Korea and Norway agreed Wednesday to boost cooperation for Arctic exploration programs as Seoul looks to tap the region’s growing scientific and business opportunities.Shin Maeng-ho, chief of legal affairs at the Foreign Ministry, and Karsten Klepsvik, the Nordic country’s ambassador to the Arctic Council, discussed Korea’s application to become a permanent observer to the eight-member Arctic Council, joint research projects and related policies, the ministry said. The bilateral meeting, the fir

South Korea, the U.S. and China are stepping up their diplomatic efforts this week to prevent North Korea from proceeding with a third nuclear test.Satellite images of the North’s test site in the northeastern town of Punggye showed work under way last week. A Korean expert told reporters on Wednesday that Pyongyang appears to have finished its preparations.The U.S. government said Thursday it has not detected any clear signs of an imminent atomic test “other than the rumors.” Seoul and Beijing

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Myanmar agreed Wednesday to enhance business and diplomatic ties as Seoul seeks to scale up its presence in the former pariah state following sweeping democratic and economic reforms. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan met with his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin and President Thein Sein during the two-day trip. Kim is the first top Korean diplomat to visit the Southeast Asian country in 27 years.“The two ministers had an in-depth discussion on the state

Korea is seeking to lower its debt by more than 4 percent to below 30 percent of its gross domestic product by 2015 to boost fiscal soundness amid spiraling household borrowing and social spending. The latest roadmap for the debt sustainability of Asia’s fourth-largest economy was unveiled Saturday at a strategic meeting for national finance at Cheong Wa Dae, presided over President Lee Myung-bak and attended by ministers, other cabinet members and private experts. To that aim, the government pl

The government said Wednesday it plans to accelerate its ongoing highway expansion work and raise the number of trains, buses and flights connecting to the Expo 2012 Yeosu to facilitate visitors’ access and minimize traffic jams. A pan-governmental task force will also be set up to clamp down on hotels and other lodging facilities that overcharge and refuse bookings, taking advantage of local and international guests in the hopes of a cash bonanza. The measures come less than three weeks before

Hyundai Heavy Industries said Wednesday it has developed selective-emitter solar cells with a record electricity conversion efficiency of 19.7 percent, which could curtail production costs for the fast-growing energy source.The figure beat the previous record of 19.6 percent by Suntech Power Holdings, the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic panels based in Shanghai. It has also been confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, a leading think tank in Munich, the Korean shipb