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East Asia
New Zealand signs Free Trade Agreement with Taiwan in low-key ceremony
New Zealand on Wednesday signed a free trade agreement with Taiwan in a deliberately low-key ceremony designed to demonstrate the South Pacific nation’s fealty to its formal relations with mainland China. The location of the signing ceremony at a university and the absence of senior officials from either side underscored…
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East Asia
S. Korean vehicles return after inspecting Kaesong Industrial Complex
Talks between the rival Koreas aimed at restarting a stalled inter-Korean factory park ended Wednesday with no breakthrough, but both sides agreed to meet again next week to discuss restoring what was once a rare symbol of cooperation between the archrivals. They also agreed to a separate set of talks…
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East Asia
Vietnamese, Lao PM attend ceremony for completion of border mark planting
Prime Ministers of Vietnam and Laos on Tuesday hailed the completion of the border marker project, saying it is of great significance in traditional friendship between the two countries. The appreciation was made at the grand ceremony to celebrate the completion of border mark planting held at border gate separating…
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East Asia
China and Russia start joint drill off coast of Russia’s Far East
Chinese and Russian warships for the “Joint Sea-2013” drill practiced troop deployment and anchorage defense here on Monday. Naval vessels participating in the drill started departing the dock at 3 p.m. local time (0400 GMT) and sailed to designated sea areas. By 9 p.m. (1000 GMT), troop deployment was completed.…
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East Asia
US Secretary of State Kerry presses N. Korea to give up nuclear program
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stepped up pressure Monday on North Korea to give up its atomic weapons program, saying key regional powers, including North Korean ally China, are all “absolutely united” in demanding nuclear disarmament. Kerry made the comments on the eve of Asia’s largest annual security conference,…
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East Asia
ASEAN nations push for building of ASEAN economic community by 2015
The foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Sunday that they saw the need to maintain the positive momentum in the interaction between ASEAN countries and China over the disputes in the South China Sea. The statement of encouraging China-ASEAN engagement…
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East Asia
S. Korean President Park meets Chinese leaders, pledging stronger ties
Chinese leaders on Friday pledged to push China’s strategic relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK) to a new high as they met with visiting ROK President President Park Geun-hye. Premier Li Keqiang said China and the ROK are good neighbors and important partners, citing increasing political trust and more…
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East Asia
Chinese astronauts wave hands after successfully ending space mission
Female astronaut Wang Yaping gets out of the re-entry capsule of China’s Shenzhou-10 spacecraft following its successful landing at the main landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on June 26, 2013. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Wang Jianmin> Astronauts Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping (from left to right) wave after…
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East Asia
[Asia Round-up] East Asia trade pact to help ease tensions
Editor’s note: Followings are summaries of editorials from major Asian media on current issues. East Asia trade pact to help ease tensions [China, China Daily, 19-06-2013] Free trade talks involving China, Japan and South Korea are predicted to ease political tensions and meet challenges of other FTAs. Shin Bong-kil, secretary-general…
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East Asia
Samsung chosen as most popular company to work for in Asia
Survey commemorating the launching of ‘Magazine N’ “I want to work at Samsung, and visit Tokyo,” Asian university students say. They have also chosen Xi Jinping as the most influential individual in Asia. The students were asked three questions and Korea, China, and Japan each ranked first in one category.…
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