Malaysia’s halal cosmetics vie to go global

KUALA LUMPUR -- Being a Muslim, Suraiya Hanafi prays twice during the workday, for which she has to cleanse her face of makeup. Suraiya is CEO of Tropika, a cosmetics firm in Malaysia that produces virgin coconut oil-based products for mothers and babies and which is striving to carve out a niche in the competitive global marketplace of beauty products. Malaysia is a country where over 60 percent of the population practices Islam. Islamic teachings and values can come to define many aspects of a

March 6, 2017

ASEAN abounds with treasures at golden jubilee

Recalling the tropical allures of Bali, an Indonesian island with turquoise blue sea, silken beaches, volcanic mountains and serene rice fields, Kim Young-sun describes his past ambassadorship with a whiff of nostalgia. “I never get bored visiting there,” he says, adding Bali -- also called the “Island of the Gods” -- provides an awe-inspiring mix of bodily and spiritual gratifications. “My other favorite destination is Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake, measuring 100 kilometers by 30

March 6, 2017

S. Korea to blast N. Korea for use of banned chemical at OPCW meeting

South Korea plans to bring up North Korea's recent use of the lethal VX nerve agent in the assassination of its leader's half brother in a bid to draw international attention to the North's chemical weapons threat during an international meeting this week, the foreign ministry said Monday.The foreign ministry's Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Choi Jong-moon plans to shed light on the case in his keynote speech to be delivered on Tuesday at an executive council session of the

March 6, 2017

Security advisers of S. Korea, US hold phone talks over NK missile

South Korea hastened coordination with the United States and Japan on Monday after the North fired four missiles toward the East Sea. Kim Kwan-jin, chief of South Korea's National Security Office, held a phone conversation with H.R. McMaster, Washington's national security adviser, to discuss a joint response to the North's latest provocation. (Yonhap)The top presidential security advisers agreed to enhance cooperation between the two allies to toughen sanctions and pressure on North Korea, Seou

March 6, 2017

Seoul likely to push diplomatic isolation of Pyongyang

South Korea is likely to intensify its push for the diplomatic isolation of North Korea by seeking suspension of its memberships at such global bodies as the UN, as condemnation grows over its continued missile provocations, government sources and experts said Monday.Earlier in the day, the North fired several ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent protest against joint military drills ongoing between South Korea and the US This came after the North test-fired an intermediate-range

March 6, 2017

S. Korea condemns Pyongyang's missile provocations, warns of consequences

South Korea strongly condemned the North's latest missile provocation on Monday, calling it a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a grave threat both to the peninsula and the world. North Korea fired off several ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from near its northwestern Dongchang-ri missile site earlier in the day. They flew about 1,000 kilometers before falling in Japan's exclusive economic zone.The latest launch is timed with the ongoing joint military drills between

March 6, 2017

S. Korea condemns N. Korea's launch of 4 ballistic missiles

South Korea's unification ministry on Monday strongly condemned North Korea for launching four ballistic missiles, saying that the move constitutes a blatant violation of relevant UN Security Council's resolutions.North Korea fired off the ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from near its northwestern Dongchang-ri missile site earlier in the day. They flew about 1,000 kilometers before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Ministry of Unification said that the government strongly co

March 6, 2017

China’s retaliation against THAAD may clash with WTO, FTA rules: foreign minister

With China escalating economic retaliation on South Korea over a US-led missile defense system, Seoul’s foreign minister said on Sunday such Chinese moves may be in violation of the international trade laws and a bilateral trade pact. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said that the measures taken by Beijing -- such as a ban on Chinese tourist groups from visiting South Korea – could constitute a violation of the World Trade Organization laws as well as the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement, which too

March 5, 2017

[Herald Interview] ‘Public diplomacy essential for stronger Korea-US ties'

 Over the course of his US presidential campaign, Donald Trump spared no criticism against the country’s free trade pact with South Korea. Calling it a “disaster” and a “job killer,” the populist politician threatened to pull out of the treaty once he took office. 　But the US president was not the first to express such a negative view about the deal. Ever since negotiations kicked off in 2007, Trump-like rhetoric had resonated with South Koreans, particularly among liberal politicians and labor

March 5, 2017

China's THAAD retaliations may be in violation of WTO, FTA rules: foreign minister

A recent series of retaliatory economic actions taken by China against South Korea may be in violation of international trade law as well as their bilateral trade pact, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Sunday, alluding to Seoul's possible move to bring the cases to an international court. "(They could) likely be in breach of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the bilateral free trade agreement between South Korea and China," the top diplomat said in his appearance in a news pr

