U.N. rules North Korea ‘arbitrarily’ detains Shin’s two daughtersSeoul on Tuesday reiterated demands that Pyongyang release the daughters of Shin Sook-ja, a South Korean who allegedly died last month after being imprisoned for more than 20 years in North Korea. The Foreign Ministry said that a U.N. agency recently ruled that the North has “arbitrarily” confined Shin and her two daughters -- Oh Hye-won and Oh Kyu-won -- now 70, 36 and 33, respectively. The decision was made by the U.N. Office of

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf is scheduled to attend a meeting with about 300 prominent figures in culture, art and education from Korea and his country in Seoul on Wednesday, the Korea Sweden Cultural Society said. The king and Queen Silvia of Sweden will arrive here Tuesday for a four-day stay. He will be the first Swedish monarch to visit Korea. “The event will provide a chance to strengthen friendly relations and cultural cooperation between Korea and Sweden,” Lee Se-woong, president of the s

Germany is rising up as the locomotive of global growth. The U.S. is recovering and holding onto its global leadership. Turkey is transforming into a regional powerhouse. Korea symbolizes creative economy and multilateral diplomacy. Two U.S. researchers have coined a new word, GUTS, to represent the four powers enjoying a fresh renaissance and propping up the supposedly declining developed world.“(The four countries) are actually increasing their international influence, while the others are stu

Nine claimants seek 100 million won each from MitsubishiKorean wartime laborers’ first legal victory last week has prompted a chain of similar damage suits by other victims forcefully taken to Japan during the 1910-45 colonial period.A civic group said that nine Koreans plan to lodge a lawsuit next month here against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., seeking 100 million won ($860,000) in compensation per person for their forced labor between 1944 and 1945. The plaintiffs including Yang Keum-duk,

POSCO plans to form a 10 billion won ($8.6 million) fund by 2014 to compensate Korean workers forcefully taken to Japan during colonial rule, company officials said Sunday. The plan was revealed after the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of two groups of Koreans claiming compensation from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. They demand that the two Japanese companies pay withheld salaries and compensation for their forced work between 1941 and 1944.POSCO’s decision, h

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Koreans seeking compensation for their forced work at Japanese factories during colonial rule.The top court ordered the retrials of two damages cases filed by the forced workers and their families. It was the first time, either in Korea or Japan, that they had won a favorable ruling since they started litigation in the mid-1990s. The two groups of workers were taken to Japan to work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. in 194

North Korea and the United States are walking a tightrope on signaling willingness to defuse tension diplomatically following Pyongyang’s firing of a long-range rocket last month.U.S. officials said Wednesday that Washington will consider offering food aid to Pyongyang if the destitute country changes course and makes no additional provocations. While portraying its nuclear program as a “self-defense” measure, the North said Tuesday it has no plan for an atomic test for now and remains open to d

Pyongyang denies any plan for nuclear testNew satellite imagery suggests that North Korea has upgraded its old rocket launch site in the northeastern town of Musudan, U.S. experts said Tuesday.After analyzing an April 29 aerial image, the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said the communist regime has renovated a launch pad for larger, higher-capacity missiles at the place where it fired its first two long-range rockets in 2006 and 2009.The photo shows the initial stages of constr

Change to SOFA facilitates Korean authorities’ investigation on criminal suspectsSouth Korea and the U.S. on Wednesday agreed to measures enhancing Korea’s investigative rights in criminal cases involving U.S. soldiers.The Korea-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement Joint Committee came up with an “agreed recommendation” to amend the SOFA, which governs the legal status of some 28,500 troops stationed here.It agreed to delete a clause in the agreement which bans Korean authorities from holding U.S. su

The European Union is unlikely to accept South Korea’s request for an exemption from its planned ban on insurance for ships carrying Iranian oil, Seoul officials said Tuesday.A failure to secure a waiver would mean Korea must halt imports from one of its major crude suppliers unless it finds an alternative source of insurance. “Our discussions (with the EU) have yet to be finished, but considering the current negotiation process, it will not be easy for us to secure an exemption,” Foreign Minist

