The Korea Herald

U.N. chief to hold first meeting with victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will hold a meeting this week with an elderly South Korean victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, an activist group for victims said Thursday.The 89-year-old victim, Kil Won-ok, plans to visit Ban at the U.N. headquarters on Friday, the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said.The meeting will mark the first time that Ban has met with a sexual slavery victim as U.N. chief. During the meeting, Kil is expected to voice her

March 11, 2016

Four new consuls general appointed

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday introduced new consuls general for San Francisco, Sydney, Chicago and Frankfurt. As part of a regular reshuffle, it also appointed 10 directors general and four deputy directors general including those in charge of North American and Northeast Asian affairs and preparing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Shin Chae-hyun (Yonhap)Shin Chae-hyun, director general for North American affairs, was tapped as the new head of the consulate general in San Francisco.

March 10, 2016

'Comfort women' victims protest Korea-Japan deal

Elderly South Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery held protests in New York and Washington on Tuesday to oppose the landmark agreement between the governments of Seoul and Tokyo on resolving the issue.Lee Yong-soo, one of the surviving victims of the atrocity, said in a news conference in New York to mark International Women's Day that she cannot accept the deal and demanded that Japan offer a clearer apology for her suffering. In Washington, another victim, Kil Won-ok, also held a

March 9, 2016

U.N. panel finds sex slave deal wanting

The women’s rights committee in the U.N. released a report Monday which stated that Seoul-Tokyo’s Dec. 28 agreement on comfort women had failed to adopt a “victim-centered” approach, reigniting a feud here over the controversial deal on Japan’s sexual slavery of Korean women during World War II. The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women pointed out what it viewed as insufficient in a concluding observation on the women’s rights issue in Japan. In the report, the commi

March 8, 2016

Australian, South Korean artists recognized at Cultural Conversations Exhibition

Australian and South Korean artists were recognized Feb. 16 at the opening of the inaugural “Cultural Conversations Project” exhibition. Hosted by Gallery LVS, the opening welcomed the works of 14 artists across Australia and South Korea, with artists Yoon Jin-sup, Yun Suk-nam, Kim Ku-lim and Lee Kun-yong in attendance.The project, conducted by the Australian Centre for Oral History, is an ongoing history archive, giving insight into the lives and works of contemporary Australian and Korean arti

March 8, 2016

Australian, South Korean artists recognized at Cultural Conversations Exhibition

Ukraine, Korea to cooperate in education

EDUCATION COLLABORATION -- Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Marmazov (right) and Korean Deputy Prime Minister Lee Joon-sik held talks on Feb. 19 on facilitating educational cooperation between Ukraine and Korea, with plans to sign memorandums of understanding between their education ministries. Marmazov noted contributions by the Ukrainian studies department of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, where some 80 students are enrolled, while Lee acknowledged Ukraine’s visa liberalization as sm

March 6, 2016

Ukraine, Korea to cooperate in education

Book on ASEAN highlights integration legacy

The ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul published a book in late February to introduce the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to Korea and highlight the region’s integrative achievements. The book, titled “ASEAN Community, at the Heart of Asia,” was written by Korea’s leading experts on Southeast Asia and summarizes progress made since the association’s establishment in 1967 to its launch of a community at the end of last year.Under the banner “One vision, one identity and one community,” the new bo

March 6, 2016

Book on ASEAN highlights integration legacy

Bulgaria, Korea celebrate future-oriented partnership

The Bulgarian embassy last week marked the country’s Liberation Day amid deepening ties with Korea that reached a “comprehensive and future-oriented partnership” last year. The holiday celebrates the national independence of 1878 from the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Bulgaria for over 500 years. The new alliance, announced in a joint presidential declaration during the state visit of Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev to Seoul last May, covers comprehensive areas including political dialogue, t

March 6, 2016

Bulgaria, Korea celebrate future-oriented partnership

Dominican Republic to hold export fair

The Dominican Republic, an island nation in the heart of the Caribbean, celebrated its 172nd anniversary of national independence from Haiti and burgeoning ties with Korea at a reception in late February. At Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Feb. 26, Dominican Ambassador Grecia Fiordalicia Pichardo highlighted that her country has achieved political and social stability over the years, as well as 7 percent economic growth last year. “The key to our sustained economic growth lies in our administration’s pr

March 6, 2016

Nepal’s bountiful water awaits to be tapped

The Nepalese embassy last week held a seminar to inform the public on the post-earthquake situation and investment potentials in water resources in Nepal. Nepal, a landlocked country between China and India on the Himalayan Mountains, has sizeable water resources. It has the third largest ice deposits and the second largest inland water deposits in the world. Nepal drains billions of cubic meters of fresh water annually from its more than 6,000 rivers and rivulets, which travel downstream to cou

