Indian Embassy holds Sarang festival to promote cultural exchange

The Indian Embassy in Seoul is celebrating the ninth edition of the Sarang festival, a cultural event aimed at fostering people-to-people connections through cultural exchanges between India and Korea. The word "sarang" holds significant meaning for both Koreans and Indians. In Korean, "sarang" means "love," while for Indians, it represents diversity and symbolizes the vibrant colors of India. This year's Sarang festival, which kicked off Friday, has been exp

Oct. 10, 2023

UAM, robotics crucial for Denmark, Korea: Odense mayor

The head of Denmark's city of Odense urged stronger cooperation with Korea in urban air mobility, artificial intelligence and robotics in an interview with The Korea Herald last week. Mayor Peter Rahbaek Juel was in Korea to attend the 12th biennial World Cities Summit Mayors Forum in Seoul and to step up cooperation in the new transportation method. Odense, Denmark's third-largest city, is making efforts to create an operational environment for urban air mobility and infrastructure li

Oct. 10, 2023

US eases export controls on chip equipment for Samsung, SK factories in China

The United States has decided to allow exports of its semiconductor manufacturing equipment to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix factories in China without a separate approval process, the presidential office said Monday, a much-needed relief to the Korean chipmakers. The US government has designated Samsung Electronics and SK hynix's chip factories in China as "verified end users (VEU)," which would reduce the licensing burden on them by allowing U.S. exporters to ship designated items

Oct. 9, 2023

S. Korea issues special travel advisory on Israel; no reported harm to S. Koreans

South Korea on Sunday issued a special travel advisory on Israel and urged South Korean nationals to leave via a third country, if possible, amid security concerns in the wake of the Hamas militant group's rocket attack, the foreign ministry said. The militant Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip in Palestine, launched rocket attacks on central and southern areas of Israel during a major Jewish holiday Saturday and Israel staged retaliatory air strikes against it, leaving hundreds of people kill

Oct. 8, 2023

Seoul condemns Hamas’ attack on Israel

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Sunday that no Korean injuries or deaths have been reported so far from the fighting in Israel that erupted Saturday. There are currently 570 Korean residents in Israel -- 290 in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, 210 in central areas including Tel Aviv and 70 in other regions. There are also thought to be some 360 Korean tourists in the country, according to the ministry. The ministry advised Korean residents and travelers to evacuate to a third country if

Oct. 8, 2023

S. Korea expects to expand exchanges with Japan amid thaw: FM official

South Korea is expecting fresh consultations with Japan “at many levels,” a senior Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said Friday following their high-level talks the previous day that took place after a nine-year hiatus. First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and his Japanese counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, met in Seoul to reaffirm their commitment to curbing the growing threat from North Korea’s nuclear weapons development -- the highest priority among th

Oct. 6, 2023

US public support for defending South Korea wanes, survey finds

A growing number of Americans are reluctant to use US troops to defend South Korea from a North Korean invasion, according to a recent survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a nongovernmental research institute. The survey, conducted from Sept. 7-18 among 3,242 US adults, shows that only half of the respondents agreed with the idea of committing US troops to defend South Korea, marking a significant decrease from the previous year, when 63 percent were in favor. The shift in public opi

Oct. 5, 2023

Seoul, Tokyo restore high-ranking talks after 9-year hiatus

South Korea and Japan restored vice-ministerial diplomatic channels for dialogue in Seoul on Thursday for the first time in nine years, in one of Seoul's latest gestures toward improving ties with Tokyo. South Korea's First Vice Minister of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Chang Ho-jin met with Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano in a closed-door meeting at 10 a.m. to seek ways for strategic cooperation, as the bilateral relationship is thawing, the government said in a state

Oct. 5, 2023

Governor promotes Jeju's sustainable future at GBF

Oh Young-hun, the governor of Jeju special self-governing province, highlighted the island's business environment and the municipality's support measures to pursue sustainable future at a forum in Seoul on Wednesday. Speaking at the fourth edition of The Korea Herald's Global Biz Forum, Oh said Jeju had launched green hydrogen production in the island's northeastern region with an aim to usher in a zero-carbon era. "The island already operates buses powered by green hydr

Oct. 5, 2023

Pentagon chief renews support for Japan's 'counterstrike' capabilities amid N. Korean threats

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated his backing for Japan's decision to build "counterstrike" capabilities during talks with his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday, as Washington and Tokyo are tightening security coordination in the face of North Korea's evolving threats and China's growing assertiveness. Austin held his first in-person talks with Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara at the Pentagon since Kihara took office last month. Their agenda included Japan's decision

