Chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan are to meet in Tokyo Wednesday to discuss ways to resume the suspended dialogue with North Korea over its ongoing nuclear ambitions.Before heading to Japan Tuesday, Seoul’s chief envoy Wi Sung-lac said he plans to share views with his counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama on whether changes must be made to the existing strategy to get Pyongyang to talk with Se

The government’s controversial plan to select diplomats through a state-managed postgraduate school instead of current written exams has been shaping up this week, as a related bill has been approved by a parliamentary subcommittee.Under the bill approved by the National Assembly foreign affairs committee, up to 60 people will be entering the so-called “diplomat academy” each year to be trained as

Will housekeeping be acknowledged as a secure profession given equal labor rights to office or industrial workers?Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Chae-pil on Tuesday said the Korean government is considering protecting the rights of housekeepers, personal chauffeurs, cooks and gardeners, often referred to as “domestic workers.” In his interview with the press before giving a keynote speech at

South Korea will launch a new military command Wednesday to better defend the five northwestern border islands, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.North Korea’s November shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, prompted calls for stronger measures to safeguard the islands of vital strategic value, which this new command is designed to meet. The ceremony to mark its launch is to take place at 3 p.m. at t

Retired U.S. soldier: Without herbicide, troops in South vulnerable to N.K. snipersA former U.S. Forces Korea soldier claimed Tuesday that he had witnessed defoliants ― apparently containing toxic dioxin ― being hand-sprayed in the Demilitarized Zone regularly in the late 1950s.His claim comes amid continuing controversy over when the U.S. military sprayed Agent Orange over the DMZ to stop North K

Korea’s telecom titan KT Corp. and NHN Corp., the operator of Korea’s most-visited Web search engine, will set up a joint venture next month to offer mobile ads for wireless-fidelity users, the companies said Tuesday. KT and NHN Business Platform Corp., NHN’s affiliate providing ad sales and information technology infrastructure, will each invest 3 billion won ($2.76 million) in the joint venture,

Hyosung Corp., a Korean maker of chemicals and automatic teller machines, said Tuesday it has developed the country’s first high-strength carbon fibers, paving the way for the next-generation fabrics that are lighter, stronger and more elastic.The ultra-thin materials have stepped into the limelight in recent years as their low weight, high-tensile strength and temperature tolerance made them desi