BEIJING/YANGZHOU (Yonhap News) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited an economic development zone and a discount store in the eastern city of Yangzhou on Monday in a trip apparently designed to study China's economic reform, a source said. After his two separate outings, Kim appeared to have dinner with former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, the source said. "I understand there was a dinner...

South Koreans who wish to send money to their families in North Korea will be required to get government approval in advance under a revised law, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Monday. All remittances between the South and North, including investments or aid to the North from an overseas corporation set up by a South Korean citizen, will require government approval, according to the revised l...

Opposition parties accuse ruling party of copying their fee-cut policy The ruling Grand National Party has come under fire for its new plan to drastically cut college tuition fees for low-income families. “We aim at lowering the college tuition fees at least by half for all low-income families,” said Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, the GNP floor leader, on Sunday. “Though we expect difficulties in securin...

Meeting comes as factional strife looms large, party licks post-election wounds The meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and former Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye, scheduled for this week, is drawing keen attention as the rare talks are to come amid the party’s efforts for reform. The ruling party has been seeking measures to revamp itself and shore up public trust since its b...

Prosecutors to charge 23-year-old with attempted murder In a first of its kind, four of the five Somali pirates captured after a daring naval raid on a South Korean freighter in the Arabian Sea will go on jury trial Monday, according to court officials. Arai Mahomed, 23, who is suspected of shooting Captain Seok Hae-kyun at point-blank range, and three others will be publicly tried at the Busan...

TOKYO (Yonhap) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday that Beijing invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to the country in an effort to help Pyongyang learn about his nation's economic development and use it for reviving the North's own economy, an official said. Wen made the remark during a bilateral meeting with Lee on the sidelines of a tripartite ...

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made consolation visits to disaster-stricken Japanese regions on Saturday, expressing sympathy for victims of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident and pledging to provide active support for recovery efforts. Lee made the visits to Sendai and Fukushima, which are among the hardest-hit regions, en route to Tokyo for an annual tripartite summit with Japan...

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The following is the full text of the G-20 Speakers' Consultation Joint Communique released after the three-day meeting of the world's parliamentary leaders ended in Seoul Friday. 1. We, the speakers of the G20 Parliaments, have gathered in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from May 18 to 20, 2011 under the theme of "Development and Growth for Common Prosperity," in the recogni...