March 5, 2017

Seoul, Washington slam China over THAAD retaliation

　With China ratcheting up economic retaliation against South Korea over a US missile shield to be installed here, Seoul and Washington on Friday voiced criticism against Beijing, calling its actions “unreasonable.” 　China’s National Tourism Administration has recently been instructing travel agencies to stop selling South Korean tour packages, industry officials said. The move is the latest in a series of retaliatory steps by Beijing for the plan to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense s

March 3, 2017

Seoul, Washington slam China’s THAAD retaliation as ‘unreasonable’

With China ratcheting up economic retaliation against South Korea over a US missile shield to be installed here, Seoul and Washington on Friday voiced criticism against Beijing, calling its actions “unreasonable.” China’s National Tourism Administration has recently been instructing travel agencies to stop selling South Korean tour packages, industry officials said. The move is the latest in a series of retaliatory steps by Beijing for the plan to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense sys

March 3, 2017

Inhumane murder of leader‘s brother speaks of NK rights conditions: minister

The recent killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother with a toxic nerve agent constitutes a serious human rights violation, South Korea's unification minister said Friday."North Korea readily takes human lives in order to maintain power, and that's the reality of North Korea's human rights situation," Hong Yong-pyo told a forum in Seoul on the reclusive country's human rights conditions. (Yonhap)Kim Jong-nam, the first son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, died last month at an

March 3, 2017

S. Korea voices regrets over China‘s THAAD retaliation in tourism

The foreign ministry said Friday that it would be "most regrettable" if China is blocking its nationals from visiting South Korea as part of retaliatory actions against Seoul's move to host an advanced US antimissile system on its soil.On Thursday, media reports said that Beijing has ordered its local travel agencies to stop selling tour products for South Korea in what appears to be the latest action in a series of retaliations against the planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area D

March 3, 2017

Conservative Bareun Party condemns China's economic retaliation

South Korea's Bareun Party on Friday criticized the Chinese government for rolling out economic retaliations against Seoul in an apparent response to the scheduled deployment of an advanced US missile defense system.The remark came after China ordered its travel firms to suspend tours to South Korea after Seoul signed a land acquisition deal to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery last month. Rep. Choung Byoung-gug, the head of the Bareun Party (Yonhap)South Korea has been seekin

March 3, 2017

Negotiations launched officially to provide S. Korean land for THAAD deployment

South Korea and the United States officially kicked off negotiations Thursday to finalize the terms of deploying the advanced American missile defense system THAAD in South Korea, the foreign ministry said. "With regard to the provision of land (for the deployment), a request has been filed to open negotiations between the Ministry of National Defense and the US Forces Korea in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing. "T

March 2, 2017

S. Korean, Spanish foreign ministers agree to work together to press NK

The top diplomats of South Korea and Spain have agreed to work together to pressure North Korea into giving up its nuclear weapons program, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.The North Korean nuke issue and its human rights violations were among the main topics of discussion when South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfonso Dastis held talks in Madrid on Wednesday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (L) and Spanish Minister of Foreign Aff

March 2, 2017

Azerbaijan marks Khojaly massacre, national progress

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Seoul, together with Korea’s National Assembly and Korea Post, organized a conference on Feb. 14 to mark the silver jubilee of bilateral ties and the 25th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre. The event at the National Assembly in Seoul comprised two-part exhibitions featuring photos and videos on the massacre that took place in the town of Khojaly in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on Feb. 25-26, 1992, as well as the last 25 years of Azerbaijan’s development and cooperat

Feb. 27, 2017

‘US, China, Korea should work together against NK threat’

With North Korea scaling up its nuclear and missile capabilities, the United States should consider taking higher policy risks to break the security deadlock and tamp down the communist regime’s proliferating threat, according to a former director at the White House’s National Security Council.Victor Cha, speaking at a forum in Seoul on Feb. 17, said the new policy toward North Korea “should entail a higher level of risk acceptance,” as minimizing risk had restricted policy options and allowed P

Feb. 27, 2017

‘NK nuke conundrum requires visionary diplomacy’

To stop North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats from fueling a regional arms race, South Korea and its regional security partners should jointly address the issue and the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a former South Korean foreign minister has said. Song Min-soon, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul and a foreign minister from 2006-8, said at a forum in Seoul on Feb. 15 that “the security of the world in a nuclear age cannot be achieved

Feb. 27, 2017