Most Popular
-
1
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
2
Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
-
3
Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
-
4
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
5
Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
-
6
Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
-
7
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
8
Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
-
9
‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
-
10
Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
-
Park holds talks with Abu Dhabi crown prince
South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with Abu Dhabi's crown prince, an official said Thursday, the latest in a series of summits that underscored Seoul's commitment to further deepening cooperation with the wealthy Gulf state.The summit is the third between Park and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in just over a year. The crown prince visited South Korea and met with Park in February 2014. They also met during Park's visit to the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi in May last year.Mohammed Bi
March 6, 2015
-
U.S. reaffirms strong alliance with S. Korea despite bloody attack on ambassador
The United States reaffirmed its strong alliance with South Korea on Thursday and said it won't be "deterred by senseless acts of violence" despite the bloody attack on its ambassador to Seoul.State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf also said in a statement that Amb. Mark Lippert is recovering in a hospital after surgery, and "is doing well and in great spirits." She cited a message the ambassador tweeted earlier in the day."The U.S.-ROK alliance is strong; we will not be deterred by sens
March 6, 2015
-
U.S. envoy hurt in knife attack
U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert was attacked by a knife-wielding leftist activist during a morning seminar in downtown Seoul Thursday, leaving the top U.S. envoy with an 11-cm wound and Seoul with the significant task of mending a dent in the alliance with Washington.At around 7:40 a.m. the 55-year-old assailant, Kim Ki-jong, ran toward the ambassador with a 25-cm-long paring knife. The ambassador had been eating breakfast before a speech during the forum organized by the Korean Council fo
March 5, 2015
-
Tokyo alters description of Korea
Japan’s Foreign Ministry has deleted its description of South Korea as an “important neighbor sharing the basic values of liberty, democracy and market economy” from its website, a possible signal of discontent with Seoul.The website now describes South Korea as the “most important neighboring country,” an expression that Korean critics say has lessened the value Tokyo attaches to their country.The change in the description came amid ongoing diplomatic tension due to Japan’s repeated claim to So
March 4, 2015
-
U.S. seeks to calm Korea over Japan
The U.S. has stepped in to defuse a rising furor after a top official openly expressed frustration over ongoing historical feuds in Northeast Asia, tacitly blaming South Korea and China for exploiting “nationalist feelings” toward Japan for domestic interests. At a seminar in Washington on Friday, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said historical and territorial “disagreements” between the three countries are “understandable, but it can also be frustrating.”“Nation
March 3, 2015
-
Cracks emerge between Korea, U.S. over Japan
After pursuing a hard-line approach for years, South Korea may be seeing its policy toward Japan coming to a head as signs emerge of a rift with the U.S.With President Park Geun-hye’s inauguration in February 2013, it seemed the relationship with Japan could not possibly deteriorate further. Two years later, ties are still frosty. Many diplomatic and security initiatives are at a standstill. Businesses have closed down or scaled back investment, while tourist in- and outflows contracted. Though
March 2, 2015
-
Park presses Japan on sex slavery
President Park Geun-hye on Sunday urged Japan to face up to and sincerely atone for its brutalities during colonial rule as a first step to writing a “new history” with Korea for the next 50 years. In her Independence Movement Day address, she called for the two Koreas to meet to discuss reunions of families displaced by the 1950-53 Korean War, while expanding cooperation in sports, culture, arts and humanitarian areas. With the Korea-Japan relationship marking the 50th anniversary of its normal
March 1, 2015
-
China preparing to send pandas to South Korea
A top executive of South Korea’s biggest amusement park operator, Samsung Everland, has held talks with China’s Foreign Ministry officials, during which they discussed preparations to send giant pandas to Seoul, according to the Chinese ministry on Saturday.Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to South Korea in July last year. Since then, the two nations have designated Samsung Everland, which operates South Korea’s largest amusement park in south of Seoul, as a host for the bears. Se
March 1, 2015
-
Author talks on China’s quest for wealth, power
A group of intellectually-minded diplomats and journalists had an opportunity to sharpen their understanding of modern Chinese history and identity at a forum in Seoul last Thursday. John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies, spoke about his book, “Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century,” which he cowrote with American academic Orville Schell in 2013. “If I read John right, wealth and power are China’s keys to ea
March 1, 2015
-
Sudan, Korea eye more economic cooperation
Sudan and Korea will hold the fifth joint policy consultation on economic cooperation in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum this year, Sudanese Ambassador to Korea Mohamed Abdelaal told The Korea Herald last week. The two countries’ foreign ministries held the fourth session of consultation in Seoul last March after 11 dormant years. During last year’s general-director-level meeting, the two sides exchanged views on issues of common interest: increasing the visit of high-level delegates; establish
