When one of Richard Stone's contacts in North Korea asked him four years ago if he knows any Western volcanologists who might like to study Mount Paektu, a volcano on North Korea’s border with China, he saw a rare chance.  [...] Two related scientific papers are now in preparation, said Stone at a panel discussion he moderated about science diplomacy in North Korea at the 9th World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul, South Korea, this week (10 June). 

On the Korean peninsula, the tense boundary known as the demilitarized zone is not the only thing that separates the North and South. The war seven decades ago also created a division in how Koreans speak their language. And for many newly arrived North Korean defectors in the South, learning new words and expressions makes resettling even more challenging. A new smartphone app could help these refugees overcome the linguistic division. 

A group of women peace activists, led by American feminist Gloria Steinem, made a rare crossing of one of the world's most militarised borders on Sunday to promote reconciliation between North and South Korea.

Tokyo: Japan and South Korea on Saturday held the first dialogue of their financial chiefs in two and a half years, agreeing to improve economic ties despite diplomatic frictions between the two Asian countries. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and his South Korean counterpart Choi Kyung-Hwan held a one-day meeting in Tokyo, the first since November 2012 and since conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December that year.

While in South Korea Modi met with President Park Geun-hye and oversaw the signing of a range of agreements between the two countries. The main focus of Mr. Modi’s visit is to promote the new image of India under his leadership in attracting Korean investment in his pet projects at home; Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, 100 Smart Cities, Digital India and Make in India.