The Korea Herald

Aussies top ally for Korea after U.S.

South Korea’s security relationship with Australia is second only to the United States, said Australia’s new ambassador to South Korea, underlining recently bolstered bilateral defense ties and setting out his priorities for his posting in the years to come.“We held a ‘two-plus-two’ meeting of the foreign and defense ministers from each side. We had our defense minister and our foreign minister here meet with the South Korean defense and foreign ministers on July 4,” said William Paterson in an

Aug. 25, 2013

U.S. senator McCain arrives in Seoul for N.K. issues

U.S. Senator John McCain arrived in Seoul on Sunday to meet with South Korean government officials and activists to discuss issues of mutual interest including North Korea's nuclear weapons program and human rights conditions.The Arizona senator, accompanied by fellow Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, arrived at Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, in the afternoon for his first trip here since 1991. During his two-day stay in South Korea, he is scheduled to meet with local activi

Aug. 25, 2013

Oh Joon named new envoy to U.N.

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday tapped Oh Joon, a former ambassador to Singapore, as the new representative of its mission at the United Nations. The 57-year-old career diplomat will replace Kim Sook, who has served at the multinational body since May 2011. Since his 1978 entry into diplomatic service, Oh has taken up various key positions including deputy ambassador to the U.N., deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, and embassy minister in Brasilia. For the consul general post i

Aug. 22, 2013

[Newsmaker] Merkel’s Nazi camp visit a lesson for Japan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to former Nazi concentration camp Dachau received mixed reactions, but in doing so, she became the first-ever incumbent chancellor to take such a step.Merkel was immediately slammed for combining the obvious potent symbolism of a German head of state describing the shame she feels about an ugly chapter in her country’s history ― indeed, in world history ― with a planned Oom-pah-pah beer tent and campaign rally moments later. “We speak about the duty to rem

Aug. 21, 2013

[Newsmaker] Merkel’s Nazi camp visit a lesson for Japan

Korea-Japan summit at G20 gathering unlikely: source

The first summit meeting between South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not likely to take place on the sidelines of the upcoming Group of 20 forum in Saint Petersburg, a government source said Wednesday.The relations between the two nations have been frosty over various historical issues including Japan's renewed territorial claims to South Korean island of Dokdo as well as its leaders' unrepentant remarks regarding its war atrocities.The comments by the

Aug. 21, 2013

PM Chung to visit Middle East, Southwestern Asia next week

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won embarks on an eight-day tour of Asian and Middle Eastern countries next week to help boost bilateral economic and cultural exchanges, his office said Wednesday.Chung is scheduled to visit Bahrain, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Turkey for eight days from Sunday. He is expected to be the first South Korean official to make a state visit to Bahrain and Sri Lanka, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.On Monday, he will hold bilateral talks with his Bahraini

Aug. 21, 2013

John McCain due in Seoul on N. Korean human rights

U.S. Senator John McCain will fly into Seoul Sunday to promote improved human rights conditions in North Korea, sources here said Wednesday.The Arizona senator will stay until Monday while meeting with local activists, promoting the enhancement of human rights conditions in North Korea, the sources said. The U.S. embassy here refused to confirm the visit.McCain, the Republican presidential nominee in 2008, has taken a hawkish stance on the communist North, which is viewed as a country having one

Aug. 21, 2013

Top U.S. lawmaker calls on Japan to accept history

A U.S. lawmaker on Monday called on Japan to face up to the past to become a “stronger country” and thaw its relations with neighbors frayed by territorial and historical tensions. Robert Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stressed the significance of trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Japan in deterring North Korean saber-rattling and safeguarding regional stability. “I do believe that historical issues need to be met and healed. I think nations

Aug. 19, 2013

Top U.S. lawmaker calls on Japan to accept history

Envoy leverages soccer in pursuit of public diplomacy

Foreign diplomatic missions here use public diplomacy as one way to engender popular support in South Korea ― more is always better than less. That is why even soccer makes up part of an ambassador’s foreign policy tool kit.That is what Peru’s top diplomat here aimed for in taking part in the Peru-South Korea friendly soccer match on Wednesday.Peruvian Ambassador to South Korea Jaime Pomareda awarded a trophy to the captains of both national soccer teams, South Korean and Peru, after a friendly

Aug. 18, 2013

Envoy leverages soccer in pursuit of public diplomacy

Ecuador profiles music on Independence Day

The Ecuadorian Embassy in South Korea celebrated its independence day with musical performances by two pianists from the South American nation during a reception at a hotel in Seoul on Aug. 9.The musical duo of Noreia Mueckay and her son, Yarik Panko, performed a number of classical pieces for members of the foreign diplomatic community, Korean VIPs and friends of Ecuador during a reception celebrating the Andean nation’s 204th anniversary of independence from colonial rule.The reception celebra

