South Koreans expressed mixed views Thursday after a senior U.S. diplomat called for South Korea to play a role in speaking out against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.On Wednesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told a seminar in Washington that South Korea should play a larger role in the territorial dispute as a major stakeholder in the international order."The fact that, like the United States, the Republic of Korea is not a claimant, in my view, gives Seou

Visiting Senegalese President Macky Sall met with a South Korean provincial governor Thursday, seeking ways for cooperation in Seoul's community development program known as "Saemaul."South Korea launched Saemaul, the New Community Movement, in the 1970s, which focused on rural development to expedite the impoverished country's industrialization.The meeting was held at a Seoul hotel between the Senegalese President Sall, who was in the city for a four-day visit, and Kim Kwan-yong, the governor o

South Korea said Thursday that it hopes to participate in large-scale infrastructure projects worth more than $10 billion in Senegal.President Park Geun-hye expressed South Korea's hope to participate in the projects during a summit with her Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, in Seoul, Cheong Wa Dae said.The western African country has been pushing to build public transportation networks and industrial infrastructure and other projects worth $10.1 billion in partnership with private companies.S

Senior South Korean officials will visit Iran in the coming weeks to secure a foothold in the oil-rich nation before international sanctions are lifted from the country under a pending nuclear deal, a senior official said Thursday.Iran and six world powers led by the United States have been in talks to complete the deal by the end of this month. The landmark agreement aims to curb Iran's nuclear weapons program in return for relief from sanctions that were imposed for the same reason."Because Ir

South Korea and Japan are in behind-the-scenes talks to resolve tensions over Tokyo's wartime sexual slavery in a way where Tokyo issues a new statement of apology in exchange for Seoul's promise not to litigate the issue again, according to a U.S. news report.The Washington Post also reported in a column that the two countries are trying to reach a compromise before South Korean President Park Geun-hye's visit to Washington later this month or at least by June 22, the 50th anniversary of the no

South Korea should speak out against China's forceful assertion of its territorial claims in the South China Sea as it is a major stakeholder in the international order in which it thrived, a senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday.Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel made the remark during a seminar on Korea, denouncing the land reclamation projects that Beijing has been carrying out in an apparent effort to bolster its territorial claims in the waters also claimed by countries like the Phili

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have quarantined 88 people, including 14 South Koreans, who had contact with a South Korean MERS patient in China, authorities said Wednesday. Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have also stepped up precautionary measures against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the 44-year-old Korean man, the son of the third person reported to have the virus in South Korea, tested positive for the virus on Friday.He flew to Hong Kong on May 26 and subsequently went to

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry underwent surgery Tuesday for a broken leg sustained in a cycling accident, and his doctor said he expects a speedy recovery for the top American diplomat."The procedure was uncomplicated, the fracture was fully repaired, and we plan to get him up walking on Wednesday," Dennis Burke, the doctor who performed the operation at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in comments provided by the State Department."I anticipate a short hospitalization, a full and comple

The Korean Red Cross said Tuesday it has decided to increase its assistance to quake-hit Nepal to $4 million in a bid to help Nepalese people better cope with the disaster.In late April, the Korean Red Cross earmarked $250,000 in emergency relief funds to help refugees in Nepal as more than 8,000 people were killed in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the country on April 25. Another strong quake struck the nation in May.The organization said that it has decided to expand its support to the

South Korea Tuesday pushed for a peaceful resolution to growing tension in the South China Sea over China's construction of artificial islands in the contested waters. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said peace and stability in the area is important for South Korea as well."Protecting the freedom of navigation is indispensable for the stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region," ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said.He added that the government hopes that the relevant countries wil

More than a year ago, nearly a thousand workers from a South Korean-owned company in Vietnam walked out in protest against the company’s “irrational regulation” that bans them going to the toilet. The employees at the handbag manufacturing company lamented that the company gave them a warning and slashed their wages when they went to the toilet “too often.” They were only allowed to use the restrooms from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and from 2-3 p.m., with only three keys to the toilet available per product

President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed the signing of a free trade agreement between the two neighbors that could further boost bilateral ties.The FTA "will bring a wide-range of opportunities and benefits to people and companies of both countries and will become a historic milestone to further deepen our strategic cooperative partnership," Park said in a letter to Xi.Xi said in his letter to Park that the signing of the FTA will lead to a new takeoff between t

South Korea and China officially signed their bilateral free trade agreement Monday, taking a step closer to implementing what officials here call a mutually beneficial and significant trade pact.The agreement was signed by South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick and his Chinese counterpart Gao Hucheng in Seoul, about six months after the two countries declared the conclusion of their negotiations that began in May 2012. The bilateral trade pact was initialed in Beijing on Feb. 25.The countri