A mistake by an Air Force maintenance crew member was responsible for the crash of an aerobatic jet that killed its lone pilot earlier this month, military investigators said Friday. The T-50B plane crashed in northeastern South Korea on Nov. 15 and faulty maintenance checks made by the mechanic, only identified by his rank of chief petty officer, caused the pilot to lose control and crash, investigators said.Three days before the crash, the mechanic conducted maintenance checks of the aircraft’

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik arrived in Mexico on Friday to meet its new leader and discuss a free trade deal, his office here said.On the first day of his three-day stay in Mexico, as the first leg of his weeklong trip that will also take him to Canada, Kim toured industrial facilities in Mexico City supported by South Korea’s Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and held a meeting with Koreans there, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.On Saturday, he will attend the inauguration of Mexican

China’s new leader Xi Jinping sent a message to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak saying he hopes to work together with Seoul to further deepen relations between the two countries and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, the presidential office said Wednesday.The message came after Lee offered congratulations on Xi’s election earlier this month.“China and South Korea are friendly neighboring countries and have seen a marked development in bilateral relations over the past 20 years since est

China's new leader Xi Jinping sent a message to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak saying he hopes to work together with Seoul to further deepen relations between the two countries and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, the presidential office said Wednesday.The message came after Lee offered congratulations on Xi's election earlier this month."China and South Korea are friendly neighboring countries and have seen a marked development in bilateral relations over the past 20 years since est

South Korea and China have agreed to work closely to achieve their common goal of North Korea’s denuclearization, the foreign ministry here said Tuesday.During the annual vice ministerial talks held in Beijing a day earlier, the two sides reaffirmed that “the denuclearization of North Korea and peace and stability of the Korean peninsula are the two countries’ strategic goals,” and agreed upon the need for “a frank dialogue and close cooperation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. The St

South Korea and China on Monday discussed ways to strengthen their bilateral ties and cooperation on North Korea issues during their annual strategic talks in Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said. The fifth Strategic Dialogue marked the first high-level meeting since Xi Jinping took the helm of the Chinese Communist Party last week, becoming the country’s de facto leader. The two-day event also comes amid concerns that Pyongyang may be readying to fire a long-range ballistic missile. Washington ha

South Korea is set to submit a formal claim to an extended portion of its continental shelf to the United Nations, a government official said Sunday, amid spiraling territorial tension across the region. The Foreign Ministry has been preparing official documents to present to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf for a scientific and technical review and recommendation. “Having decided to turn them in within this year, we’ve already reported the plan to Cheong Wa Dae and wil

The British Embassy is accepting applications from Korean students for the United Kingdom’s Chevening Scholarship through Jan. 2, for the 2013-2014 academic year.North Korean settlers in South Korea are also invited to submit applications for the scholarship, the embassy said in a press release in October.Chevening Scholarships cover the cost of one year of post-graduate study in Britain, including tuition fees, a monthly stipend and round-trip airfare.The Chevening program was created to suppor

Could Korea learn from diplomatic experience in today’s Europe? After all, whilst the economic risers of this world, in Asia and elsewhere, are beaming with confidence and brainstorming about what they can contribute to the new international order, many foreign ministries in the European Union are now depressing places. Once-high-minded diplomats convinced of seemingly eternal Western superiority are licking their wounds, wondering what is left of Europe’s soft power. European diplomatic service

SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) – Seoul blasted Tokyo Thursday over its reported move to name peaks on South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, saying it would amount to a "serious violation" of its territorial sovereignty.Tokyo has long laid claim to the islets, which lie closer to South Korea in the body of water dividing the Korean Peninsula and Japan, often leading to diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries.According to Japan's Kyodo News Service, the Japanese government decided earl