Korea and Indonesia have focused their cooperation in three fields ― investing in forest plantations, growing forests for wood pellets, and REDD+ activities to prevent deforestation and degradation.The Korean government began regular meetings with its Indonesian counterpart on forestry cooperation in 1979 to spur forest resources development and secure the supply line of lumber from the Southeast Asian country. Since 1993, 12 Korean companies have advanced into Indonesia’s forest plantation busi

South Korea logged a trade surplus for the 20th straight month in September despite shrinking exports, customs data showed Monday.South Korea's exports came to US$44.71 billion last month, down 1.5 percent from the same month a year earlier. They are also down 3.4 percent from August, according to the data provided by the Korea Customs Services. The country's imports shrank 3.6 percent on-year to $41.03 in September and fell 1.1 percent from the previous month, the data showed.As a result, Korea

South Korea should maintain the ratio of electricity produced by its nuclear power plants below 30 percent during the next two decades, a government energy consultation group has recommended, a sharp turnaround from nuclear power-oriented energy policies pursued by the previous government. The recommendation is part of a long-term energy management plan unveiled by the consultation group comprised of private and government experts on Friday. Based on the recommendation, the government will map o

South Korea's Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok on Friday stressed the importance of a prudent fiscal policy as the world economy strives for sustained and balanced growth."A credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan and structural reforms should be executed to increase policy space and improve economic fundamentals," he said in written suggestions submitted to the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group.This year's sessions opened Friday in Washington

The state-run Korea Rural Community Corp. opened its Vietnamese branch in Hanoi Friday in a bid to draw attention to agriculture-related development projects in the emerging Southeast Asian country, the company said. Vietnamese Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat and senior officials from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization attended the opening ceremony. “The Hanoi branch will spur entry into agricultural infrastructure building projects including agricultur

South Korea may consider exempting two popular commercial vehicles of GM Korea Co. from tightened environmental and safety regulations set go into effect next year, an opposition lawmaker said Friday.The move is apparently designed to encourage the local unit of U.S. General Motors Co. to keep producing beyond the end of the year its Damas minivan and Labo pickup truck.The carmaker has said it would end the production of the two vehicles in December as it could not meet tightened environmental a