The United States announced that it is joining the 108 countries and international organizations taking part in the 2012 Yeosu Expo. The U.S. Embassy said that its pavilion will build upon the expo’s theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast,” and showcase the diversity, spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation, and commitment to sustainable development of the American people. “This demonstrates the U...

The Spanish Embassy is holding “The Week of Spain at Universities” throughout this week at several schools across the country. Spain has long cooperated with local universities to promote Spanish language and culture. Foremost among these is the Aula Cervantes center in Kyung Hee University. The embassy also works with Spanish lecturers at several other institutions such as the University of Py...

With just one year left before the 2012 deadline set by which North Korea says it will become a "strong and prosperous state," the Pyongyang regime is focused on securing U.S. dollars and gold, a source said Sunday. "North Korea is putting all its energies on setting aside finances necessary for large-scale political events, including a ceremony to mark the centennial of the birth of the late No...

Russia is optimistic about North Korea’s recent talks with the South and the United States over its nuclear weapons programs, Seoul’s top nuclear envoy said Saturday. Returning from his three-day visit to Russia, Lim Sung-nam said, “Russia is viewing the two rounds of South-North and North-U.S. talks positively,” in a phone interview with the Yonhap news agency. Lim left for Russia earlier this...

Third umbrella union to launch Tuesday, vowing ‘no politics,’ more benefits Korea’s labor unions had their day. With violent strikes and street protests, they made contributions to advancing democracy and improving labor rights in the 1970s and 1980s. But those days are gone. What unions need to do now is to break away from their stereotyped militant showdown with police and find a new way to a...

The number of overseas-based websites glorifying the North Korean regime has been increasing rapidly, a police report here showed Sunday. With their servers based in foreign countries, South Korean authorities have faced difficulties in dealing with the Korean-language websites legally. Police detected 58 such sites from 2007 until September of this year, and blocked South Korean Internet users...

300 students including Chinese and Japanese expected to join program every year Major universities in South Korea, China and Japan will launch a joint degree program next year as part of efforts to expand academic exchanges, the Education Ministry said Sunday. The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education announced 10 South Korean colleges and universities chosen to par...

A North Korean defector asked South Korean prosecutors to investigate a government-affiliated organization for its alleged leaking of personal information on defectors like himself, investigators said Sunday. The unnamed leader of a defectors’ group has accused the North Korean Refugees Foundation of handing over personal information on about 4,100 North Korea defectors to a private research ins...

The bodies of two pilots of a South Korean cargo plane that crashed into waters off the southern resort island of Jeju were recovered on Sunday nearly three months after the accident took place, Jeju maritime police said. The pilots ― Choi Sang-gi, the 52-year-old captain of the plane, and Lee Jeong-wung, his 43-year-old deputy ― had been unaccounted for after their Boeing 747 cargo plane operat...