Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's No. 1 tech giant, said Saturday it plans to inject US$5 million into Brazil over the next five years to foster startups there, adding it will also share its business know-how.Under the agreement with the Brazilian Association of Science Parks and Business Incubators, an organization that supports startups, Samsung will share the "creative economy business models" with Brazilian firms and provide necessary support so that they can generate stable profits.The

It will take a "number of years" for South Korea and the United States to evaluate whether it's good for Seoul to produce low-enriched uranium fuel for power plants on its own under a new nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S., a former American negotiator said Friday.Earlier this week, Seoul and Washington announced the revision to their 1974 nuclear energy cooperation pact after more than four years of negotiations to reconcile Seoul's demand for the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel

Sydney Seiler, U.S. special envoy for six-party nuclear talks with North Korea, will visit South Korea to attend a security seminar and meetings with officials, the State Department announced Friday.   Seiler will be in Seoul from Saturday to attend the Asan Institute conference and hold meetings with South Korean officials to discuss North Korea policy, including his counterpart, Director-General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs Kim Gunn, the department said in a release.    He will return to W

 History tensions between South Korea and Japan should be addressed in a way that is not only "honest, constructive and forthright" but also reaches a "final resolution," a senior White House official said Friday.The remark from Evan Medeiros, senior director for Asian affairs at the White House's National Security Council, was seen as pressure on Japan to resolve historical tensions with Seoul ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the United States. President Barack Obama shake

The head of South Korea's university sports federation on Friday was named the country's chief delegate for the upcoming international athletic competition for university athletes to be held here.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) announced that You Byong-jin, president of the Korea University Sports Board, will be the head of the South Korean delegation at the 2015 Summer Universiade, which will open on July 3 in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.You, also president of Myongji University i

The organizers of the 2018PyeongChang Winter Olympics announced on Friday that they have teamed up with international experts in preparations for the opening and closing ceremonies of the multisport competition.The organizing committee said it has formed an International Consulting Committee, made up of experts with experience in directing past Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies. These experts will work closely with South Korean artists, the committee added.The consulting group features Russian d

민족화해협력범국민협의회(민화협)가 지난달 5일 우리마당 김기종 대표 습격 사건으로 취소되었던 리퍼트 대사의 초청강연을 재추진하고 있다. 리퍼트 대사는 최근 민화협 상임의장인 새누리당 장윤석 의원과의 만남에서 다시 강연에 서는 것에 동의했다고 민화협 관계자가 6일 밝혔다. (연합)이 관계자는 “리퍼트 대사가 장 상임위원장과의 만남에서 민화협 강연 요청에 원칙적으로 동의했다”고 말하면서, “하지만, 장소, 시간은 확정되지 않았으며 민화협 내부적으로 논의 중”이라고 설명했다.다른 소식통에 따르면, 리퍼트 대사가 피습사건이 있었던 세종문화회관에서 이르면 이번 달에 다시 강연을 할 수 있도록 논의 중인 것으로 알려졌다. 리퍼트 대사는 강연 시 한미동맹의 굳건함을 재확인할 것으로 예상된다.(코리아 헤럴드 송상호 기자 sshluck@heraldcorp.com)<관련 영문 기사>Lippert to return to podiumU.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lipp

Colombia plans to send a delegation to South Korea around May to explore chances for joint defense projects and to further boost bilateral ties, the South American country's defense minister said Thursday."Our defense ministry plans to send a delegation some two months later to South Korea, which is to be comprised of officials of major defense companies and government workers," Juan Carlos Pinzon told reporters in Seoul."Their visit will serve as an opportunity to seek strategic cooperative rel

North Korea claimed Thursday its decision to raise wages for its workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex is a legitimate measure under its sovereignty, dimming hopes of an early resolution to disputes between the two Koreas over the issue.The North's Central Special Development Guidance Bureau, which is in charge of operating the complex, made clear that it is not a matter to be decided through consultations with the South's government. Last month, Pyongyang notified Seoul of its unilateral de

At least two people were shot dead Friday during a hostage-taking drama at a Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris, where at least five people were being held, sources told AFP."There are at least two dead, maybe more, but for the moment we don't know," one source said. French officials suspect a man responsible for the murder of a policewoman in the street of a southern Paris suburb on Thursday could be the hostage-taker.French elite forces surrounded two brothers suspected of slaughtering 12 peo

