[Herald Interview] Poland-Korea partnership crucial for Ukraine rebuild

Polish Finance Minister Magdalena Rzeczkowska said it is important to provide financial assistance to Ukraine by establishing platforms that bring international financial institutions, governments and private investors together, and South Korea could be part of such efforts. "Ukraine needs help for now," said Rzeczkowska in an interview with The Korea Herald, urging Polish and Korean companies to activate partnerships for rebuilding Ukraine and to utilize Poland’s investment clim

Dec. 20, 2022

Bangladesh honors EPS workers on Int'l Migrants Day in Korea

The Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul honored 26 Bangladeshi Employment Permit System (EPS) workers in six categories at an event held to celebrate the International Migrants Day 2022 last week. Korea introduced the work permit system in 2004 to systematically manage the foreign workforce in Korea and resolve labor shortages at local small and medium-sized companies. The workers were honored for being employed under same employer for the longest period of time; receiving awards from the Korean governm

Dec. 20, 2022

Qatar stresses elevated ties with Korea at national day celebration

  The Qatari Embassy vowed to boost economic and cultural cooperation with Korea during its national day celebrations here last week. Qatar’s national day, which falls on Dec. 18, commemorates the 1878 accession of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, who unified the Qatari peninsula, which borders Saudi Arabia and juts into the Persian Gulf. Citing the vision of Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatari Ambassador Khalid Ibrahim al-Hamar said Qatar’s approach focused on c

Dec. 20, 2022

Indian embassy celebrates 49th anniversary of bilateral ties

The Indian Embassy in Seoul hosted an event to mark the 49th anniversary of India-Korea diplomatic relations in Seoul Friday. The event was organized as part of a curtain raiser for yearlong celebrations of 50 years of bilateral ties in 2023. Delivering remarks at the event, Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar recalled major events and the history between the two countries, stressing India's role during the 1950-53 Korean War and the Special Strategic Partnership forged in 2015. Kumar sai

Dec. 20, 2022

[Photo News] Honorary Ambassador

Figure skater and Olympics gold medalist Yuna Kim (right) poses with Canadian Embassy Charge d' affaires Tamara Mawhinney after she was named honorary ambassador for the 60th anniversary of Canada-Korea diplomatic relations on Monday at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul. Kim who spent some years in Canada for her training will participate in various activities and events celebrating the 60th year of bilateral ties next year.

Dec. 20, 2022

S. Korea protests Japan's new security document laying claim to Dokdo

South Korea issued a "strong" protest Friday over Japan's revised national security strategy repeating its sovereignty claim to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo, calling for its immediate deletion. Seoul's foreign and defense ministries called in a senior diplomat and a defense attache from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, respectively, to lodge a formal protest over the claims to Dokdo. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet approved the new strateg

Dec. 16, 2022

IAEA ready to help push for talks on N. Korea

The International Atomic Energy Agency can provide a platform to help bring North Korea back to nuclear talks because resuming dialogue is “indispensable,” UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Friday, hours before finishing his three-day trip to Seoul. “I am also persuaded that the IAEA can play a constructive role in this regard. Of course, it’s in the hands of the Republic of Korea, and of course, naturally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as well

Dec. 16, 2022

S. Korea backs UN human rights resolution on Russian-occupied Crimea

South Korea has voted in favor of a United Nations resolution on the human rights situation in the Russian-occupied Crimea on Thursday in a shift of its position on the matter. The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on the human rights situation in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, in an 82-14 vote with 80 abstentions. Last month, South Korea abstained from voting at the Third Committee of the General Assembly, citing "political and military-related" elements.

Dec. 16, 2022

UN General Assembly passes N. Korean human rights resolution for 18th consecutive year

WASHINGTON -- The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution calling for international efforts to improve human rights conditions in the reclusive state. It marks the 18th consecutive year the world body adopted a resolution on North Korean human rights. The resolution, sponsored by the European Union, expresses concerns over dire human rights conditions in the impoverished North, while also expressing concerns over what it calls illegal detention, torture and execution of f

Dec. 16, 2022

IRA may lead to negative consequences for US in competition with China: US experts

