Armed robbers broke into two South Korean-run construction sites in Libya in separate incidents earlier this week, with one group stealing cash, but no one was injured, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.Three armed men stormed an office at a construction site in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday and stole about $2,500 from there, the ministry said. Separately, a group of four armed people br

Foreign Affairs March 22, 2011

South Korea said it agreed Tuesday to hold talks with North Korea on a potential volcano on the communist state’s border with China, proposing a meeting of experts next week amid growing speculation that the sides are seeking ways to re-establish contact.The proposal, made by the head of South Korea’s national weather agency and delivered through the liaison officials of the countries, calls for a

North Korea March 22, 2011

A senior presidential aide to President Lee Myung-bak pressed North Korea on Tuesday to make a “heartfelt apology” for its two deadly military attacks last year, renewing Seoul’s demand for a prerequisite for resumption of any inter-Korean exchanges. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula plummeted to their lowest level in years in 2010 following the North’s deadly sinking of a South Korean warship and

North Korea March 22, 2011

South Korea and the U.S. will hold next week their first high-level plenary session of a joint committee on ways to boost the deterrence Washington provides to protect Seoul against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and other weapons of mass destruction, officials here said Monday.The first high-level meeting of the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee, set for March 28-29 in Hawaii, is expected to

Defense March 21, 2011

The Group of Eight industrialized nations condemned North Korea’s uranium enrichment program at a meeting of their foreign ministers held in Paris earlier this week, a South Korean official said Thursday.The G8 foreign ministers adopted a “chairman’s summary” after two days of talks concluded Tuesday, denouncing the North’s uranium program as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the o

Foreign Affairs March 17, 2011

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan rejected North Korea’s recent suggestion that it is willing to unconditionally return to the nuclear negotiating table, saying Pyongyang should first demonstrate its denuclearization commitment through action.North Korea’s foreign ministry said Tuesday after talks with Russia’s chief nuclear envoy that it is ready to rejoin the stalled six-party talks without any pre

North Korea March 17, 2011

From news reportsPresident Lee Myung-bak instructed his government Wednesday to painstakingly check the safety of local nuclear reactors, a move aimed at easing public anxiety here amid news of Japan’s nuclear crisis.The president sent Lee Ju-ho, minister for education, science and technology, to a major nuclear power facility in the southeastern region of Gori for an on-site inspection, they adde

Politics March 16, 2011

South Korea appointed former Deputy Trade Minister Ahn Ho-young as its new ambassador to the European Union and Belgium on Monday in a reshuffle that also replaced 19 other ambassadors and four consuls general, the Foreign Ministry said.Ahn Seong-doo, former deputy chief of the ministry’s South Asian and Pacific affairs bureau, was named to head the embassy in Afghanistan, where South Korea has a

Foreign Affairs March 14, 2011

South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday it was investigating a maintenance problem in the country’s presidential jet after it was forced to make an unprecedented emergency landing.The plane, a Boeing 747-400 leased from Korean Air, bound for the United Arab Emirates carrying President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, flew back less than half an hour after taking off on

Politics March 14, 2011

A senior U.S. official said Saturday that Washington will consult closely with its ally South Korea before deciding whether to restart food aid to impoverished but nuclear-armed North Korea.Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell denied Washington is pressing to give the North badly needed aid, with Seoul reluctant to see its allies rushing to its communist neighbor with massive food supplies.“

North Korea March 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A human rights body here said Saturday it will launch balloons deep into North Korea and hold other events in Seoul next month to call international attention to the human rights situation in the reclusive communist state.“It is now reported that as many as 60 percent of North Koreans now have access to outside information and they are increasingly doubting the regime’s

North Korea March 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. congressmen have introduced a bill calling on the Obama administration to help American citizens adopt stateless and orphaned North Korean children adrift in other countries.Sen. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) filed the bill titled “the North Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2011” on Feb. 28, which says, “The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security

North Korea March 10, 2011

LONDON (Yonhap News) -- The Korean Peninsula is experiencing its most “dangerous” period since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War in light of North Korean provocations last year, an international military report said Wednesday.The 2011 edition of the annual Military Balance, published by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, said international tensions rose acro

Defense March 9, 2011

New USFK commander visits SeoulSEOUL/WASHINGTON ― Senior U.S. officials will travel to South Korea later this week to discuss North Korea, bilateral ties and other issues of bilateral and regional concern, the State Department said Monday.Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, “arrives in Seoul on March 12, and he will meet with senior officials,” Philip Cro

Foreign Affairs March 8, 2011