Kyodo news summary -7-
November 30, 2007To access full stories on Kyodo News English website, it is necessary to subscribe. Please contact Kyodo's International Department in Tokyo via e-mail at kokusai@kyodones.jp or call 03-6252-8301. If you are outside Japan, please contact Kyodo News International in New York at kni@kyodonews.com or call +1-212-508-5440. Currently we offer subscriptions to only corporate clients such as newspapers, magazines, trade publications, research institutes, government and international organizations
Bhutto supports Pakistan democracy, but agrees vote boycott possible
November 30, 2007Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said Friday said her Pakistan People's Party might join a boycott of the Jan. 8 national and provincial elections if the opposition parties can work out a common goal and agenda. She told a press conference her party is ready for elections, but it was also holding talks with other opposition parties who have already announced a boycott of the elections.
Malaysia's Proton returns to profit as car sales rise
November 30, 2007Boosted by sales of a new model and cost-cutting measures, Malaysia's national automaker Proton Bhd. announced Friday a small net profit of 3.51 million ringgit ($1.05 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007. It was the first profit after five consecutive quarterly losses for the car company that captured only 33 percent of the local market, a far cry from the some 60 percent it commanded five years ago but still better than the 26 percent share it had in the first quarter before the launch of the new Pesona sedan model in August.
China working to bring N. Korea back to negotiating table
October 10, 2006China is taking positive action to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table in a bid to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, China's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing, said China believes the six-party talks set up to deal with the issue are the best way to resolve the problem.
N. Korea marks anniversary with festivities amid nuke test standoff
October 10, 2006The North Korean capital on Tuesday marked the 61st anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea with festivities, even as the international community reacted with anger and concern toward the country's nuclear test the day before. The nuclear test was mentioned both during a concert for the occasion attended by high-ranking government officials as well as in the day's Rodong Sinmun, the party's official newspaper, but only briefly without fanfare.
67% of S. Koreans say South should have nuclear arms: poll
October 10, 2006Sixty-seven percent of South Koreans polled said South Korea should develop a nuclear capability and possess nuclear arms now that North Korea has carried out a nuclear test, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday by a local research institute. In the survey by the Social Trend Institute which was conducted shortly after North Korea said Monday it successfully conducted a nuclear test, 69.8 percent of the respondents expressed concern over the nuclear test.
5 illegal N. Korean youths turn themselves in to Thai police
October 10, 2006Five North Korean youths who entered Thailand illegally have turned themselves in to Thai police in northern Chiang Rai Province with the hope of asylum in South Korea, local police said Tuesday. The five -- two boys aged 9 and 17 and three girls aged 14, 15 and 16 -- made their way to the tourist police on Sunday in the city of Chiang Rai, according to the police.
Dogs banned from access to Angkor Wat temples
September 18, 2006Following complaints from local authorities, Angkor Park temple guards and tourists, dogs are no longer permitted to access the temples, the provincial governor said Monday. In a telephone interview, Sou Phirin, Siem Reap provincial governor, told Kyodo News the ban was decided during a meeting last Thursday and came into effect ''today.''
Paulson urges Japan to continue with banking reforms
September 16, 2006To access full stories on Kyodo News English website, it is necessary to subscribe. Please contact Kyodo's International Department in Tokyo via e-mail at kokusai@kyodones.jp or call 03-6252-8301. If you are outside Japan, please contact Kyodo News International in New York at kni@kyodonews.com or call +1-212-508-5440. Currently we offer subscriptions to only corporate clients such as newspapers, magazines, trade publications, research institutes, government and international organizations
N. Korean official urges new Japan leader to implement declaration
September 16, 2006North Korea urges the successor to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to implement a 2002 bilateral declaration committing the countries to work toward normalizing ties, a senior North Korean official said in a recent interview. If the new Japanese leadership ''hopes to prosper together with us as neighbors with friendly relations, it should abandon its policy of hostility against our country and work to sincerely implement the Pyongyang Declaration,'' Jong Thae Hwa, a former top negotiator in bilateral normalization talks with Japan, told Kyodo News.