Republican senators call for significantly tightening financial screws on N. Korea

A group of US Republican senators have urged the Treasury Department to significantly tighten the financial screws on North Korea to curb its dangerously accelerating nuclear and missile programs.The six senators -- Ted Cruz, Cory Gardner, Thom Tillis, Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey and David Perdue -- made the appeal in a joint letter urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to "execute the full extent of financial sanctions and targeted financial measures provided for under current law." (Yonhap)"As

Feb. 17, 2017

State Department 'aware' of death of NK leader's brother

The US State Department said Tuesday it is aware of reports that the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been killed in Malaysia, but declined any further comment."We are aware of reports. We refer you to the Malaysian authorities," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency.(Yonhap)Kim Jong-nam, the 45-year-old eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who has a different mother from the current leader, was found dead at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday in wha

Feb. 15, 2017

Japan stages territorial provocation with teaching manual

Japan on Tuesday stepped up its claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo through a new educational guideline for primary and middle schools, in another move fanning territorial spats amid unabated historical tension over a “comfort woman” statue. Tokyo’s Education Ministry unveiled a draft of its updated educational guideline in which it stipulates for the first time the islets are “indigenous Japanese territory,” along with the Senkaku/Diayou islands and the Northern Territories -- claimed

Feb. 14, 2017

Ukraine, Korea mark silver jubilee of diplomacy

Marking the silver jubilee of diplomatic ties this year, Ukraine and Korea have laid a solid foundation for a wide array of future-oriented cooperation, Ukraine’s top envoy to Korea said last week.Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Marmazov, who nears the end of his post after five years, said the past 25 years of bilateral cooperation have sowed the seedbeds of growth in infrastructure, agriculture, construction, energy, science and technology, education and tourism.“Looking back over the last quarter

Feb. 13, 2017

‘Curbing global warming requires more than words’

With the international community changing tack to advance the low-carbon economy, Korea should act on its promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions and muster global cooperation toward its materialization, a renowned scholar on climate change has said. In an interview with The Korea Herald, professor Chung Suh-yong of Korea University’s Graduate School of International Studies stressed the “implementation” of the country’s commitment to the Paris agreement in 2015 was essential. Also known as the

Feb. 13, 2017

Italian cartoonist draws inspiration from eclectic Korea

In the eyes of Sergio Varbella, an Italian cartoonist and graphic designer, Seoul is a city of contradictions, where hypermodernity meets antiquity at every turn of the street. With glittering skyscrapers canvasing gentrified homes, and English billboard signs jutting out from unvarnished landscapes, the Korean capital has given him plenty of visual excitement. And that is precisely what Varbella will take home when he returns to his hometown Asti in northern Italy, after completing three weeks

Feb. 13, 2017

Foreign ministry to launch special team to monitor overseas missions

South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday that it will form a special team tasked with monitoring diplomats at overseas missions for any misdeeds in a bid to enforce tougher workplace discipline.The team, in cooperation with the ministry's existing internal inspection office, will keep tabs on diplomats working at the country's embassies, consulates and other missions.The move comes as the current inspection office is said to be short-staffed in that it has to monitor workers at over 180 overse

Feb. 10, 2017

Top diplomats of S. Korea and US expected to meet next week: source

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States are expected to meet next week on the sidelines of an international gathering in Germany to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's nuclear threats, a diplomatic source said Friday.Preparations are under way to arrange a meeting between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "either on Thursday or Friday" (local time) in Bonn in time for talks of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) countries, ac

Feb. 10, 2017

US 'secondary sanctions' on China likely to backfire: China expert

US "secondary sanctions" on Chinese firms doing business with North Korea would more likely to backfire rather than achieve the goal of inducing Beijing to render greater cooperation in efforts to rein in Pyongyang, an expert said Thursday.Yun Sun, a senior associate at the Stimson Center, made the remark during a discussion in Washington amid growing speculation the administration of US President Donald Trump is likely to adopt "secondary sanctions" or a "secondary boycott," penalizing Chinese

Feb. 10, 2017

Tillerson says Korea already paying 'large amounts' for US troops

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said South Korea is already paying large amounts to support American troops stationed in the country and the two countries will be able to produce an "equitable burden-sharing" deal.Tillerson made the remark in a written answer to questions from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) before his confirmation as secretary, responding to a question whether he would be willing to pull US troops out of South Korea and Japan unless a "fair" burden-sharing agreement cannot be reache

