Workers search for bone fragments from the wreckage of the salvaged ferry Sewol at a port in Mokpo, South Korea, on Wednesday. Lee Sanghack / Yonhap Via Associated Press SEOUL - DNA testing on a bone found in waters where a sunken ferry was recently raised has identified one of the nine missing passengers from the 2014 disaster that killed more than 300 people, South Korean officials said on Wednesday. Testing confirmed that the bone found on May 5 was from the remains of teacher Koh Chang-seok, said the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Most of the victims were students on a high school trip. A total of 304 people died when the ferry Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, touching off an outpouring of national grief and soul searching in the country about long-ignored public safety and regulatory failures. Public outrage over what was widely seen as a botched rescue effort by the government contributed to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye, who was removed from office and arrested in March over broad corruption charges. Divers recovered 295 bodies from the ship's wreckage and nearby seas before the government stopped underwater searches after seven months. Finding the remains of the missing victims would bring a measure of closure to one of South Korea's deadliest disasters. In March, salvage workers completed a herculean effort to raise the 6,800-ton ferry from waters off the country's southwest coast and tow it to port in Mokpo, where investigators continue to search the wreckage. In recent days, they reported the discovery of suspected human bones that they put up for DNA testing. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Koh's bone was not found in the wreckage, but by divers who were searching waters where the ferry was raised from. Koh's wife, Yoo Baek-hyeong, emotionally reacted in March after the ferry was raised and put on a transport vessel for what became a weeklong journey to Mokpo. He was in the dark and frightening deep seas for three years, but he's now going to Mokpo, Yoo said then. I want to find even just a piece of his hair. He would have been wearing his wedding ring. ... I want to find all of those things. The ferry's captain survived and is serving a life sentence after a court found him guilty of committing homicide through willful negligence because he fled the ship without issuing an evacuation order. Accusations that Park was out of contact for several hours on the day of the sinking were included in the impeachment bill lawmakers passed in December. Ap - Xinhua personalised fabric wristbandswristband com24hourwristbandsmake rubber braceletscustom fidgetflash drive wristbandsilicone fidget spinner
Shakhrat Nuryshev, Kazakh ambassador to China Ambassador expects cooperation will expand further on Belt, Road President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan will inject new energy in the further development of Sino-Kazakh relations, a diplomat from the Central Asian country said. Shakhrat Nuryshev, the Kazakh ambassador to China, said Xi will meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and exchange opinions over issues under bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The two leaders will discuss further cooperation in the fields of trade, cross-border transportation, energy, investment, production capacity, innovation, technology and culture, the ambassador said. He said China and Kazakhstan have close political links, as the two countries are a permanent member and a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and China is now taking up the presidency of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, which was initiated by Kazakhstan. China will also take over the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization after the coming summit in Astana, he said, adding that the agreements signed during the summit will enhance relations between the two countries, as well. In an exclusive interview with China Daily, Nuryshev said China is one of the most important neighbors to have established a pragmatic and constructive dialogue since Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991. The two countries celebrated the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Jan 3, and both leaders agreed that relations between China and Kazakhstan have reached their highest level ever, and the bilateral cooperation acts as a model to show-case, Nuryshev said. Nuryshev said Kazakhstan can play a key role in the Belt and Road Initiative, which was proposed by China, as it has an important strategic Eurasian geographic location. Further, its vast territory makes the country a key bridge between Europe and Asia. He said the cooperation continues to expand and bilateral trade increased this year while cultural cooperation is actively expanding. The Astana World Expo 2017 in the Kazakh capital opens on Saturday, and over 500 Chinese enterprises from over 24 provinces, autonomous regions or provincial level cities are expected to participate, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The Kazakh expo organizers declared this past Monday as China National Pavilion Day. The China pavilion hosted various activities, such as a forum about China-Kazakh energy and tourism cooperation, an exhibition of Terracotta Warriors and many other cultural and commercial events. Nuryshev said the Expo organization, along with the Kazakhstan Embassy to China and Chinese authorities have worked together to ensure the participating Chinese governments and companies have no problems. I hope by hosting the Astana World Expo 2017, Kazakhstan can become better understood by different regions in China, and then can establish direct contact with each other, Nuryshev said. And by introducing the green technology from China and having more tourists, the comprehensive strategic part-ner relationship of China and Kazakhstan will continue strengthening.
