Some members of the U.K. Parliament have sent letters to major political parties in Korea, urging them to work together to pass a long-delayed bill on North Korean human rights, a North Korea watcher here said. “Twenty U.K. MPs sent the letter on July 20, directed to four major political parties of Korea,” Ha Tae-keung, who runs Open Radio for North Korea, a Seoul-based radio station that broadcas

Panel cites too broad sampling scope, need for presumption of innocenceA law permitting the collection and storage of DNA samples from those convicted of or arrested for violent crimes may infringe on their human rights, the nation’s top human rights watchdog said Tuesday. “The commission ruled that the law on the use and preservation of personal genetic information may infringe upon the affected

The government proposed to North Korea a meeting of working-level officials to discuss how to handle issues related to tourism on Mount Geumgang, a joint project between the two Koreas which has been suspended for three years, officials here said Monday. “We have delivered North Korean authorities a notice proposing a meeting of working-level officials at the Mount. Geumgang resort on July 29,” a

Testimony runs counter to findings so far of joint investigation into Agent Orange burialSteve House, a U.S. veteran who first alleged the burial of Agent Orange by U.S. forces at one of their army bases here, said Monday that he clearly remembered where he helped bury drums believed to be containing the highly toxic defoliant decades ago. His testimony, made before several members of the Korean p

Minister for Special Affairs Lee Jae-oh is likely to quit his Cabinet post next month and return to party politics, sources close to him said Friday. “Minister Lee has long before made up his mind about departure from the Cabinet,” Yonhap News quoted an unidentified source at the ruling camp as saying. “I understand he plans to tender his resignation around Aug. 15, by which the parliament’s confi

Philadelphia Orchestra chief conductor Charles Dutoit was a longtime friend of Isang Yun, a composer jailed and then exiled by his native South Korea for visiting the North. Now, 16 years after Yun’s death, the 75-year-old Dutoit is working to realize a dream inspired by his friend: an inter-Korean youth orchestra.The Swiss maestro held talks in North Korea late last month and says cultural offici

South and North Korea agreed to make joint efforts to resume the stalled six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear program "as soon as possible," Pyongyang's chief nuclear negotiator said FridaySouth Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac (left) and his North Korean counter Ri Yong-ho enter a hotel room for bilateral talks in Bali, Indonesia, on Friday. (Yonhap News)　The agreement came a

Get a “Green Card” and receive rewards every time you buy eco-friendly products or use public transportation. The Ministry of Environment announced Thursday the launch of Green Card which allows environmentally minded customers to receive up to 200,000 won ($191) a year in cash rewards for green consumption and energy-saving activities. It was developed in cooperation with local payment service pr

Two South Korean intelligence officials have been detained by Chinese authorities for 11 months for information-gathering activities related to North Korea, South Korean media reported Thursday. According to multiple news reports, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, two agents belonging to the National Intelligence Service were arrested by Chinese Ministry of State Security last August in Shenyang

Investigators say area D test results expected to come out by late JulyA joint Korea-U.S. team investigating the alleged burial of Agent Orange at one of the American army camps here detected no traces of drums underground at one of the alleged burial sites, a government source said Wednesday. The team said earlier this month that they found “anomalies” beneath the helipad at Camp Carroll located

 North Korea has been accused of doctoring a news photo to exaggerate damage from recent rains.The image showing pedestrians wading through thigh-high water on a Pyongyang street was released by North Korea’s state run Korea Central News Agency to the Associated Press, as part of their recently-signed licensing deal. The left photo provided by North Korea’s state-run KCNA is believed to have been

Park Geun-hye, a leading presidential hopeful of the ruling Grand National Party, said Tuesday that she will run in the general election next year in her constituency in Dalseong in the southeastern city of Daegu. “I made a promise to voters (that I will not abandon my constituency) and I intend to keep that,” she told a group of reporters in the city. She was visiting a sports stadium where an in

The main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday outlined 10 areas for renegotiation of the free trade agreement with the United States, ratcheting up its opposition to ratification of the pact. “We demand the government redo the negotiation and restore a balance of interests, which was tilted in favor of the U.S. in last year’s renegotiation,” Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, floor leader of the DP, said. The pa

President Lee Myung-bak’s nominees for chief prosecutor and justice minister look set to face an uphill battle to win the parliamentary and public confirmation, with opposition politicians gearing up to thwart their confirmation. Suspicions of wrongdoings started to surface on Monday, even before Lee’s office sends a formal letter to the National Assembly, asking it to confirm the appointment of K

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday it would consider countermeasures if Japanese lawmakers land on Ulleungdo, a Korean-administered island located between the two countries near the disputed island of Dokdo. Ulleungdo is Korea’s administrative and military defense base for Dokdo, which the Japanese call Takeshima. “We’re closely monitoring the situation after learning from news media about

An English-language autobiography of President Lee Myung-bak will be published in the United States in November, according to online bookstore Amazon.com. Titled “The Uncharted Path: The Autobiography of Lee Myung-Bak,” the book will be out on Nov. 1, published by Chicago-based Sourcebooks, the website said. It is currently available for pre-order online. The 336-page hardcover is priced at $26.99

Former judge Rep. Park says disabled need greater employment supportFor the needy people, welfare is a right given them, not charity, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday, urging the government to expand welfare for the socially and economically marginalized people with disabilities.A polio victim himself, Rep. Park Eun-soo of the main opposition Democratic Party said that one out of 10 South Korean

 

Somali pirates holding four South Koreans in a hijacked chemical tanker are demanding that Seoul pay ransom for the hostages and release five pirates captured during a January raid of a seized Korean freighter, the Associated Press reported Friday.Hassan Abdi, one of the pirates holding 25 crew aboard the MV Gemini, told the AP that his group wants compensation for eight pirates killed in February

Korea-U.S. investigation team finds suspicious spots in Camp CarrollCHILGOK, North Gyeongsang Province ― A joint Korea-U.S. investigation team found signs that metallic objects, shaped like drums, may be buried underground at one of the U.S. military camps in Korea, team officials said Friday. The team will now take samples of soil from as far as 10 meters deep to verify a claim by U.S. veteran St