The already strained political relations between North Korea and China will become more uncertain unless Pyongyang fulfills its denuclearization commitments, a Chinese foreign policy researcher said Wednesday. In a rare frank comment on China's relations with South and North Korea, Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of Contemporary International Relations of Tsinghua University, said Beijing's ties with Pyongyang "are not as close as" its ties with Seoul.  China's relationship with its only

North Korea Jan. 14, 2015

The South Korean military began its annual war exercise involving all branches of service on Monday to bolster its defense posture against belligerent North Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.   This year's 12-day Hoguk exercise involving the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps "will focus on ways to establish supreme military defense capabilities against (North Korea's) possible regional provocations and all-out war," the JCS said in a statement.   The exercise was to be conducted across

North Korea Nov. 10, 2014

South Korea on Thursday proposed a symposium next year to discuss a logistics network across Eurasian nations as part of President Park Geun-hye's ambitious initiative to bind Eurasian nations closer together.    South Korea made the proposal as more than 50 leaders from Asia and Europe opened their biennial two-day Asia-Europe Meeting, known as ASEM, in Milan.   The proposed symposium would bring together officials and experts from Russia, China and other countries as well as international orga

Politics Oct. 16, 2014

A high-level meeting of a U.N. biodiversity conference ended Thursday, adopting a declaration that summarizes conservation initiatives and global development suggestions made during the three-week conference.    The two-day meeting was organized as part of the 12th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is underway in the eastern city of Pyeongchang, 182 kilometers from Seoul. It brought together some 20 heads of international organizations, including the United Nations D

Oct. 16, 2014

The South Korean military said Monday it has deployed additional weapons to islands near the tense western maritime border to better deal with North Korea's growing threats.   The disputed sea border remains a powder keg with the two Koreas fighting bloody battles there in 1999, 2002 and 2009. In the latest incident, both sides briefly exchanged fire last week as a boat from the North violated the Northern Limit Line.   Drawn by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korea

North Korea Oct. 13, 2014

Song Kwang-yong, the senior presidential secretary for education, tendered his resignation and President Park Geun-hye accepted it before her state visit to Canada, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Cheong Wa Dae, however, did not provide the reason for Song's resignation, saying only that he wanted to get back to a university. Song served the post only for three months. In June, the former professor at Seoul National University of Education was chosen by President Park as the secretary in charge of ed

Politics Sept. 20, 2014

South Korean President Park Geun-hye left for Canada Saturday for a three-day state visit on a trip that will also take her to New York where she will address the U.N. General Assembly.   In Ottawa, Park is scheduled to meet with South Korean residents there before meeting separately with Gov. General David Johnston and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, according to Park's office.    The summit with Harper on Monday will be Park's third with him. In March, Harper visited Seoul as the two countries

Politics Sept. 20, 2014

France is back at America's side in conducting military strikes in Iraq.More than a decade after spurning President George W. Bush's war against Saddam Hussein, France on Friday became the first country to join U.S. forces pounding targets inside Iraq from the air in recent weeks _ this time in pursuit of militants of the Islamic State group.Flying from the United Arab Emirates, two French Rafale jets fired four laser-guided bombs to destroy a weapons and fuel depot outside the northern city of

World News Sept. 20, 2014

A man jumped over the fence of the White House in the U.S. and made it through the front door before officers managed to apprehend him, just minutes after President Barack Obama had departed, the Secret Service said. The rare breach on Friday was likely to renew intense scrutiny of the Secret Service, an agency whose storied history has been marred in recent years by multiple allegations of misconduct by officers. It was unclear whether a fence-jumper has ever made it into the White House before

World News Sept. 20, 2014

Indonesia was formally named the host country for the 2018 Asian Games on Saturday, filling the void created when Vietnam relinquished its hosting rights over financial concerns.  Indonesia's National Olympic Committee said Saturday that events would be held in the capital of Jakarta, along with the regions of South Sumatra and West Java.    Committee Chairwoman Rita Subowo said the bid had strong support from the central and regional governments and that much of the infrastructure was already i

Olympic Games Sept. 20, 2014

North Korea claimed Saturday that an American it recently sentenced to six years of hard labor intended to go to prison to reveal the human rights situation in the North to the world, and seek political refuge by pretending to have secret information about the U.S. government.   On Sunday, the North sentenced Matthew Todd Miller to six years of hard labor for committing acts hostile to the communist nation.  Miller had been indicted on charges of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum up

North Korea Sept. 20, 2014