Oct. 5, 2023

S. Korean experts to inspect Japan water release

South Korean experts will fly to Japan to monitor the second release of treated radioactive wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant, set to start Thursday, the Korean government said Wednesday. “Like the first release, we will be working with the Japanese government to share real-time data on the second discharge and monitor data released by the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company,” said Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy C

Oct. 4, 2023

Bipartisan Senate delegation to visit S. Korea, China, Japan this month

A bipartisan Senate delegation will travel to South Korea, China and Japan this month, in an East Asia swing aimed at advancing US economic and national security interests, Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer's office was quoted as saying Tuesday. The six-senator group, including Schumer and Republican Mike Crapo, plans to make the trip, during which it will meet government and business leaders in each country, according to Reuters. Schumer's office confirmed to Yonhap News Agency tha

Oct. 4, 2023

US calls on China to encourage N. Korea's return to diplomacy

  WASHINGTON -- The United States has called on China to use its influence to encourage North Korea to take steps for de-escalation and return to diplomacy, the State Department said Monday. Spokesperson Matthew Miller made the remarks amid expectations that an anticipated summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing this month would lead to a strengthening of cooperation between the two countries and North Korea. "One of the things that w

Oct. 3, 2023

S. Korean industry minister visits Africa for World Expo bid, economic ties

South Korean Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu has met with President of Cabo Verde Jose Maria Pereira Neves and asked for the African country's support for its bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southern city of Busan, his office said Saturday. Bang visited Cabo Verde on Friday (local time) as President Yoon Suk Yeol's special envoy and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation on agriculture, trade, investment, energy infrastructure and the overall economy, according to the M

Sept. 30, 2023

S. Korea to extend $5 mil worth of fertilizer aid to Ukraine via U.S. agency

South Korea will deliver US$5 million worth of fertilizer to support Ukrainian farmers in partnership with the United States' international development agency, officials said Saturday. South Korea's foreign ministry will send fertilizers to support Ukraine's agricultural sector affected by the ongoing war with Russia through the partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the Seoul government officials. "This generous contribution unde

Sept. 30, 2023

Yoon hosts luncheon meeting with Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on Chuseok

President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted a luncheon meeting Friday with a group of Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima on the occasion of the Chuseok holiday. The meeting, held at Cheong Wa Dae's Yeongbin-gwan guesthouse, with 42 atomic bombing victims and family members from Japan and 43 others from South Korea came about four months following his meeting with Korean survivors of the bombing during his visit to Hiroshima in May for a Group of Seven summit. The Korean Peninsula was

Sept. 29, 2023

Diplomatic vehicle blessed for safety via Hindu ritual by S. Korean Embassy in India

The South Korean Embassy in India has shared a video online where a traditional Hindu ritual is performed for a new diplomatic vehicle produced by Hyundai Motor Co. for Seoul's ambassador in New Delhi. The one-minute-long video uploaded on X, known formerly as Twitter, shows a Hindu puja ceremony being carried out for the embassy's Hyundai Genesis GV80 SUV unit for Ambassador Chang Jae-bok at the embassy compound in New Delhi. "We are delighted to have a new Hyundai Genesis GV80 a

Sept. 29, 2023

N. Korea decides to expel US soldier Travis King

North Korea has decided to expel Travis King, a US soldier who has been detained after "illegally intruding" into the country by running across the inter-Korean border in July, state media said Wednesday. Pvt. King made an unauthorized crossing of the Military Demarcation Line into the North during a tour to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on July 18. "The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Arm

Sept. 27, 2023

British MP hopes for enhanced UK-Korea ties under Pacific trade pact

Adam Afriyie, a UK member of Parliament, hopes to see UK-Korean trade and economic ties advance to the next level, the lawmaker said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday. Afriyie touched on Korea's potential inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), highlighting the prospect of increased economic cooperation between the two nations. The CPTPP is a major free trade pact comprising 11 Asia-Pacific countries. South Korea became a

Sept. 27, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'UN peacekeeping forces need better gender equity'

United Nations peacekeeping force officers who visited Seoul earlier this month emphasized the need to enhance gender inclusivity within peacekeeping forces and to recruit more talented women into the military. Colonel B. Maureen Wellwood, the first woman in the Canadian Infantry to attain the rank of colonel, said women’s strength plays a key role in situations where peacekeepers should build trust with suffering residents, referring to her missions in several countries including Afghanis

Sept. 27, 2023