(Yonhap News)South Korea said Wednesday that it will decide whether to build an airport for 500 billion won ($440 million) on an island in the East Sea this month.The results of the latest preliminary feasibility study on building an airplane landing field on Ulleung Island are due to be released later this month, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.South Korea has pu

Sept. 5, 2012

A combination of Paraguay’s wealth of arable land and Korean agricultural technology is leading to new business opportunities for the two countries. A team of seven small businesses in South Jeolla Province on Aug. 23 signed a memorandum of understanding with CDD, a Paraguayan conglomerate with more than 30,000 hectares of agricultural land, to provide agricultural products and expertise for the growing of rice and other crops. CDD came into contact with Korean businesses through the Paraguayan

Sept. 2, 2012

The United States wants South Korea and Japan to exercise restraint in handling their historical and territorial disagreements, a senior State Department official said Thursday.“I have to say that the recent spate of tensions between Japan and Korea have caused concerns,” the official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.“We are, again, urging restraint, calm, and statesmanship in terms of dealing with these issues.”Washington‘s key Asian allies _ Seoul and Tokyo _ have been at loggerhea

Aug. 31, 2012

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s former prime minister, seems desperate to grasp his nation’s top political post again, judging by his decision to jump into the intensifying diplomatic spat between Korea and Japan in a thinly veiled tactical move. Fully aware of the extreme sensitivity of the issue, Abe pledged to reverse all of Japan’s past apologetic statements over its colonial atrocities, if his party wins the election and he is again elected prime minister.Abe’s newly reaffirmed stance on the issue come

Aug. 29, 2012

Even though Japan is actively calling upon the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to label Dokdo as a disputed area and tensions between Korea and Japan are rising because of the islets, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated that Korea’s budget for the island will remain the same in 2013. The ministry says the estimated 2013 budget for measures aimed at solidifying Korea’s control over Dokdo is 2.32 billion won ($2.04 million). This estimate is the same amount as the 2012 budget. Th

Aug. 28, 2012

The Nepali Embassy and the Non-Resident Nepali Association Korea unveiled its culture center with a charity night on Thursday.The opening ceremony for the Nepal House was marked by dignitaries including Nepali Ambassador Kaman Singh Lama and Lee In-jung, head of the Korean Alpine Federation.Also showing support for the house was CNN’s 2010 Hero of the Year, Anuradha Koirala, who provided support and shelter for over 12,000 women and children who have been rescued from brothels in Nepal since 199

Aug. 26, 2012

Costa Rican President Laura Chincilla celebrated the country’s 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea in Seoul on Monday.The relationship between Korea and the Central American country are based around the key elements of education, democracy and human rights, said Chinchilla during her reception.“Fifty years after the inauguration of relations, Korea has won its bet on the future and has established itself as an economic and technological power,” she said, according to an embassy press

Aug. 26, 2012

Tokyo’s lower house adopts resolution; Seoul blasts Tokyo for challenging Korean sovereigntySouth Korea on Friday urged Japan to recant its “unjust” claim to Dokdo after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged an “indomitable resolve to protect” its sovereignty over the tiny islets in the East Sea. “We strongly protest Prime Minister Noda’s reiteration of an unjust claim over Dokdo that is clearly our territory historically, geographically and under international law. We urge an immediate withdraw

Aug. 24, 2012

Members of civic groups hold a protest on Thursday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, censuring the Japanese government for its sovereignty claim on Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo. (Yonhap News)

Aug. 23, 2012

The Global Green Growth Institute is ready to take a new leap forward as an international organization by securing credibility, doubling its workforce and courting several more donor countries over the next two years, its new chairman told The Korea Herald.The Seoul-based think tank was established in 2010 by the Korean government to help countries share their experiences and technological expertise for environment-friendly development. Sixteen countries signed a convention for its status upgrad

Aug. 23, 2012

Curiosity, NASA’s unmanned vehicle currently exploring Mars, could hardly be more aptly named. The rover’s $2.5 billion mission is testament to the fact that, even in tough economic times, man has an insatiable desire to explore the unknown. After successfully touching down on the Red Planet on Aug. 6, Curiosity made its first short test drive on Mars’ surface on Wednesday. Images transmitted back to Earth show vast plains of rusty, gravelly landscape, liberally punctuated by valleys and mountai

Aug. 23, 2012