President Lee Myung-bak is reportedly considering replacing some of his aides and Cabinet members in February as he completes his third year in office. Lee, first of all, has to name a new senior presidential secretary for economic affairs to replace Choi Joong-kyung, who was appointed as the minister of knowledge economy last week. “As for the vacancies in Cheong Wa Dae, nominations can take p...

Defense Ministry says it wants enough time to make preparations Seoul’s Defense Ministry on Monday rejected North Korea’s proposal to hold working-level military talks at an earlier date, repeating that it wants to hold the meeting Feb. 11 as it originally suggested. In a faxed message sent to the ministry last Saturday, the North suggested holding the preliminary talks Tuesday without elaborat...

South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday it is working on increasing the number of flights from Cairo to Seoul to transport South Korean nationals back home amid raging anti-government protests there. "As the situation gets worse, there aren't enough flights compared to the number of our people who would like to leave Egypt," said a ministry official. "We are in talks with Korean Air to increa...

The Justice Ministry on Friday appointed Han Sang-dae, chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, to head the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in a reshuffle that affected six senior prosecutor posts. Park Yong-seok, chief of the Legal Research and Training Institute, was appointed as the vice chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in the reshuffle, which officials said is aimed at...

North Korea proposed parliamentary talks with the South to discuss ways to ease tension on the peninsula, drawing varied reactions from political parties here. “What is essential in the inter-Korean dialogue is dialogue between the authorities with real power and responsibility,” the North’s Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland said in an English-lang...

With as many as six seats up for grabs, the by-elections in April are expected to have a major impact on the political climate ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections next year. Being this year’s only national-level elections, the votes could buck up or discourage the Lee Myung-bak administration as it nears its end. Gangwon Province will have to pick a new governor as Lee Kwang-j...

A Seoul court sentenced a former senior prosecutor to two-and-a-half years in jail for accepting a luxury car and other kickbacks from a businessman in return for ordering his subordinate to investigate a case against the bribe giver's rival. The 52-year-old, surnamed Jeong who formerly served at the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office, was charged with accepting bribes worth 46 million won (US$41...

South Korea has said this week it will not link an apology from North Korea for last year’s attacks with resuming multinational disarmament talks, taking a step toward making peace with its nuclear-armed rival. The change of attitude could lead to early resumption of the six-nation talks aimed at North Korea’s denuclearization, an issue that has sparked a months-long tug of war among regional po...