Korea launches team to review comfort women deal with Japan

South Korea officially launched a task force to review an agreement with Japan reached in 2015 to settle a long-standing bilateral feud over Japan's imperial-era mobilization of Korean women as sex workers, the foreign ministry said Monday. The TF is tasked with fact-finding and assessing the processes leading up to the signing of the so-called comfort women deal, as well as its terms, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.The launch of the special team marks the first step to fulfill President M

July 31, 2017

Jakarta governor-elect to look into Seoul city policies

Jakarta governor-elect Anies Baswedan will learn about the Seoul metropolitan city's policies at the invitation of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon this week, a city official said Monday. "Park and Baswedan will discuss ways to bolster exchanges and cooperation between the cities in Seoul later in the day," the official said.  Jakarta Governor-elect Anies Baswedan. (Yonhap)The Jakarta governor-elect's visit was made about two months after Park invited him to visit Seoul during his visit to Indonesia as

July 31, 2017

Seoul reviewing operations of 'comfort women' foundation: minister

South Korea has started looking into the operations of a foundation for victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery, established after a controversial "comfort women" deal with Japan in late 2015, according to a senior official Thursday."We've launched an inspection team that will review and assess activities of the foundation. It's expected to be wrapped up by late August but could also be delayed a bit," said Gender Equality Minister Chung Hyun-back, referring to the Reconciliation and Healing Foun

July 27, 2017

UN says Japan backpedaling on sex slavery

The UN has downgraded its assessment on Japan’s efforts to resolve the issue of wartime sex slavery, citing its failure to provide recognition of responsibility, a public apology and full reparations, documents showed Wednesday. The UN Human Rights Committee released a report monitoring Tokyo’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for its regular session, scheduled for July 3-28 in Geneva, Switzerland. The panel, which consists of 18 independent internationa

July 26, 2017

Unification minister pays courtesy call on Ban

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon paid a courtesy call on former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday and discussed security issues.Cho visited Ban at Yonsei University in Seoul in the afternoon, where the former UN chief is currently serving in an honorary post.  Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon pays a courtesy call on former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at Yonsei University in Seoul on July 26, 2017. (photo courtesy of the Ministry of Unification)An

July 26, 2017

Task force soon to be launched to review controversial comfort women deal

South Korea's foreign ministry said that it is making preparations to launch a task force to review a controversial deal reached in 2015 with Japan to address a long-standing rift between the neighbors over Tokyo's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women. "(We) are in the middle of preparations for personnel composition of the task force. It has yet to be finalized," ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said during a regular press briefing. "It will be launched sooner or later."In December 2015, the

July 25, 2017

Korean professor elected head of UN body on continental shelf

South Korean professor known for his expertise on maritime affairs has been elected head of a UN body dealing with boundary issues for continental shelves, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Park Yong-ahn, an oceanography professor at Seoul National University, was picked to be chairman of the Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf during a meeting held in New York on Sunday (local time), according to the ministry.  Park Yong-ahn (Yonhap)The CLCS was launched in June 1997 under the UN Con

July 25, 2017

Korea, India to discuss cooperation on development aid

South Korea and India will hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to increase their cooperation in the development aid sector, the foreign ministry here said.The round-table talks to be held in New Delhi later in the day will bring together South Korea's official development assistance provider KOICA, India's finance and technology development ministries and the United States' ODA operator USAID, as well as international organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations Development Pro

July 25, 2017

Young minds light up literary imagination at Canada’s 150 contest

Marking the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation, the Canadian Embassy organized a creative writing contest in the spring, giving opportunities to young students to fire up their literary imaginations and interact with renowned Canadian authors.The competition -- co-organized and sponsored by The Korea Herald, Air Canada, Seoul Metropolitan Government and Creative Writing for Children Society in Vancouver -- drew some 200 entries from elementary, middle and high schools across Korea. Ther

July 24, 2017

Oman praises sultan’s leadership on Renaissance Day

The Omani Embassy in Seoul marked the 47th anniversary of Renaissance Day on Sunday, commemorating the accession to the throne of Sultan Qaboos Bin Saed. “On the occasion of our Renaissance Day, the people of Oman reiterate their allegiance to Sultan Qaboos, the architect of the country’s rebirth,” the diplomatic mission said in a statement. “Their proclamation of allegiance is associated with profound feelings of love, gratitude, appreciation and loyalty to the sultan, whose wise leadership dev