Aug. 18, 2013

Outgoing envoy leaves indelible mark on Uzbek-Korean ties

What drives the diplomatic relations between two countries, big commercial interests and strategic considerations, or can one diplomat make all the difference in the world? In the case of the ties between Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, and South Korea, one diplomat in particular could very well have been the crucial factor: outgoing Uzbek Ambassador to South Korea Vitali Fen.Fen, 65, returns to his home country Tuesday after completing a nearly 18-year posting here. He has

Aug. 18, 2013

Outgoing envoy leaves indelible mark on Uzbek-Korean ties

India lauds culture on Independence Day

A crowd of about 500 people watched with rapt attention a performance by a group of Indian school girls of the patriotic Indian song, “Sare Jahan Se Acha.”Originally an Urdu poem written in 1904, Mahatma Gandhi is said to have recited the same song while he was imprisoned in the 1930s. The acclaimed musician Ravi Shankar set the poem to music in the 1950s.But Koreans and Indians showcased the South Asian nation’s cultural traditions of music, dance and fashion during an all-day family-oriented c

Aug. 18, 2013

Venezuela’s El Sistema strikes a chord with Korean music students

The Venezuelan Embassy showcased the South American country’s signature music education program, El Sistema, in a 10-day music camp for children and young adults that culminated with a performance at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday.Some 100 kids took part in the El Sistema-inspired music camp. They practiced all day for nearly two weeks, meeting daily in a rehearsal studio at the Sejong Center. All the hard work culminated with the performance as the “Sejong Dream Tree Harmon

Aug. 18, 2013

Venezuela’s El Sistema strikes a chord with Korean music students

China submits claim on East China Sea shelf to U.N.

China has submitted a claim to a U.N. commission stating that its naturally extended continental shelf stretches to the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea, state media reported Saturday, a move that could rekindle territorial spats with South Korea and Japan.South Korea, China and Japan have separately claimed the Okinawa Trough, with part of Seoul's recent claim overlapping with China's. Seoul and Beijing, however, share a largely similar stance on defining the limits while being in discord w

Aug. 17, 2013

[Photo News] Anti-Japan protest

Aug. 14, 2013

Seoul to ask change of sea naming in Pentagon's Korean exhibit

Seoul's defense ministry said Monday it will formally ask the U.S. government to change the naming of the body of water between Korea and Japan from the "Sea of Japan" to the "East Sea" in displays at the Pentagon's Korean War exhibit. The Pentagon exhibit opened in mid-June to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of an armistice agreement and bilateral alliance forged between the U.S. and South Korea at the end of the three-year Korean War.Among materials related to the Korean War, 1

Aug. 12, 2013

Seoul to ease visa rules for Chinese, SE Asian tourists

The Seoul government said Sunday that it would ease visa rules for visitors from China, Southeast Asian countries and foreign patients, as part of efforts to promote the local tourism industry and offer convenience to travelers from neighboring nations.Starting next month, the Justice Ministry will expand the issuance of multiple visas for Chinese nationals to their spouses and children. Seoul will also issue multiple-entry visas to Chinese nationals who have memberships in condominiums in Korea

Aug. 11, 2013

S. Korea seeks to host U.N. maritime law center

South Korea is seeking to host a new United Nations regional center for maritime law that will promote better understanding of sea boundaries and use of underwater resources, the government said Sunday. The Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea has proposed establishing three centers in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin American regions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.DOALOS director Sergei Tarassenko approached South Korea and asked if it wanted to host the Asia-Pacific cente

Aug. 11, 2013

Korean language course boosts Southeast Asian tourism

The ASEAN-Korea Center and the Philippine Department of Tourism organized a 10-day Korean language course for tourism and hospitality professionals through Aug. 20 in a city in the Philippines. The lectures are especially designed to familiarize the participants with expressions commonly used at airports, hotels and other tourist sites in Angeles City, the Philippines, so that these expressions could be put to practical use in their day-to-day work. The Philippines is home to world-renowned tour

Aug. 11, 2013

Envoy lauds role of Korean diplomats in Ivorian election

The Ivorian ambassador to South Korea underscored the assistance that two Korean diplomats provided in safeguarding democracy in the West African nation during a reception celebrating his country’s 53rd anniversary of national independence at a hotel in Seoul on Thursday.The two Korean diplomats that Ivorian Ambassador to South Korea Sylvestre Kouassi Bile was referring to were United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Choi Young-jin, the Korean diplomat who led the U.N. Operation in Ivor

Aug. 11, 2013