Academy chief looks to nurture versatile communicators, plant sense of mission in prospective diplomatsKim Byung-kook, chief of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, scribbled a nesting table on paper to illustrate his projection of a new world order in 2030.The mightiest pair, hypothetically the United States and China, plays chess on the innermost table. They and several middle powers are engaged in a poker game on the intermediate tier. And the uppermost level is the stage for all partaking

Chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan on Monday called on North Korea not to “miscalculate,” warning of a united response to any further provocations.“We’re united in our resolve to respond, not just the three allies but China and Russia as well, if there are an additional provocations,” Glyn Davies, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, told reporters after a meeting in Seoul with Lim Sung-nam of South Korea and Shinsuke Sugiyama of Japan. “We hope that North K

Kim Byung-kook, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, is one of Korea’s leading experts on foreign policy and international politics, known for his wide connections with academics and government officials at home and abroad. After teaching political science and international relations at Korea University from 1999, Kim has taken up multiple posts at think tanks and advisory panels. Kim co-founded the East Asia Institute in 2002 and served as president until becoming the first pres

POSCO on Friday denied a report that lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk, elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak, encouraged the steelmaker to make a failed investment in a savings bank two years ago. POSTECH, a science and technology university affiliated to the Pohang-based firm, invested 50 billion won ($43.6 million) in Busan Savings Bank in June 2010. Citing senior POSCO officials, the local daily Hankyoreh reported Friday that Lee requested the investment to POSCO chairman Chung Joon-yang and the sch

Prosecutors investigating alleged corruption by the elder brother of late President Roh Moo-hyun said Friday they found tens of billions of won in a bank account apparently owned by his wealth manager.Roh Geon-pyeong, 70, is being investigated for embezzlement and influence peddling allegations. He remains in custody since Tuesday for questioning at the prosecutors’ office in Changwon. The bank account is believed to be owned by Roh’s financial manager and the bulk of the money was used for thre

Korea has secured support from Norway and Finland in its bid to become a permanent observer to the Arctic Council, a multinational forum on energy, shipping, exploration and other crucial issues in the North Pole region. Korea has been striving to boost its presence in the Arctic as global powers jockey to take advantage of its huge resources, strategic location and new key sea routes opening up with the rapidly melting ice sheets.“Norway and Finland have been very active in working with us. The

Energy-hungry emerging economy eyes resources reserves, shipping lanes, permanent status at Arctic CouncilKorea is stepping up its foray into the Arctic as melting ice caps are opening up a treasure trove of untapped resources, new sea routes and potential for scientific discovery. Despite its late entry and lack of major energy corporations, Korea can harness its edge in shipbuilding and engineering in one of the world’s last uncharted frontiers, experts say. Korea is hoping to boost its presen

Prosecutors were stepping up investigations into suspended savings banks on Sunday, as more allegations involving the top brass of embezzlement, accounting fraud and illicit lending surfaced. On Friday, they secured an arrest warrant for an executive at Hanju Savings Bank who has vanished after allegedly siphoning off 1.6 billion won ($1.4 million) from 350 customer deposits on May 5. The sum accounts for more than 10 percent of total assets run by the Yeongi, South Chungcheong-based institution

North may want to show off missile technology before negotiations: expertsExperts and informed sources raised the possibility that North Korea may conduct another rocket launch to perfect its long-range missile capabilities and use them to negotiate with the U.S., possibly next year.Good Friends, a Seoul-based rights group, cited an official with the North’s Workers’ Party late Wednesday as saying that Pyongyang plans to fire an additional rocket with equipment in the northeastern town of Dongch

The Seoul government on Wednesday appointed Kim Chang-beom, a former presidential protocol secretary, as new ambassador to the European Union and Belgium. Kim, 52, began his career at the Foreign Ministry in 1981 and has served in posts involving in security policy and diplomatic relations with North America, Japan and Indonesia. In 2007, he became the first director general of the Korean Peninsular Peace Regime Bureau under the Office of Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, which is in