Six South Koreans have been indicted after they allegedly bought and resold U.S. military equipment banned from circulation, police said Monday.The group, including a man surnamed Kim, is suspected of purchasing seven U.S. military items, such as night vision goggles and laser target designators, from an unidentified soldier stationed at a U.S. military base in Dongducheon, 40 km north of Seoul, in May of last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said. Kim then allegedly smuggled the piece

A Seoul court on Monday posthumously cleared a local man of espionage charges and apologized to his bereaved family a half century after he was executed for being a “double agent” for both Koreas.Shim Moon-kyu was sent to North Korea to carry out espionage activities in 1955, two years after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. Shim, however, was detected by the North and trained for one year and seven months to become a North Korean spy. Upon returning home, Shim immediately turned himself

South Korea plans to submit a formal claim to an extended portion of its continental shelf to a U.N. agency within a month or two, a government official said Monday, adding heat to already heightened territorial tension across East Asia. The Foreign Ministry has been readying official documents to present to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf scheduled to convene a seven-week session on Jan. 21, 2013. A member country should file its reports three months beforeh

South Korea and China agreed Friday to work together to prevent the recent death of a Chinese fisherman during a Korean Coast Guard raid from damaging diplomatic ties. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen visited Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young to discuss the incident that occurred in the West Sea Tuesday.Xinsen expressed hopes for “appropriate handling and humanitarian treatment” of the death and detained fishermen, a ministry official said.“The ambassador said he wishes for reinforced co

Korea has slightly improved its scores in an index of the rich world’s contributions to developing countries this year but still ranked the lowest among 27 donor countries due to its small funding scale, high trade barriers and limited acceptance of immigrants, a U.S. think tank said Friday.The Washington-based Center for Global Development, specialized in poverty and inequality research, has been compiling the annual Commitment to Development Index since 2003. It gauges donor countries’ commitm

South Korea’s entry into the U.N. Security Council will boost the country’s say in global security issues and help facilitate cooperation in addressing North Korea’s nuclear threat, officials and experts said Friday. The country was selected as a non-permanent member of the council during a vote on Thursday. It will replace India whose two-year term expires at the end of the year.Seoul beat Cambodia in the second round 149 to 43 over the slot reserved for Asia. Other newly elected members are Au

The North Korean army threatened Friday to carry out a “merciless military strike” against South Korea next week, in a serious escalation of cross-border tensions.The Korean People‘s Army (KPA) vowed to initiate the strike if a group of North Korean defectors now living in the South went ahead with plans to scatter propaganda leaflets next Monday from balloons floated over the border.“The moment a minor movement for the scattering is captured... a merciless military strike by the Western Front w

The Defense Ministry said Friday it will install more phone boxes and guidance signs along the heavily fortified border to help usher North Koreans wanting to defect to the South.It was among a set of border security measures the ministry reported to the parliamentary defense committee amid a public outcry over the recent exposure of a gaping hole in border defense.The military has been under fire, as it was completely in the dark that a North Korean soldier crossed the land border until he show

The team of special prosecutors looking into President Lee Myung-bak’s controversial retirement home project questioned on Friday two real estate agents who handled the purchase of the land.The scandal centers around a deal last year by Lee‘s only son Si-hyung and the presidential security service to jointly purchase a plot of land in an affluent Seoul neighborhood for a retirement home for President Lee and auxiliary facilities for security personnel.The younger Lee, however, is under suspicion

KUWAIT CITY ― Some 300 policymakers from Asian countries and major oil producers assembled in Kuwait on Tuesday to boost cooperation in tackling the prolonged economic crisis and other regional and global issues. The two-day Asia Cooperation Dialogue provides the stage for networking between officials from member countries and discussions on economy, culture, environment, food security, disaster response and other issues, organizers said. The annual forum invited its 32 member countries includin