March 1, 2015
-
CQ Forum holds alumni gathering
The Korea CQ Forum of Corea Image Communication Institute held an alumni gathering on Tuesday at the French Embassy in Seoul, bringing old and new members together for a festive Lunar New Year’s celebration.Participants had a raffle draw, sang songs and played the traditional Korean folk game “jegi-chagi,” which involves kicking a metal coin wrapped in paper to keep it in the air.The CQ Forum, a membership-based club for professionals, was founded in 2006 to cultivate “quotients for creativity,
March 1, 2015
-
Russia salutes ‘Fatherland Defender’s Day’
The Russian Embassy held a reception on Monday to commemorate veterans and servicemen of its armed forces.“In celebrating our national holiday today ― the Fatherland Defender’s Day ― we pay tribute to our veterans who fought on the battlefields to defend our country’s freedom and independence,” newly appointed Russian Ambassador to Korea Alexander Timonin said in a keynote speech at Millennium Seoul Hilton.“We also congratulate the officers and soldiers of our glorious armed forces who have set
March 1, 2015
-
[Weekender] ‘Spirit of March 1 movement lives on’
This Sunday, South Korea marks the 96th anniversary of the March 1 independence movement in which millions of people across the peninsula waved their national flag and bravely rose up against Japan’s colonial rule in 1919.Though nearly a century has passed since the campaign pushed for the noble causes of self-determination, liberty and humanity, its sprit still lives on and can help address today’s conflicts on the peninsula and beyond, according to Kim Hak-joon, president of the state-funded N
Feb. 27, 2015
-
S. Korea offers talks with N. Korea on Kaesong complex
South Korea on Friday proposed talks with North Korea on the Kaesong Industrial Complex in mid-March, three days after the communist neighbor announced a unilateral decision to raise wages for its workers there by more than 5 percent. The unification ministry accused Pyongyang of running counter to efforts to develop the joint venture, located just north of the inter-Korean border, in a stable manner. Created in 2004, the zone is home to around 120 South Korean firms, mostly small and medium-s
Feb. 27, 2015
-
Five middle powers set to hold senior officials' meeting
South Korea and four other middle powers held a senior officials' meeting in Seoul on Friday in the run-up to a meeting of the countries' foreign ministers slated for late May, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The so-called MIKTA is an informal cooperative body that was created by Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia in September 2013 in a bid to enhance coordination on global issues of common interest. The five countries held their first deputy foreign minister-level m
Feb. 27, 2015
-
Five nations agree on ways to reopen N.K. nuke talks: source
South Korea and four nations involved in the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program have reached a consensus on conditions for resuming the long-stalled talks, a source said Thursday. South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia have shared the need to have exploratory dialogue gauging Pyongyang's willingness to denuclearize before the six-party talks involving the North resume formally, according to the source. The remarks confirmed recent comments made by Hwang Jo
Feb. 26, 2015
-
PM says sanctions removal can be discussed if Koreas hold talks
South Korea is ready to discuss the possible removal of its sanctions on North Korea if the rival countries hold talks, Seoul's prime minister said Thursday. The remark by Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo was seen as reflecting Seoul's growing willingness to mend fences with North Korea as well as its continuing call on the communist country to return to the negotiating table. Since the cross-border sanctions were imposed two months after the North's deadly torpedoing of the South Korean Navy corvet
Feb. 26, 2015
-
S. Korea, Turkey ink FTA in service, investment
South Korea and Turkey on Thursday signed a free trade agreement in the investment and service sectors that will complement their bilateral trade pact that went into effect nearly two years ago. "As the chapters in service and investment have been signed, the Korea-Turkey FTA that has been limited to products will become a comprehensive and high-level FTA," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release. The countries implemented their bilateral FTA for products in May 2013
Feb. 26, 2015
-
N. Korea says Park gov't to blame for icy bilateral ties
North Korea claimed Thursday South Korea's Park Geun-hye administration is fully responsible for frosty ties between the two sides, calling its inter-Korean policy over the past two years a total failure. The Rodong Sinmun, Pyongyang's key propaganda organ, accused the Park government of seeking "dialogue intended to harm the North," not sincere talks. Bilateral dialogue has been suspended because the South demands "dialogue for systemic reunification" in ignorance of the two summit agreements
Feb. 26, 2015
-
Seoul to consider West Germany’s money-for-prisoner model
Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo said Wednesday he will look into the money-for-prisoner scheme used by former West Germany in tackling the issue of South Korean abductees in North Korea, rekindling concerns about its feasibility.In his debut facing parliamentary questions, Lee pledged to sustain humanitarian matters as a top priority in Seoul’s approach to Pyongyang despite “difficulties” such as bilateral sanctions imposed after the communist country’s fatal attacks on a South Korean corvette and a
Feb. 25, 2015