China on Monday expressed condolences over the death of former South Korean President Kim Young-sam, crediting him for making contributions to the development of Korea-China relations.    China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, in a statement sent to Yonhap News Agency, said the Chinese government "extended condolences" over the death of Kim, who "made contributions to the development of China-Korea relations during his presidency."   Former President Kim, who died of a blood infection and

The Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned a terrorist attack that took place last week at a hotel in Mali, vowing to join global efforts to eradicate terrorism.  Armed assailants attacked a luxury hotel in the west African country's capital of Bamako on Friday, killing 19 people in a hostage crisis, a week after a series of terrorist attacks in Paris.  The ministry said the South Korean government cannot hide its shock and anger over the attack in Mali, expressing condolences to victims of the as

President Park Geun-hye and more than a dozen regional leaders on Sunday condemned a recent series of terrorist attacks in Paris and other areas as they pledged unshaken resolve to stand together in countering terrorism and violent extremism.  "We denounce terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including the spread of violent extremist ideologies and propaganda" according to a statement issued at the end of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur.  The annual summit is

President Park Geun-hye returned home Monday after a three-nation swing to attend a string of summits with regional leaders on how to deepen economic integration.  Still, the summits were partly overshadowed by the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 people.  Park and more than a dozen regional leaders condemned the series of attacks in Paris and other areas as was the case in the two other high-profile summits last week.  "We denounce terrorism and violent extremi

Right-wing Japanese activists are believed to be distributing books denying Tokyo's responsibility for sexual slavery during World War II to American scholars and experts as part of a campaign to water down the atrocity, sources said Sunday.  Hundreds of copies of such books, including "History Wars" published by the Sankei Shimbun and a book authored by Oh Sun-hwa (O Sonfa), a Korean-born naturalized Japanese nationalist, have been sent to scholars, professors and experts in Washington and else

President Park Geun-hye began talks Sunday with more than a dozen leaders on regional and global challenges amid worries about terrorism and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.  Park plans to ask for cooperation from the leaders of the East Asia Summit to help resolve the dispute over North Korea's nuclear program, Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, said ahead of the meeting in Malaysia.  The annual summit is meant to discuss regional and international strategic issues. I

China on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of a Chinese hostage by the Islamic State group, vowing to hold the culprits accountable. The extremist group said in its latest edition of an English-language magazine that it has killed a Norwegian and a Chinese hostage, who was identified as Fan Jinghui. Confirming the killing by the jihadists, the Chinese ministry said it "strongly condemns this inhuman action and will definitely hold the perpetrators accountable." "The Chinese side will conti

A South Korean teenager, who reportedly joined Islamic State, is believed to be dead, a senior government official said Tuesday.The 18-year-old Kim disappeared in January during his trip to the southern Turkish town of Kilis.The National Intelligence Service said Kim seems to have crossed the border into Syria and joined the extremist militant group."We assume he is dead," Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said during a meeting of the parliamentary committee for foreign affairs. "But nothing ha

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it has agreed with its Thailand counterpart to exchange content and experts in the broadcasting industry, paving the way for Seoul to tap deeper into the Asian market.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, with an aim to bolster the sales of the local media's content in Southeast Asia.The ministry added South Korean media cont

An association of leading Asia-Pacific news agencies vowed Tuesday to combat terrorism through continued reporting of such acts in a fair and accurate manner.The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies made the announcement in the Seoul 2015 Declaration adopted at the 39th OANA Executive Board Meeting that will end its two-day run later Tuesday.The event took place at the headquarters of Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's largest news agency, in Seoul."In response to recent terrorist attacks,

South Korea will continue its support of the global fight against terrorism, a top diplomat said Monday, describing the weekend attacks on France as an "atrocious incident.""We strongly condemn these brutal acts of terrorism and extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families of the victims and the people of France," Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said.He was delivering a speech at the 39th Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies Executive Board Meeting under way in

President Park Geun-hye arrived in Turkey on Saturday to attend an annual summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies.The summit, scheduled on Nov. 15-16, will be the first leg of a 10-day tour that will also take her to the Philippines and Malaysia for separate high-profile regional summits.The trip comes on the heels of Park's recent meeting with leaders of the United States, China and Japan.Park plans to discuss how to coordinate policies with her counterparts from G-20 countrie

South Korea will transfer demining techniques to Vietnam, which is home to massive minefields as a legacy of the Vietnam War, according to the Defense Ministry on Friday. The ministry has invited a group of 15 Vietnamese mid-level officials to the transfer program scheduled from Nov. 16-27 in Seoul, the ministry said in a statement.The officials will visit South Korea's military education institutions, such as the Army Engineer School and Consolidate Army Logistics School, and the military's lan

A Seoul court on Friday ordered a Japanese firm to compensate seven South Koreans for forcing them into labor decades ago when Korea was under Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The Seoul Central District Court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay 100 million won (US$86,100) each to the plaintiffs, citing the illegality of the mobilization."The defendant is what the company (in the colonial era) has been re-incorporated into, holding the liability of the acts in the past," Judge Ma Yon