July 24, 2017

Colombia takes helm of Pacific Alliance

Colombia’s top envoy to Korea celebrated on July 17 the country’s new presidency of the Pacific Alliance -- an economic integration project in Latin America -- with a keen eye on the Asia-Pacific economies.Colombian Ambassador Tito Saul Pinilla was joined by Chilean Ambassador Fernando Danus, Mexican Ambassador Bruno Figueroa and Peruvian Ambassador Jaime Pomareda at the event at the embassy in Seoul.The alliance aims to spur free movement of goods, services, capital and people across its four m

July 24, 2017

[Herald Interview] ‘China, Russia must act now to forestall regional proliferation’

With no sight of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities coming to a halt, the international community should warn China and Russia to “act now” to rein in Pyongyang’s ambitions and prevent similar proliferations across Northeast Asia, according to a prominent international relations scholar. “The ugly picture of a nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia, with South Korea and Japan trying to develop nuclear weapons, is precisely why a persuasive case should be made to China and Russia to use

July 24, 2017

Koreas‘ women groups call for revocation of comfort women deal with Japan: KCNA

SEOUL/TOKYO -- A group of women's organizations in South and North Korea called for the revocation of the 2015 deal South Korea signed with Japan to settle the latter's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, the North's official news agency reported Monday.The Korean Central News Agency reported that the appeal was issued jointly by the Women Sub-Committee of the North Side Committee for Implementing June 15 Declaration and the Women Headquarters of the South Side Committee dedicated to the

July 24, 2017

Korean president greets five new foreign envoys in Seoul

South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed five new foreign envoys to Seoul in a meeting held at his presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, on Tuesday, the office said.The five new envoys included new Mexican Ambassador Bruno Figueroa Fischer and new Indonesia Ambassador Umar Hadi. South Korean President Moon Jae-in (C) and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (R) take a picture with Indonesia`s new ambassador to Seoul after a ceremony at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on July 18, 2017, where th

July 18, 2017

Korea pushing for FM meetings with China and Japan next month

South Korea's foreign minister is pushing to meet with her Chinese and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of ASEAN-related conferences scheduled for early next month, officials said Tuesday.Kang Kyung-wha is to attend meetings of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be held in Manila, the Philippines, from Aug. 6-8. They include the ASEAN Regional Forum, which is known for being a rare international event annually joined by North Korea.This file photo taken on

July 18, 2017

Foreign ministry launches internal platform to collect self-reform opinions

South Korea's foreign ministry has launched an internal online "platform" where its workers can suggest diverse reform measures for its organization, a ministry official said Tuesday.The platform was launched Friday on its intranet through which the ministry will collect opinions from its employees on how to reform itself, the official told Yonhap. It will remain in place until late September with people sending opinions anonymously. The move came after the ministry formed a task force early las

July 18, 2017

‘Turkey looks to Eurasia amid post-coup discipline’

One year after a failed coup attempt to topple the government, Turkey has restored social stability and economic vibrancy and is looking beyond its region to the larger Eurasian market, the country’s top envoy to Korea stressed in a media briefing.“A measure of order has returned to Turkey,” said Ambassador Arslan Hakan Okcal at the embassy in Seoul on Thursday. “Our economy has bounced back and is growing at 5 percent. People are going about their lives and businesses run as usual. Tourists hav

July 17, 2017

‘Liberation of Mosul heralds Iraq’s precarious governance’

Iraq’s top envoy to Korea lauded the hard-won victory against the Islamic State group in Mosul last week, also expressing his appreciation for Seoul’s humanitarian assistance and diplomatic support.Mosul -- the second-largest city in Iraq -- was recaptured by the Iraqi and US-led coalition forces of 72 nations on July 10, putting an end to a 9-month military operation against IS.According to Iraqi officials, the IS, also known as Daesh, has been completely driven out of Mosul, which was the seat

July 17, 2017

FM meets with special rapporteur to discuss human rights in N. Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, Monday to discuss policies on dealing with the abject human rights situation in the reclusive state. At the start of the meeting, Kang said that human rights in North Korea remains to be a "matter of great concern" to the South Korean government under President Moon Jae-in and the stance will remain in its discussion at the UN going forward.Quintana is

July 17, 2017