South Korean president-elect Lee Myung-bak yesterday expressed strong interest in joint energy development in Russia's resource-rich Siberia with the help of North Korean labor.
Lee told Russian Ambassador Gleb Ivashentsov he would make a massive development project there a priority after taking office in February.
"It would be beneficial for both countries if Russia and South Korea work together to develop East Siberia," Lee told the Russian envoy during a congratulatory visit, according to Lee's office.
"I want to start the project early after my inauguration. We may take advantage of North Korean labor," Lee said. "As Russia has energy resources South Korea needs, and there are other mutually necessary projects, I want to forge cooperative relations with Russia."
Ivashentsov gave Lee a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which the Russian leader congratulated Lee and invited him to Moscow, expressing hope for stronger relations between the two countries during Lee's term.
Lee, a former CEO of the conglomerate Hyundai Group, won Wednesday's election by a landslide on a wave of discontent for incumbent President Roh Moo-hyun, who was criticized for the country's slowing economy.
Lee has made the issue a priority and one of the first things he said after his win was "reviving the economy" would be his highest priority.
Later yesterday, Lee urged North Korea to scrap all its nuclear weapons for its own good and promised closer international cooperation to achieve the goal.
"We appreciate that China has the same thought as us that the disarmament of North Korea is for its own benefit," Lee told Chinese Ambassador Ning Fukui (
"We have high expectations of China that it has a key role to play," Lee was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.
Lee has promised to push North Korea to denuclearize and improve its human rights record in return for economic aid. He says he will link aid more closely to disarmament that was the case with Seoul's liberal governments over the past decade.
Lee called for a stronger alliance between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo in working towards the North's nuclear disarmament during a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday.
"The three-way cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan is most important in solving the North Korea nuclear issue," Lee was quoted as saying by his spokesperson Park Hyong-joon. "I promise to do my best in boosting bilateral ties with Japan to achieve the goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula."
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS