The Korea Herald

33 new diplomats begin service

Full of vigor and yearning for a completely different culture, Sohn Sung-won packed his bags and flew to Egypt to learn Arabic when he was in college. The 1 1/2 years he spent there gave him not only good Arabic skills but also life goals, dreams and visions: he decided to become a diplomat and help bridge Korea and other countries. On Wednesday, the 28-year-old began his career as a second secretary at the Foreign Ministry’s first Middle East division ― with a specialization in Arabic.“My trip

Dec. 17, 2014

Seoul FM meets with U.S. congressman critical of Japan’s sex slavery stance

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met Wednesday with a U.S. congressman who spearheaded an effort for the passage of a landmark 2007 resolution on Japan’s wartime sex slavery in the U.S. House of Representatives, officials said.Rep. Michael Makoto Honda, a California Democrat whose district includes the Silicon Valley, arrived in Seoul earlier in the day for a five-day stay to meet government officials to discuss an alliance between Seoul and Washington and situations in Northeast Asia.

Dec. 17, 2014

Korea sends backup staff to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone

A team of three South Korean officials departed for Sierra Leone Tuesday as part of the country’s efforts to help fight the Ebola virus in the West African country.The officials from the country’s foreign and health ministries will join the 10-person medical team South Korea dispatched last week to fight the contagious disease in Sierra Leone, the foreign ministry said.The medical team is now undergoing training at an Ebola response center near London, Britain, for their mission in the West Afri

Dec. 16, 2014

China says no invite for anniversary of NK leader's death

China on Tuesday confirmed it has not received an invitation to attend a ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, but said it would "respect" Pyongyang's decision. Kim, the father of North Korea's current young leader Kim Jong-un, died of heart failure on Dec. 17, 2011. Under Confucianism tradition, Wednesday's anniversary is considered significant for the young leader because it means the end of the three-year period of official mourning

Dec. 16, 2014

S. Korea, China team up on Japan's wartime sexual slavery

In what appears to be the first joint history study between South Korea and China, government-backed researchers from the two nations have agreed to launch a joint research on the Japanese military's sexual enslavement of women during World War II, according to Chinese state-run media on Tuesday. The agreement, signed by South Korea's foreign ministry-funded Northeast Asian History Foundation and China's Jilin Provincial Archives on Monday, calls for the researchers to "find the truth" of the

Dec. 16, 2014

Abe’s win dims prospects for Korea-Japan ties

Emboldened by a landslide election victory, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is forecast to push ahead with a constitutional amendment for greater military freedom and revisionist foreign and security policies, darkening prospects for a thaw with Seoul. In a snap election Sunday, his Liberal Democratic Party secured a solid majority, with at least 290 seats in the Diet’s lower house. Another 35 went to the conservative party’s coalition partner, the New Komeito Party, giving them more than two

Dec. 15, 2014

Abe’s win dims prospects for Korea-Japan ties

Foreign minister to visit Israel, Palestine next week

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se plans to visit Israel and Palestine next week to discuss ways to help resolve security issues in the Middle Eastern region, a government official said Monday. Yun plans to discuss ways to step up cooperation as well as the security situations at the Korean Peninsula and the North East Asian and Middle Eastern regions during his separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers, slated for Dec. 21-22, the high-level government official said. Yun's

Dec. 15, 2014

KOICA committed to improving health care, education in Sri Lanka

MATARA/COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Only five years ago, Pavani Punsara Weerasekera, an 18-year-old student at Sujatha College, was seen walking along an all-too-familiar path that would have never set her apart from many of her peers living on low incomes and life chances.But an encounter with a volunteer from the Korea International Cooperation Agency helped her discover her knack for languages and improved her job prospects. As she develops her fluency in Korean, her dream of studying in Seoul and b

Dec. 14, 2014

KOICA committed to improving health care, education in Sri Lanka

Korea carving out niche amid global ODA race

DOMPE/HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka ― Throngs of residents and central and local government officials braved the rain to observe a truck unload the first batch of trash into a newly launched landfill site in Dompe, Sri Lanka. To the majority of the spectators, the event meant an about-face of one small yet unignorable part of their lives: for the first time ever, they will not have to discard garbage in open space and thus fall sick.“Before, for so many years, the people of this locality just dumped the

Dec. 14, 2014

Korea carving out niche amid global ODA race

Ethiopia welcomes Korean investors, professors and engineers

The cradle of mankind, Ethiopia, is at the dawn of a national awakening. The country is undertaking a sweep of modernization programs to develop its schools, institutes and industries, to regain its past glory as a powerful and independent African nation. A team of Ethiopian officials led by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen visited Korea to sustain and fast-track this process by learning from Korea’s rapid development experience. The Ethiopian delegation met officials from Korea’s Mi

