Seoul's defense ministry said Monday it will formally ask the U.S. government to change the naming of the body of water between Korea and Japan from the "Sea of Japan" to the "East Sea" in displays at the Pentagon's Korean War exhibit. The Pentagon exhibit opened in mid-June to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of an armistice agreement and bilateral alliance forged between the U.S. and South Korea at the end of the three-year Korean War.Among materials related to the Korean War, 1

The Seoul government said Sunday that it would ease visa rules for visitors from China, Southeast Asian countries and foreign patients, as part of efforts to promote the local tourism industry and offer convenience to travelers from neighboring nations.Starting next month, the Justice Ministry will expand the issuance of multiple visas for Chinese nationals to their spouses and children. Seoul will also issue multiple-entry visas to Chinese nationals who have memberships in condominiums in Korea

South Korea is seeking to host a new United Nations regional center for maritime law that will promote better understanding of sea boundaries and use of underwater resources, the government said Sunday. The Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea has proposed establishing three centers in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin American regions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.DOALOS director Sergei Tarassenko approached South Korea and asked if it wanted to host the Asia-Pacific cente

The ASEAN-Korea Center and the Philippine Department of Tourism organized a 10-day Korean language course for tourism and hospitality professionals through Aug. 20 in a city in the Philippines. The lectures are especially designed to familiarize the participants with expressions commonly used at airports, hotels and other tourist sites in Angeles City, the Philippines, so that these expressions could be put to practical use in their day-to-day work. The Philippines is home to world-renowned tour

The Ivorian ambassador to South Korea underscored the assistance that two Korean diplomats provided in safeguarding democracy in the West African nation during a reception celebrating his country’s 53rd anniversary of national independence at a hotel in Seoul on Thursday.The two Korean diplomats that Ivorian Ambassador to South Korea Sylvestre Kouassi Bile was referring to were United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Choi Young-jin, the Korean diplomat who led the U.N. Operation in Ivor

A visiting Japanese ruling-party lawmaker stressed Friday the importance of keeping friendly ties with South Korea as the two neighbors have been facing unusually icy relations over historical issues.“Close neighbors are more important than distant relatives,” Yoshitada Kounoike from the Japan‘s Liberal Democratic Party cited a Japanese proverb in a lunch meeting with South Korean lawmakers held in the local parliament building in Yeouido, western Seoul.The proverb was picked as Kounoike emphasi

A visiting Japanese ruling-party lawmaker stressed Friday the importance of keeping friendly ties with South Korea as the two neighbors have been facing unusually icy relations over historical issues.   "Close neighbors are more important than distant relatives,"Yoshitada Kounoike from the Japan's Liberal Democratic Party cited a Japanese proverb in a lunch meeting with South Korean lawmakers held in the local parliament building in Yeouido, western Seoul.   The proverb was picked as Kounoike em

Tension between Korea and Japan is quickly escalating as they gear up to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II. Seoul and Beijing are heaping pressure on Tokyo officials not to worship on Aug. 15 at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war dead including colonial leaders in charge of massacres, sex slavery and forced labor. That same day in 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies after nearly six years of war. For Korea, the day marks its long-awaited libe

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― South Korea and the United States signed an agreement Tuesday to strengthen cooperation between their major law-enforcement authorities in fighting transnational crimes.Top officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement‘s Homeland Security Investigations and the Korean National Police Agency signed a six-page memorandum of understanding aimed at supporting the exchange of law-enforcement information, the sharing of relevant techniques and cooperative inves

More than 90 percent of Chinese and Japanese people have unfavorable feelings toward each other, a poll showed. China Daily and Genron NPO, a Japanese nonprofit think tank, unveiled their joint survey of 1,000 Japanese and 1,540 Chinese conducted between June and July, Yonhap News reported. According to the annual poll, 92.8 percent of those surveyed in China replied that they harbor unfavorable opinions of Japan, an increase of 28.3 percentage points from last year. Among Japanese respondents,

South Korea warned Japanese politicians Monday against paying homage to their war dead at the Yasukuni shrine next week in response to Japanese leaders‘ reported plans to visit the major symbol of an imperialistic Japan’s wartime atrocities.Japanese media reported Sunday that ruling Liberal Democratic Party‘s policy chief Sanae Takaichi will join other politicians in paying respect at the Shinto shrine on Aug. 15, the 68th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.South Korea celebrates i