Buoyed by a recent election sweep, high-flying Japanese officials are again churning out inflammatory remarks and backing visits to a controversial war shrine, posing another stumbling block to defrosting relations between Seoul and Tokyo. At a lecture on Monday, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Taro Aso called for a swift constitutional amendment, citing how the Nazis neutralized Germany’s Weimar Constitution in the 1930s. “It is a mistake to think that crying for a protection of the Constit

An appellate court Tuesday ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to compensate the families of five former Korean employees who were subjected to forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule. In a retrial, the Busan High Court ruled that the engineering and aviation behemoth should provide each family with 80 million won ($72,000) in overdue salary and other damages. The ruling marked the second victory for former conscripted Korean laborers since they started litigation in the mid-1990s in Kore

South Korea and the U.S. on Tuesday discussed ways to improve the implementation of sanctions aimed at impeding the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran. David Cohen, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury Department, met with Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun. He also visited Cho Tae-yong, the Foreign Ministry’s top nuclear negotiator and special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Eun Sung-soo, deputy minister for inte

South Korea on Friday vowed no let-up in its fierce pressure on Pyongyang to formally accept responsibility for the shutdown of the Gaeseong industrial town and pledge not to close it again.After the sixth round of normalization dialogue Thursday, Seoul declared a breakdown in talks and threatened to make a “grave decision” if the North continued to rebuff its demands. Pyongyang warned that failure to reopen would lead it to deploy its military to the district. Observers viewed Seoul’s message a

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se honored the 21 countries that fought in the Korean War at an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the armistice on Wednesday. “We will be ever together,” read the plaque of appreciation that Yun offered the ambassadors and other diplomats from the U.S., Turkey, Australia, the Philippines, Ethiopia and other nations that together sent 2 million troops, supplies and aid as part the U.N. forces.  “They sacrificed their youth to defend a country they never knew a

South Korea and the U.S. opened tough negotiations Wednesday over how to share costs for the upkeep of American troops here as Washington calls for Seoul to increase its financial support amid North Korean threats and U.S. budget cuts. It is the second round of high-level talks to renew the Special Measures Agreement on burden-sharing for the some 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea due to expire at the end of this year. The two-day meeting was led by Hwang Joon-kook, former minister at the South Ko

GAESEONG ― The two Koreas made some headway in their talks Monday to restart a joint industrial park in Gaeseong, Seoul officials said. The delegates exchanged new draft agreements but continued to haggle over Seoul’s demands principally for a framework to prevent a unilateral suspension of the complex. A next meeting was set for Thursday. “We made progress on some parts but we needed to more fine-tune our stances on others,” the South’s chief negotiator Kim Ki-woong told reporters after the fif

GAESEONG, North Korea ― The two Koreas made no progress in their fourth round of talks to reopen a joint factory zone in Gaeseong on Wednesday.The North came up with a new draft agreement but did not move from its previous rejection of Seoul’s demand for measures to avoid a future suspension of the industrial park, the Unification Ministry said. Pyongyang repeated its calls for a swift restart with no preconditions. They agreed to meet again Monday.“We explained that the guarantee against a recu

With the two Koreas apart on restarting the joint industrial park in Gaeseong, concerns are deepening among the businesses grappling with snowballing debts, rusting facilities and a client exodus. A third round of government-level negotiations again failed to yield results Tuesday. The two sides set the next meeting for Wednesday, but appear to have a long way to go before reaching a breakthrough. Seoul demands the North’s guarantee against a future closure of the complex before any normalizatio

North Korea’s deputy envoy to the U.N. has contacted a Washington official in an apparent attempt to reengage with the U.S. amid its peace offensive, a news report said Tuesday. Jang Il-hoon met with Robert Rapson, director for Korean affairs at the U.S. State Department, apparently to get acquainted, Yonhap News reported, citing an unnamed government source. As the two countries have no official diplomatic relations, Pyongyang’s U.N. mission has long been a crucial contact point. The move appea

