A South Korean diplomat has been caught allegedly attempting to smuggle expensive elephant tusks into the country upon his return from a post in Africa, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. Some 16 pieces of ivory, which is among the nation’s contraband goods, were found in the shipment of the diplomat who returned to the country in March and currently holds a high-ranking post at the central gover...

South Korea’s recent offer to simultaneously use the “East Sea” and the “Sea of Japan” to name the waters between the peninsula and Japan is drawing criticism from people here, who fear the decision will give the international community the wrong idea. The appellation for the body of waters, called the “East Sea” by Koreans and the “Sea of Japan” by the Japanese, has long been a source of tensio...

Daewon University College in Jecheon City, in cooperation with the Philippines Embassy, is providing scholarship opportunities for Filipino students interested in pursuing a two-year associate degree. The scholarship is open to Filipino high school graduates and college undergraduates, aged 15 to 25. Programs covered by the scheme are engineering, natural sciences and social service. The schol...

The German Chamber of Commerce elected Friedrich Stockinger, president of Trumpf Korea, as its new president during the annual meeting earlier this month. Stockinger succeeds Josef Meilinger, president & CEO of Siemens, Seoul, who will leave Korea in the middle of the year. Korea-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Cho Hae-hyeong and Meilinger thanked the chamber team for their per...

The British government has streamlined visa applications for students from countries whose nationals pose a low immigration risk to the United Kingdom. South Korea has been identified as one of the countries that will benefit from this streamlined process, which will be put in place starting this summer. “International students not only make a vital contribution to the U.K. economy but they als...

South Korea has offered to simultaneously use the "East Sea" and the "Sea of Japan" as the official name of the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, a government official said Saturday. South Korea in 1992 officially named the body of water as the "East Sea," and it has been promoting the simultaneous use of the East Sea and the Sea of Japan in the international community. "We ...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday urged North Korea to improve ties with South Korea through inter-Korean dialogue before any resumption of the six-party nuclear talks. "And with respect to North Korea, we have made consistently clear what we expect from North Korea in its actions in the future," Clinton told reporters after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto a...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Thursday proposed holding a summit meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said in Seoul following a three-day trip to the communist state. "He specifically told us that he is prepared for a summit meeting directly with President Lee Myung-bak at any time to discuss any subject directly between the two heads of stat...

U.S. President Barack Obama will soon nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta as secretary of defense to replace outgoing Robert Gates, a senior Obama administration official said Wednesday. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, will be appointed to Panetta's replacement, the official told a conference call, asking anonymity. Obama will announce his national security personne...