Visit the focus of food shortages of the Northern Korea: Carter - AFP

Visit the focus of food shortages of the Northern Korea: Carter (AFP) - 2 hours ago

BEIJING - A group of men of ancient State led by former President Jimmy Carter said that they will focus on the shortages of food, rights of man and denuclearization when they travel to the North Korea this week.

A delegation of the group "The Elders" of the former State leaders will visit Pyongyang Tuesday to seek ways to ease tensions on the North Korea nuclear weapons programs, they told a press conference in Beijing.

The Group of four members, headed by Carter, includes the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, Prime Minister, ex-norvégien Gro Harlem Brundtland and former Irish President Mary Robinson.

In addition to discussing ways of advancing the multi-nation talks on Denuclearisation of North Korea, Carter said that he would seek ways to ease sanctions on Pyongyang, which have exacerbated a serious food crisis.

"This is a horrible situation and we hope to encourage other countries to help alleviate (the food crisis), including the South Korea, which cut all supplies of food materials to the North Koreans,"Carter said of the journalists."

"When there is an entire people sanctions, people suffer the most, and leaders are suffering least."

Robinson said one-third of the children of the Korea of the North suffered from delayed growth due to a lack of food, while almost 3.5 million people were vulnerable to the crisis growing which has seen the average food rations cut in half this year to 700 calories per day and per person.

"It is very, very important to ensure that women, children and elderly people do not suffer because of a political, said Robinson." We will be very well be highlighting this.

"We believe really that humanitarian issues and human rights are also very important."

Food agencies of the United Nations, which recently visited the North say more than six million people – a quarter of the population - urgently need food aid.

Carter said the delegation hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, but for the moment such a meeting has not been announced. The trip was organized at the invitation of the Korea of the North.

The delegation was to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi China and other Chinese experts on the North Korea later Monday. The group, which will publish a report on their findings, will fly to Seoul Thursday.

Talks between the two Koreas, China, United States, Japan and Russia six-party disarmament became stalled since Pyongyang was released in April 2008 and made its second nuclear test staged a month later.

Cross-border tensions have been exacerbated when the North Korea bombed a border in November, killing four South Korean, including two civilians, and generate fears of war.

The first attack against civilians since the 1950-53 weeks Korea war after Pyongyang revealed an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant to American experts visit.

The North that it was a peaceful but experts energy project said that he could be reconfigured to produce weapons-grade uranium.

Copyright ? AFP 2011. All rights reserved. "More".

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The Australia is designed to Accord on trade with the Korea of the South, says Gillard

April 23, 2011, 11: 40 am EDT by James Paton

April 24 (Bloomberg) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that she plans to discuss free trade tomorrow with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and is satisfied that the two nations will complement an agreement.

"I am committed to building relationships of the Australia with the Korea," Gillard said in a speech made yesterday in Seoul, according to a copy of the address on the website of the Prime Minister. "It's full of promises and potential partnership."Korea of the South is the fourth trading partner of the Australia, a nation with a "very complementary" economy and a consumer of its natural gas liquefied, said Gillard. Korea Gas Corp. is a partner in the Gladstone LNG 16 billion project in the State of Queensland led by Santos Ltd., producer of oil third in Australia, while Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. became "household names"She said. "" Gillard, our commercial links are intense and highly complementary ", said in his speech. "Highlights of the Australia raw materials, energy and services completed the forces of the Korea in the production of mass and heavy industry."Australia will contribute a 10 million ($10.7 million) to Global Green growth Institute Korea in the South, created by the Government to support the development of environmental policies in the developing countries, according to Gillard.Australia and the Japan agreed to work more closely on the development of clean energy sourcesAfter the earthquake on March 11 and the nuclear crisis and reaffirmed a commitment to introduce a free trade agreement, Gillard said on 22 April in Tokyo.

-Editors: Anand Krishnamoorthy.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Paton in Sydney jpaton4@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Tighe at the ptighe@bloomberg.net

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American detained confessed to the Crime - voice of America, said Korea n.

VOA News, April 14, 2011

Korea of Northern States that a detained American citizen has confessed to having committed a crime unspecified against the reclusive communist nation.

The official Korean Central News Agency said the inmate, identified as Jun Young Su, admitted to the achievement of the crime shortly after entry into the country in November. KCNA said the United States was informed of the arrest of Jun, and that the authorities have provided consular access through the Sweden Embassy, which represents US interests in North Korea.

