[BREAKING] Korean team rescues 1 survivor in Turkey

A Korean rescue team on Thursday pulled a man in his 70s from the rubble in Antakya, southernmost Turkey, ravaged by the region's worst earthquake in modern history. The team also recovered four bodies from the same site during the rescue and search mission, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul. The survivor was conscious and in relatively good health by the time he was rescued, the ministry added. He was found hours after the Korean team set up base camp at a high school i

Feb. 9, 2023

US not the only country affected by Chinese spy balloons: Kirby

WASHINGTON -- The United States is not the only country affected by Chinese spy balloons, a National Security Council official said Wednesday, adding that China has been improving its surveillance program for years. John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, said the US plans to discuss the issue with its allies and partners. "We are going to have conversations with allies and partners about this program," he said of China's surveillance program. The US shot down an

Feb. 9, 2023

Vietnam War haunts S. Korea as it seeks to settle Japan dispute

South Korea is facing potential hurdles in its yearslong battle to put behind once and for all its longtime historical dispute with Japan over forced labor, as it is now forced to revisit a claim that the Korean military was responsible for murdering civilians during the Vietnam War. This week, a Seoul court ruled in favor of a Vietnamese civilian who had asked the Korean government for damages, saying the Korean Marines fighting alongside US forces hurt her and her family -- all unarmed at the

Feb. 8, 2023

South Korean rescue team departs for Turkey

The South Korean rescue team for the earthquake-damaged parts of Turkey departed Incheon Airport on early Wednesday. The 118 members, mostly from National Fire Agency and South Korean Army, boarded the South Korean Air Force’s KC-330 aircraft after a departing ceremony at the first terminal in Incheon Airport, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This rescue team is the largest-ever dispatched by South Korea for emergency overseas rescue work. They are to headed to Adana Air Base

Feb. 8, 2023

S. Korea sends team to aid rescue efforts in Turkey after earthquake

South Korean rescue workers will fly to Turkey shortly before Tuesday midnight after a powerful earthquake killed at least 5,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria. In Turkey alone, the death toll has surpassed 3,400 as of Tuesday afternoon. The 118-member rescue team -- including doctors, emergency medical technicians and special forces trained to deal with disaster recovery -- is the largest single rescue mission ever put together. President Yoon Suk Yeol was one of the first world l

Feb. 7, 2023

Embassies in Korea commemorate Holocaust victims

The German, Israeli and Italian embassies in Korea paid tribute Monday to victims of the Holocaust during World War II. To commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration and extermination camps 78 years ago in 1945, the German and Israeli embassies co-hosted the International Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony in Memory of the victims of the Holocaust at the Goethe Institut Seoul in Yongsan-gu. Not only every German government but also every German citizen has the moral duty

Feb. 7, 2023

Georgia, Korea Herald discuss awareness building

New Georgian Ambassador to Korea, Tarash Papaskua, and The Korea Herald CEO, Choi Jin-young, discussed ways to enhance public awareness on the bilateral relationship between South Korea and Georgia on Tuesday. Highlighting the growing interests in Korean culture and music in Georgia, particularly with regards to the Korean language, Papaskua said he wishes to strengthen the economic and cultural relations of the two countries. He also said that The Korea Herald, South Korea's largest English new

Feb. 7, 2023

Argentina seeks stronger science, tech cooperation with S. Korea

Daniel Filmus, Argentina's minister of science, technology and innovation, emphasized the importance of expanding science and technology cooperation with South Korea on Friday. Filmus identified space, nuclear power, biotech, nanotech and lithium as key areas in which his country could work with Korea, citing his meeting with Korea's Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho and the signing of a memorandum of understanding as a significant takeaway. The memorandum allows Argentina and Korea

Feb. 7, 2023

S. Korea seeks to erect statue of British journalist to honor his activism for Korea's independence

South Korea will seek to build a statue of a British journalist in his birthplace to commemorate his activism against Japanese imperialists in the early 20th century, the veterans ministry said Monday. Veterans Minister Park Min-shik unveiled the plan in Britain on Friday as he met with Thomas Owen Bethell, a grandson of Ernest Bethell (1872-1909), who helped reveal to the world Imperial Japan's misdeeds against Korea by publishing newspaper stories. The ministry plans to establish the st