Despite the protracted economic slowdown, the world’s advanced countries should ramp up efforts to meet their aid commitments to help needy partners fight poverty, diseases and other grave challenges, senior development agency officials said. Brian Atwood, chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, a club of major patrons of poor countries, and Sigrid Kaag, assistant administrator and director of the U.N. Development Programme’s partnerships bureau, warned of a potential negative impa

South Korea is stepping up last-ditch efforts to win a nonpermanent seat in the U.N. Security Council ahead of a vote scheduled for Oct. 18.Seoul is pitching its role in Northeast Asian security and world peace stemming from its strategic location and North Korea’s threat, to achieve one of this year’s biggest diplomatic projects.The country is vying against Cambodia and Bhutan to secure a two-thirds majority required for the slot assigned to Asian countries. The winner will replace India, whose

After more than a year of fruitless job hunting, Dawin Perez no longer worries where his family’s next meal will come from. With help from the Korean government and the United Nations Development Programme, Perez took part in a month-long training session at Cemprende, a local employment and entrepreneurship support center in his hometown of Cartagena, Colombia.“I couldn’t find work for a year and a half. Raising a family isn’t easy when there’s no money, but this opportunity was given to me and

GAESEONG, North Korea (AP) ― From here, Pyongyang can seem like a dream.At what passes for rush hour on a Wednesday morning, there are few sounds in Gaeseong’s main traffic circle but the gentle squeak of bicycles and a tinny loudspeaker blaring anthems to Kim Jong-un, the baby-faced ruler who took power after his father’s December death (“The footsteps of our respected General Kim! ... Spreading the sound of a brilliant future!”).Occasionally, a solitary car goes by.There are no nightspots here

The Korea International Cooperation Agency forged an agreement with eight local businesses on Wednesday to assist their social contribution projects in developing countries. The eight are POSCO, Hyundai Motor, Asiana Airlines, Korea Midland Power, Munhwa Broadcasting Corp., Samick Musical Instrument, Sunjin Engineering & Architecture and Kyung An Cable. Under the deal, the state-run aid agency and the companies will finance youth education, anti-poverty and other social programs for one year in

The leaders of South Korea and Myanmar agreed Tuesday to bolster business and diplomatic ties as Seoul looks to firm up its footing in the Southeast Asian country following sweeping democratic and economic reforms. During a summit in Seoul, President Lee Myung-bak and Myanmar President Thein Sein agreed to push for an investment protection pact and boost cooperation on trade, energy, resources and infrastructure. Ministers signed two agreements on Seoul’s development aid and the creation of a na

President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday turned down the resignation of his aide who offered to take responsibility for recent partisan strife over his retirement home plan. Lee Dal-gon, senior secretary for political affairs, tendered his intention to step down on Oct. 3 as the ruling and opposition parties clashed after the presidential office refused opposition-named candidates for an independent counsel to probe alleged foul play in the now-defunct project. The 58-year-old secretary has been assis

Japanese P.M. Noda calls for ‘stable relationship’ in forumPresident Lee Myung-bak on Monday called on Japan to face up to history and show sincerity to move forward the two countries’ relations weighed down by recent diplomatic tension over Dokdo. His remarks were delivered by Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan at a meeting of the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee in Seoul. About 100 political and business leaders from the two countries took part in discussions on regional security and economic coo

A key aide said Friday independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo will remain in the presidential race until the end, further complicating the prospect of a single opposition candidacy against Saenuri nominee Park Geun-hye.When asked whether the former software businessman and professor would run till the end during a radio interview with PBC, Keum Tae-sup, an attorney and situation room chief for Ahn’s campaign, said, “Of course.” Ahn is widely expected to ally with Rep. Moon Jae-in, the main oppositi

South Korea on Thursday shrugged off news reports that Japan plans to initiate international litigation over Dokdo this month. Nihon Keizai Shimbun of Japan reported that Tokyo is likely to unilaterally bring the case to the International Court of Justice in October as Seoul rejected its proposal for a joint filing. “I’d like to emphasize again that Japan must not damage Korea-Japan relations and public sentiment by repeating its unjust claim to Dokdo but should make efforts for the development