U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday he would raise North Korea's planned rocket launch at a Seoul nuclear summit next week, expressing "deep concern" over the issue."I am going to discuss the issue with the president of the Republic of (South Korea) in Seoul and I will also engage with

Amid new tension with North Korea over a planned rocket launch, President Barack Obama plans to visit the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea at the start of an international trip next week, the White House said Tuesday.Sunday’s trip to the most heavily defended border in the world carries obvious Cold War symbolism as Obama tries to foster new nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea. Although U.S. officials regularly go to the DMZ, the presidential visit is likely to be read

The South Korean government said 40 leaders will attend the upcoming Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on March 26-27, with 53 countries and four international organizations participating in the event.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is organizing the largest-ever diplomatic event for Korea, said the 40 leaders will include U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.Eighteen countries or orga

U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive in South Korea on Sunday for a three-day visit that includes summit talks with President Lee Myung-bak and discussions with dozens of other world leaders on nuclear security, the presidential office said Tuesday.The upcoming trip, which will be Obama‘s third to South Korea, comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea announced last week that it will launch a satellite on a long-range rocket next month, a pretext Pyongyang has u

The Tunisian ambassador has called on Korea to boost economic ties with his country following last year’s revolution.While the later years of former leader Zine al Abidine Ben Ali’s rule were characterized by corruption, the new government elected since his January departure is working to stabilize Tunisia’s economy.Tunisian Ambassador Ammar Amari said that while Tunisia and Korea had enjoyed 40 years of good diplomatic relations, better economic ties should now follow. “The economic ties betwee

U.S. President Barack will take questions from South Korean internet users online, during his visit to Seoul for the March 26-27 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said.“You can ask President Obama any question, and if selected he will answer it personally. Of course, he cannot answer all questions submitted, but the 10 most interesting submissions will receive a signed copy of his book ‘The Audacity of Hope,’” the embassy said.“The top three will receive a per

EU, Korea to talk human rights in Seoul The EU Ambassador is to open a conference connecting South Korea and Europe on human rights in Seoul on March 20. Tomasz Kozlowski is to speak at the conerence’s opening along with Christian Hegemer, director of the Institute for International Cooperation, and Tae-woo Kim, president of Korea Institute for National Unification.The opening conference of the EU-Korea Human Rights and Democratic Transition Dialogue Program aims to connect European and Korean r

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman refused to put his bag through security check as he left South Korea earlier this week, an airport official said Saturday.Lieberman was in Seoul for a two-day visit to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. He left Thursday through Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, after denying repeated requests by security officials to put his travel bag through an X-ray check, the airport official said on conditi