The Korea Herald

Comfort women foundation chief calls for Abe to meet victims

Japan's prime minister should meet South Korean women who were sexually enslaved during the colonial rule period, which will help cap the long-festering wound that has weighed down bilateral relations for the past seven decades, the head of a local foundation tasked with helping victims said."The establishment of the foundation can lay to rest the 'sexual slavery' issue, but it is not the end of the agenda," Kim Tae-hyun, the first board director of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, sai

Aug. 9, 2016

Korea, Japan to discuss follow-up measures to comfort women foundation this week

South Korea and Japan will hold a meeting this week to discuss follow-up measures related to a foundation launched to help Korean women sexually abused by Japan during its colonial rule of the peninsula decades ago, the foreign ministry said Monday.The meeting will be held in Seoul on Tuesday between Chung Byung-won, director-general of the South Korean foreign ministry's Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau, and his Japanese counterpart, Kenji Kanasugi, according to the ministry. The meeting will mar

Aug. 9, 2016

Park takes swipe at opposition lawmakers

President Park Geun-hye on Monday took a swipe at a group of opposition lawmakers who left for China to discuss the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. antimissile system, pleading again for bipartisan cooperation in countering North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.Six first-term lawmakers from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea flew to China on Monday for a three-day visit.During the trip, they plan to meet with Chinese officials and scholars, among others, to discuss Seou

Aug. 8, 2016

Park takes swipe at opposition lawmakers

Six opposition lawmakers leave for China to discuss THAAD

A group of lawmakers from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea visited China on Monday for talks with Chinese officials and scholars over the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system to South Korea, a major thorn in the relations between Seoul and Beijing.The six first-term MPK lawmakers brushed off intense opposition from the presidential office, ruling party and even those within their own party ranks who warned their visit would worsen the division among South Koreans o

Aug. 8, 2016

Opposition lawmakers to visit China despite presidential plea

Six first-term lawmakers of South Korea's main opposition party will visit China this week despite an open appeal from the presidential office to reconsider the trip, a party spokesman said Sunday.The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae issued a statement earlier in the day urging the lawmakers of the Minjoo Party of Korea to cancel the trip scheduled for Monday through Wednesday.The group, led by Rep. Kim Young-ho, plans to meet with Chinese Communist Party officials and academics to hear their v

Aug. 8, 2016

Morocco marks Throne Day, thriving ties with Korea

The Moroccan embassy celebrated the 17th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s enthronement and burgeoning ties with Korea at a reception in Seoul last week. “More than just a festive event, Moroccans are commemorating the longstanding tradition of the ‘act of allegiance,’ a binding contract between the king and the people,” Moroccan Ambassador Mohammed Chraibi said in a speech on Aug. 1. “The Throne Day is a unique tribute to the millennial attachment between the king and the people. It represents

Aug. 7, 2016

Morocco marks Throne Day, thriving ties with Korea

Bolivia welcomes investment amid industrialization boom

The Bolivian embassy commemorated the 191th anniversary of national independence last week, also highlighting opportunities in the course of a decade-long social and economic progress.The event on Aug. 6, 1825 liberated the Latin American nation from the grip of colonial Spain that had started in the 16th century. Through unrelenting guerilla resistance by revolutionaries since 1809 -- chiefly Venezuelan general and politician Simon Bolivar, whose name gave birth to “Bolivia,” and Venezuelan fre

Aug. 7, 2016

Bolivia welcomes investment amid industrialization boom

Students of Asia envisage integrated future at workshop

For Bruneian student Noorlela M.D. Yassin, her trip to Korea in early August was an intellectually rocking exercise. An undergraduate at the University of Brunei Darussalam majoring in marine biology, she had long coveted researching microplastic pollution in waters off the coast of her home. Her aspiration found a dose of inspiration when she participated in the 2016 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop in Korea last week, an annual program that gathered some 80 university students from 13 countr

Aug. 7, 2016

Students of Asia envisage integrated future at workshop

Chief warns against linking ‘comfort women’ issue, girl statue

Despite persistent controversy over the fate of a memorial for the survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement, Japan ought not to raise the issue as a precondition for the transfer of the pledged 1 billion yen ($9.8 million) for a newly created fund, its chief warned Sunday. Kim Tae-hyeon, president of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, was adamant that last December’s settlement with Seoul would be annulled if Tokyo insisted on removal of the statue in front of its embassy in Seou

Aug. 7, 2016

Chief warns against linking ‘comfort women’ issue, girl statue

Seoul denies reports of China’s ‘retaliatory actions’

The South Korean government Friday vowed to work towards improving relations with China in light of escalating concerns of fraying relations on political, economic and cultural fronts due to an advanced missile defense system deployment here. They also denied news reports that China was possibly taking “retaliatory actions.”“The government is keeping a keen eye on the Chinese media’s reaction and various measures carried out (by the Chinese government). We (the government) will work toward resol

