South Korea will lower regulations for building integrated resorts incorporating a wide range of tourist contents with gaming facilities to help boost its economy and tourism industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. In a meeting of the trade and investment promotion committee presided over by President Park Geun-hye, the tourism ministry said it will support mega resort projects under way on Yeongjong Island, the nation's main gateway, and the southern resort island of

Aug. 12, 2014

South Korea on Tuesday announced measures to boost its food exports by developing new products suited for different markets as part of a greater effort to boost overall outgoing trade.Under the measures announced at a meeting of trade and investment promotion committee in Seoul, the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a joint report that they will initially focus on increasing exports of processed foodstuffs."The government seeks to fi

Aug. 12, 2014

South Korea will support the launch of for-profit foreign hospitals on Jeju Island and other free economic areas in a bid to induce foreign investment in promising service sectors, the government said Tuesday.The current daily stock price limit will be eased "in phases," and a master plan will be drawn up by the end of this year to encourage the construction of world-class resort complex facilities, it said.These steps were included in a list of deregulations and plans unveiled by the government

Aug. 12, 2014

The following are key features of the measures that the government unveiled Tuesday to boost trade and investment. They are focused on easing regulations and removing road blocks that hamper investment in service sectors. - Provides support for the opening of for-profit foreign hospitals on Jeju Island and in free economic zones- Expands the daily stock price change limit from 15 percent to 30 percent- Establishes technology credit bureaus (TCBs) and a tech database (TDB)- Creates 3 trillion won

Aug. 12, 2014

South Korea offered Monday to hold high-level talks with North Korea next week on the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War and other issues of "mutual concern." In a fax message to Pyongyang, the South proposed that a fresh round of high-level, inter-Korean talks take place at the truce village of Panmunjom on Aug. 19, Seoul's unification ministry said.The South asked the North to propose another date if it wants, said the ministry.The South hopes to discuss a possible family

North Korea Aug. 11, 2014

South Korea said Monday it will provide North Korea with $13.3 million in humanitarian aid, in another show of its resolve to separate inter-Korean military tensions from efforts to help the needy in the North.The South has decided to offer $7 million worth of nutritional assistance to mother and child health services in the communist nation via the World Food Program (WFP), according to the unification ministry.Seoul will also deliver $6.3 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) for its

North Korea Aug. 11, 2014

The top diplomats of North Korea and China held a rare meeting in Myanmar on Sunday where they discussed bilateral relations and "issues of common concern,"China's foreign ministry said, amid frayed ties over the North's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons. The meeting between North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, took place on the sidelines of a regional security dialogue in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw, the Chinese ministry said in a brief statement

North Korea Aug. 11, 2014

South Korea's economic growth is forecast to weaken if the Iraq crisis rapidly worsens, a report showed Sunday, raising concerns the geopolitical risk may burden Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is already struggling to prop up tepid consumption.The country's gross domestic product (GDP) may fall as much as 0.08 percentage point this year if the ongoing insurgency worsens to the level in 2008 when Iran threatened to seal off the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report by the Hyundai Resear

Aug. 10, 2014

이란 수도 테헤란의 메라바드 공항 인근에서 10일(현지시간) 소형 여객기가 추락해 탑승객 40여명이 숨진 것으로 보인다고 이란 국영T V가 10일(현지시간) 보도했다. 국영TV는 이날 타반항공 소속의 이란-141 여객기가 이날 공항을 이륙한 직후 추 락했다고 전했다. 이 여객기에는 총 40여명의 승객이 탑승하고 있었다. 이란은 노후화된 여객기와 허술한 여객기 관리 등으로 인해 항공 사고가 잦기로 악명이 높다. 이번에 사고가 난 이란-141 기종은 이란이 우크라이나와의 기술 협력으로  생산 한 소형 여객기다. (연합)<관련 영문 기사>Passenger jet crashes near Tehran airport, over 40 dead: TVA civilian airliner crashed on take-off near Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Sunday, Iranian news agencies said, with state television reportin

한국어판 Aug. 10, 2014

South Korea said Sunday it is considering importing an Ebola medicine from Japan amid ongoing measures to block the entry of the deadly virus that has gripped West Africa.No Ebola cases have been reported in South Korea, but nearly 1,000 people, mostly in West Africa, have died from Ebola hemorrhagic fever since the first outbreak in March."In order to prepare for a potential outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the country, we are mulling importing Fuji Film's Ebola treatment, which is likely

Social Affairs Aug. 10, 2014

The landmark meeting between White House officials and two Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement was meaningful as it provided an importance chance for American officials to hear first-hand about what the victims went through, a U.S. lawmaker said."It was a very important meeting and it was a very emotional meeting," Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News Agency. "A lot of good information was shared and I think it was important that both the State D

Foreign Affairs Aug. 10, 2014