South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have forged a consensus on boosting bilateral relations, a South Korean official said Tuesday. Park proposed that Seoul and Iran pursue mutual cooperation in various fields and expand cultural and personnel exchanges between the two countries, said Kim Kyou-hyun, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs."Park’s meeting with Khamenei has served as an occasion to form relations with the top leader and

The recent mass defection of 13 North Koreans working at a restaurant in China shows Beijing considers relations with South Korea important and is increasingly frustrated with the North, the U.S. human rights envoy on the North said Monday.Amb. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights, made the remark during a Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion, calling for continued pressure on Beijing to recognize refugees fleeing from hunger and oppression in the North."

A U.S. senator, considered a key foreign policy adviser for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, has expressed negative views of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, saying the deal brought no benefits to the U.S.Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) made the remark during a Senate plenary meeting last week, arguing that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement among 12 Asia-Pacific nations awaiting congressional approval, will be bad for the U.S. just like the deal with Kor

President Park Geun-hye has become publicist-in-chief for South Korean culture in Iran on the second day of her state visit.She watched the display of South Korean culture at the Milad Tower in Tehran after two separate meetings with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.The event, called K-culture, featured South Korea’s traditional dishes, known as “hanshik,” and Korean traditional dress, known as “hanbok,” and "hanji," the traditional Korean paper

북한의 대남기구인 조국평화통일위원회(조평통)는 2일 한국 사회를 '중세적 암흑천지'로 묘사하며 박근혜 정부의 정책 전반을 막말을 동원해 비난했다.북한 조평통 서기국은 이날 발표한 A4지 10장 분량의 백서에서 "남조선은 박근혜 패당의 야만적인 폭압 정치로 초보적인 정치적 자유와 민주주의 권리마저 무참히 유린 말살됐다"며 이같이 말했다고 조선중앙통신은 보도했다.앞서 조평통은 지난달 30일 '특별경고'에서 박근혜 대통령의 국가안전보장회의(NSC) 발언을 거론하며 저급한 표현들로 비난한 바 있다.북한의 거듭된 대남비방은 노동당 제7차 대회를 앞두고 내부 여론을 결집해 국제사회의 대북 제재로 가증되는 체제 불안을 해소하기 위한 차원으로 풀이된다. (연합)