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• Hundreds of S.Koreans cross border for final set of reunions

  South Korean elderly people leave for North Korea to take part in family reunions with their North Korean family members at Inter Korean transit office in Goseong, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. About 250 South Koreans, many of them over 80 and some in wheelchairs, made their way through an immigration office at the world's most heavily fortified border. They will travel by bus to the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort for three-day meetings with their North Korean relatives most hadn't heard from for more than 60 years. At least two traveled to the North in ambulance vans because…... [read more]

• South Korean Prime Minister resigns over ferry sinking

  (VOVworld)- South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won tendered his resignation Sunday over the sinking of a passenger ferry that left more than 300 people dead or missing. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, 11 days after the accident, Mr. Chung Hong Won said he apologized for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards adding that as the prime minister, he certainly had to take responsibility and resign. The Sewol, a large passenger ferry, capsized with 476 people — many of them schoolchildren — on board when it was en…... [read more]

• US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea for joint naval drills

  The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz arrived in South Korea Saturday to participate in joint naval drills as part of routine training, the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said. The Nimitz Strike Group includes 64 aircraft as well as cruisers and destroyers, said the group's commander, Rear Admiral Mike S. White, after the aircraft carrier anchored off the southern port of Busan. South Korea's Defence Ministry said the 97,000-ton Nimitz, one of the world's largest warships, will participate in joint search-and-rescue operations as well as "sea manoeuvring" around the Korean Peninsula. The ministry declined to confirm news reports that the…... [read more]

• Asian markets see muted gains after G20 meeting

  Asian markets were mostly up on Monday as traders gave a tentative welcome to an agreement by the Group of 20 nations to avoid a potential currency war and work to resolve global trade imbalances. Finance ministers and central bankers ended a two-day meeting in South Korea Saturday saying they would not take part in "competitive devaluation" and would move to tackle large current account surpluses, although they shied away from specific targets. Hong Kong rose 0.82 per cent, Shanghai edged up 0.09 per cent and Seoul gained 0.53 per cent. Tokyo edged up 0.08 per cent but gains were…... [read more]

• NorthKorea publishes first photo of heir apparent

  Secretive North Korea on Thursday published a photograph of the youngest son and heir apparent to the communist state's ailing leader Kim Jong-Il, the first official image of him ever released. The photo of Kim Jong-Un was taken after the ruling party's highest-level meeting for 30 years, which bestowed powerful posts on him in a clear sign he is being groomed for the next dynastic succession in the communist state. Official media carried a photo of leading ruling party officials. Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun listed the son Jong-Un as one of those in the group. It did not say where…... [read more]

• Two Koreas hold military talks, Seoul seeks apology

  Seoul insisted Thursday it would demand an apology from Pyongyang for the sinking of one of its warships as North and South Korea began their first military talks for two years. At the talks in the border truce village of Panmunjom, the South's officers will demand that the North "recognise, apologise and punish those behind the attack on the Cheonan warship", Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young said. "We will also emphasise there should be measures to prevent such incidents from taking place in the future," he told a forum. Kim said North Korean troops have boosted operations since South Korea and…... [read more]

• Leaders of SKorea, Japan, China head to summit

  Top military commanders gathered in Seoul on Saturday to discuss how to counter North Korean provocations, as leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan headed to the southern island of Jeju for a summit amid tensions over the sinking of a warship blamed on Pyongyang. International pressure is mounting on North Korea over the sinking of the Cheonan, which killed 46 South Korean sailors in late March in one of the South's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War. A multinational team of investigators said last week that evidence proved a North Korean torpedo sank the warship. North Korea…... [read more]

• Pop star My Tam wins Asia's Music Legend Award

  VietNamNet Bridge - Singer My Tam received the Asian Music Legend Award in Malaysia as part of the 2nd Top Asia Corporate Ball, which attracted 900 contestants from throughout Asia, last Friday. The event, held by the Top 10 of Asia Initiative - a Kuala Lumpur-based organization, aimed to honor the best singers from Asian countries. My Tam was the first Vietnamese to win the most prestigious music award in the region. Knowing that her chance was coming, My Tam came up with the idea to hold a concert in two big stadiums in Vietnam, becoming the first Vietnamese artist…... [read more]

• Brave art

  No cost seems too high for singers making albums though the returns are uncertain. More singers seem to be willing these days to spend money and effort to make albums, a complicated and demanding process. It may take more than two years to complete one because the singer does not have enough songs or the arranger dawdles. Or it could be the mixer's fault meaning the singer will have to start all over again. But all this does not deter singers from spending a small fortune on albums. Little-known singer Ly Hai put on a live show last year merely…... [read more]

• Vietnam mourns over Russian astronaut Viktor Gorbatko’s death

  In his message to the Russian President, which was read by Major General Tran Minh Son, head of the Vietnam Military Attaché Agency in Russia, at the funeral service for Gorbatko in Moscow on May 19, President Tran Dai Quang said that the passing away of Gorbatko is a great loss of both Russia and Vietnam. The Party, State and people of Vietnam highly value contributions that Gorbatko made to the development of the Vietnam-former Soviet Union ties in the past and the Vietnam-Russia strategic partnership recently. Astronaut Viktor Gorbatko passed away on May 17 at the age of 83…... [read more]