S. Korea, US agree to continue consultations over Inflation Reduction Act

South Korea and the United States have agreed to continue close consultations to seek solutions regarding a new US law that excludes electric vehicles assembled outside of North America from tax incentives, Seoul's trade ministry said Thursday. The consensus was reached during telephone talks between Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai the previous day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The IRA, signed by US President Joe Biden

Oct. 20, 2022

S. Korea has backing of full US capabilities, including nuclear weapons: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- South Korea is backed by the "full range" of US defense capabilities, including nuclear capabilities, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday, apparently dismissing the need for the deployment of US nuclear weapons to South Korea. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, made the remarks as North Korea is widely anticipated to conduct a nuclear test in the near future. "I think you saw President (Joe) Biden over the course of this admini

Oct. 20, 2022

Diplomats demonstrate interest in humanity in tech

Diplomats and representatives of foreign business groups in Seoul demonstrated interest in the discourse surrounding humanity in tech, at The Korea Herald Biz Forum 2022 on Wednesday. The forum was attended by a number of diplomats, including the ambassadors of Singapore, Malaysia, Estonia, El Salvador, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico and Latvia, and representatives from embassies such as India, Kenya, Poland, New Zealand, Qatar, Vietnam, Canada, the US and Germany. According to

Oct. 19, 2022

[Herald Interview] 'Leaders should address NK human rights violations on equal footing as nuclear arms'

  In the decades of efforts South Korea and the United States have made with other nations to persuade the North to become a "normal state" and give up on its nuclear ambition, they were often passive in addressing the reclusive regime's brutal record of human rights violations in the fear that it would only add more friction. But their overly diffident approach has "emboldened" and "empowered" the young North Korean leader to ultimately declare his country a n

Oct. 19, 2022

N. Korea fires artillery shells into inter-Korean buffer zone: JCS

WASHINGTON-- North Korea fired artillery rounds into a buffer zone with South Korea that is designed to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday. The North fired some 100 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea from around 10 p.m. Tuesday and another 150 rounds into the East Sea from 11 p.m., according to the JCS. The artillery shells fell into eastern and western buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line, which were established under a 2018 inter-K

Oct. 19, 2022

Seoul kicks off ANOC General Assembly, expresses hope for hosting 2036 Summer Olympics

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is to ramp up its drive for hosting international sports events in the future, including the 2036 Summer Olympics. Seoul is currently hosting the 26th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees, which runs until Friday, and the city government aims to use the event as a springboard for its 2036 bid. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will also meet with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Thursday and deliver Seoul’s int

Oct. 18, 2022

Talk of tactical nuke redeployment 'irresponsible': US ambassador

US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg said Tuesday all talk related to tactical weapons is "irresponsible" and "dangerous," as the idea of redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea resurfaces following a string of provocations from North Korea. Speaking at a forum organized by a journalist group to mark his 100th day in office, Goldberg also said the US' extended deterrence, which includes the country's nuclear capabilities, is the measure to hand

Oct. 18, 2022

S. Korea seeks more investment from Netherlands in chips, new energy fields

South Korea asked the Netherlands on Tuesday to make greater investments and enhance bilateral cooperation in semiconductors and such advanced industry fields as hydrogen and nuclear power generation, Seoul's industry ministry said. Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin made the request during a meeting with Hanneke Schuiling, the Dutch vice minister for foreign economic relations, in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "Chung noted that the South Korean gover

Oct. 18, 2022

New head of UN human rights office in Seoul begins official activities

The new head of the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul has vowed to work toward improving North Korea's dire human rights conditions, as he began his official activities after arriving in South Korea earlier this month. James Heenan, representative of the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul, met on Monday with activists from around 30 civic groups working on North Korea's human rights, according to the office's Twitter account. He took over as the office's chief on Oct. 2. "(He

Oct. 18, 2022

Accusations that US provoked N. Korean missile tests 'baloney': State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- A spokesperson for the US state department on Monday dismissed a claim made by North Korea and its friendly nations that the North's recent missile tests had been provoked by the United States, calling it "baloney." Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, also reiterated that the North's recent missile tests and other provocative actions are "condemnable." "As it relates to the DPRK, I think you saw last week when there was

Oct. 18, 2022

Foreign minister heads to Vietnam to celebrate 30th anniversary of bilateral ties

