The Seoul municipal government on Thursday decided to lift its partial ban on the Lotte World Tower, nearly five months after it blocked usage of the disputed skyscraper and halted ongoing construction work amid safety concerns.“The city has made its final decision to lift the usage ban on Lotte World Tower‘s aquarium and movie theater as well as the construction ban on its concert hall upon confirming their structural safety,” a city official said.The official stressed that Lotte should continu

Industry May 7, 2015

Japan has said it will respect South Korea's sovereignty in matters related to defense and security, in what could be an appeasing gesture aimed at easing escalating tension between the two over issues ranging from territorial and historical disputes to wartime sexual slaves, a senior foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.Japan delivered its stance during the so-called 2+2 talks held in Seoul, which involved two senior foreign affairs and defense officials from each side. The session was l

Foreign Affairs April 14, 2015

Panama City (AFP) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro shook hands and sat near each other at a historic Summit of the Americas, a new milestone in efforts to shed decades of animosity.Obama and Castro greeted each other as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon looked on, before taking their seats with other regional leaders at a Panama City convention center.The sight of Obama and Castro in the same room instantly became a potent symbol of their bid to renew diplomatic ties that were severed i

International April 11, 2015

South Korea plans to send a special envoy to Russia for Moscow's war victory anniversary next month, the foreign ministry here said Saturday, indicating the Seoul president likely will not attend the event expected to bring the North Korean leader.Russia has sent invitations to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as well as other leaders, for its May ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, and Pyongyang

Foreign Affairs April 11, 2015

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman called in both the South Korean and the Japanese ambassadors to Washington for separate meetings on Friday in a possible sign that the U.S. is stepping up efforts to help improve relations between the two key Asian allies.Sherman met with South Korean Ambassador Ahn Ho-young on Friday morning and discussed various issues, including historical tensions and the North Korean nuclear standoff, for about an hour, a diplomatic source s

Defense April 11, 2015

A Coast Guard helicopter crashed near an island off South Korea's southwest coast Friday while it was trying to transport an emergency patient from the island, firefighter officials said.The helicopter, with a total of four passengers on board, was trying to land near a seawall on Gageodo island when it crashed into the sea at 8:27 p.m., they said. The helicopter left the southern city of Mokpo about 50 minutes earlier toward the island on a mission to transport the patient to an inland hospital

Social Affairs March 13, 2015

GM Korea Co. and its labor union agreed to scale down its work shift at its struggling Gunsan plant, a move aimed to reduce costs amid falling overseas demand following its withdrawal from Europe, company officials said Wednesday.The workers will go on a single work shift instead of the current double shift, but they have been assured of keeping their jobs through relocation to other duties, they said.The two sides also agreed to lower the number of vehicles produced each hour from 54 to 48 as i

Mobility Feb. 11, 2015

Eleven out of 12 workers buried under the debris of a collapsed gymnasium construction site were rescued while the search for the one missing worker was still under way, firefighters said Wednesday. The accident took place at around 5:05 p.m. in the southern district of Sadang, where the construction for a new public gymnasium had been in progress. Workers were pouring concrete into the mold of ceiling slabs when a few of them fell along with part of the ceiling that suddenly caved in and they w

Social Affairs Feb. 11, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has actively toured military units to encourage his troops to be fully prepared to fight as part of efforts to consolidate his regime, Seoul's defense minister said Wednesday."Since November when the North began to stage winter drills, Kim has visited military units 10 times. While leading some aggressive exercises, he has encouraged the military to complete their readiness this year to fight," Defense Minister Han Min-koo told lawmakers.While carrying out an incr

North Korea Feb. 11, 2015

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) -- Demonstrators temporarily shut down two large malls in suburban St. Louis on one of the busiest shopping days of the year Friday, as rallies were held nationwide to protest a grand jury's recent decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.Several stores lowered their security doors or locked entrances as at least 200 protesters sprawled onto the floor while chanting, "Stop shopping and join the movement" at the Gal

World News Nov. 29, 2014