visit Laos for ASEAN meetings

South Korea's deputy foreign minister will visit Laos this week to prepare for a series of upcoming regional conferences and summits, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.Kim Hyoung-zhin is scheduled to fly to Luang Prabang, an ancient city situated in northern Laos, on Saturday to attend a series of senior officials meetings involving member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their regional partners, the ministry said in a press release.Laos holds the chairmanship of the 1

May 4, 2016

Colombia's illegal mining linked to malaria outbreak

BOGOTA, (AFP)  -- Colombia's widespread illegal mining is blamed for causing environmental damage and holding workers in slave-like conditions -- and now is also being blamed for a malaria outbreak.Critics point to stagnant water buildups at the clandestine sites and poor sanitary conditions at the workers' camps for an increase in mosquitos spreading the disease, which has quadrupled in jungle regions of the hard-hit and impoverished western department of Choco."The country had more or less con

April 30, 2016

Colorado woman gets 100 years for cutting baby from womb

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A judge on Friday sentenced a Colorado woman who cut a baby from a stranger's womb to 100 years in prison, including the maximum penalties for attempted murder and unlawful termination of a pregnancy.Judge Maria Berkenkotter said the harshest sentences for the most serious charges were justified by the brutality of the 2015 attack, which she described as performing a cesarean with a kitchen knife. Berkenkotter also said the victim, Michelle Wilkins, as well as her family a

April 30, 2016

Russia, China urge N. Korea to cease provocations

The foreign ministers of Russia and China on Friday called for North Korea to abstain from any new provocations, amid signs that the North may carry out a fresh nuclear test. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference after holding talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that they agreed that North Korea should refrain from taking "new and irresponsible measures." Wang said Russia and China will fully implement the latest U.N. resolution on North Korea that "should be ac

April 29, 2016

Ex-U.S. diplomat says Korea-Japan deal on ‘comfort women’ reached out of ‘self-interest’

South Korea and Japan reached the landmark agreement on the "comfort women" issue of wartime sexual slavery out of their own "self-interest" amid a need for cooperation to cope with North Korean threats, former U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said.Sherman made the case in a recent article contributed to CNN, as she called for U.S. President Barack Obama to visit Hiroshima for the first time as a sitting American president since the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb in the Japanese city.She

April 28, 2016

San Francisco's Education Board expresses support for teaching students about 'comfort women'

San Francisco's Board of Education has adopted a resolution supporting California's new school curriculum guidelines calling for teaching students about Japan's wartime sexual slavery.The board passed the resolution after holding a special meeting on Tuesday night.The California Department of Education has been collecting comments from the public on the 2014-2016 Draft History-Social Science Framework that includes the "comfort women" issue in the world history curriculum for grade 10.The propos

April 28, 2016

Korea Foundation to hold special lecture on Korean studies in Kazakhstan

The Korean Foundation said Tuesday it will host a special lecture series on Korean studies in Kazakhstan to promote understanding and fuel local interest in South Korea.The four-day lectures will run from Tuesday through Friday as part of Seoul's diplomatic efforts to promote one of its main strategy goals, which is the realization of its "Eurasia Initiative," according to the foundation affiliated with South Korea's Foreign Ministry.The Eurasia Initiative is a key part of South Korea's foreign

April 26, 2016

Scholar says world should step up pressure on provocative N.K.

The international community has to look for ways to increase pressure on North Korea should the communist state continue its provocative behavior, a prominent U.S. scholar said Tuesday, noting the current sanctions on the North can be "effective." During an interview with reporters in Seoul, John J. Hamre, the president of the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is proceeding down a path where "there is no end and no opportuni

April 26, 2016

Think tank chief urges Obama to clarify Japan‘s war responsibility during visit to Hiroshima

A chief of a state foreign policy think tank said Tuesday that it is important for U.S. President Barack Obama to clarify Japan's responsibility for World War II should he visit the atom-bombed city of Hiroshima next month.Shin Dong-ik, the head of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security under the state-run Korean National Diplomatic Academy, said in a contribution to the institute's periodical that such a clarification is needed to ensure that Tokyo remembers its wartime history.

April 26, 2016