WASHINGTON -- The US Inflation Reduction Act may lead to unintended but negative consequences for the United States in its increasingly intensifying competition with China unless modified, US experts argued Thursday. One expert here also insisted that the new US law may undermine rules-based global trade orders, which the US has worked so many years to build and defend. Citing her recent meeting with the head of a South Korean battery manufacturer, Tami Overby, former senior vice president of US

Dec. 16, 2022

FM Park discusses NK, Japan with IAEA chief

Foreign Minister Park Jin and UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi met in Seoul on late Thursday afternoon to discuss ways of putting checks on North Korea’s nuclear buildup and to work together on Japan’s decision to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant. The three-day trip by the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency that started Wednesday is the latest highlight of Seoul’s efforts to muster international support to deal with

Dec. 15, 2022

IAEA chief in Seoul to discuss N. Korea nukes

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will discuss North Korea, among other issues, during his three-day trip to South Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The trip, which started Wednesday after a five-year hiatus, comes as South Korea looks for a more coordinated international response to North Korea’s provocations. This year, Pyongyang has conducted a record number of missile launches, prompting not only Seoul, but the international community to step up efforts to rein in the i

Dec. 14, 2022

US goal of denuclearizing Korean Peninsula will not change: State Dept.

WASHINGTON-- The United States remains fully committed to completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and that goal will not change, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday. The department spokesperson, Ned Price, also stressed the importance of holding North Korea accountable for its recent missile provocations. "We have conveyed our policy position by noting that we undertook a comprehensive review of our policy towards the DPRK in the early part of this administration," Pr

Dec. 14, 2022

S.Korea-China talks expose lingering differences over NK

China urged South Korea to join its rally against the US -- Korea’s biggest ally -- calling it a “rule breaker” in what many see as the lingering discord that is likely to hamper Seoul’s efforts to use Beijing’s support to resume the US-led nuclear talks on North Korea. During a video conference held Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Korea counterpart that the US Inflation Reduction Act, which offers subsidies for electric vehicles made there, violat

Dec. 13, 2022

S. Korea, US agree to continue 'constructive' discussions on IRA issue: ministry

WASHINGTON -- Senior South Korean and US government officials had discussions on Seoul's concerns about the impact of Washington's Inflation Reduction Act and agreed to continue "constructive" consultations to address the matter, according to a joint statement. South Korea's second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon met with Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez in Washington, DC, on Monday for the seventh Senior Econom

Dec. 13, 2022

US will find a way to meet economic interests of S. Korea under inflation act: Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- The United States will find ways to meet its economic interests, as well as those of America's allies, in implementing the new Inflation Reduction Act that currently offers tax benefits only to electric vehicles assembled in North America, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday. Sullivan said such solutions will be presented in the "coming days and weeks." "We have had extensive consultations with Republic of Korea on the Inflation Reduc

Dec. 13, 2022

US will not hesitate to sanction anyone supporting N. Korea's weapons programs: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States will not hesitate to impose sanctions on any individuals who support North Korea's illegal weapons development programs, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Ned Price also said the US is always looking for individuals who may be held accountable for North Korea's illegal weapons of mass destruction programs. "We are always looking for individuals who would be appropriate to sanction under our various authorities, including those authorities

Dec. 13, 2022

S. Korea asks for China’s support to engage N. Korea

South Korea asked China to step up efforts to bring North Korea back to denuclearization talks at a videoconference Monday held between their respective foreign ministers, as the two countries seek to better ties that have been strained by their divergent views on Pyongyang and the escalating US-China rivalry. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin told his counterpart Wang Yi that North Korea’s return to dialogue is in their “shared interest,” urging Beijing to actively back S

Dec. 12, 2022

Second Vice FM departs for Washington for talks on IRA

Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon left for Washington on Sunday for talks on the Inflation Reduction Act and other economic issues. Lee plans to hold a session of the Senior Economic Dialogue with his US counterpart, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth Jose Fernandez, and meet with other US administration and congressional officials. "The IRA will be dealt with as the most important issue," Lee said before departure. The IRA, signed into law by US President Joe Biden in

Dec. 11, 2022

US Assistant Secretary of State Kritenbrink to visit Seoul

WASHINGTON -- US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will visit South Korea next week for consultations on a range of regional and bilateral issues, the State Department said Saturday. Kritenbrink will travel together with National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger on the three-nation trip from Sunday to Wednesday that also includes stops in China and Japan, the department said in a press release. "In the

Dec. 11, 2022