NK says summit statement will be declaration of war
North Korea said Wednesday it would consider any statement against it during next week’s Seoul Nuclear Security Summit a declaration of war, as tensions mounted ahead of the gathering that will bring together leaders from 58 nations and international organizations. “In the event of a provocation such as a statement regarding the North Korean nuclear […]
“Turkey plays key role in Syrian democratization”
Yemen Nobel Peace Award Laureate Tawakel Karman said Monday Turkey had the biggest obligation in supporting Syrian people who struggle for a democratic regime in their country. “If Turkey continues to extend support and aid to the Syrian people, the international community will follow suit,” Karman told Monday a conference on “the Arab Spring” at […]
NK rejects calls to stop satellite launch plan
North Korea is going ahead with its plan to launch what it has described as “an observation satellite” next month despite international condemnation. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Sunday the launch, announced Friday, was a “materialization of our sovereign right to peaceful development in space,” refuting accusations by South Korea, the United […]
Minister Kim talks on coming Nuclear Security Summit
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung-hwan speaks in a luncheon he hosted for the Ambassadors of the countries attending to the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. <Photo: Seoul NSS site> Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Kim Sung-hwan said that Korea’s strong resolve toward nonproliferation and exemplary observance of the principle of peaceful use of nuclear energy were some of […]
Korea to boast nuke tech supremacy
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-hwan says the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit will give Korea the opportunity to demonstrate its high-end nuclear technology that has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism. ‘The Seoul summit will renew the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.’ South Korea […]
Beijing’s naval buildup leaves Seoul vulnerable
Claim to Ieodo linked to China’s strategy to become naval power Korea and China will resume working-level talks soon to draw a maritime boundary to end a dispute regarding Ieodo, a submerged reef in waters south of Jeju Island. Prospects for progress in the meeting are bleak, given that the previous 16 rounds of talks […]
China has no self-interests in Syrian issue
China has no self-interests in the Syrian issue and respects the demand for democracy by the Arab people, Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday. “China does not take sides with any party, including the government of Syria. We make our own right judgement and determine our own position on this issue on the basis of actual […]
UN envoy presses China on NK defectors
Marzuki Darusman, left, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on North Korean human rights, talks at the U.N. office in Geneva, Monday, with former National Assembly Speaker Rep. Kim Hyong-o, third from right, and Rep. Park Sun-young of the Liberty Forward Party, at Kim’s left, about the Chinese government’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. The U.N. […]
Seoul urges China to stop repatriating NK defectors
Top diplomats welcome nuke deal President Lee Myung-bak called for Beijing’s cooperation over the issue of North Korean refugees in China during talks with the Chinese foreign minister in Seoul, Friday. Presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said Lee expressed the hope that the issue could be solved “smoothly” during a meeting with Yang Jiechi, as Seoul […]
Lee urges prompt action from Japan on ‘comfort women’
President Lee Myung-bak renewed his appeal to Japan to resolve long-running grievances over its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, describing it as an urgent humanitarian matter Thursday. Lee emphasized that the comfort women issue is becoming increasingly urgent as most victims, who “have lived with painful scars in their hearts for their entire […]