South Korea will begin full-fledged research into a new technology to reprocess spent nuclear fuel under a deal with the United States on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, officials here said Wednesday.Seoul also opened the way to produce low-enriched uranium, a boost to its pursuit of a stable supply of nuclear fuel.After nearly five years of negotiations, the two sides struck a 21-point deal that calls for bilateral cooperation based on the "principles of equality and reciprocity." according

South Korea and the United States have reached an agreement on their nuclear energy partnerships, wrapping up nearly five years of negotiations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. A signing ceremony will be held at the ministry at 4:15 p.m. between Park Ro-byug, South Korea's ambassador for nuclear energy cooperation, and Mark Lippert, U.S. ambassador to Seoul, it added.The ministry did not immediately reveal the detailed contents of the deal.Diplomatic sources said South Korea will be all

South Korea Wednesday criticized a group of Japanese lawmakers who paid tribute to a controversial shrine symbolizing Japan's militaristic past.A bipartisan group of Japanese politicians visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo earlier in the day on the occasion of an annual spring festival, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering there.The shrine honors 14 convicted war criminals among many other war veterans enshrined there."It is deeply disappointing and beyond deplorable," Seoul's

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will deal properly with historical issues that have strained relations with South Korea when he visits the United States next week, Tokyo's top envoy to Washington said Tuesday.Abe is set to make a weeklong visit to the U.S. amid calls for him to use the trip, which includes an address at a joint meeting of Congress, to offer a sincere apology for Japan's wartime atrocities and mend fences with South Korea."I don't have any worry about it and I think the prime

With Seoul unwavering in its calls for an apology for wartime atrocities, Tokyo appears to be seeking ways to sidestep rising criticism over its revisionist push, boosting lobbying in Washington and other trilateral partnerships to shore up the U.S. strategic refocus to Asia.As the historical and territorial tension drags out between South Korea and Japan, concerns have risen that their strain may derail hard-won trilateral security cooperation involving the U.S. The Stimson Center, a Washington

Paraguay has designated April 22 as a national day to honor the country's Korean population who first settled in the country half a century ago, the foreign ministry here said Tuesday.On April 22, 1965, 95 South Koreans arrived by boat in Paraguay's capital Asuncion after joining a government program that sent workers abroad amid extreme poverty at home.Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes issued a presidential decree designating the day as a national day and expressed special affection for the K

The top U.S. diplomat here Tuesday sympathized with South Korea's concerns over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reluctance to repent on its past militarism.Mark Lippert, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, was quoted as saying by informed sources that he agreed with Rep. Na Kyung-won on South Korea's concerns over the proposed speech by Abe at the U.S. Congress and that the United States fully understood those concerns.Abe is scheduled to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress next Wednes

A Korean War hero from Britain expressed hope on Tuesday that South Korea's younger generation will carry on the lofty spirit of those before them who spared no sacrifice to defend the country and rebuild their war-torn homeland.William Speakman, one of 51 veterans from the former British Commonwealth, arrived here Monday for a six-day trip. The former soldiers fought against the invading North Korea backed by China during the 1950-53 war.In a symbolic goodwill gesture, Speakman donated 10 medal

South Korea fights another war of history with Japan as Tokyo tries to register wartime coal mines and shipyards served by Korean slave laborers as UNESCO heritage sites.The two Northeast Asian neighbors have already been in a dispute over Japan's refusal to properly apologize to the victims of Japan's sex slavery during World War II and compensate them.Historians say more than 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were forced to serve as sex slaves during the war, when the Korean Peninsula was under t

The success of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the United States depends on how honestly he faces up to the country's wartime past, the New York Times said, as Abe strongly indicated he won't issue a new apology.Abe is scheduled to make a weeklong visit to the U.S. next week amid calls for him to use the visit, which includes an address at a joint meeting of Congress, to offer a sincere apology for Japan's wartime atrocities and mend fences with neighboring nations."The success of

Kirsten Brosbol, the Danish minister for environment, visited Korea last week to participate in the World Water Forum in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, to send a political message to the United Nations on water and promote Danish green technologies. At the Danish pavilion in the Daegu Exhibition and Convention Center, Brosbol urged the U.N. to adhere to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals to protect clean water. The shortage of clean water was identified as the world’s greatest cha

President Park Geun-hye will seek the export of South Korea’s light attack aircraft to Peru during her four-day state visit to the South American country, an official said Sunday.Park arrived in Lima on Saturday for talks with her Peruvian counterpart, Ollanta Humala, on how to further strengthen economic and other relations. The talks are set to be held on Monday.South Korea said a planned rollout ceremony for the first basic trainer ,which would be assembled in Peru in cooperation with the Kor