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is to meet Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday, during a trip aimed at discussing ways to strengthen their bilateral relations, now extending to 30 years. Park was set to take off for Vietnam on Monday. According to the Foreign Ministry, Park will pay a courtesy call to the Vietnamese president and hold a bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting Tuesday with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son, who invited him. It is the first time for a

Oct. 17, 2022

Saudi crown prince unlikely to visit S. Korea this year

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has shelved plans to visit South Korea this year, a presidential official said Monday. The two countries had been in talks to arrange the visit for next month, but the plan fell through for reasons that were not immediately clear. "It appears the crown prince's visit to South Korea this year will be difficult," the official told Yonhap News Agency by phone. "We still remain in close consultation over the timing of the visit

Oct. 17, 2022

[Hwang's China and the World] 3 Issues facing Pakistan: Human Security, National Security, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

A third of Pakistan was completely waterlogged due to a record flood in August. More than 33 million Pakistanis are estimated to have suffered from this unprecedented flooding. Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman stressed that the entire country is “all one big ocean, there is no dry land to pump the water out” and called it a “crisis of unimaginable proportions.” This year, we have more severe damage in Pakistan caused after the global warming, and man

Oct. 15, 2022

N. Koreans added to blacklist for first time in 5 years over missile threats

South Korea added 15 North Koreans and 16 companies to its blacklist on Friday, introducing its first unilateral sanctions in five years in response to the unprecedented number of missile provocations by the reclusive regime this year. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry revealed the sanctions list of those that are all involved in sourcing funds and materials for Pyongyang’s development of weapons of mass destruction. "We strongly condemn North Korea for its recent staging of the series

Oct. 14, 2022

NSC lambasts North Korea’s overnight provocations

South Korea’s National Security Council on Friday strongly condemned North Korea for carrying out a series of military provocations overnight, including an artillery drill in violation of an inter-Korean military agreement. Early on Friday, Pyongyang fired some 170 artillery shots into maritime “buffer zones” in the east and west coast. It also launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea. Prior to the launch of the ballistic missile and artillery shots, the

Oct. 14, 2022

PM arrives in Argentina for official visit

BUENOS AIRES -- South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived in Argentina on Thursday for an official visit, as Seoul seeks to deepen economic cooperation with the resource-rich Latin American nation. Han's visit came as the two nations mark the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. On Friday, Han will hold talks with Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez, and they plan to discuss measures to improve cooperation in various fields, including economic security, accordin

Oct. 14, 2022

Overseas Koreans Foundation kicks off annual gathering of Korean adoptees

The 2022 Gathering for Overseas Korean Adoptees kicked off Wednesday, and will continue until Monday. Organized by the Overseas Koreans Foundation, an organization affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gathering for Overseas Korean Adoptees is an annual homecoming program. The event is designed to invite Koreans who were adopted overseas to their home country and help them better understand the country and mingle with other Korean adoptees. The latest edition of Gathering for Oversea

Oct. 13, 2022

[News Focus] Xi's 3rd term to raise geopolitical pressure for Seoul, experts say

Chinese President Xi Jinping appears set on course to take an unprecedented third term in office at the upcoming Communist Party Congress, and his reappointment would likely ramp up geopolitical pressure for Seoul, experts here said Thursday. The experts also forecast that Xi's hawkish stance toward the US will only intensify the already heightened tensions between the two countries. This in turn will place South Korea in a more difficult position as the two superpowers would likely raise

Oct. 13, 2022

PM arrives in Uruguay for official visit

MONTEVIDEO -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived in Uruguay on Wednesday for an official visit as South Korea seeks to deepen economic cooperation with the Latin American nation. During his two-day stay in Montevideo, Han will hold talks with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou and discuss measures to bolster economic and trade ties between the two nations. It was the first time in 11 years that South Korea's prime minister has visited Uruguay. Uruguay is serving as a rotating chair of Me

Oct. 13, 2022

US will hold N. Korea accountable for provocation, including nuclear test: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States will continue to hold North Korea responsible for its provocations, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday, insisting the US has the means to do so. State Department Press Secretary Ned Price also insisted that additional provocations by the reclusive North will only further isolate the country. "We have been clear that as long as the DPRK continues with its provocations, continues with its launches of ballistic missiles, including longer range ballis

Oct. 13, 2022