The Korea Herald

Fire breaks out at Japanese consulate in Busan

A fire broke out on the premises of the Japanese Consulate in the southeast coastal city of Busan on Thursday, blackening a wall, with no other damage reported, police said. (Yonhap)The blaze, which erupted around 6:00 a.m. at a spot that is off-limits to the public and where wooden delivery boxes to the consulate are stored, was put out in seven minutes. (Yonhap)The police are investigating what caused the fire, including the possibility of an arson attack. (Yonhap) (Yonhap)

Aug. 18, 2016

Fire breaks out at Japanese consulate in Busan

Talks under way to set date for trilateral foreign ministers' meeting

Negotiations for a meeting of foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan are under way, but the timetable has yet to be determined, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.A Japanese media report earlier said that the three countries are fine-tuning the timetable for the trilateral meeting, saying that it could take place either Tuesday or Wednesday next week in Tokyo. Speculation spread that the three might not be able to get together within this month as territorial disputes between Bei

Aug. 17, 2016

Ivory Coast marks national recovery at reception

The Ivory Coast Embassy last week put the country’s rising prospects in the limelight at its 56th independence anniversary reception.Its National Day on Aug. 7 commemorated the West African nation’s liberation from colonial France, which ruled from the mid-19th century to 1960. The country’s late first President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who was a medical aide, union leader and planter before being elected to the French Parliament, led the country toward independence. He is widely credited for his

Aug. 16, 2016

Ecuador enchants with treasures of Galapagos Islands

Coinciding with the country’s Independence Day, the Ecuadorian embassy has organized an exhibition that showcases the wonders of the Galapagos Islands, acclaimed for its pristine wildlife and unadulterated landscape. Titled “Enchanting Galapagos Islands,” the show runs until Aug. 17 at D-Cube City’s Daesung Art Center in Seoul. It displays 30 pictures captured by Korean photographer Kim Byung-ho, who visited the volcanic archipelago off the western coast of Ecuador last year. The National Day on

Aug. 16, 2016

Ecuador enchants with treasures of Galapagos Islands

Sowing seeds of future in Afghanistan with soybeans

With a scorching sun and arid air, steeped in rugged terrain, Afghanistan seems from afar to be an unlikely place for farmland. Up close, many areas of the country straddling central and south Asia have ripe conditions for agriculture: sweltering days, fertile soil and water trickling down from snowcapped mountains to irrigate the lands. For Dr. Steven Kwon, founder and president of Nutrition and Education International, Afghanistan was an opportunity rather than a threat during the war on terro

Aug. 16, 2016

Sowing seeds of future in Afghanistan with soybeans

Korea, Hong Kong to streamline automated immigration checks

South Korea's government on Tuesday said it has agreed with Hong Kong to simplify the automated immigration procedures for each other starting next week, by eliminating the mandatory online preregistration.The Ministry of Justice said South Korean nationals and Hong Kong citizens will be able to use the automated immigration system when visiting each other's countries without preregistering online starting Monday.Under the new plan, South Koreans aged 17 or older visiting Hong Kong can register

Aug. 16, 2016

Dokdo Research Institute works to raise youth awareness

Japan’s claims over the Dokdo Islets in the East Sea have long created tension with South Korea, but this has not stopped researchers here from collecting relevant data about the disputed islets. Hong Seong-Kun, director of Dokdo Research Institute at Northeast Asian History Foundation, told the Korea Herald he has been working to spread awareness about the islets, especially among young people.“It’s important for us to think of ways on how to say ‘Dokdo Islets are Korea’s,’ as Japan continues t

Aug. 15, 2016

Dokdo Research Institute works to raise youth awareness

Commander of U.S. Army Pacific visits S. Korea

The commander of the U.S. Army Pacific visited South Korea earlier this week, a trip that included a visit to the U.S. Army unit set to operate the THAAD missile defense system to be deployed by the Asian ally, a military official said Saturday.Gen. Robert Brown's two-day trip to South Korea which started on Tuesday was part of his swing through the region that also included a stop in Japan, according to a military official who asked not to be named. It was Brown's first trip to South Korea sinc

Aug. 13, 2016

China tightens tourist visa rules for S. Koreans amid THAAD row

China tightened its rules on tourist visa issuance for South Koreans, the foreign ministry here said Friday, the second revision to its regulations in less than two weeks that comes amid a diplomatic row over Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense shield on its soil.China notified its four visa centers in South Korea earlier in the day of a new rule requiring group tourist visa seekers to present original passports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a brief note to the

Aug. 12, 2016

Japan pledges to transfer comfort women fund swiftly: foreign ministry

Japan's foreign minister pledged Friday to "swiftly" transfer funds to assist South Korean victims of the country's colonial-era sexual enslavement, the foreign ministry here said, as the two neighbors ironed out the final details of a deal aimed at ending the decades-old feud over this painful issue.Seoul's top diplomat Yun Byung-se and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held telephone talks earlier in the day before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the Japanese decision."Foreign M

