MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia has submitted its bid for vast territories in the Arctic to the United Nations, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.The ministry said in a statement that Russia is claiming 1.2 million square kilometers (over 463,000 square miles) of Artic sea shelf extending more than 350 nautical miles (about 650 kilometers) from the shore.Russia, the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway have all been trying to assert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic, which is believed to hold up to a quar

Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun has paid tribute to the Chinese soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, touting traditional ties with wayward ally North Korea, according to China's state-run media Saturday.    Li made the remarks as he visited a cemetery of the Chinese war dead in the border city of Kaesong on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported from Pyongyang.    North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un laid a wreath at a cemetery of Chinese war dead earlier this week in the wa

U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea have been making sophisticated maps of underground military facilities in North Korea to better deal with threats posed by the North, a military journal showed Saturday.   U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has been also running an education program for senior South Korean and American military officers to share information on North Korea's underground facilities and to jointly respond to the North's military threats, according to a contribution by Korean Army Maj. P

China and Russia will launch joint military drills next month in the East Sea, the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, China's defense ministry said Friday. The joint drills, set for Aug. 20-28, come as China and Russia have deepened their cooperation in the military and security fields. The planned military exercises are "to further enhance their capabilities of jointly coping with maritime security threats," Chinese defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement posted on

Deputy nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan were to meet in Tokyo Friday to coordinate their next steps in getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.The trilateral meeting comes after a series of bilateral meetings between the member nations of the six-party talks, which also involve China and Russia.Kim Gunn, director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, will meet with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sydney Seiler and Sh

The United States said Thursday victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery were trafficked by the country's military in a rebuttal of a Japanese ruling party committee's claim that they were never coerced.The State Department issued the comment, calling the atrocity "a terrible, egregious violation of human rights" and urging Japan to handle the issue and other historical matters in a way that strengthens relations with neighboring nations."As the United States has stated many times, the traffick

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's upcoming war-anniversary statement is so important for the future of relations between Seoul and Tokyo that the U.S. should make greater efforts to get Abe to address historical tensions through the statement, a U.S. expert said.Abe plans to issue the statement next month to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. The statement will be watched closely as it is considered a second chance for him to resolve historical tensions with South Ko

A U.S. senator has introduced a resolution calling for approval of the civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement with South Korea, a move that reflects the positive view Congress has about the deal.Sen. Benjamin Cardin brought the resolution (S.J.Res.20) to the Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. It is titled, "A joint resolution relating to the approval of the proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Peac

Scud missiles fired into Saudi Arabia by Yemeni rebels in recent months came from North Korea, a South Korean intelligence official said Wednesday.Saudi Arabia has shot down about 40 percent of some 20 Scud missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels, said the official, who is familiar with the issue.He did not give further details on how South Korea reached the conclusion that the missiles originated from North Korea. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to medi

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that Mongolia's successful transition to democracy is a good role model for the international community.Mongolia's case "could help contribute to spreading democracy and establishing peace in Northeast Asia," Park said in a video message at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar to mark the 25th anniversary of Mongolia's first free elections after decades of socialism.Mongolia has become one of the most vibrant democracies in the word after its political transition with

China has touted its intervention in the 1950-53 Korean War as an "indelible mark on history" of its friendship with North Korea after the North's leader Kim Jong-un paid tribute to the Chinese soldiers killed during the war. The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when tank-led North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the United Nations flag, while Chinese soldiers came to help North Korea. The conflict e

U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should make a clearer statement on the country's wartime sexual enslavement of women, according to a South Korean lawmaker.Pelosi made the remark during a meeting with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party and other party lawmakers, as Kim expressed gratitude for her role in passing a landmark 2007 House resolution on the issue, according to Rep. Na Kyung-won, chairwoman of the p