• US fence-sitting on Dokdo row

    NEW YORK — Korea-Japan relations are getting rockier by the day, with stories about the bilateral standoff starting to take up more space, more often in U.S. print, television and online news. Not surprisingly, Washington is sitting on the fence over the intensifying territorial feud between its two most important…

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  • Politics

    ‘Takeshima doesn’t exist’

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade criticized the foreign minister of Japan Thursday for his remarks on Dokdo made a day earlier in the Diet, demanding the neighboring country stop its diplomatic provocation over the islets’ sovereignty. Speaking in a regular briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tae-young demanded Koichiro…

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  • Politics

    Ban gaining independence

    Bucking pressure from the United States and Israel, U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will attend the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Iran next week, his office said Thursday. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban would participate in the Aug. 29-31 talks in Tehran because he takes “seriously” the U.N. responsibility to…

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  • Politics

    NK victims of human trafficking harbor hatred toward Chinese

    Many North Korean refugees face a variety of ordeals, including human trafficking, in the northeastern region of China before setting foot in South Korea for freedom and a life free of fear. Traumatic memories haunt them every day even after they find shelter in the South, causing them to bear…

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  • Politics

    Seoul denies report on Kim’s 1st overseas trip

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade denied Wednesday allegations that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will make his first overseas visit to Iran next week. Iranian media earlier reported that Kim will make a trip to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran slated for Aug. 26 to 31…

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  • Seoul likely to return Noda letter

    Seoul is likely to return Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s letter protesting President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to Dokdo back to Tokyo, according to a Cheong Wa Dae official, Wednesday. The official said the government has yet to make a decision. “However, we are considering seriously sending the letter back to…

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  • Politics

    South Koreans, Chinese differ on way of handling NK defectors

    Most of South Koreans think that the North Korean defectors in China should be treated in accordance with their free will while many Chinese say that the defectors should be sent back to the North, it was learned last week. It was revealed in a survey conducted recently by The AsiaN in cooperation with the Asia Journalist Association…

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  • Politics

    Park Geun-hye pays tribute to liberal presidents

    Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, made a surprise visit Tuesday to the grave of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, a symbolic gesture to rally support even from her opponents. Park, the former interim leader of the conservative party, said she went to the late…

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  • Park Geun-hye poised to talk with North Korea

    Conservative presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye appears poised to reengage North Korea if elected, analysts said Tuesday, but her approach with the recalcitrant neighbor remains vague. Park, nominated by the ruling Saenuri Party the previous day, says building trust is the key to better cross-border relations. To do so, she says…

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  • Politics

    Can she make it?

    Park Geun-hye becomes 1st woman presidential candidate of ruling party Rep. Park Geun-hye, 60, daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, won the ruling Sanuri Party’s nomination to compete in the Dec. 19 presidential election Monday. As predicted, the five-term lawmaker scored a landslide victory in the party primary by…

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