Aug. 12, 2016

[EYE] KF aims for ‘fast mover’ in public diplomacy

For decades, public diplomacy has been deemed a long shot in Korea’s statecraft, focusing heavily on shoring up the economy and expanding cooperation with other governments. It has only been in recent years that it began taking root as a key item on the foreign policy agenda. Meanwhile, quiet yet constant efforts have been made to elevate national prestige and policy understanding toward the essence of public diplomacy. With the Korea Foundation at the forefront, the country supports Korean stud

Aug. 12, 2016

[EYE] KF aims for ‘fast mover’ in public diplomacy

Korea, Japan agree on usage of comfort women fund: report

South Korea and Japan have agreed on the thorny issue on how to use the fund Tokyo will provide Seoul to compensate victims of sexual enslavement during the colonial occupation era, a Japanese media report said Friday.The two countries' foreign ministers will hold telephone talks later in the day to confirm the agreement and officially announce it, Kyodo News said.To put an end to the decades-old diplomatic row over the wartime atrocity committed during the colonial period (1910-45), the neighbo

Aug. 12, 2016

China tightens visa regulations on group tourists: industry officials

South Koreans who want to apply for a group tourist visa will have to submit their passports instead of a copy to travel agencies starting from next week under new regulations, industry officials said Friday. The consular office of the Chinese Embassy earlier in the day notified Korean travel agencies of the toughened rules for tourist groups composed of at least five people. Industry officials said that the new requirement would complicate the visa application process, with about 90 percent of

Aug. 12, 2016

Kerry says U.S.-Korea alliance brings peace in Northeast Asia

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday the "critical security alliance" with South Korea is key to peace and stability in Northeast Asia, as he issued a congratulatory message ahead of South Korea's Liberation Day."Our bilateral partnership continues to thrive based on our shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Our enduring relationship brings opportunities and prosperity to our two countries, and our critical security alliance brings peace and stabilit

Aug. 12, 2016

Korea to confer state media on Japanese diplomat

South Korea will confer a state medal on Japan's U.N. ambassador, Koro Bessho, for his contribution to relations between the two countries.South Korean Ambassador Oh Joon will award the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit to the Japanese envoy in a ceremony at the South's mission to the U.N. in New York on Friday, the office said.The medal is the highest honor in the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit.Before taking office as U.N. ambassador in June, Bessho served as Japan's to

Aug. 12, 2016

Xi Jinping loses ground in popularity poll among S. Koreans amid THAAD row

Fewer South Koreans said they think positively of Chinese President Xi Jinping this month compared to early July, a local public opinion poll showed Thursday. The result has been attributed to the growing diplomatic row between South Korea and China over the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. missile shield in the country. The survey conducted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies from Aug. 1-3 showed the Chinese president received 4.47 points on the 0-10 scale designed to gauge the favor

Aug. 11, 2016

Controversy persists in Korea over restrictions on Google Maps

A yearslong controversy over restrictions on Google Maps persists in South Korea, about two months after the world's biggest search engine again requested the Korean government to allow it to export government-supplied map data outside of the country. Google had made the same request in 2010, but it was rejected because South Korea's National Security Law, drafted more than a half century ago to fight communism, banned the Korean government from sending such map data to other countries. For Goog

Aug. 10, 2016

THAAD row feared to hurt S. Korea-China alliance against N.K.'s nuclear threat

China has been ramping up its opposition to South Korea's plan to deploy a U.S. advanced missile defense system on its soil, with some of its scholars even raising a possibility that it could end up hurting their alliance in coping with the nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang.In a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with six first-term lawmakers from the major opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Chinese scholars were united in expressing strong objections to the planned deployment of the Terminal

Aug. 10, 2016

China's THAAD objection thwarts UNSC's push to denounce N. Korea's missile launches

The United Nations Security Council's push to adopt a statement to denounce North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches has fizzled out because China demanded the statement also include its opposition to South Korea's deployment of a U.S. defense system, sources here said Wednesday.As the United Nations Security Council discussed issuing the statement critical of North Korea's defiant launch of two ballistic missiles on Aug. 3, China insisted that the document should also state Beijing's opp

Aug. 10, 2016

China's THAAD objection thwarts UNSC's push to denounce N. Korea's missile launches

China cannot punish Korea over THAAD without hurting own interests: U.S. expert

China would hurt its own economic and strategic interests if it takes retaliatory measures against South Korea for Seoul's decision to deploy the U.S. THAAD missile defense system, a U.S. expert said Tuesday.China has strongly protested the decision to place a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense unit in South Korea, claiming the system could be used against the country, despite repeated assurances from Seoul and Washington that the battery is aimed only at defending against North Korean missile

Aug. 10, 2016

China cannot punish Korea over THAAD without hurting own interests: U.S. expert