GAESEONG, North Korea ― The two Koreas failed again to agree on reopening their joint industrial park in Gaeseong during a third round of talks in the North Korean border city Monday. The two sides ended the meeting without a breakthrough, setting the next meeting for Wednesday.Seoul repeated its demand for a guarantee from Pyongyang against a future suspension before its normalization. The North called for its reopening without any preconditions but offered a revised draft agreement.“During the

The two Koreas waged a war of nerves over the weekend ahead of a third round of negotiations on Monday over the idle Gaeseong industrial park and future cross-border ties. North Korea on Saturday belatedly disclosed its telephone notice to the South three days ago in which it criticized the Seoul government’s refusal to hold separate talks over a joint tour program at Mount Geumgangsan. South Korea accepted Wednesday its reclusive neighbor’s dialogue offer on restarting reunions of separated fam

GAESEONG -- The two Koreas failed to narrow their differences over how to reopen the idle joint industrial zone during a second round of negotiations in Gaeseong on Wednesday.After walking down parallel lines throughout five sessions, they agreed to meet again in the border city on Monday, while plant managers continue to check and repair the facilities.Seoul’s chief delegate Suh Ho demanded Pyongyang display a “responsible stance” over the unilateral entry ban and consequent damage for the firm

An appellant court on Wednesday ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to compensate four former Korean employees forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule. In a retrial, the Seoul High Court ruled that the steel giant (formerly Nippon Steel Corp.) should pay 100 million won ($88,000) each in delayed salary, and additional damages. “Then a key defense contractor, Nippon Steel committed anti-humanitarian, illegal acts together with the Japanese government such as mobilizing manpower for

The two Koreas are gearing up for a tough negotiation on Wednesday in Gaeseong to reopen the idled industrial park.Eight officials of South Korean agencies including the Unification Ministry entered the border city on Tuesday morning to ready the venue, communications and other facilities. Accompanying them are 25 people from the complex management committee, KT Corp., Korea Electric Power Corp. and other organizations. It was the first border-crossing by South Koreans since the last batch of ma

PANMUNJEOM ― The two Koreas tentatively agreed on Sunday to reopen their joint industrial park in Gaeseong “when ready” after more than three months of suspension.They also decided to allow factory owners on Wednesday to check and repair their facilities and ship out goods, materials and equipment. The two sides will meet again at the complex that day to discuss how to avoid unilateral suspension in the future, according to the four-point deal reached after 16 hours of marathon talks on the Nort

BEIJING (AP) ― The remains of hundreds of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War may finally return home, 60 years after an armistice ended the fighting.On a visit to China, South Korean President Park Geun-hye offered to send back the remains of about 360 Chinese solders buried in a cemetery outside the city of Paju, a friendly gesture highlighting warming ties between the former combatants.The bodies are buried on a quiet hillside just south of the heavily guarded border with North Korea. M

The government said it will extend by six years its support for an ambitious project to transform the country’s southernmost island of Jeju into a global English education hub. During a committee meeting for Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Friday, the central government decided to continue its support for the project to create a global English education town on the resort island until 2021. It was supposed to be completed by 2015.In 2008, the government launched the eight-year project with

A deadly tick-borne virus has killed eight elderly South Koreans, the state-run disease control agency said.The latest victim of the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus is a 62-year-old man in the country’s southern resort island of Jeju. He died on Thursday after being treated at a hospital for weeks, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The eight deaths occurred mostly in the country’s southwest or southeast regions, and the virus did not affect peopl

GENEVA (AP) ― The head of a new U.N. probe into suspected human rights abuses in North Korea said Friday it is examining ways to carry out its work even without Pyongyang’s cooperation.The probe’s chairman, Australian retired judge Michael Kirby, said that there are approximately 40,000 North Koreans living outside of the country, some of whom might be able to provide useful information, possibly through the use of public hearings. Investigators hope to visit North Korea before going to South Ko