FM Yun, Kerry to hold talks on N. Korea, alliance

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will hold talks with his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, in Alaska at the end of this month to discuss security conditions on the Korean Peninsula following a landmark inter-Korean deal, an official said Wednesday.Yun and Kerry have agreed to meet each other on the sidelines of the two-day Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic to open on Sunday in Anchorage, the Foreign Ministry official told reporters on the condition of anonymity. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-

Aug. 26, 2015

Czech Republic, Korea fete silver jubilee through architecture

Marking the 25th anniversary of ties with Korea, the Czech Embassy held a photo exhibition last week at Seoul City Hall that showcased the country’s traditional architecture. “The Architecture of Prague Castle” featured photographs by Damjan Prelovsek, a photographer, art historian and former Slovenian ambassador to the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. The two-day exhibition displayed pictures of palaces and chateaux from across the country. Prague Castle is regarded the most significant monume

Aug. 23, 2015

Chinese watercolor exhibition, lessons available at cultural center

The China Cultural Center in Seoul has opened an exhibition and series of classes on traditional Chinese art by Sichuan painter Chen Zhichao. The exhibition of his watercolors, calligraphy and poems are displayed from Aug. 19-28, and drawing lessons are offered from Monday to Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The center provides drawing materials and the fee is 30,000 won.  Watercolor by Sichuan artist Chen Zhichao. Joel Lee / The Korea HeraldThe center has invited renowned artists from China e

Aug. 23, 2015

ASEAN, Korean students plant seeds of sustainable forestry

Students from Southeast Asia and Korea participated in a weeklong workshop in mid-August to build long-lasting connections in forest conservation and sustainable development. The 2015 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop, held in Korea and Indonesia from Aug. 10-18, provided opportunities for 100 undergraduate and graduate students to engage and learn from each other, as they are expected to lead environment-conscious development in the next generation. With ASEAN and Korea becoming progressively

Aug. 23, 2015

Exhibition shows Danish green tech

Copenhagen, a pioneering city in green growth, is sharing its advanced technologies and policies in a photo exhibition at Seoul City Hall. Detailed descriptions and images highlighting the Danish capital’s sustainable transformation over the last four decades are showcased at “Copenhagen Solutions,” which runs until Sept. 8. The exhibition provides insights for Seoul’s citizens and government, which is vying to be Asia’s leading city in sustainable initiatives through campaigns promoting alterna

Aug. 23, 2015

Seoul employs brisk diplomacy over N.K. attack

South Korea revved up its diplomacy Friday to secure international cooperation in deterring North Korean provocations, as tensions flared anew due to Pyongyang’s rocket attack and warning of “military action.” Seoul explained the facts of the North’s rocket provocation to major countries and the United Nations, and discussed with them ways to fend off additional provocations that could include a rocket launch disguised as a satellite launch. Earlier in the day, South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy

Aug. 21, 2015

Eurasia poses opportunities, challenges for Korea

For South Korea, Eurasia is a continental landmass of opportunities for energy supply, economic growth, cultural exchanges and other untapped possibilities. But it also entails daunting geopolitical challenges the divided country has long confronted. Participants of the Seoul-led Eurasia Express journey wave for a photo at Perm Station in Russia on July 25 during their 14,400-kilometer trip from Beijing and Vladivostok to Berlin. (Yonhap)Despite a series of constant obstacles to its diplomacy in

Aug. 21, 2015

Exhibition to showcase Danish green solutions

By Thomas Lehmann, Danish Ambassador One of the most frequent conversations I have with people as a Danish ambassador is about the things our respective countries are famous for. Since coming to Korea in 2014, I found out that Denmark, in the minds of Koreans, was known for author Hans Christian Andersen, Lego and happy people, not to mention the bicycles, wind energy and clean environment. Denmark’s green profile is strongly grounded in fact. Denmark became the world’s first nation to establish

Aug. 17, 2015

Pakistan marks independence with eye on global affairs

Pakistan celebrated its national independence on Aug. 14 amid concerted efforts to eradicate terrorism and engage in global trade, Pakistani Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan said last week. The Independence Day of Pakistan, which falls a day before India’s Aug. 15 Independence Day, is a commemoration of the country’s founding originating from the end of the British Raj in 1947. After a 40-year independence struggle, colonial India was separated into India, East Pakistan and West Pakistan, with Ea

Aug. 17, 2015

Seoul, Tokyo remain 'distant neighbors'

Seventy years after Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, the two countries are often described as “distant neighbors,” an expression underscoring the psychological distance that remains unbridgeable due to their historical and territorial feuds. South Korean President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with U.S. President Barack Obama observing at a trilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, in Marc

Aug. 16, 2015

Seoul's Foreign Minister urges 'concrete actions' from Tokyo

Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se called for Tokyo’s “concrete actions” to prove its vows to uphold past apologies for its wartime misdeeds, noting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech to mark the 70 anniversary of the end of World War II “fell short of Koreans’ expectations.” Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se Ministry of Foreign AffairsIn a written interview with The Korea Herald last week, Yun also noted “meaningful, considerable progress” in Seoul’s ongoing negotiations with Tokyo over

Aug. 16, 2015

70 years after liberation, Korea ascends high on world stage

Shortly after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, the peninsula faced yet another tragedy as North Korea invaded the South five years later, driving the territory into ruin and deepening the plight of people on both sides of the border. Neither the 35-year foreign occupation nor the three-year war, however, could thwart South Korea’s epic political and economic ascent from the ashes. More than 60 years on, the country stands as the world’s 13th-largest economy in terms of gross d

Aug. 16, 2015

Iran deal to deepen N.K.’s isolation: U.K. minister

The recently clinched Iranian nuclear deal would further deepen Pyongyang’s isolation and add pressure on the communist regime to renounce its nuclear ambitions, Britain’s top diplomat said, noting that the landmark deal would be “useful” in addressing Korea’s security issues.During an interview with The Korea Herald and other media outlets here on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond pointed out that consistently applying punitive pressures as done to Iran could help curb “illegal

Aug. 12, 2015