Dec. 14, 2014

Ethiopia welcomes Korean investors, professors and engineers

Exhibition shows kaleidoscope of Canada’s Arctic wonders

The Canadian Arctic was once described as the “land that becomes large, alive like an animal; it humbles him. It is not that the land is simply beautiful but that it is powerful.” The literary eulogy continued in “Arctic Dreams,” an award-winning book by American author Barry Lopez, “Darkness and light are bound together within it, the feeling that this is the floor of creation.” Covering over 40 percent of its territory, the Arctic has long been regarded as an indispensable part of Canada’s nat

Dec. 14, 2014

Exhibition shows kaleidoscope of Canada’s Arctic wonders

Korea, Poland celebrate silver jubilee of relations

Polish Ambassador to South Korea Krzysztof Ignacy Majka (right) speaks at a reception at Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel on Dec. 8, celebrating the 25th anniversary of bilateral relations and the Polish Army Day. National Bank of Poland president and former Polish Prime Minster Marek Belka (center) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Lee Sang-kyu (left) gave congratulatory speeches. (Joel Lee/The Korea Herald)Poland and South Korea first made official contact during the 1988 Seoul Olympic G

Dec. 14, 2014

Korea, Poland celebrate silver jubilee of relations

Asian leaders to discuss their future and climate chang

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Southeast Asian counterparts were to discuss how to move forward their ties on the second and last day of their special summit, Park's office said Friday.The leaders were also expected to hold in-depth consultations on such issues as climate change and crisis management, according to Park's office.The talks come amid global efforts to galvanize action on cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases that scientists blame for global warming.South Korea has

Dec. 12, 2014

U.S. senator awarded S. Korean medal for contribution to alliance

Sen. Saxby Chambliss received a state medal from South Korea's government Thursday for his efforts to move relations between the two countries forward.On behalf of President Park Geun-hye, South Korean Ambassador to the United States Ahn Ho-young awarded the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit to the senator in a ceremony at the embassy on Thursday.Chambliss, who is set to retire after about two decades of service in the House and the Senate, has worked hard throughout his te

Dec. 12, 2014

Ryoo seeks U.S. congressional support for Seoul's N.K. policy

South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae held a series of meetings with U.S. lawmakers and asked for their support for Seoul's policy on North Korea, including its push for unification preparations, officials said Thursday.The lawmakers -- Reps. Steve Chabot (R-OH), Ed Royce (R-CA) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) -- expressed backing for South Korea's approach to the North and offered advice during the meetings that took place on Wednesday, officials said.Rubio said

Dec. 12, 2014

Unification minister calls for N.K. engagement

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington should make greater efforts to engage North Korea, saying that dialogues would make pressure on the communist regime more effective.Ryoo made the suggestion during a keynote speech at a forum on Korean unification in Washington, stressing that the two allies should now explore “more creative and diverse approaches” to resolve Pyongyang’s nuclear and human rights problems.“Until now, Seo

Dec. 11, 2014

President steps up ASEAN diplomacy

BUSAN ― President Park Geun-hye intensified her summit diplomacy with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations Thursday as she held talks with the leaders of six ASEAN states to bolster strategic cooperation.On the sidelines of the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit here, Park held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore as her government strives to court the regional bloc for its economic and political potential.During a

Dec. 11, 2014

Laos beckons Korean investors, tourists

Laos, a small, landlocked country in the center of peninsular Indochina, is a land of opportunity for Korea. Laos has abundant natural resources from its rivers, forests and mountains, which are eagerly awaiting Korean investment and funding. Our country also enjoys high political stability with a low crime rate, few natural disasters and low labor costs. Laos became an independent country in 1975 and an ASEAN member state in 1997. Diplomatic relations with Korea were established in 1995, with b

Dec. 11, 2014

Singapore P.M. receives honorary Seoul citizenship

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was awarded honorary Seoul citizenship on Thursday, becoming the 13th foreign head of state to receive the honor, the municipal government said Thursday.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon awarded Lee with a certificate of honorary citizenship in a ceremony at his office and exchanged views on experiences in economic development and urban management, Seoul officials said.“Lee’s visit to Seoul will not only strengthen ties between South Korea and Singapore but als

Dec. 11, 2014

Park calls for liberalization of FTA with ASEAN

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called Thursday for further liberalization of a free trade agreement with Southeast Asian countries to boost business opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing regions.A free trade agreement between South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on merchandise took effect in 2007. Similar deals on services and investments also came into effect in 2009.ASEAN has emerged as one of the key trade partners of South Korea in

Dec. 11, 2014