South Korea, formally titled The Republic of Korea, is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in Asia. Located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea is bordered by North Korea to the north, the Yellow Sea to the west, and the Korean Strait to the southeast.

South Korea accepted a North Korean invitation for a meeting to be held on April 21, 2009. The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The complex is a joint-venture between the rival countries, with 100 South Korean employers employing over 30,000 North Korean workers. The agenda for the talks will include the tensions between the countries.United Press International: Two Koreas to meet for talks (April 19, 2009)

The United States of America was the primary influence in the establishment of the South Korean government after the Korean War. Government is divided into three national branches per the Constitution of the Republic of Korea: executive, judicial, and legislative. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels.

A global leader in science and technology, South Korea has a strong focus on education, with the world's highest estimated national IQ and ranked first in mathematics, science, problem solving and reading by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Emerging Dragon: Emerging Dragon.com

On January 30, 2009, North Korea announced that it was suspending all military and political agreements with South Korea. It accused the South Korean government of pushing the relationship to the brink of war by using balloons filled with propaganda leaflets, launched at the north.Bloomberg.com: North Korea Scraps Military Accords With South Korea (January 30, 2009)

Tension escalated between South and North Korea in the beginning of March 2009. South Korea will launch a military exercise on March 9, 2009. On March 6, 2009, North Korea said it can no longer guarantee the safety of South Korean airplanes flying over or near its territory, causing international flights to be diverted around South Koran airspace.Mail Online: Passenger jets diverted after North Korean missile threat (March 6, 2009)

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  Creative Commons image by "CIA World Factbook"

• Korean Overseas Information Service: South Korea Location & Region

• Wikipedia: South Korea Geography

• Google Image Search: South Korea Maps