Host Speaker Park Hee-tae wants to make parliament leaders’ forum a regular eventFollowing Seoul’s hosting of the landmark Group of 20 summit talks last year, the National Assembly is to lead a meeting of G20 parliamentary speakers this week.The G20 Seoul Speakers’ Consultation will take place in the assembly’s main Rotunda Hall from Wednesday to Friday, attended by representatives of 21 countries

The Ministry of Justice will join the European convention on extradition in October to expand international cooperation in arresting and extraditing criminals who flee to European countries. The ministry said that it will sign the Council of Europe’s Convention on Extradition no later than July.Korea’s entry into the convention is expected within 90 days of signing.By joining the convention, Korea

A former soldier who was sexually assaulted by his superior before being discharged has been acknowledged as a patriot of national merit due to lifetime compensation from the state. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said on Friday that the 23-year-old, surnamed Lee, discharged after being sexually abused by the chief of staff in his unit surnamed Oh, suffers post-traumatic stress disor

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The remains of another American soldier killed in the Korean War have been identified, the Pentagon said Wednesday. “The remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “Army Cpl. Primo C. Carnabuci of Old Saybrook, Connecticu

South Korean and U.S. marines will stage their first joint drill on islands near the Yellow Sea border with North Korea this year, in a show of force to the North that its provocations won’t be tolerated, officials said Thursday.Marine commanders from the two allies discussed details about the planned drill at their regular “Staff Talk” held on Baengnyeong Island this week, officials at the South’

BEIJING (AP) ― Chinese police are holding a South Korean Bible instructor and his wife following a raid on an underground Protestant church, an activist group said Wednesday, as the government pressures Christians worshipping outside the Communist-controlled church.The instructor, whose Chinese name was given as Jin Yongzhe, was detained Tuesday along with dozens of other Christians during a polic

Japan voiced support Wednesday for China’s proposal that South and North Korea first hold nuclear dialogue to help restart the six-party talks aimed at weaning Pyongyang off its nuclear ambitions.Shinsuke Sugiyama, Tokyo’s delegate to the stalled multilateral talks, however, said such inter-Korean talks should not pass off as a formality, stressing the North should make a series of denuclearizatio

Judges and prosecutors will be banned from taking cases for a year after retirement at courts where they worked in their last year.The new rule is part of a revised bill on lawyers approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.The bill is applicable to military judicial officers and lawyers who serve the government as employees, as well as judges and prosecutors.Under the revised law, they are barred for a

Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, said on Wednesday that he would object to a bill to ratify the free trade agreement with the United States.His remark, coupled with the Grand National Party floor leader Hwang Woo-yeah’s vow not to run in general elections next year if the ruling party railroads the bill, darkens the prospect for its smooth passage this year.“Damage i

More than half of Seoul’s citizens believe they belong to society’s lower middle class, marking a slight increase from last year, a survey showed Wednesday.By political, economic and social status, a total of 51.3 percent said they fall under the category of “lower middle class,” while 23.2 percent said they belong to the upper middle class, according to the survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Govern

President says Pyongyang will seek dialogue with Seoul for stability as it goes through power transition　FRANKFURT -- President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday met with four leaders of the 1990 German reunification in Berlin to share their experiences and advice in preparing for South Korea’s reunification with North Korea.　Lee met with Lothar de Maiziere, the last prime minister of East Germany; Wolfgan

Senior watchdog official indicted for briberyThe Prime Minister’s Office launched a task force on Monday to revamp the Financial Supervisory Service, under fire for poor oversight of seven troubled savings banks and corruption among its staff.Rim Chae-min, chief of staff to Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, and Kim Jun-kyung, professor of the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Man

President arrives in Berlin on a three-nation tourBERLIN ― President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday arrived in Berlin on the first leg of his week-long European tour aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investment as well as cooperation for low carbon, green growth. Lee’s trip to Germany, Denmark and France comes just days after the National Assembly ratified Korea’s free trade pact with the European U

Nuclear safety authorities have approved the restart of the Gori-1 reactor in 24 days time, saying that their close inspection found no problems with the nation’s oldest reactor whose operation was halted due to a breakdown in one of its circuit breakers.They also called for emergency diesel generators and up-to-date hydrogen removal equipment to be installed at all of the nation’s 21 atomic power

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Friday that its online portal on civil complaints and proposals, “e-People,” had won a United Nations Public Service Award.On June 23, U.N. Public Service Day on June 23, the U.N. honors creative and innovative administrative achievements every year.The commission had entered the “e-People system, knowledge management for people’s voice” in the

For Rep. Park Sun-young, a former constitutional law professor, changing her official domicile to the easternmost island of Dokdo was her way of fighting against Japan’s territorial sovereignty over the rocky islets.Shortly before the 92nd anniversary of the March 1 Movement, when independent fighters declared independence from Japanese colonial rule, the lawmaker of the conservative minor Liberty

A Seoul court has granted refugee status to an Iranian who hoisted a banner reading “Free Iran” in a soccer stadium in 2009, as Iran was engulfed by anti-government demonstrations.The 28-year-old Iranian, whose name was not disclosed for safety reasons, was born to a Muslim family and grew up as a Muslim but decided to convert to Christianity at 16, inspired by his Christian teacher, Yonhap news a

Despite its reputation as one of the most closed nations in the world, North Korea is, at least partly, opening up to market economy conventions, evident in its effort to cultivate its specially designated economic zone.North Korea designated Raseon the country’s first free trade zone, as a “special city” in January 2010. The city, which borders both China and Russia, was dubbed a free trade zone

North Korea’s cyber warfare unit was back in the spotlight on Tuesday after South Korean prosecutors blamed the North for launching an online attack that crippled computer operations at one of Seoul’s biggest banks last month. Prosecutors pinpointed the North’s top intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, as the perpetrator of the attack that paralyzed the computer system of the Nat

Suicide remains the No. 1 cause of death among young people in South Korea in 2009, a report showed Tuesday, indicating they are under heavy stress from a competitive education environment and toughened job market conditions.According to the report by Statistics Korea, 15.3 out of every 100,000 people aged between 15 and 24 committed suicide in 2009, the highest ratio among all causes of death rep