North Korea refused Friday to accept a South Korean parliamentary resolution calling for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue, the unification ministry said.In late December, the National Assembly passed the resolution, which calls for preparations for unification with the North and talks between the rival Koreas, in a bid to thaw tensions on the peninsula."(Seoul) tried to deliver the resolution on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning through a communication line, but the North refused to a

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Friday she plans to expand inter-Korean exchanges this year with a focus on providing humanitarian aid to the North Korean people.Park made the remarks at a New Year's meeting with some 500 South Korean women leaders, asking that they actively take part in efforts to reunite the two Koreas.“The last major task ahead of us is to overcome the disconnection and conflict of 70 years of separation and open the path to an era of a reunified Korean Peninsula,"

김정은 국방위원회 제1위원장이 최근 북한 전역에 걸쳐 김일성과 김정일 동상을 세우라고 지시한 것으로 전해졌다.한 탈북자는 8일 150여개의 군(郡) 단위 행정구역 모두가 설립 대상이라며 북한 정권이 “김정일 3년 탈상 이후 독재왕조 우상화를 본격화하고 있다”고 말했다.북한전문가들은 각 지역에 김일성, 김정일 부자 최소 1쌍의 동상건립이 추진된다면 막대한 자금 소요가 불가피할 것으로 예상했다.특히 미국의 제재로 인한 고립이 심화하고 있는 가운데 우상화 작업에 대한 투자는 주민 생활여건을 더욱 악화시킬 전망이다.김정은은 지난 2011년 집권한 이후 금수산태양궁전 개조 및 김일성과 김정일의 초상화 교체 등 각종 우상화 작업에 박차를 가해왔다.안찬일 세계북한연구소 소장은 우상화 작업이 “김정은의 약한 정치적 리더십과 정당성을 강화시키기 위한 노력의 일환”이라고 분석했다. 이어 새로운 우상화 시설을 만드는 것보다 동상건립이 비용면에서 합리적이고 되레 효과적인 선택일 수 있다고 말했다.전문가들

South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao said Monday it plans to invest 100 billion won (US$90.8 million) to start a new company that will seek out promising venture companies in and out of the country. The company said its board of directors approved the tentatively-named K Venture Group by Jan. 23, 2015, to find new business opportunities in line with its push to lessen its dependency on the conventional free messenger service for growth. "K Venture Group will find new sources of

A hacker who obtained blueprints of South Korean nuclear reactors Sunday posted more internal information on the facilities, including the floor maps, on the Internet, threatening further "leaks" unless authorities close down the reactors.Using an account named "president of anti-nuclear reactor group," the hacker revealed on Twitter the designs and manuals of the Gori-2 and Wolsong-1 nuclear reactors taken from the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP). The information included det

North Korea threatened to carry out ultra-harsh military action on U.S. soil Sunday, one day after U.S. President Barack Obama vowed a proportional response against the North's alleged hacking attack into Sony Pictures.In a follow-up to the FBI's recent hacking accusation against Pyongyang, Obama vowed Friday (U.S time) to "respond proportionally," hinting at retaliatory action over the communist country's alleged hacking attack on the distributor of a controversial movie about North Korea, "The

President Park Geun-hye on Saturday hailed as "historic" the Constitutional Court's order to dissolve the minor leftist Unified Progressive Party (UPP) for being pro-North Korean in a ruling that is expected to deepen an ideological divide in South Korea."(The Constitutional Court's ruling) is a historical decision that strongly protects liberal democracy in the country," Park said, commenting on the Friday ruling, according to her chief spokesman, Yoon Doo-hyun.The top court ordered disbandment

The South Korean baseball club Nexen Heroes on Saturday said they have accepted a US$5 million bid by a Major League Baseball (MLB) club for their posted shortstop Kang Jung-ho, clearing the path for the slugger to play in the big leagues next season.The Heroes made the decision just hours after the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) informed them of the result of the MLB-wide silent auction for the 27-year-old player. The Heroes said the amount of the winning bid was $5,002,015.Kang is the third

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been invited to Russia for its 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany next year, a source here said Saturday, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has also received the invitation."It's right that we've received an invitation from Russia, but we have to check (Park's) schedule for next year," the source told Yonhap News Agency. "Whether she will attend the ceremony or not is not yet decided."Russia commemorates the Victory Day on May 9 every y

Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Moscow next year, news report said Friday, in what would be the first overseas trip by Kim."It is true that such an invitation has been sent," Russian state news agency TASS said, citing Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.The invitation is timed for the 70th anniversary of the former Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.Still, it remains unclear whether Kim will visit Moscow for the annual celebration t