Driven by a growing need for collaboration, Korea, China and Japan joined forces in 2011 in launching a permanent office here to support their summits and other key three-way dialogues, map out joint projects and conduct related research. Despite skepticism about its feasibility due to territorial and historical tension, the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat has emerged as a core platform for networking and teamwork. The three countries agreed to beef up the secretariat’s budget and their equal

Claims made by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key that he secured a commitment from South Korea to resume talks in October on a free trade agreement were exaggerated, according to multiple sources here close to those long-stalled talks.The government did not promise to restart formal talks in October at all, contrary to claims made by the prime minister, but it did agree to an informal sit down between chief negotiators of the New Zealand and South Korean sides, according to three different sou

The ASEAN-Korea Centre, through its ASEAN Committee in Seoul, facilitated a meeting between ambassadors of 10 Southeast Asian nations and top executives of LG Electronics at LG’s Seocho R&D campus in southern Seoul on Tuesday.The meeting was organized to look for ways Korean global brands like LG can further penetrate the Southeast Asian market and, for the countries there, increase technology and know-how sharing and receive foreign direct investment.The foreign envoys were briefed by Kim Ki-wa

The Kenyan Embassy in Korea showcased traditional cuisine and the country’s signature cabaret and acrobatic team the Safari Cats Dancers at the opening of a gourmet coffee house and pizzeria, Two Point, in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday.Ties between South Korea and Kenya have surged since Kenyan opened its chancery in Seoul in 2007. Proof of it was offered by Kenyan Ambassador to Korea Ngovi Kitau: Kenyan imports to Korea are up 126 percent and Korean investment in Kenya, up over 3,000 p

South Korea gave the nod Thursday for a group of business people to visit the Mount Geumgangsan resort on North Korea’s east coast to hold a memorial service for late Hyundai Group chairman Chung Mong-hun.The Ministry of Unification said it authorized the visit of Hyundai chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, Chung’s widow, and 38 other company executives who will cross over the demilitarized zone at 10:40 a.m. Sunday. The group will hold a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of Chung’s death and return

Head of Seoul tax office offers to resign over CJ scandal

Buoyed by a recent election sweep, high-flying Japanese officials are again churning out inflammatory remarks and backing visits to a controversial war shrine, posing another stumbling block to defrosting relations between Seoul and Tokyo. At a lecture on Monday, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Taro Aso called for a swift constitutional amendment, citing how the Nazis neutralized Germany’s Weimar Constitution in the 1930s. “It is a mistake to think that crying for a protection of the Constit