By Shin Hyon-heeSouth Korea and the U.S. will hold a summit on Oct. 16 to discuss their response to North Korea’s land mine provocation, its ongoing nuclear weapons development and other regional and global issues, the two countries said Friday. The announcement came after President Park Geun-hye shelved her planned five-day trip in June to address the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak at home. “(The two leaders) will chart the expansion of our cooperation into new areas that will increa

President Park Geun-hye on Monday urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reaffirm previous Japanese administrations’ recognition of history in his upcoming speech to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.Seoul’s Foreign Ministry also raised pressure on Abe to unequivocally uphold former Tokyo governments’ apologies for Japan’s wartime wrongdoings including the 1993 Kono Statement and 1995 Murayama Statement, to help address history issues with Korea and other neighboring stat

South Korea's major political parties criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Sunday for reportedly not planning to apologize for his country's wartime atrocities in an upcoming statement.The Asahi Shimbun reported that Abe, who is scheduled to release a statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II on Friday, didn't use the word "apology" in his draft and also didn't make any mention of Japan's colonization of Korea.In response, the ruling Saenuri Party said Abe will "betra

South Korea denied Sunday a Japanese media report that the United States has asked President Park Geun-hye not to attend China's celebration next month of its victory over Japan in World War II."The report is not true," a Foreign Ministry official said. "A situation like that would never happen."Citing anonymous U.S. government and diplomatic sources, Kyodo News reported that the U.S. government "has urged" Park not to attend the Sept. 3 ceremony in Beijing.In its English-language report, Kyodo

South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday voiced regret over a report on the Japanese prime minister's upcoming statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, saying that the contents are "not at all" helpful for improving Seoul-Tokyo relations. Earlier on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was delivered a report by a group of experts from Japan on their opinion on what should be included in the premier's statement to be released next week. The report cited acknowl

Japan reaffirmed Wednesday it would not send its troops to the Korean Peninsula without a request or prior consent from South Korea even though the country is expanding the role of its self-defense forces, the Defense Ministry in Seoul said.   Earlier, Japan stressed that Tokyo would never send troops to the Peninsula even for a contingency without permission from the Seoul government.   "Japan's defense minister is explaining to its assembly on its position that (Japanese self-defense forces) w

An international humanitarian organization said Wednesday it would provide US$10 million to support India and Myanmar where recent flooding has left extensive damages.   U.S.-based World Vision said a cyclone during the current monsoon season killed 160 people in northeast India, with millions of flood victims affected from over 10,000 villages in the region.    In Myanmar, 36 were killed with 215,000 refugees left displaced.   The organization distributed supplies including waterproof clothing,

South Korea urged Southeast Asian nations Wednesday to take a firm stance against North Korea's nuclear weapons program, citing the communist nation's violation of international agreements.   Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the appeal during a meeting with his counterparts from the 10 countries making up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as they met on the sidelines of ASEAN-led conferences under way here this week.   "North Korea is violating U.N. Security Council resolutions throug

South Korea asked Russia on Wednesday to step up efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, citing Moscow's "constructive" role in a recent nuclear deal with Iran, according to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official.   Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the request to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during bilateral talks on the sidelines of a series of conferences led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations under way in the Malaysian capitol this week.   "Our minister

South Korean historians Wednesday called on Japan to swiftly resolve the issue of its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, as South Korea prepares to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its independence from Japanese colonial rule.More than 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were sexually enslaved by Japanese soldiers during World War II, according to historians.Several Japanese politicians, most notably former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono and former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in