igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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 Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 10:39 pm Post subject: Korea to Introduce Biometric Passport |
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Korea to Introduce Biometric Passport
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
South Korea plans to introduce a biometric passport system next year in an effort to join the United States�� Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Thursday.
The new passport system makes it possible for immigration officials to verify the identity of travelers through the use of biometric technology, such as inkless finger scans and digital photographs.
After a one-year test period, the government plans to complete the new passport system in 2007, ministry officials said.
South Korea��s entry into the visa waiver program will allow its citizens to travel to the U.S., either for business or pleasure, for 90 days without a visa. But Seoul needs to meet a number of preconditions first.
``Some of the requirements for the (visa waiver) program include the use of a biometrically enabled passport,���� Maura Harty, U.S. assistant secretary of consular affairs, said at a press briefing in Seoul.
Currently, 27 countries are on the visa waiver list. In Asia, Australia, Japan and Brunei are the only countries under the VWP. The list has not been updated since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001.
The countries, which made the list, need to adopt the biometrically enabled passport system by Oct. 26 next year.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200512/kt2005120822524411950.htm |
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