The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) plans to file a resolution next week calling for the resignation of National Assembly speaker Kang Chang-hee over his alleged violation of parliamentary laws in support of the ruling party, a DP spokesman said Friday.The move comes a day after Kang put to a vote the motion for the confirmation of Hwang Chan-hyon -- President Park Geun-hye's nominee for the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection -- amid objections from the opposition party.A plenary se

Politics Nov. 29, 2013

LONDON, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye fell while stepping out of her car upon arrival at the venue for a dinner reception hosted by Lord Mayor of London Roger Gifford Wednesday, but she wasn't hurt, a Seoul official said.Park fell frontward after arriving at Guildhall in London, senior presidential press secretary Lee Jung-hyun said. It appears that she stepped on her hanbok skirt, he said. She was not hurt at all, he said."Dramatic entry!" Park was quoted as telling a

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2013

BRUSSELS, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Brussels on Thursday for summit talks with Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and meetings with top European Union leaders.The two-day trip begins with a visit to a war memorial honoring Belgium's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. Park will then attend a "creative economy" forum with scientists and business people from the two countries and hold summit talks with Di Rupo.Park plans to use the summit to pitch for expandi

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2013

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday claimed it caught a South Korean spy who sneaked into the country.A spokesman from the North's National Security Agency said in a statement that the agency had captured a member of the South's National Intelligence Service (NIS) and was carrying out interrogations.The announcement was carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).The spokesman said the "unknown person" was discovered entering Pyongyang, the North's capital.The official said th

North Korea Nov. 7, 2013

LONDON, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye left for Belgium on Thursday, winding up a four-day state visit to Britain marked by a splendid royal welcome at Buckingham Palace and a summit agreement to bolster trade and financial cooperation.Park's trip to London marked the second-ever state visit to Britain by a South Korean president. The late President Roh Moo-hyun made the first in 2004. Britain invites only two foreign leaders for state visits each year, officials said.On

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2013

Ranking diplomats from South Korea, Japan and China on Thursday agreed to ramp up their trilateral collaboration in a meeting held amid frayed ties over historical and territorial issues with Tokyo.The meeting brought together Seoul's Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo, China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin and Asia Bureau Director General Shinsuke Sugiyama from Japan's foreign ministry."In the latest meeting, the three countries reaffirmed the importance of the t

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2013

South Korea's top military commander said Tuesday North Korea could wage war if its regime is threatened or if it misjudges the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.Navy Adm. Choi Yun-hee, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), warned of the possibility that the North could make a bad decision when asked by lawmakers under what condition a war could occur on the peninsula.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could opt for war if his regime is threatened, the balance of military power chan

North Korea Oct. 22, 2013

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the North's official media said Tuesday. The personal letter was delivered to Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who is visiting North Korea, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.However, the KCNA failed to reveal the contents of the personal letter. Last month, the Indonesian presiden

North Korea Oct. 22, 2013

South Korea announced Tuesday it had completed its first commercial freight voyage via the Northern Sea Route, amid growing global interest in the increasingly open Arctic Ocean shipping route.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it had shipped in 44,000 tones of naphtha via the Northern Sea Route in a pilot project aimed at slashing energy transport costs and avoiding piracy risks associated with the Suez Canal.The shortcut between Asia and Europe along Russia's Arctic coast has been eyed

Industry Oct. 22, 2013

The spread of enhanced versatile disc (EVD) players in North Korea is making it harder for authorities to crack down on citizens watching South Korean-made videos, and fueling the spread of the "Korean wave" in the communist country, a local scholar said Tuesday.Kang Dong-won, a professor of international relations at Dong-a University, said that the arrival of cheap, Chinese-made "portable TVs" that started reaching the isolated country in 2005 has made it possible for people to watch various m

North Korea Oct. 22, 2013