Recent explosions at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan will have no serious impact in Korea, experts said in a conference Thursday. The Korea Green Foundation, a leading environmental group here, held an academic conference on the impact of the deepening nuclear crisis in earthquake-hit Japan. “Considering the long distance from here and the radiation level is dilu

South Korea is advising its citizens in Japan to evacuate to safe areas outside a radius of 80 kilometers from the quake-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said Thursday.It had previously told Korean nationals to stay at least 30 kilometers away from the troubled plant. However, it has increased the safety distance as concerns over rising radiation levels are mo

A government minister visited Japanese spouses living in Korea on Thursday to offer his consolation over the damage caused by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis. Kim Kyo-sik, vice minister of gender equality and family affairs, had tea at the multicultural center in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, with 10 Japanese women who have settled in Korea through marriage. Four o

An office worker in his 20s was apprehended Thursday for spreading groundless rumors that radioactive material from the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, would reach Korea. The rumors elevated anxiety among people here who were already taken aback by the disaster in the neighboring country.The police, however, said they had failed to detect any intention to shake up the stock market

The Group of Eight industrialized nations condemned North Korea’s uranium enrichment program at a meeting of their foreign ministers held in Paris earlier this week, a South Korean official said Thursday.The G8 foreign ministers adopted a “chairman’s summary” after two days of talks concluded Tuesday, denouncing the North’s uranium program as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the o

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan rejected North Korea’s recent suggestion that it is willing to unconditionally return to the nuclear negotiating table, saying Pyongyang should first demonstrate its denuclearization commitment through action.North Korea’s foreign ministry said Tuesday after talks with Russia’s chief nuclear envoy that it is ready to rejoin the stalled six-party talks without any pre

Fears about health risks rose dramatically in Japan on Tuesday with news of a greater radiation release and renewed warnings to remaining residents within 20 miles to stay indoors.Japanese officials said that more radiation was released at a nuclear plant disastrously damaged by last week’s tsunami. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from four reactors.“The level seems very high, a

Korea’s imports from Japan have been plunging since the recent massive earthquake amid concerns that disruptions in supply of parts and materials from the neighboring country could hurt the economy here, customs data showed Thursday.Before the 9.0-magnitude quake struck Japan last Friday, Korea’s daily weekday imports from the country averaged $303.33 million for this month, according to the data

Korea’s small- and medium-sized exporters are struggling with delayed payments and a drop in orders from their Japanese partners whose operations were disrupted by the massive quake and tsunami last week.Government bodies and banks are stepping up financial assistance for such firms and trade agencies are operating emergency teams to closely monitor the extent of the damage. The powerful 9.0-magni

Foreign investment banks (IBs) see little short-term impact from last week’s earthquake in Japan on the Korean economy but they are concerned over its longer-term impact as the disaster could eventually hurt the nation’s exports by disrupting the parts supply from the neighboring country, a report showed Thursday.Recent reports on economic conditions at home and abroad by foreign banks including M

The number of people who used Korea’s budget carriers jumped over 30 percent on-year in the first two months of the year as more people chose cheap fares for domestic flights, the transportation ministry said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, passengers who used budget carriers totaled 1.45 million in the January-February period, up 31 percent from a year