The Yonhap News Agency quotes the South Korea informed sources in Washington as saying that Jun was accused of having participated in unauthorized North Korea religious activities. Yonhap said that Jun was a businessman who attends a church in the region of Los Angeles, California.

The US State Department has called on the regime to release Jun for humanitarian reasons.

Former US President Jimmy Carter is scheduled to visit the North Korea this month.? On his previous trip last August, former President allowed the release of an American citizen who was arrested for illegally entering the North.

Carter did not reveal the details of the visit, which is described as strictly private.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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The Korea of the South Central Bank increased its Inflation forecasts

April 12, 2011, 9: 25 am EDT by Seonjin Cha and Eunkyung Seo

(Updates with comment from the the Economist fourth paragraph).

April 13 (Bloomberg) - inflation in the South Korea is probably accelerate forecasts more previously while economic growth remains consistent with expectations, the Bank of Korea said.Consumer prices may rise 3.9% in 2011, faster than the previous estimate of 3.5%, the Central Bank of the forecast in a statement in Seoul today. Gross domestic product expected to expand by 4.5 per cent this year and 4.8 per cent in 2012, after only a 6.2% gain in 2010, he said. The Bank predicted growth of 4.7% for next year December.Acceleration of inflation driven by economic growth and rising oil and food prices may prompt the Central Bank might increase interest rates three times this year, according to Barclays Plc Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong Soo said yesterday take monetary policy action "neither too slow nor too fast" after that maintain the unchanged reference rate.Increased inflation forecasts "is a warmongering signal that strengthens our call for the rate increases, more this year," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, an economist based in Hong Kong to Credit Agricole CIB. He said that he predicted at least two increases of interest rates over this year and a strengthening in the WINS at 1,050 to the dollar at the end of the year.Won reached 0.1% to 1,092.85 per dollar as of 9: 18 pm in Seoul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, while the stock index ABN won 0.1%.Central Bank of oil pricesThe also found the economy increased by 1.5% in the first quarter and expanded by 4.1% a year earlier. Economic growth was boosted by exports. Shipments overseas jumped 30.3% at record rate 48.6 billion in March, according to a report by the Government on April 1. consumer inflation in the fourth largest economy in Asia will accelerate 4.5 percent this year, the Monetary Fund International scheduled this week. It provides that economic growth should slow to 4.2% year next 4.5 percent this year.The threat of further increases in oil prices has become a "key downside risk" for global growth, according to the IMF. Oil will increase by 36% in 2011 to $107.16 per barrel, based on the average prices of Brent r. UK, Dubai and West Texas Intermediate crude, the IMF said. January forecast was for oil at US $89.50 per barrel this year.Inflation CeilingThe Bank Korea itself the projects of the price of oil to be $ 105 per barrel this year, from its previous estimate of $87. For may delivery fell $3.67 to $106.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, the lowest settlement since 30 March higher oil and food prices pushed consumption above 4 per cent increase the Central Bank ceiling each month since the beginning of the year crude oil, which prompted the Bank to increase rates by a quarter of a percentage point each in January and March. Consumer prices rose by 4.7% from a year earlier in March, the largest increase since October 2008.Governor Kim said high inflation will likely persist in the coming months and that basic excluding oil prices and food can acquire more rapidly than the consumer price at the end of this year. "We are determined to normalize interest rates," Kim said yesterday after maintaining the rate of the target to 3%. " "We will be move forward nor too slowly, or too fast and in a way forward - looking as we are overcoming a crisis.". The Central Bank began to increase the redemption rate of seven days in reference to a record minimum 2% the last July.Jobless RateThe Korean Central Bank to raise its rate target by 25 basis points in mayJuly and September, Wai Ho Leong, a regional economist based in Singapore in Barclays Plc, said yesterday in a report.The Bank has now also provides that the unemployment rate will decrease to 3.4% the year next 3.6% this year. Excess of accounts of the nation should be reduced to 11 billion in 2011 from $ 28.2 billion year last due to the high prices of oil.Unemployment rate of the Korea in the South remained at a maximum of one year in March as an economic recovery encouraged people to find work.The unemployment rate was at 4 percent, unchanged since February, statistics Korea in Gwacheon said today, citing seasonally adjusted figures.

-Editors: Ken McCallum, Brendan Murray

To contact the reporter on this story: Eunkyung Seo in Seoul to eseo3@bloomberg.net Seonjin Cha in Seoul at the scha2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Panckhurst in ppanckhurst@bloomberg.net Chitra Somayaji in the csomayaji@bloomberg.net

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