Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Denmark have agreed to take part in a global summit aimed at bolstering international safeguards and preventing nuclear terrorism to be held in March in South Korea, organizers said Thursday. Their inclusion will bring the number of nations participating in the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul to 50. The Seoul summit will be second since U.S. President Barack Obama launched the global gathering in Washington in 2010, with top leaders from 47 nations attendin

South Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed Wednesday to significantly bolster their defense cooperation to elevate relations in non-economic sectors to match those of their prospering business ties, an official said Wednesday.President Lee Myung-bak reached the agreement in talks with Saudi Defense Ministe

The foreign ministry plans to tighten its rules of internal audits on overseas diplomatic missions to combat wrongdoings and corruption by diplomats, an official said Wednesday. Under the tougher rules, the ministry will carry out its own audit into all missions at least once every three years, the official said on the condition of anonymity. South Korea has nearly 170 missions abroad.The move follows a stock manipulation scandal in which diplomats were accused of playing a role in inflating the

South Korea will soon propose forming an arbitration panel with Japan in what would be the latest diplomatic bid to resolve long-standing grievances regarding Korean women forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II, a Seoul official said Monday.The subject of former wartime sex slaves, euphemistically called “comfort women,” is one of the most emotional and unresolved issues between South Korea and Japan, which occupied the Korean Peninsula as its colony from 1910 through 1945.South

China has taken stronger action against illegal fishing by its fishermen in South Korean waters, details of which were delivered in a letter to the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, a Seoul official said Sunday.The official letter from the Chinese agricultural ministry was sent to the South Korean Embassy on Jan. 18, several weeks after Beijing drew fire for its lukewarm response to the Dec. 12 killing of a South Korean Coast Guard officer by a Chinese fisherman in the West Sea. Chinese fishing b

Since its inauguration in 2008, President Lee Myung-bak’s administration has focused on securing overseas resources pivotal for sustainable growth.However, two books ― written by two close aides to Lee and published last year ― have been overtaken by events suggesting that the current administration’s so-called “resource diplomacy” may have been ineffective and shortsighted.Park Young-june, a protg of the president who until recently served as vice minister of knowledge economy, published a book

With 50 days to go, preparations for the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul are in full swing at various levels of government, society and industry, organizers said Sunday.The two-day summit from March 26-27 is expected to draw more than 50 heads of state and international organizations to the South Korean capital for the country’s largest-ever international conference. The event is aimed at holding discussions over measures to prevent nuclear terrorism as well as nuclear safety in the wake of the

Southeast Asian countries have gained tips on improving their tourism industry from Korea. The ASEAN-Korea Centre hosted a tourism workshop from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. Members of the National Tourism Organization and industry representatives from 10 ASEAN member states and Korea attended the ASEAN Tourism Promotion Workshop in Seoul. The workshop included lectures on tourism trends and prospects for ASEAN and Korea, tourism promotion policies, marketing strategies and tourism development plans for m

A film about American boxing icon Muhammad Ali will be screened at the American Center on Feb. 17.The 2001 movie “Ali” is a biographical film directed by Michael Mann and starring Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight. It tells the story of the legendary heavyweight boxer, reflecting his role in American sports, politics and social history and his continued fights against racism and the Vietnam War.The film also discusses the great turmoil in American society following the assassination of two A