Japan has demanded that South Korea respond within 30 days to its request for talks over wartime forced labor of Koreans at Japanese firms’ factories. Tokyo’s request came Wednesday, after a South Korean court approved a petition to seize Korean assets of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal at the request of people who carried out forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.The demand for South Korea’s response was made when Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister

The US is fine-tuning the details of a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid media reports naming Vietnam as a possible site for talks. Asked when the two leaders will hold their summit, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on TV that the administration is “working out the details,” without further elaboration. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Yonhap)His remark is being taken as a positive sign for an imminent summit, as Trump said negotiati

The United Nations’ top envoy on Friday called on North Korea to open dialogue to address its “extremely serious” human rights issues. Ill-treatment and torture of escapees repatriated by China as well as political prison camps still exist in the country, said Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, during a press conference in Seoul on Friday.“A vast majority of ordinary citizens are facing serious difficulties in their daily lives … one person summarized

Negotiations to resume two inter-Korean economic cooperation projects are possible but there need to be ways to prevent the flow of “bulk cash” into North Korea, a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official said Thursday on condition of anonymity. In his New Year speech Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is willing to reopen the South-North joint industrial park in the North’s border town of Kaesong and resume the suspended tourism program to Mount Kumgang without any preconditions.“(I

South Korea will continue to push for signing with North Korea a declaration to formally end the Korean War this year amid concerns over slow progress, a government official said on condition of anonymity Thursday. The government’s willingness to sign the declaration remains unchanged although the timeline has been delayed from what it had expected – by the end of last year, the official said. “We still believe that the agreement should be pushed ahead.” (Yonhap)This echoes President Moon Jae-in

Vietnam and Singapore are likely to be shortlisted to host a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the US President Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs Ministry officials said on condition of anonymity Thursday. “(The venues you should pay attention to) are those mentioned by media including Vietnam, Singapore and Hawaii,” one ministry official said. “But Hawaii is said to be an unrealistic location as it doesn’t have a North Korean embassy there,” another official added. (AP)The s

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wrapped up his four-day visit to China on Wednesday after holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and touring an economic zone, while the US maintains its silence over the two leaders’ meeting. Kim’s train departed from a train station in Beijing at around 2 p.m. after Kim and Xi had lunch together, according to Yonhap News Agency. In this June 19, 2018, file photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping(left) and North Korean

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday afternoon, according to media outlets of the two countries, apparently to discuss a second summit with US President Donald Trump concerning denuclearization. Kim arrived by train at the Beijing station at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday, which happens to be his birthday, at the invitation of the Chinese leader, North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun and China’s Xinhua News Agency reported.  In this June 19, 2018, file phot

US President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday talks for the location of a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are underway, after the two said last week they are ready to meet to further discuss Pyongyang’s denuclearization. “We’re negotiating a location. It will be announced probably in the not-too-distant future,” Trump told reporters before boarding a helicopter for a presidential retreat to Camp David, Maryland.  US President Donald Trump speaks on the South Lawn of the White Hou

President Moon Jae-in will hold a New Year’s meeting with reporters on Thursday to explain his administration’s key policy objectives, marking his third televised press conference since he took office in 2017, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. with the president’s 20-minute keynote speech, followed by a question-and-answer session with reporters, which is expected to run for 80 minutes.  President Moon Jae-in (center)  (Yonhap)This is Moon’s third press conference wit

A former senior North Korean diplomat who defected to the South in 2016 on Saturday urged a former colleague who has gone into hiding before ending his term in Italy to come to Seoul, as opposed to the US where he is reportedly seeking asylum. Thae Yong-ho, who was the deputy ambassador in London and the most recent senior diplomat to defect, wrote an open letter to Jo Song-gil, 44, until recently North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, who fled the Rome embassy with his wife in early November

Opposition parties have criticized the government’s decision to withdraw its plan to relocate the presidential office to Gwanghwamun, one of President Moon Jae-in’s key election pledges stressing the importance of daily encounters with the people and working-level officials. “It is right to apologize and explain the reason to the people if the president is not able to keep his word. Unlike other pledges, the (relocation) plan was about delivering on his commitment to communicate with the people,

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s comment about nuclear weapons in his New Year’s speech has evoked mixed responses from experts here.“We declared at home and abroad that we would neither make and test nuclear weapons any longer nor use and proliferate them, and we have taken various practical measures,” Kim said in a televised address on Tuesday. Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat, said Kim’s speech shows there is no change in Kim’s stance on clinging to nuclear weapons.   “His 2019 p

Future denuclearization talks should pay attention to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s comments on the possible development of nuclear energy to tackle the country’s electricity shortage, according to Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.In a television show Tuesday night, Cho said the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes was guaranteed in exchange for the development of a resolution of the nuclear weapon issue in the agreement of the six-party talks, in which South Korea, the United Sta

The Unification Ministry said Wednesday that close consultation with the international community is required in considering the resumption of a South-North industrial complex and tour program, following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s call for the restart of inter-Korean projects.“As agreed before, it is necessary at this moment for us to focus on creating the conditions,” Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters Wednesday. “Also, it is a matter that should be pursued in con

