The cities of Busan and Bangkok recently signed a Friendship Agreement at Bangkok City Hall. The agreement is aimed at formally establishing friendship ties and mutual understanding in a variety of fields including tourism, economy, society, culture, education, environment and technology. The friendship city agreement between the two cities will help to open up opportunities for local businesse...

Mongolia, a country with a long history in Korea, is marking the platinum anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. An opening ceremony was held recently at the National Theater of Korea to kick off the “Year of Mongolia in Korea,” which included a variety of celebratory performances and activities. The concert included performances by the Korean National Opera, a cham...

Labor Minister Bahk Jae-wan recently met with ambassadors and representatives of 15 labor-sending countries to discuss issues and concerns among the foreign migrant workforce. During the meeting, Philippines Ambassador Luis T. Cruz mentioned that 1,680 Filipino workers and 308 Korean employers submitted a petition to the Korean government, recommending improvements to the Employment Permit Syste...

The number of South Koreans remaining in Libya has been reduced to 60 as three construction workers and a resident left the turmoil-laden country by land to Tunisia, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The 60 is comprised of 29 in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, 16 in the eastern city of Benghazi and 15 officials at the South Korean Embassy in Tripoli. South Korea on Tuesday refused to allow 14 ci...

North Korea on Sunday called South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as "an invariable territory indigenous to the Korean people yesterday, today and even in the future," lambasting Japan for authorizing a dozen new school textbooks renewing territorial claims to the islets last week. In a commentary, the North's official Web site, Uriminzokkiri, made the remarks, adding that South Korea has u...

Japan was expected to repeat its territorial claims over South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its annual diplomatic report, sources said Friday, just two days after Tokyo approved a series of textbooks claiming the islets as its territory. Japan's Cabinet planned to approve the "Diplomatic Blue Paper" report for 2011 that was expected to carry the same territorial descriptions of Dokdo a...

Heliport repair under way, to be completed in May: government source While cautious not to provoke too much tension as Japan continues to suffer from the aftermath of a powerful quake, South Korea is quietly carrying out projects aimed at countering the neighboring state’s continued claims over its islets of Dokdo, sources here said Thursday. Japan strengthened its claims over South Korea’s eas...

Japan authorized a dozen new school textbooks renewing territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on Wednesday in a move sure to sour the warming relations between the two neighbors. The approval was seen by many South Koreans as a slap in the face as it came at a time when they have been pouring out sympathy and support for their former colonial ruler as it suffers from a d...

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik will visit China next month for talks with his counterpart and other senior officials on ways to develop diplomatic and economic ties, Kim’s office said Tuesday. During the April 12-14 trip, Kim will hold talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and pay a visit to President Hu Jintao, the office said in a statement. Kim will also meet with Wu Bangguo, Chin...

South Korea will act sternly should Japan move to strengthen its claims to Seoul’s easternmost islets of Dokdo in its reviewed middle school textbooks, the Foreign Ministry here said Monday. Tokyo is currently conducting a review of its history, geography and other middle school textbooks, the result of which is expected to be unveiled this week. The renewed textbooks are believed to contain Jap...

The French Embassy is accepting applications for 18-25 local students for the Blaise Pascal scholarship scheme. Launched in 2005, the program encourages talented students from Korean universities to pursue postgraduate degrees in France. The French government, through the embassy in Seoul, has been providing scholarships of excellence to Korean citizens for more than 55 years, and over 1,650 Ko...