South Korea and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding for the exchange of diplomats so the allies can better understand each other's policy-making procedures, the State Department said Tuesday.The memo, signed by South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Jae-shin and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, calls for the State Department to send a liaison

Foreign Affairs April 27, 2011

Polls opened Wednesday for small yet significant parliamentary and local by-elections seen as a test for the rival parties and some of the potential presidential candidates before South Korea elects a new parliament and a new president next year.Three parliamentary seats and one gubernatorial post are on offer in the elections, with the other 34 races vying for small local government heads and cou

Politics April 27, 2011

Sony Corp. introduced its first tablet computers, joining Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. in their pursuit of Apple Inc., a year after the iPad spurred a surge in demand for the devices.Sony will use Google Inc.’s Android operating system for the personal computers, Kunimasa Suzuki, Sony’s head of personal computers, said in Tokyo today. The S1 model will feature a 9.4-

Technology April 26, 2011