ISTANBUL (Yonhap News) ― Prime Minister Chung Hong-won called for Turkey’s support for South Korean companies trying to win more infrastructure deals in the West Asian country, a Seoul official accompanying him said Saturday.Chung was in Turkey on the last of his eight-day trip that also took him to Bahrain, Qatar and Sri Lanka. On Saturday, he met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul.In July, a consortium led by Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. won a $697 mill

Politics Sept. 1, 2013

A senior U.S. envoy plans to visit North Korea this week to try to rescue an American detained there, adding to the burgeoning mood for reconciliation with the communist country following months of tension. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights, is scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang on Friday on a “humanitarian mission focused on securing the release” of Kenneth Bae, the U.S. State Department said. The Korean-American tour operator was arrested in November in Rason, a special ec

North Korea Aug. 28, 2013

A U.N. probe into human rights in North Korea on Tuesday called on the reclusive country to open its doors and allow on-site inspections despite Pyongyang labeling it a “plot to ignite inter-Korean confrontation.” The three-member Commission of Inquiry chaired by retired Australian justice Michael Kirby wrapped up its first, 10-day mission to the South, which included hearings of testimony chiefly from North Korean defectors. More than 40 witnesses testified throughout the five-day event on publ

North Korea Aug. 27, 2013

Shigeo Iwatani, a former Japanese ambassador to Austria and Kenya, has been named the new secretary-general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat of Korea, China and Japan, the agency said Tuesday. The three countries set up the organization in May 2011 to facilitate and document their summits and other key tripartite dialogues, devise joint projects and conduct related research. Iwatani will begin his two-year term on Sept. 1, replacing Shin Bong-kil, the TCS’ inaugural chief and Korea’s fo

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2013

The two Koreas agreed Thursday to open talks on Friday in Panmunjeom to arrange the first reunions of separate families in nearly three years, further raising hopes for cross-border reconciliation. Pyongyang accepted through the Panmunjeom communication channel the Aug. 16 offer by Seoul’s Red Cross to meet at the Peace House on the South side of the border village to set up the family gatherings around Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving that falls on Sept. 19 this year. The North initially wanted

North Korea Aug. 22, 2013

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday tapped Oh Joon, a former ambassador to Singapore, as the new representative of its mission at the United Nations. The 57-year-old career diplomat will replace Kim Sook, who has served at the multinational body since May 2011. Since his 1978 entry into diplomatic service, Oh has taken up various key positions including deputy ambassador to the U.N., deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, and embassy minister in Brasilia. For the consul general post i

Foreign Affairs Aug. 22, 2013

A U.S. lawmaker on Monday called on Japan to face up to the past to become a “stronger country” and thaw its relations with neighbors frayed by territorial and historical tensions. Robert Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stressed the significance of trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Japan in deterring North Korean saber-rattling and safeguarding regional stability. “I do believe that historical issues need to be met and healed. I think nations

Foreign Affairs Aug. 19, 2013

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday proposed to North Korea reunions of separated families and joint development of a peace park in the heavily fortified border, raising the prospect of reviving lackluster inter-Korean projects. The offer came a day after the two sides agreed to take steps to reopen the Gaeseong industrial park following a 133-day freeze. In her first Liberation Day address as president, Park also called on the communist neighbor to “abandon its nuclear ambition and joint the in

North Korea Aug. 15, 2013

By Shin Hyon-hee Despite the breakthrough in Gaeseong, the two Koreas faced a series of tough talks to sort out differences over the industrial park’s globalization, compensation for businesses and other thorny issues. At the core of the consultations will be an envisioned joint committee to run the factory zone based on consensus, designed to block the North from making unilateral decisions such as its April entry ban and pullout of workers. During the seventh meeting in Gaeseong on Wednesday,

North Korea Aug. 15, 2013