Seoul is coming under increasing pressure to sharpen its strategic calculations as its relations with China appear to have plunged to their lowest ebb in years, amid friction over plans to station an advanced U.S. missile defense asset on the peninsula. The downturn came as the security dynamics surrounding Northeast Asia took a new turn, given that Pyongyang tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last month and launched a rocket early this month. The provocations prompted South Korea and th

Feb. 25, 2016

The following article was contributed by the Embassy of Kuwait. – Ed. Modern KuwaitAs the bitterly cold winter nears its end to give way to the warm spring bloom, the people of the State of Kuwait work busily with excitement in preparation for the nation’s joyous 55th National Day on Feb. 25 and the 25th anniversary of Liberation Day the following day, Feb. 26.It is my great pleasure and honor to extend warmest greetings to the people and the government of the Republic of Korea. I am most gratef

Feb. 24, 2016

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong on Tuesday warned of a possible “destruction” of bilateral relations, reiterating the country’s opposition to the projected introduction of advanced U.S. missile assets on the peninsula. At a meeting with Kim Chong-in, interim chairman of the main opposition The Minjoo Party, the envoy stressed that a stationing of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system will dent Beijing’s security interests and in turn take a toll on the relationship. “Much

Feb. 23, 2016

A South Korean sailor was released Tuesday nearly two weeks after a United Arab Emirates-registered oil tanker was hijacked off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire that led to a dramatic nighttime rescue mission by the Nigerian military, said Seoul’s Foreign Ministry. The unidentified seaman was taken hostage on Feb. 11 along with 17 other crew members from China, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Ghana, the ministry said. The Panama-flagged Maximus, owned by a UAE company and on lease to a South Korean shippin

Feb. 23, 2016

Korean Admiral Jung Ho-sub was conferred Indonesia’s highest naval award, Bintang Jalasena Utama, in a ceremony at the embassy in Seoul last week. In the presence of diplomatic and naval officers of both countries, Indonesian Ambassador John Prasetio honored the Korean chief of naval operations for his contributions to enhancing bilateral naval ties through capacity building, technical training and arms procurement. Some of Jung’s achievements include facilitating naval academy exchange between

Feb. 22, 2016

The Iranian Embassy last week celebrated the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution as well as the recent resolution of the country’s nuclear agreement, opening the doors for cooperation with Korea. In 1979, Iranians led a series of demonstrations to unseat the dictatorial Pahlavi dynasty and established an Islamic Republic based on a modern culture and religious democracy, said Iranian Ambassador to Korea Hassan Taherian at a reception in Seoul. Particularly this year, he added, the anniver

Feb. 22, 2016

Jean-Yves Yunet, a French journalist who witnessed the massacre that occurred on the night of Feb. 25, 1992, in the town of Khojaly in Azerbaijan, later said: “I heard a lot about wars, the cruelty of Nazis, but Armenians went beyond them, killing 5- or 6-year-old children, innocent people. We saw a lot of injured people in hospitals, carriages, even in kindergartens and school buildings.”In the course of a war waged by Armenia against Azerbaijan that started in 1988, Armenian armed forces, enli

Feb. 22, 2016

The ASEAN-Korea Center held a reception last week to celebrate its seventh anniversary and eighth annual council meeting, on the back of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Community launched at the end of last year. The reception at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Thursday drew ASEAN Council members who flew to Korea for the event as well as diplomats and scholars from both sides. Korea’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hong-kyun said in a speech that the community’s inauguration was “

Feb. 22, 2016

China’s vice foreign minister on Tuesday once again expressed the country’s opposition to an envisaged stationing of advanced U.S. missile assets on the peninsula, calling for Seoul’s “prudent” conduct. Zhang Yesui was in Seoul for the annual Strategic Dialogue with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, which was designed to confer on North Korea, bilateral, regional and world issues. China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui is greeted by South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in

Feb. 16, 2016

The vice foreign ministers of South Korea and China plan to hold talks Tuesday in Seoul as tension prevails over the differences on U.S. missile defense assets and how to punish North Korea for its recent nuclear and missile tests. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will host his Chinese counterpart Zhang Yesui in the Strategic Dialogue, during which they will explore bilateral, peninsular, regional and global issues, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Lim S

Feb. 15, 2016

Pakistan and Korea are striving to launch a free trade agreement following an ongoing feasibility study, hoping to capitalize on each other’s geostrategic leverage, Pakistan’s top envoy to Korea said. In an interview with The Korea Herald in early February, Pakistani Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan highlighted the policy of prioritizing trade and investment with Korea since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office in June 2013. The feasibility study, being conducted jointly by the Pakistan Instit

Feb. 14, 2016