The mayor of South Korea's capital says he wants to take a more amicable approach to relations with North Korea after months of tensions going back to Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January. [...] The mayor's first proposal would improve the water quality of the Taedong River in Pyongyang and to make water infrastructure enhancements.

The networks that primarily seek to establish, protect and expand US primacy in Asia are driven by corporate and financial special interests including banks, the energy industry, defence contractors, agricultural and pharmaceutical giants, the US entertainment industry and media as well as tech giants.

As Korean scrambles to build diplomatic links from scratch with a Donald J. Trump administration, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe moved swiftly to schedule a summit with the U.S. president-elect in New York next week. While Korean President Park Geun-hye spoke over the phone with Trump for about 10 minutes Thursday to reaffirm his support for the U.S.-Korea alliance, Abe and Trump held a 20-minute phone conversation and agreed to meet on Nov. 17.

While U.S. officials are consulting intensely with their South Korean counterparts, not enough attention is being paid to Beijing’s perspective, even though China would figure heavily into any prospective U.S. action toward the North. By examining Beijing’s role in each of the three main North Korea policy strategies under debate in the United States, the “China factor” emerges as a decisive one, in ways that policymakers need to weigh carefully.

The Philippine Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2017 is an opportune time to revive the National Branding Council proposal made by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) in 20121 to build the international image and reputation of the country. Nation Branding is an important tool in managing a country’s identity across the globe forming part of public diplomacy.

Attracting young talent is now a mounting task for leaders around the world and Seoul is no exception. That was the topic at a meeting of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council (SIBAC), a group of 25 volunteer advisors that gives the mayor policy recommendations, Friday.

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam and the Tourism Promotion Department of South Korea's Gyeongsangbuk-do Province organized an event promoting Gyeongsangbuk-do tourism in Ho Chi Minh City on October 26.