South Korea will brief the international community next week on its non-military nuclear program and request support for its efforts to resolve the  North Korean nuclear issue, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.The government plans to send a delegation to the 59th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency to be held in Vienna, Austria, from Sept. 14-18. It will be led by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.In a keynote speech, Cho will "explain our policy on nonproliferation, nu

Japan's highest court ruled Tuesday that South Korean A-bomb victims residing in their homeland are entitled to full compensation from local authorities in Japan.In a landmark decision, it upheld the ruling by lower courts, putting an end to a four-year lawsuit against the Osaka prefectural government by Lee Hong-hyun and the surviving family members of two other Korean victims of the Hiroshima and Nakasaki atomic bombings.Lee, 69, is the son of a Korean victim of the 1945 bombing and he was rep

South Korea, China and Japan will hold working-level talks next week on resuming a trilateral summit, a government official here said Tuesday.President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed last week to open the three-way meeting "at a convenient time," including in late October or early November.If held, it would be the first of its kind since 2012, when the annual group summit came to a halt amid historical and territorial spats among the regional powers.Japan welcomed th

China has sent a clear signal that it would place more emphasis on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, South Korea's top diplomat said Tuesday.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se cited a summit deal last week between President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.In the Beijing meeting, the leaders agreed to push for the resumption of "meaningful" six-party talks on the North's nuclear program. They also warned Pyongyang not to make any more provocative acts.Beijing's stance is

A newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday said there are "differences" between Beijing and Pyongyang over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, but their friendly relations are in the interests of the old allies.The editorial by the Global Times newspaper appeared to underscore how it is difficult for China to rein in North Korea's nuclear weapons program. At the same time, it indicated a desire to avoid acrimony with the unpredictable regime led by Kim Jong-un. China has sid

China's foreign ministry on Monday sidestepped a question on whether Chinese President Xi Jinping held a one-on-one meeting with a senior North Korean official who attended last week's military parade marking the end of World War II. Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, attended the Chinese military parade Thursday, along with about 30 heads of state, including South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Choe sh

The president-designate of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will visit South Korea this week to help lay the groundwork for closer ties between Seoul and the multilateral institution, the government said Monday.Jin Liqun is scheduled to visit Seoul on Tuesday and Wednesday for meetings with government policymakers and leading businessmen as the Beijing-based multilateral development bank gets ready to start funding infrastructure projects, the finance ministry said.Jin's trip is his firs

South Korea and Australia will hold their joint meeting of foreign and defense ministers this week to discuss tightening bilateral collaboration in the security and defense sectors, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.The so-called two-plus-two dialogue set for Friday will bring together Defense Minister Han Min-koo, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and their Aussie counterparts, Kevin Andrews and Julie Bishop, in Sydney, according to a news release from the ministry. The forthcoming event

A 2,500-ton South Korean warship will depart the country this week to participate in a naval parade in Indonesia next week, the Navy said Monday.The guide missile-equipped frigate Jeonbuk will depart from a naval base in the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday to participate in the Sail Tomini 2015, an international naval parade, marking the 70th anniversary of Indonesia's independence from the Netherlands.Five more countries will take part in the naval parade to be held on Oct. 19: the Unite

South Korea will dispatch one of its 4,500-ton destroyers to a naval parade in Japan next month and conduct a joint search and rescue exercise with the neighbor, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.The guided missiles-equipped Navy destroyer Dae Joyeong will be sent to join the fleet parade to be held by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Oct. 18, a ministry official said.The destroyer, built in 2003, is capable of accommodating 200 crewmen and sailing at a speed of 28 knots. The

South Korea's deputy foreign minister will visit Iran this week for policy talks with his counterpart amid renewed interest in business opportunities there following a landmark nuclear deal, a government official said Monday.Kim Hong-kyun plans to visit Tehran for two days starting Friday and meet with Ibrahim Rahimpour, deputy minister for Asia and Pacific affairs, for their countries' annual high-level policy talks.The trip comes two months after Iran and the so-called P5+1 -- Britain, France,

The United States said Thursday it is not concerned about South Korea's strengthening relations with China, saying greater cooperation and dialogue between Seoul and Beijing is good for the region.  South Korean President Park Geun-hye's attendance at China's military parade this week, which was shunned by Western leaders, has led to some U.S. experts and observers raising concerns that Seoul is tilting too much toward Beijing.  Asked if Washington has such concerns, State Department deputy spok

President Park Geun-hye attended a massive military parade in Beijing on Thursday as China commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.  Park, wearing a yellow jacket and sunglasses, stood alongside her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping; Russian President Vladimir Putin; and other dignitaries on the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace as a 70-gun salute was fired at Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.  Tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers goose-stepped through the square while

President Park Geun-hye stood on the left-hand side of the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping at a photo session on Thursday ahead of a military parade marking the end of World War II.   Russian President Vladimir Putin stood on the right-hand side of Xi, who stood with his wife, Peng Liyuan, according to TV footage aired by China's state-run media.   About 30 heads of state attended the military parade and the arrangement at the photo session was seen as China's special hospitality toward Par