SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The following is the full text of the G-20 Speakers' Consultation Joint Communique released after the three-day meeting of the world's parliamentary leaders ended in Seoul Friday.1. We, the speakers of the G20 Parliaments, have gathered in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from May 18 to 20, 2011 under the theme of "Development and Growth for Common Prosperity," in the recognitio

President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday hosted a dinner for the participants in the two-day G20 Seoul Speakers Consultation at the presidential office.About 110 people invited to the event at Cheong Wa Dae included parliamentary speakers and delegates from the G20 states, National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae, vice speakers Chung Eui-hwa, Hong Jae-hyung, Grand National Party floor leader Hwang Woo-ye

The international community must work together on issues of climate change, food shortage and famine, parliamentary leaders from the world’s 20 major economies said Thursday, discussing global challenges during the conference in Seoul. The two-day meeting opened here Thursday, bringing together parliamentarians from the G20 nations, five non-G20 members ― Spain, Ethiopia, Singapore, Equatorial Gui

The South Korean government said Wednesday that the motives of its conditional invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to a nuclear summit in Seoul next year, announced by President Lee Myung-bak last week, was explained to Pyongyang.There has been working-level communication with the North about Lee’s proposal in Berlin after a joint press conference with the Danish prime minister last Thur

President Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to visit Sendai, where Koreans suffered the greatest damages due to the worst-ever offshore quake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan in March, during his weekend trip to Tokyo for trilateral summit talks with the leaders of China and Japan.The three governments agreed to hold the fourth annual Korea-Japan-China summit in Tokyo, diplomatic sources here said W

President’s loyalists ignore internal pressure to give way to reformThe pro-Lee Myung-bak group within the ruling Grand National Party has decided not to disband, despite facing controversy after a by-election defeat and shuffle of in-party power.“We have a historic mission yet to fulfill and a leading role to play in supporting the current government,” said Rep. An Kyung-ryul on Wednesday.An form

President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday said the success of the envisioned multitrillion-won science belt, which is to sprawl out from Daejeon’s Daedeok area, requires close cooperation with existing research and development clusters in Daegu and Gwangju.Lee’s remarks came a day after his government announced its choice of Daedeok over Daegu and Gwangju as home to key facilities of the science belt ― a

Officials put more weight on possibility of Taliban role in shelling of Korean baseRelentless rocket attacks on a base for South Korean aid workers and troops in Afghanistan are expected to hamper operations to help rebuild the war-torn country amid growing public angst here over their safety.This month alone, there were three attacks apparently targeting the base in Charikar City in the northern

The South Korean military is seeking consultations with the U.S. over dispatching U.S. liaison staff to Bangnyeong Island, one of the five northwestern border islands, to deter North Korean provocations, officials said Tuesday.“South Korea and the U.S. are trying to come up with measures to enhance our defense of the five frontline islands, including sending U.S. military personnel as observers fo