TheRepublic.com - Seoul News

SKorea begins bidding for $7.3 billion fighter buy

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:08:40 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea has begun accepting bids from aircraft makers to supply 60 new fighter jets at an estimated cost of $7.3 billion (8.3 trillion won).

Facebook CEO meets SKorean president

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:25:09 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has met South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul to discuss ways to stimulate entrepreneurship and venture firms in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

North Korea changes tack and tells US: Let's talk

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:02:53 -0400

PYONGYANG, North Korea - After months of threatening to wage a nuclear war, North Korea did an about-face Sunday and issued a surprise proposal to the United States, its No. 1 enemy: Let's talk.

Stakes high as Asian qualifying reaches last games

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:24:38 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - Five nations around the vast Asian confederation are bracing for the joy or heartbreak that is coming their way on Tuesday in the last games of continental World Cup qualification.

SKorea's ex-spy chief indicted in election scandal

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:55:13 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's former spy chief has been indicted on charges of meddling in last year's presidential election by ordering an online smear campaign against opposition candidates and their parties, prosecutors said Friday.

SKorea on brink of World Cup after beating Uzbekis

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:29:33 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea is on the brink of qualifying for the World Cup after defeating Uzbekistan 1-0 thanks to a first-half own goal from Akmal Shorakhmedov.

UN official criticizes South Korean security law

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:58:05 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - An independent U.N. investigator says South Korea's National Security Law seriously restricts human rights.

Activist: Repatriated NKoreans from its underclass

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:31:30 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - Before they were detained in Laos and sent home, a group of young North Korean defectors smiled and teased each other as they told an activist how some of them were beaten with sticks for trying to steal noodles in their homeland.

Denver 787 delegates seek more Asian flights

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:27:27 -0400

DENVER - A Colorado delegation taking the United Airlines 787 inaugural nonstop flight from Denver to Tokyo hopes to draw more flights to Asia, including Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea bracing for tight finish in qualifying

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 22:06:22 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Koreans are no longer really accustomed to tension and drama when it comes to World Cup qualification, so a small case of nerves is a new experience for a generation of football fans.

SKorea's gay film maker in news over wedding plans

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 06:19:29 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - The first time a South Korean celebrity announced he was gay, in 2000, the reaction was quick and without empathy. Popular actor and entertainer Hong Suk-chon was banished from television and radio programs for three years, and he said in a talk-show interview this year that he regrets coming out.

UN protests return of 9 young NKorean defectors

Fri, 31 May 2013 19:09:59 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. human rights chief criticized Laos and China on Friday for returning nine young defectors - all reportedly orphans - to North Korea, where they could face harsh treatment.

AP PHOTOS: Seoul music rivals soul for some Latins

Thu, 30 May 2013 09:05:13 -0400

LIMA, Peru - Teenagers throughout Latin America have long looked north for pop music inspiration. Now the East is rising, with a large and enthusiastic cult of fans in some countries following the K-pop music from Korea.

SKorea fosters startups as it seeks economic shift

Thu, 30 May 2013 05:59:34 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - Kwon Sunbeom's future was mapped out. Talented in math and science, he attended a specialized high school and majored in electronic engineering at a prestigious university. Lifetime employment at one of South Korea's towering conglomerates beckoned.

NKorea says SKoreans can re-enter Kaesong complex

Tue, 28 May 2013 01:46:04 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea says South Korean businessmen can enter a jointly run industrial park in the North that has been emptied since April after tensions between the two countries soared.

Korea, Japan dominance eroded in Asian football

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:18:28 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea and Japan's domination of eastern Asian football is being further eroded, judging by the make-up of the quarterfinalists in this season's Asian Champions League.

Japan mulls talks with NKorea, surprising allies

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:16:21 -0400

TOKYO - Japan's government is looking into re-opening official talks with North Korea to resolve questions over the abductions of Japanese citizens decades ago, raising concerns among allies who fear Tokyo's focus on that issue might weaken efforts to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

North Korea sends leader's special envoy to China

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:29:57 -0400

PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dispatched a high-profile official and close confidant to travel to China on Wednesday as a special envoy while Beijing is under pressure to rein in its belligerent neighbor.

Court rules against man for emailing NKorean spy

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:58:05 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's Supreme Court has upheld a ruling sentencing a man to a year and half in prison for exchanging emails with an alleged North Korean spy and praising Pyongyang on his website.

Seoul: Day 3 of NKorea tests of short-range weapon

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:32:45 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea continued firing short-range weapons over its own eastern waters Monday after a weekend of what it called "rocket launching tests" intended to bolster deterrence against enemy attack. South Korean officials were investigating exactly what it was that the North was testing.

SKorea analyzing NKorea's 4 projectile launches

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:20:07 -0400

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea is analyzing whether projectiles North Korea fired into its eastern waters over the weekend are short-range missiles or a new type of artillery the country may be developing, officials said Monday.