The ASEAN-Korea Center is organizing a special lecture series with former ambassadors to East Asian countries on the topic of “Rising ASEAN and Korea” in cooperation with the chambers of commerce and industry in Busan, Daejeon and Gwangju. The first of the lecture series’ three sessions saw former Korean Ambassador to China Shin Jung-seung speak at the Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Shin is currently the research director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Korea National Diploma

Despite progress in leveling the playing field in publishing, women still face discrimination, award-winning Italian poet and novelist Dacia Maraini said in a lecture organized by the Italian Embassy in Korea at Ewha Womans University on Thursday.“The market might be open to women writers but, when the lists are made of great must-read writers, there are few women writers represented,” Maraini said during her talk with an audience of female students at Ewha’s Asia Center for Women Studies.“We su

Iraqi exports of oil to Korea are on track at 200,000 barrels per day under term contracts, but Korea should reopen direct flights and lift its travel ban to further strengthen ties, the Middle East country’s oil minister said during his visit here last week.“Relations between Korea and Iraq are very strong and are developing very fast,” said Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Al-Luaibi in Seoul on Tuesday.Al-Luaibi said further strengthening of ties could be achieved by reopening direct flights an

South Korea and the United States are expected to begin senior-level negotiations this month to renew a cost-sharing agreement for American troops stationed in the South, diplomatic sources here said Thursday. Some 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea under a mutual defense treaty aimed at deterring potential aggression from North Korea. The agreement, last revised in 2008, will expire at the end of this year. “South Korea and the U.S. may launch their first talks soon, as the both si

SYDNEY (AFP) ― A South Korean spy ring has been uncovered in Australia trying to cultivate public servants to obtain trade secrets, a report said Thursday, but officials insisted relations with Seoul remained robust.The Sydney Morning Herald said previously suppressed information revealed that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service had sought “to obtain sensitive information” on trade negotiations between Canberra and Seoul.It reported that the Australian Security Intelligence Organization

A top Japanese envoy sought Wednesday to calm negative sentiment in the U.S. against the Shinzo Abe government's controversial take on history.In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, Ambassador to Washington Kenichiro Sasae said his country has already expressed its "feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology" for wartime atrocities."The (Japanese) government believes that it is always important to face history head-on and with humility," he said. "It is also desirable that efforts to do s

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― Overall relations between South Korea and the United States are expected to remain healthy in the coming years but budget constraints on both sides may strain the alliance, a recent U.S. congressional report said.A new approach toward North Korea by South Korea’s Park Geun-hye administration is also a potential source of friction, according to the Congressional Research Service.“Considered by most analysts to be a strong supporter of the alliance, Park is expected to c

Overall relations between South Korea and the United States are expected to remain healthy in the coming years but budget constraints on both sides may strain the alliance, a recent U.S. congressional report said.A new approach toward North Korea by South Korea's Park Geun-hye administration is also a potential source of friction, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS)."Considered by most analysts to be a strong supporter of the alliance, Park is expected to continue close defense

A South Korean delegation plans to attend an international conference this week on how to tackle piracy problems in waters off the coast of Somalia, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.The 14th plenary session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, set for Wednesday at the U.N. headquarters in New York, is aimed at strengthening international cooperation and drawing up viable means to tackle piracy in Somalia and neighboring nations, the ministry said in a statement.The CGPCS

About 113 South Korean prisoners of war have been confirmed to be alive in coal-mining regions in North Korea’s border with China, a local group claimed Monday.Dream Makers for North Korea, which campaigns for the release of South Koreans abducted by the North, disclosed the list of the names and North Korean addresses of the 113 war prisoners. The prisoners, formerly South Korean soldiers who could not escape the North following the 1950-53 Korean War, are currently living in several coal-minin

An academic with extensive knowledge of North Korean and Asian security affairs has been named as the new head of South Korea’s elite, state-run diplomatic academy, a government official said Monday. Yun Duk-min, who serves as a professor of international relations at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, was recently tapped as new chancellor of the academy, succeeding Kim Byung-kook who tendered his resignation in February before the new government of President Park Geun-hye was launched, the