March 6, 2016

Nepal’s bountiful water awaits to be tapped

U.N. chief calls for faithful implementation of Korea-Japan deal

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for the "faithful implementation" of a landmark agreement between South Korea and Japan on resolving the issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.Ban made the remark during a high-level panel discussion at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, referring to the December deal between Seoul and Tokyo that centers on Japan's admission of responsibility for the wartime crime and plans to pay reparations to the victims."The agreement last December between

March 1, 2016

Korea strives to boost public diplomacy

Powered by its growing economic and diplomatic clout, Seoul is stepping up public diplomacy, exploring ways to capitalize on its middle-power charm and crafting tailored regional approaches.By promoting scholarly exchanges and cultural and outreach events at overseas diplomatic missions, the government helps people overseas experience Korean culture and build personal ties. It also partners with international celebrities as goodwill ambassadors who can influence their fans and boost Korea’s imag

Feb. 29, 2016

France cooperates with Korea for 2018 Winter Olympics

French Minister of Urban Affairs, Youth and Sport Patrick Kanner, visited Seoul in mid-February to bolster cooperation for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in Korea. Kanner, who was accompanied by a delegation of French companies -- Poma, GL Events, Compagnie des Alpes, Cluster Montagne, Fusalp -- met Korean athletes and sports institutions in tennis, taekwondo and mountain climbing during a reception at the French Embassy in Seoul on Feb. 19.France has hosted the Winter Olympic Games i

Feb. 28, 2016

France cooperates with Korea for 2018 Winter Olympics

Philippine films to be showcased in Seoul

The Philippine embassy will showcase two of the country’s critically acclaimed movies -- “Bonifacio” (2014) and “Heneral Luna” (2015) -- at the “Cinema Sentro Festival” at the Lee Byung Hyung Hall of the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul on March 6.The initiative, part of the embassy’s efforts to promote Philippine arts and culture in Korea, is the first major cultural event of this year, alongside the launch of the Philippine Cultural Center “Sentro Rizal” in Seoul. According to the embassy, the t

Feb. 28, 2016

‘N.K. economy to struggle in isolation’

Amid mounting international sanctions and slowing Chinese growth, North Korea’s economy will tread a tough road this year and beyond, experts noted in early February. North Korea, where markets have largely supplanted the planned economy, has relied extensively on exporting coal and iron to China and extracting earnings from laborers abroad. Since its golden days of the early 1970s, when the country’s gross domestic product per capita was around $3,000, the communist state’s allocative economy h

Feb. 28, 2016

China's chief nuke envoy flies into Seoul for N.K. talks

China's chief nuclear envoy arrived in Seoul on Sunday for talks with key South Korean officials to coordinate the countries' response to North Korea's recent nuclear and long-range rocket tests.Wu Dawei is scheduled to first meet with his South Korean counterpart Hwang Joon-kook Sunday afternoon before holding talks with Seoul's foreign minister a day later, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "As strategic partners, China and South Korea could discuss any kinds of issues between us,"

Feb. 28, 2016

U.N. rapporteur urges Russia to not extradite North Koreans

The U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation urged Russia Friday against implementing an extradition treaty with North Korea, saying it could lead to the forced repatriation of North Korean workers in Russia.Marzuki Darusman expressed alarm at the deal signed earlier this month, noting it calls for "transferring and readmitting individuals 'who have illegally' left their country and stay 'illegally' in another's territory."About 10,000 North Koreans are estimated to be wor

Feb. 26, 2016

China FM: THAAD could jeopardize, threaten China's security interests

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday that China's national security interests could be "jeopardized or threatened" by the THAAD missile defense system the U.S. and South Korea are considering deploying to better cope with threats from North Korea.Speaking at a think tank in Washington, Wang said he understands the U.S. and the South want to ensure their own security, but the "X-band radar" associated with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system "has a radius that goes fa

Feb. 26, 2016

China repeats opposition to U.S. missile shield in Korea

China's defense ministry on Thursday voiced fresh opposition to the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea. South Korea decided to start formal talks with the U.S. to adopt the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, in the wake of North Korea's fourth nuclear test and rocket launch this year. China has long been opposed to the THAAD battery in South Korea, claiming it undermines Beijing's national security interests. During a monthly

Feb. 25, 2016

Seoul-Beijing ties in THAAD conundrum

Seoul is coming under increasing pressure to sharpen its strategic calculations as its relations with China appear to have plunged to their lowest ebb in years, amid friction over plans to station an advanced U.S. missile defense asset on the peninsula. The downturn came as the security dynamics surrounding Northeast Asia took a new turn, given that Pyongyang tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last month and launched a rocket early this month. The provocations prompted South Korea and th

Feb. 25, 2016