Feb. 6, 2023

[Newsmaker] US downs Chinese balloon, drawing a threat from China

WASHINGTON -- The US military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions. President Joe Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, US officials said. Military officials de

Feb. 5, 2023

S. Korea, US vow action on N. Korea amid push for new ties

South Korea and the United States, its biggest ally, have reaffirmed their commitment to using their full range of firepower, including US nuclear weapons, to contain North Korea, while also expanding economic and space exchanges in the latest joint push to mark 70 years of relations this year. At a Friday meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, Foreign Minister Park Jin highlighted “watertight coordination” in dealing with threats from North Korea, which fir

Feb. 5, 2023

US House passes resolution denouncing socialism, N. Korean dictators

WASHINGTON-- The US House of Representatives adopted a resolution Thursday denouncing socialism and socialist dictators, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. House lawmakers passed the resolution, titled "Denouncing the horrors of socialism," in a 328-86 vote. The resolution highlights that "many of the crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, Daniel Orteg

Feb. 3, 2023

US remains ready to engage with N. Korea, but holding N. Korea accountable important: State Dept.

WASHINGTON-- The United States remains ready to engage with North Korea diplomatically but the country continues to show no interest in dialogue, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. State Department Press Secretary Ned Price also highlighted the importance of holding North Korea accountable for its recent provocations. "We have made clear time and again to the DPRK that we are ready, willing and able to sit down with them to have discussions about practical steps we can take to

Feb. 3, 2023

UN chief backs S. Korea’s efforts to disarm N. Korea

The United Nations is behind South Korea’s efforts to denuclearize North Korea and its measures to deter the isolated country from repeating aggressive actions like another nuclear test, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday at a meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin in New York. The UN chief said he expects South Korea to play a bigger role in leading global initiatives involving protecting freedom and ensuring peace, a reference to Seoul’s latest Indo-Pacific strate

Feb. 2, 2023

Uzbek-Kyrgyz summit, indicator of new trends in Central Asia

  The state visit of the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Kyrgyzstan ended Jan. 27. Undoubtedly, the significance of its results will go down in the history of bilateral relations. Moreover, they mark a new stage in the process of regional cooperation. I would even say that the significance of the results of the visit goes beyond the region and may even play an important role in stabilizing the entire system of international relations. There are good reasons for such an assertion. Duri

Feb. 2, 2023

S. Korea's top diplomat, UN chief discuss concerns over N. Korea's possible nuke test

NEW YORK -- South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday to discuss international concerns that North Korea may conduct a nuclear test in the near future. At the meeting held at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres said a nuclear test by the North would deal a "devastating blow" to regional and world peace and that his office has conveyed such concerns to Pyongyang, Park quoted Guterres as saying while speaking to r

Feb. 2, 2023

Foreign minister to lobby for UN seat, nuke talks on US trip

Foreign Minister Park Jin set off on a four-day tour to the United States on Wednesday to drum up support for South Korea’s bid to win a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council while reinforcing bilateral efforts to denuclearize North Korea. Seoul, which last served on the UN body from 2013 to 2014, is eyeing another term starting next year -- a move it sees as part of its long-term Indo-Pacific strategy to lead the international conversation on peace by discussing more than a

Feb. 1, 2023

China imposes mandatory virus tests for arrivals from S. Korea only in latest protest over curbs

BEIJING-- China resumed mandatory COVID-19 tests for arrivals from South Korea only Wednesday, in its latest tit-for-tat response over Seoul's strengthened antivirus curbs against travelers from the neighboring nation. In a notice sent Tuesday to airlines operating between the two neighbors, Chinese aviation authorities said all passengers on board direct flights from South Korea to China will receive polymerase chain reaction tests on arrival from Wednesday, according to the officials and

Feb. 1, 2023

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold consultations on NK provocations

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held a meeting Tuesday to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, the Seoul foreign ministry said. Kim Gunn, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, at the South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul and exchanged views on the security situation surrounding Pyongyang. The two sides stressed the importance of South

Jan. 31, 2023