The Korean government has decided to spend 500 million dollars US over the next five years to help with the reconstruction and stabilization of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade reported on April 15 that Korean Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Jae-shin announced the support plan at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin on April 14.

The Deputy Minister expressed Korea’s willingness to participate in the reconstruction efforts of the international community for Afghanistan at the meeting.

A special OECD conference in Paris approved of Korea's membership in the organization's Development Assistance Committee by a unanimous decision.

The DAC is an international forum where donor governments and multilateral organizations - such as the World Bank and the United Nations - come together to help partner countries reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The committee, comprising 24 advanced

The nation's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday (July 17) that Korea would mark the first anniversary of its deployment of troops to Lebanon, where some 12,000 U.N. peacekeeping forces from 25 other nations are working to restore peace and stability.

The anniversary follows the National Assembly's approval Wednesday of the extension of the deployment for another year.

Korea dispatched some 350 troops to the Middle Eastern country on July 18, 2007, at the request of the United Nations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said Thursday (June 26) that Korea will provide $300,000 in cash to the Philippines to help it recover from huge typhoon damages.

President Lee Myung-bak has already sent a letter expressing his condolences to his Filipino counterpart Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The death toll from Typhoon Fengshen which pounded the Philippines last weekend has risen to 622 with nearly 1,000 people still missing, mostly from the capsizing of a passenger ferry,

South Korea will purchase the supplies, including preventive drugs and insecticides, from the government-civilian fund for boosting inter-Korean cooperation programs, for delivery to the Pyongyang office of the World Health Organization, the office said.

Seoul has supported malaria-prevention efforts in the North since 2001 with the help of the U.N. health watchdog.  

About 200 South Korean troops arrived in Seoul Airport in Seongnam from Afghanistan on Friday (Dec. 14), ending their six-year mission in the war-ravaged nation as part of the U.S.-led coalition forces in the war on terrorism.

The JCS said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Heung-ryul hosted a welcoming ceremony for the soldiers on their arrival

During the Inter-Korean Prime Ministers' Talks at a Seoul hotel from Wednesday (Nov. 14), South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-il will discuss detailed follow-up measures to implement the Declaration on the Advancement of South-North Korean Relations, Peace and Prosperity. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim

"We sent 30 5-ton trucks to North Korea via the overland route in the morning. Later in the day, an additional 30 trucks of aid will be delivered," said an official at the Unification Ministry.

By the end of this month, other aid such as materials and equipment will be delivered, while cement will be sent by the end of next month, the official said.

Last week, South Korea endorsed the sending

The OCHA report said 169,561 North Koreans became homeless, with some 40,463 homes completely destroyed, 67,056 partially