South Korean parliamentary committee approves US free trade deal

September 21st, 2009 SKorea head proposes 'grand bargain'NEW YORK — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed a "grand bargain" Monday to restart disarmament negotiations and end North Korea's nuclear arms program. Lee's proposal called for giving the North economic and political incentives, including a security guarantee, the Yonhap news agency reported.

August 23rd, 2009 SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks with a visiting North Korean delegation here Sunday amid Pyongyang's latest conciliatory moves that show signs of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, media reports said. A high-level North Korean delegation arrived here Friday to pay their last respect to late former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung who died recently.

August 17th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Monday said it was reopening its borders for inter-Korean tourism projects with South Korea and to remove obstacles from the operation of a jointly-run business park, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported. In a joint press release, Hyundai and North's Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which runs inter-Korean business affairs, announced to "restore" passage for South Korean personnel to the Kaesong industrial park.

August 7th, 2009 South Korea, India sign free trade agreementSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and India signed an ambitious free trade agreement Friday that slashes tariffs, encourages investment and promotes exchange of skills in a bid to double fast-growing commerce between two of Asia's biggest economies over the next decade. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma signed what the two sides formally called a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, but which in reality is a free trade deal.

August 7th, 2009 SKorea, India sign broad agreement to boost tradeSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and India signed a broad trade agreement Friday to slash tariffs on goods and services in a bid to increase commerce between two of Asia's biggest economies. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma penned what the two sides formally called a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, but which South Korea is calling a free trade deal.

July 13th, 2009 South Korea: Conclusion of FTA with EU nearSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the European Union are ready to announce the conclusion of their free trade talks, President Lee Myung-bak said ahead of a meeting Monday with Sweden, the current chair of the rotating EU presidency. "I think we can declare the conclusion of negotiations," Lee told South Koreans in a nationwide radio address broadcast Monday.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The stage is set for a comprehensive economic pact between India and South Korea after the union cabinet Thursday approved signing of the agreement. "The union cabinet today (Thursday) approved the proposal for signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with South Korea," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters here.

June 25th, 2009 FCC approves CenturyTel-Embarq dealMONROE, La. — CenturyTel Inc.

June 17th, 2009 Lee and Obama discuss free trade dealWASHINGTON — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is urging representatives of top U.S. companies to push for quick ratification of a stalled U.S.-South Korean free trade deal.

May 28th, 2009 LONDON - Two Indian sailors who have been detained in South Korea for close to 18 months for an oil spillage that New Delhi says they did not cause are to be set free within two weeks, Indian diplomatic sources said Thursday. South Korean diplomats at the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London have said they expect Jasprit Chawla, captain of the Hebei Spirit, and Chief Officer Shyam Chetan to be allowed to fly back within two weeks, Indian diplomats told IANS.

May 5th, 2009 Canada to talk trade despite EU seal product banTORONTO — Canada's trade minister says a European Parliament ban of Canadian seal products won't prevent Canada and the EU from agreeing on a wide-ranging free-trade agreement. The European Parliament voted Tuesday to ban imports of seal products in an effort to force Canada to end its annual seal hunt.

April 22nd, 2009 Melee breaks out in SKorea over US free trade dealSEOUL, South Korea — A melee broke out between rival South Korean politicians after the chairman of a parliamentary committee approved a proposed free trade agreement with the United States on Wednesday. Park Jin, chairman of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee, announced his committee passed the trade pact, despite frantic efforts by opposition members to physically disrupt the session.

April 22nd, 2009 SKorean-US trade deal nears vote in legislatureSEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean parliamentary committee approved a free trade agreement with the United States on Wednesday, paving the way for the deal to be voted on by the entire legislature. Park Jin, chairman of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee, announced that his committee passed the trade pact, despite frantic efforts by opposition members to disrupt the session.

April 21st, 2009 SEOUL - A South Korean delegation reached North Korea Tuesday morning to participate in talks amid mounting tensions in the Korean Peninsula. 'The delegation has crossed the border,' a spokesman of South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

March 6th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Thursday indirectly threatened to shoot down South Korean passenger aircraft in its airspace, amid growing tension on the Korean peninsula. North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea made the threat as the US and South Korea prepared to undertake joint military exercises next Monday.