[더인베스터/코리아헤럴드=박한나 기자] 셀트리온이 후속 바이오시밀러 허쥬마와 트룩시마의 미국 진출을 앞두고 오리지널의약품 개발사 제넨텍을 상대로 특허 무효 소송을 제기했다. 지난 11일 셀트리온과 북미 지역 유통 파트너사인 테바는 미국 캘리포니아북부 연방지방법원에 제넨텍의 유방암 치료제 허셉틴 관련 특허 38건과 혈액암 치료제 리툭산 특허 37건을 무효화 또는 효력 상실을 위한 소송을 청구한 것으로 밝혀졌다. 허쥬마는 로슈의 자회사 제넨텍이 개발한 허셉틴의 바이오시밀러로 지난 7월 미국 FDA에 허가 신청을 하고 승인을 기다리고 있다. 트룩시마는 리툭산의 바이오시밀러로 올해 안에 FDA 최종허가를 예상하고 있다. 허셉틴과 리툭산은 글로벌 매출이 각각 약 8조원에 이르는 세계적인 블록버스터 의약품이다. 셀트리온이 해당 특허 무력화에 성공하면 FDA 허가 후 큰 법적 걸림돌 없이 허쥬마와 트룩시마를 미국 시장에 출시할 수 있다. 소장에 따르면 셀트리온은 “제넨텍이 바이오시밀러와의 경쟁을

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박한나기자] 아시아 벤처캐피털 저널(Asia Venture Capital Journal)이 주최하는 “AVCJ 사모펀드 및 벤처캐피털 한국포럼”이 9월 7일 서울 광화문 포시즌스호텔에서 개최된다. 　이날 포럼에는 250여명의 업계 전문가들이 참석해 날로 진화하고 있는 사모펀드와 벤처캐피털, 인프라, 사모채권 시장에서의 투자 기회와 주요 쟁점들을 논의할 예정이다. 특히 전세계 90여곳의 유한책임출자자들(LP)들과 교류할 수 있는 기회도 마련돼 기대를 모으고 있다. 　현재 안방인터내셔널, 캐나다연금투자위원회, 한국교직원공제회, 한국투자공사, 교보생명, 삼성자산운용 외 다수의 업계 관계자들이 포럼 참가를 확정했다. 　아담스스트리트파트너즈의 제프 디엘 매니징 파트너의 기조연설을 필두로 다양한 패널토크에서는 재벌개혁과 구조조정 등 한국의 새로운 투자환경에 대한 이해와 한국 관련 주요 크로스보더 딜에 대한 분석이 이뤄질 예정이다.　한국은 재벌 개혁, 대외무역 강화,

 [더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박한나기자] 유럽 출시를 앞둔 셀트리온의 항암제 바이오시밀러 ‘트룩시마’와 ‘허쥬마’에 대한 현지 반응이 뜨거워지고 있다.16일 외신과 업계에 따르면, 유럽 의학계와 제약업계의 관심은 무엇보다 가격이다. 유럽의 경우 바이오시밀러가 기존 오리지널 치료제 대비 약 30% 저렴한 것을 감안하면 트룩시마와 허쥬마 역시 비슷한 수준으로 가격이 책정될 것으로 보인다. 영국 암연구센터(BICR) 최고경영자 폴 워크맨은 로이터에 “유럽의 암전문의들이 약효가 뛰어난 바이오시밀러를 낮은 가격에 구입할 수만 있다면 반응은 폭발적일 것”이라고 말했다. 유럽은 세계에서 가장 큰 바이오시밀러 시장이지만 그 동안은 북유럽과 독일에서 판매가 집중된 것이 사실이다. 지난주 영국종양약료협회는 항체바이오시밀러를 항암치료에 적극적으로 활용하겠다며 처방비율을 전체 국립병원 환자 90%까지 끌어올리겠다고 밝혔다. 트룩시마와 허쥬마의 오리지널 치료제인 로슈사의 리툭산과 허셉틴은 영국내 판매만 연

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박한나 기자] 셀트리온이 혈액암 항암제인 트룩시마의 피하주사(SC) 제형 개발에 대한 업계의 기대감에 아직 “시기상조”라는 입장을 내놨다. 셀트리온 관계자는 18일 더인베스터에 “트룩시마는 아직 유럽의약품청의 허가를 기다리고 있는 상태로 아직 제형 다각화 계획까지는 밝힐 단계가 아니다”고 밝혔다. 　트룩시마는 스위스 제약기업 로쉬가 개발한 혈액암치료제 리툭산의 복제약으로 올 1분기 유럽 승인을 기다리고 있고 미국 FDA 승인 신청도 상반기 중으로 진행할 예정이다. 　업계에서는 트룩시마의 글로벌경쟁력을 높이는데 필수적인 피하주사제형 개발에 주목하고 있다. 　고가의 의약품을 낮은 가격에 이용할 수 있는 바이오시밀러의 장점과 더불어 투여시간이 획기적으로 줄어들어 기존 정맥투여방식보다 환자의 편의성이 크게 향상되기 때문이다. 　특히 바이오시밀러의 공세에 몰린 로슈가 지난해 유럽서 피하투여용 리툭산에 대한 승인을 받으면서 셀트리온도 피하주사제형 개발에 서둘러야 한다

[코리아헤럴드(더인베스터)=박한나 기자] 두산그룹이 인도네시아의 경제특구지역에 발전소 건립을 추진한다. 7일 인도네시아 현지 언론에 따르면 최근 두산그룹 관계자들은 탄중 아피아피(Tanjung Api-Api) 경제특수지역을 방문해 이 지역에 발전소와 수처리시스템 등 사업을 추진하는데 관심을 표명한 것으로 알려졌다. 남수마트라주 주지사 알렉스 노어든은 두산그룹 관계자들이 방문 당시 남수마트라주 정부 및 인도네시아 상공회의소 관계자들과 사업 의사를 타진했다고 밝혔다. 현재 남수마트라주는 2018년 하계 아시안게임 개최에 맞춰 탄중 아피아피 지역에 대규모의 경제특구지역 개발을 추진하고 있어  에너지인프라 구축이 필수적인 상황이다.지난 5월 한국가스공사도 남수마트라 주정부기업인 PDPDE와 이 지역에 6억달러 규모의 363km 가스 배관사업 추진 관련 양해각서 체결한 바 있다. (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)　<원본 영문 기사>Doosan seeks to build power p