Kim Won-soo, a South Korean career diplomat and former under-secretary general at the United Nations, is running for the top position of a global body against chemical weapons, officials said Thursday.Kim has joined the race to become the next director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons with a four-year term, according to the officials. Kim Won-soo, a South Korean career diplomat and former under-secretary general at the United Nations (Yonhap)Voting among the 41

Foreign Affairs May 4, 2017

South Korea's unification ministry said Thursday that it was rare for North Korea to directly criticize China, one day after Pyongyang claimed that Beijing is undermining their ties by implementing sanctions.North Korea's state media said in a commentary issued in the name of Kim Chol on Wednesday that China has crossed the red line of their bilateral ties by pushing for tougher sanctions, saying that Pyongyang will never beg for Beijing's friendship.(Yonhap)The Ministry of Unification said that

North Korea May 4, 2017

Centrist presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo Thursday promised to open his administration to two rival contenders if elected next week.In a Facebook post, Ahn of the center-left People's Party declared he would seek the participation of Yoo Seong-min from the conservative Bareun Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party in his "joint reformist government."Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential candidate of the People's Party, raises his arms during a campaign rally in Namwon, North Jeolla

Politics May 4, 2017

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday instructed top military and diplomatic officials to maintain a thorough defense posture during the election period.During a regular meeting of ministers on pending state affairs, Hwang stressed that amid North Korea's unceasing provocations, the country must not slacken its efforts to ensure national security around the presidential vote next Tuesday.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeti

Politics May 4, 2017

Sim Sang-jeung, the presidential candidate of the progressive Justice Party, pledged Thursday to overhaul the bilateral alliance with the United States if elected in the poll next week.Sim made the remark during a forum at the National Assembly, saying the defense alliance has been "wandering" without a vision. Sim Sang-jeung, presidential candidate of the Justice Party, speaks during a forum at the National Assembly in Seoul on May 4, 2017. (Yonhap)"I will reset the South Korea-US alliance in a

Politics May 4, 2017

Cuban leader Raul Castro Ruz has voiced solidarity with North Korea in their joint front against the United States, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.The president of the Council of State of Cuba made the remark Monday when he met with Ju Yong-gil, the head of a group of North Korean unions, who visited Cuba for a meeting of the world's federation on trade unions, according to the Korean Central News Agency. This photo carried by North Korea's state news agency on Sept. 20, 2016, shows North

North Korea May 4, 2017

Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans cast their ballots Thursday in advance voting for the presidential election set to be held next week, the election watchdog said.Over 1 million voters have voted as of 10:30 a.m., according to the National Election Commission, with many more expected to follow before the two-day voting period ends at 6 p.m. Friday.There is a 12-hour overnight break starting from 6 p.m. Thursday. National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun takes a "selfie" after casting his bal

Social Affairs May 4, 2017

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump shouldn't be talking to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un until the autocratic leader meets the country's obligations and promises to give up its nuclear program, Senator Cory Gardner said Wednesday.Gardner made the point in an interview with MSNBC, calling Kim a "whack job," after Trump said earlier this week that he would "absolutely" be willing and "honored" to meet with the North's leader if the meeting takes place under the right circumstances. Senator

North Korea May 4, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Recent satellite imagery showed continued activity at North Korea's nuclear test site, such as water pumping from a test tunnel and personnel playing volleyball games, a website monitoring the North said.It is unclear, however, if such activity indicates that a nuclear test has been cancelled, the facility is in stand-by mode or that a test is imminent, the website 38 North said in a report published Tuesday. (Yonhap)"The presence of a large number of people dispersed throughout th

North Korea May 4, 2017

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's expression of his "honored" willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could be a way, albeit clumsy, of laying the groundwork for eventual resumption of negotiations, US experts said Tuesday.Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg News Monday that he would "absolutely" be willing and "honored" to meet with Kim if such a meeting takes place "under the right circumstances." The use of the word "honored" toward the autocratic leader raised

North Korea May 4, 2017

North Korea slammed China on Wednesday for criticizing its nuclear weapons program, saying it will never "beg" for the ally's friendship.In a commentary released by the North's Korean Central News Agency, Pyongyang took issue with recent reports in China's official media that the North's nuclear tests pose a threat to its neighbor's national interests. (Yonhap)"Those commentaries claimed that the DPRK poses a threat to 'the security in the northeastern region of China' by conducting nuclear test

North Korea May 4, 2017

The state election watchdog said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into possible election law violations surrounding a news report that appeared to slander presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in.On Tuesday, private broadcaster SBS reported that Moon of the liberal Democratic Party was behind the delay in the salvaging of the ferry Sewol, which sank off the southwestern coast in April 2014, killing more than 300 people aboard. This image shows Moon Jae-in (left), presidential candidate of

Social Affairs May 4, 2017

BEIJING -- China on Tuesday warned of stern measures against the ongoing deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea. "China calls for an immediate stop to the THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a regular press briefing. "China will pursue protecting its interests going forward by taking the necessary measures in a stern manner." (Yonhap)He was speaking in response to the US' announcement that the Terminal

Foreign Affairs May 2, 2017

North Korea on Tuesday reprimanded Japan for intentionally encouraging a Korean Peninsula crisis, bluffing that Japan would suffer the biggest damages if any war breaks out on the peninsula."First of all, Japan, which is the US forces' logistics, launch and sorties bases, would be blanketed with radioactive clouds if a nuclear war occur on the Korean Peninsula," the Rodong Sinmun, an official daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary titled "Japan's Reckless Act Which Driv

North Korea May 2, 2017