Aug. 5, 2016

New law to boost public diplomacy

Korea’s first-ever public diplomacy act took effect Thursday, laying the legal and institutional groundwork for activities aimed to raise awareness among foreign citizens of its policies and interests.The legislation and its enforcement decree, respectively enacted last February and May, are designed to facilitate the central government’s coordination with municipalities, private entities and other stakeholders, streamlining the planning process and minimizing overlaps.The landmark law comes as

Aug. 4, 2016

U.S. calls for healing, reconciliation in handling historical issues

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday stressed the importance of handling historical issues in a way that "promotes healing and reconciliation" after Japan's new defense minister refused to rule out the possibility of paying respect at a Tokyo shrine honoring war criminals.Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said in her first press conference that whether to visit the Yasukuni Shrine is a "matter of the heart," leaving open the possibility of visiting the controversial shrine honoring Japan'

Aug. 4, 2016

Beijing revokes visa agency license of Chinese firm in Korea

A Chinese visa agency that handled South Korean business travelers was stripped of its business license, a move that could be seen as a retaliatory measure undertaken by Beijing after South Korea's decision to deploy an advanced United States missile defense system on its soil, a local source here said Wednesday. The source said the closed agency handled Chinese letters of invitation for South Koreans, which is a key piece of paperwork needed to get multiple entry visas for business trips and cu

Aug. 3, 2016

Park's planned visit to Russia aims to ease friction over THAAD

President Park Geun-hye's planned visit to Russia aims to address tensions between Seoul and Moscow over the decision to deploy an advanced U.S. antimissile system to South Korea and further bolster economic ties, analysts here said Wednesday.Park will fly to Vladivostok on Sept. 2 for a two-day visit during which she will attend an annual economic forum on the development of the Russian Far East and hold a summit with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.Her tri

Aug. 3, 2016

New law set to take force to harness Korea's public diplomacy

Dutch middle-school textbooks on history and geography had depicted South Korea as a cheap-labor economy dependent on fish processing. This was up until South Korean diplomats successfully persuaded the publishers to update their texts two years ago, officials at the foreign ministry here said Wednesday. Now, South Korea is portrayed as a "rich country" that produces cutting-edge smartphones and digital televisions.In another similar case, 11 Spanish middle- and high-school course books were rev

Aug. 3, 2016

New law set to take force to harness Korea's public diplomacy

Trump blasts Korea-U.S. FTA as 'disaster'

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced the U.S. free trade pact with South Korea as a "disaster" and a "job killing" deal, reinforcing concern about possible negative effects his election could have on the landmark agreement.Trump made the remark during a campaign stop in Ashburn, Virginia, blaming free trade deals for job losses and other U.S. economic woes, and accusing his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, of backing such agreements."So listen, since 2000 the

Aug. 3, 2016

Korea protests Japan's fresh claims to Dokdo

Korea on Tuesday protested Japan’s repeated sovereignty claims to the easternmost Dokdo Islets in its annual defense white paper, further straining relations between the neighboring countries.Earlier in the day, Tokyo claimed the islets in the East Sea along with the South Kuril Islands --- referred to as “northern territories” by Japan -- as its “own territory.” The annual document also said that the disputes involving the cited lands remain unsettled.It marks the 12th straight year that Japan

Aug. 2, 2016

Korea protests Japan's fresh claims to Dokdo

Japan lays claim to Dokdo again in defense white paper

Japan laid claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo again on Tuesday, raising worries that it could deepen diplomatic friction between the two neighboring countries.Earlier in the day, Japan's defense ministry released a white paper in which it referred to Dokdo along with Kuril Islands as its sovereign territory. This marked the 12th consecutive year that Tokyo claimed sovereignty over the islets in the annual paper."The territorial issue over our sovereign territory of the Northern T

Aug. 2, 2016

Japan lays claim to Dokdo again in defense white paper

Korea sends officials to Brazil to run temporary consular office

South Korea will send its first contingent of officials to Rio de Janeiro to help run a temporary consulate office that will be tasked with providing better protection for its citizens and athletes, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.The team consisting of ministry officials and a doctor will leave for the Brazilian city later in the day, according to the ministry.They are an advance team that will help run a temporary consulate office which will operate around the clock from Thursday until Aug.

Aug. 2, 2016

Swiss Ambassador retires before National Day

Swiss Ambassador Jorg Alois Reding finished his diplomatic career in late July after 35 years of Foreign Service at various departments and overseas missions of the Swiss Confederation. At the embassy reception Tuesday in Seoul, which marked the 725th anniversary of Switzerland’s nationhood on Aug. 1, the envoy reflected on his posting in Korea as well as deepening bilateral relations. “My family and I have spent unforgettable years in Seoul,” he said in a speech in Korean. “I had the opportunit

July 31, 2016

Swiss Ambassador retires before National Day