SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will hold a cultural festival at a former U.S. army base near the inter-Korean border this weekend as part of efforts to transform the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into a hub of peace-themed tourism, organizers said Monday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the [...]
VATICAN, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Pope Francis expressed his willingness Thursday to visit North Korea if officially invited, also saying he will “certainly” respond to such an invitation from the communist state. The remarks came in a meeting with South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who paid a courtesy call on the pope to deliver [...]
VATICAN CITY, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The Vatican has reacted cautiously to a veteran South Korean politician’s remarks about Pope Francis’ possible visit to North Korea next spring. Paloma Garcia Ovejero, deputy spokesperson of the Holy See, told Yonhap News Agency on Monday that the Vatican has nothing to comment on speculation about the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea has recently launched a new website dedicated to external trade and investment in what appears to be a move to induce more foreign investment to aid its economic growth. The “Foreign Trade of DPRK” website — DPRK stands for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s full [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A controversy has erupted in South Korea over U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice of words in a comment regarding South Korea’s sanctions on North Korea. Trump was responding to a reporter’s question about reports from Seoul that South Korea is considering lifting some sanctions against North Korea. “Well, they [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited Pope Francis to visit Pyongyang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will deliver the invitation when he meets the pope next week, a presidential official said Tuesday. Kim said he will “ardently welcome the pope if he visits Pyongyang.” Kim made the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A tour agency specializing in travel to Korea’s heavily armed demilitarized zone (DMZ) said Monday it will sell a new package to the area that highlights the ecosystem and peace instead of security-centered sightseeing. DMZ Tour Korea will offer a “Cheorwon DMZ peace and eco winter travel” package from [...]
CHEORWON, South Korea, Oct. 3 (Korea Bizwire) –After a 15-minute bumpy ride along a dusty, hilly path inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), dozens of South Korean troops in full gear disembarked near a grisly site of intense battles during the 1950-53 Korean War. Accompanying them in the buffer zone separating the two Koreas was a [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — A new survey has found that 6 out of 10 South Korean adults think “unification (between the two Koreas) is necessary.” The Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS) at Seoul National University announced that 59.8 percent of respondents answered “unification is necessary” in a survey that quizzed 1,200 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A Seoul-based tour company is planning to sell North Korea travel packages to foreigners staying in South Korea. Sunwoo Airlines Travel Agency Co. said Friday that it has secured an exclusive proxy contract with Pyongyang on the sale of North Korea tour packages to foreigners living in South Korea [...]