President Park Geun-hye met with China's top legislator, Zhang Dejiang, on Thursday over ways to enhance bilateral ties and denuclearize North Korea, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.No details of their conversation were immediately available.Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said before the meeting that Park was expected to discuss with Zhang on how to deepen relations between the two neighbors as well as how to deal with North Korea's nuclear program.The meeting came as North Kor

Politics June 11, 2015

North Korea said Saturday there are no human rights problems in the country, denouncing the United States for making unfounded accusations against it.   "If the American-style 'standard of human rights' is universally accepted, the world will turn into a lawless one, tundra of human rights and the one of darkness," the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.The paper also claimed that human rights issues are "non-existent" in the country.

North Korea April 25, 2015

(AFP) - A Japanese man was arrested Saturday for allegedly flying a small drone with traces of radioactivity onto the roof of the Japanese prime minister's office, police said.Yasuo Yamamoto, 40, turned himself in to local police in Fukui prefecture, some 350 kilometres (220 miles) west of Tokyo, late Friday night with an apparent drone controller, saying he did it to express his anti-nuclear power stance, according to local media.The unemployed man blogged that the drone had carried sand from F

World April 25, 2015

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's No. 1 tech giant, said Saturday it plans to inject US$5 million into Brazil over the next five years to foster startups there, adding it will also share its business know-how.Under the agreement with the Brazilian Association of Science Parks and Business Incubators, an organization that supports startups, Samsung will share the "creative economy business models" with Brazilian firms and provide necessary support so that they can generate stable profits.The

Industry April 25, 2015

It will take a "number of years" for South Korea and the United States to evaluate whether it's good for Seoul to produce low-enriched uranium fuel for power plants on its own under a new nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S., a former American negotiator said Friday.Earlier this week, Seoul and Washington announced the revision to their 1974 nuclear energy cooperation pact after more than four years of negotiations to reconcile Seoul's demand for the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2015

Sydney Seiler, U.S. special envoy for six-party nuclear talks with North Korea, will visit South Korea to attend a security seminar and meetings with officials, the State Department announced Friday.   Seiler will be in Seoul from Saturday to attend the Asan Institute conference and hold meetings with South Korean officials to discuss North Korea policy, including his counterpart, Director-General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs Kim Gunn, the department said in a release.    He will return to W

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2015

The head of South Korea's university sports federation on Friday was named the country's chief delegate for the upcoming international athletic competition for university athletes to be held here.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) announced that You Byong-jin, president of the Korea University Sports Board, will be the head of the South Korean delegation at the 2015 Summer Universiade, which will open on July 3 in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.You, also president of Myongji University i

Olympic Games April 10, 2015

The organizers of the 2018PyeongChang Winter Olympics announced on Friday that they have teamed up with international experts in preparations for the opening and closing ceremonies of the multisport competition.The organizing committee said it has formed an International Consulting Committee, made up of experts with experience in directing past Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies. These experts will work closely with South Korean artists, the committee added.The consulting group features Russian d

Olympic Games April 10, 2015

Colombia plans to send a delegation to South Korea around May to explore chances for joint defense projects and to further boost bilateral ties, the South American country's defense minister said Thursday."Our defense ministry plans to send a delegation some two months later to South Korea, which is to be comprised of officials of major defense companies and government workers," Juan Carlos Pinzon told reporters in Seoul."Their visit will serve as an opportunity to seek strategic cooperative rel

Defense March 12, 2015

North Korea claimed Thursday its decision to raise wages for its workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex is a legitimate measure under its sovereignty, dimming hopes of an early resolution to disputes between the two Koreas over the issue.The North's Central Special Development Guidance Bureau, which is in charge of operating the complex, made clear that it is not a matter to be decided through consultations with the South's government. Last month, Pyongyang notified Seoul of its unilateral de

North Korea March 12, 2015