Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Wednesday held a series of talks with visiting leaders from Algeria, Israel, Pakistan and Ukraine to discuss cooperation over this week’s Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and other bilateral issues, his office said.Kim held separate meetings with Abdelkader Bensalah, head of Algeria’s upper house of parliament, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor and Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, followed by lunch with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych

South Korea and Indonesia announced Wednesday they will kick off official negotiations to open up trade between the two countries and agreed to hold the first round of talks as early as possible.The two sides made the announcement on the launch of talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreem

Some progress has been made in global efforts for nuclear security as leaders of more than 50 nations and four international organizations put their heads together to strengthen their cooperation at the Nuclear Security Summit here. Adopted Tuesday at the close of the summit, the Seoul Communique saw leaders agree on more concrete plans than at the inaugural Washington summit in 2010.The communique urged states to develop multilateral cooperation, involving international organizations such as th

The following is the full text of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s speech at a plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit on Tuesday. ― Ed.Distinguished leaders from around the world, Your excellencies, distinguished delegates,I would like to extend, on behalf of the Korean government and its people, a most heartfelt welcome to all of you who are here attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. It is with great pleasure that we host the Seoul Summit.The maintenance of peace and s

The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit was supposed to be an opportunity for President Barack Obama and other leaders to find ways to keep nuclear material away from terrorists. So far, North Korea has upstaged that agenda.And that may be just what Pyongyang intended.Several of the heads of state meeting in Seoul have criticized the North’s surprise announcement 10 days ago that it plans to blast a satellite into space next month aboard a long-range rocket ― a launch that Obama’s government view

The South Korean government said it has agreed with Vietnam and the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider undertaking a pilot project to build a system in Vietnam for tracking radioactive sources.The agreement came on the sidelines of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, aimed at enhancing nuclear security by minimizing global stocks of nuclear materials and preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists.“The Radiation Source Location Tracking system has been developed and

By Kim Yoon-miThe Japanese government on Wednesday approved three new high school textbooks in the latest round of screenings that claim Dokdo as Japanese territory, a move likely to spark a strong protest from the Korean government.The Japanese education ministry announced the first results of the textbook screenings, which are running from 2012-2014 as part of the country’s 2008 and 2009 programs to enhance territory-related education in its schools.Dokdo still remains a thorny issue between K

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called Tuesday for North Korea to cancel its planned rocket launch, telling world leaders at a nuclear security summit the move violated U.N. resolutions.“North Korea‘s launch of a missile under the guise of ’a satellite‘... is against the non-proliferation efforts of the international community and would be a violation of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Noda said, according to an English version of his speech given to reporters.“As such, the i

The U.S., Belgium, France and the Netherlands announced Monday that they agreed to enhance cooperation in minimizing the use of highly enriched uranium in producing medical isotopes.Medical isotopes refer to radioactive materials used for medical purposes such as imaging organs and tumors, and HEU is their material of origin. Under the agreement the four countries will collaborate in developing non-HEU-based production process to a level that stable supply of such materials is established by 201

Nuclear security experts have called on governments to look beyond state lines to tackle nuclear terrorism threats and disasters at a global level. 　Members of the Fissile Materials Working Group said it was time for states to look beyond their own individual commitments to the bigger picture as they moved on from the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit held on Monday and Tuesday. 　“Nations are responsible, but they also have an international obligation and how you match those two things up hasn’t bee

TOKYO (Yonhap News) ― Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda urged North Korea on Monday to drop a plan to launch a long-range rocket next month, saying the North’s maneuver will undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.“If North Korea goes ahead with the rocket launch, it will retreat efforts to resolve relevant issues through dialogue,” Noda said in a written interview with Korean correspondents ahead of an international summit on nuclear security in Seoul.“The rocket launch plan