South Korea and Austria have agreed to lift limits on direct passenger flights as a move to facilitate the movement of people and cargo between the two countries, the government said Thursday.The agreement, reached at the Air Service Negotiation Event of the International Civil Aviation Organization under way in Turkey, permits carriers to increase the number of flights between the two countries without any limits, the transport ministry said."Technically the agreement opens the way for an unlim

Japan should stop disputing the "coercive" nature of its wartime enslavement of Korean and other countries' women, a former top U.N. official said Thursday.Navi Pillay, who served as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights from 2008-2014, emphasized that Japan's crime against humanity during World War II is not only a problem for Koreans but also an issue that concerns the international community."I have called for the Japanese government to conduct a comprehensive investigation and deliver

Moscow's top envoy to Seoul rejected accusations by the United States that its recent military intervention in Syria targets Western-backed rebel forces, saying they are "pure fabrication."Speaking in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, Ambassador Alexander Timonin said Russia's air strikes in Syria are aimed at combating the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, a claim that has been regarded with suspicion by Washington and other Western powers since the interventi

The South Korean and Australian navies will launch a joint exercise in waters off the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, the Navy said Thursday.The Haidoli-Wallaby exercise will kick off on Monday and continue through Tuesday in the waters between the southern port city of Busan and the eastern part of Jeju Island, the Navy said in a statement.Two Australian frigates, the Arunta and Stuart, will arrive at the Busan naval base on Thursday and Friday to participate in the joint exercise, along

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday he has decided not to run for president next year, a decision expected to bolster the chances of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic nomination."As my family and I have worked through the grieving process, I've said all along what I've said time and again to others, that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president, that it might clos

The United States will work with South Korea to find ways to support Seoul's indigenous fighter jet development program, even though some technologies remain "unavailable for export," a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.The remark is seen as reaffirmation of the existing U.S. position that it is difficult to accept South Korea's request for the transfer of four key American technologies necessary for Seoul's "KF-X" indigenous jet fighter development project. "The U.S. continues to support Korean

Senior Chinese and Japanese diplomats traded barbs over Tokyo's nuclear capabilities during a U.N. session, media reports said Wednesday.At the First Committee of the U.N. General Assembly held in New York on Tuesday (local time), China argued that Japan has a massive stockpile of plutonium that could be quickly used for the production of nuclear weapons. "Over the years, Japan has accumulated a huge amount of sensitive nuclear materials, giving rise to grave risks both in terms of nuclear secur

South Korea's traditional music orchestra will hold a concert at the United Nations building this week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the international organization, the organizer said Wednesday.The concert by the KBS Traditional Music Orchestra will take place at the UN General Assembly Hall on Friday "to send a message of peace and harmony, and to contribute to the diffusion of the Korean culture," the country's public broadcaster KBS said in a release.Conducted by L

South Korea and Russia will hold talks in Vladivostok this week to devise ways to expand industrial cooperation and trade, the government said Wednesday.The meeting set for Thursday will touch on such areas as automobiles, shipbuilding and product certification, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.Both sides will also exchange views on the sharp drop in trade this year, it added.Shipment of goods from Asia's fourth-largest economy to Russia came to $3.2 billion in the first eight mon

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se refuted allegations Wednesday that the United States has increased pressure on South Korea to clarify its stance on the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a joint press conference following summit talks with President Park Geun-hye that Washington expects Seoul to speak out if China fails to abide by international norms and rules. The remarks were interpreted in Seoul as a reference to the dispute over China's l

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that South Korea and Japan should move toward a new future in the latest call for better ties between the two neighbors.South Korea and Japan have long been at odds over their shared history, including the Japanese military's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II.South Korea has repeatedly pressed Japan to resolve the issue of the elderly Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during the war. Japan ruled the

South Korea and Norway will work together to brainstorm ways to better use the Northern Sea Route, which has recently witnessed a sharp rise in shipping traffic, the government said Wednesday.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said bilateral maritime cooperation talks slated for Thursday in the port city of Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will allow the two countries to expand ongoing cooperative efforts to check conditions in the Arctic Ocean, including shipping traffic."The two cou

South Korean Volkswagen owners plan to file a class action lawsuit in the United States against the German carmaker over its emission rigging scandal, their lawyer said Tuesday.Jason Ha said the lawsuit is set to be filed with a federal court in New Jersey later this week in collaboration with Quinn Emanuel, one of the world's largest law firms handling business litigation and arbitration.He said his clients are seeking punitive damages in a case that prompted consumer outcry from around the wor

South Korea and Russia will hold a policy meeting in Vladivostok this week to discuss ways to expand cooperation in the development of the Russian Far East, the government said Tuesday.The finance ministry said the bilateral economic, science and technology meeting scheduled for Friday will allow Seoul and Moscow to review various development plans that can benefit both sides.Moscow's so-called far eastern policy, which aims to build up the sparsely populated and underdeveloped region, coincides

Construction began Monday to restore a historical building that housed the Korean legation in Washington more than a century ago, before it was forcibly taken over by Japan following its colonization of Korea.In 2012, the South Korean government bought the red brick, three-story building in central Washington from an American individual for $3.5 million in an effort to preserve a symbol of diplomacy of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).On Monday, CVMNEXT, an American construction firm commissioned