Feb. 9, 2017

Foreign ministry launches taskforce to enforce discipline for diplomats

South Korea's foreign ministry has launched a drive to enforce stronger discipline on its diplomats following revelations of a series of workplace misdeeds, a government source said Thursday.A taskforce was formed recently and held its first meeting to discuss ways to maintain discipline of officials stationed in embassies, consulates and other overseas missions, according to the source. The source said that the ministry has reached out to private-sector experts for input and opinions in establi

Feb. 9, 2017

Vice FMs of Korea and East Timor meet to discuss cooperation

South Korea's vice foreign minister held a meeting with his East Timor counterpart to discuss ways to increase cooperation in areas ranging from economy and development to North Korea's nuclear threat, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.Lim Sung-nam was in Dili, the capital of East Timor, for two days this week to hold talks. This marked the first time that South Korea's vice foreign minister has visited the country since both established diplomatic ties in 2002.The senior diplomat held a meeti

Feb. 8, 2017

Korea asks China not to buy Kaesong complex goods

South Korea's unification ministry has asked China to notify its people not to buy goods produced at the now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea, a government official said Wednesday.The government said that it has identified some attempts by North Korean authorities to sell South Korean owned goods made at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, including rice cookers, to buyers in China.The move to check the North's attempt to sell such goods comes almost a year after Seoul shut down

Feb. 8, 2017

White House: Trump stands with S. Korea, committed to preventing N. Korean hostile acts

US President Donald Trump wants to reassure South Korea that the US stands with the Asian ally and will prevent any further hostile actions from North Korea, the White House said Tuesday.White House press secretary Sean Spicer made the remark at a regular briefing, recalling a phone conversation that Trump had with Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn last week."He had a conversation the other day. We look forward to fulfilling that conversation," Spicer said. "I think obviously the

Feb. 8, 2017

Korea mulls option to refer China to WTO for THAAD retaliation: official

South Korea is currently reviewing if China's recent trade actions, taken after Seoul's plans to deploy US missile defense systems on its soil, can be referred to the World Trade Organization, a high-ranking official said Tuesday."As we may happen to need to take legal action in the future, a working-level examination is under way on (the illegality of) all measures taken by the Chinese central and regional governments as well as the private sector following the Seoul deployment decision," the o

Feb. 7, 2017

Yun, Tillerson reaffirm ‘joint approach' to NK threats

The top diplomats of South Korea and the US reaffirmed their commitment to shoring up the alliance Tuesday, calling for a joint approach to tackle North Korea’s “imminent threats,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se had his first phone conversation with new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was sworn in last week, days after US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ visit to Seoul. During the 25-minute talks, the ministers agreed to continue “coercive diplomacy” to thwa

Feb. 7, 2017

Sri Lanka, Korea celebrate thriving economic ties

The Sri Lankan Embassy on Friday marked the 69th anniversary of independence from colonial Britain as well as thriving ties with Korea officially extending to 40 years.The reception at Millennium Seoul Hilton drew dignitaries from both countries, including Kang Ho-in, Korean minister of land, infrastructure and transport, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Sri Lankan minister of disaster management, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Sri Lankan minister of public administration and management, and Chandrani Bandar

Feb. 6, 2017

Morocco rejoins African Union for regional peace, prosperity

More than 33 years since quitting the African Union, Morocco was readmitted to the continental club of nations, heralding a new era of regional security and economic cooperation, according to the Moroccan Embassy in Seoul.The decision was made at the 28th Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Jan. 31, with the support of 39 countries and nine countries opposed in voting. Moroccan King Mohammed VI first signaled the country’s wish to rejoin the institution at the 27th summit in

Feb. 6, 2017

‘Belarus, Korea are partners in cutting-edge innovations’

Emerging from seven decades of Soviet rule, Belarus inherited an institutional legacy of excellence in scientific education and research, highly regarded across Eurasia. Since its independence in 1991, the country has moved toward a market economy, while preserving cardinal instruments in science and engineering. Now marking the silver jubilee of diplomatic relations with Korea on Feb. 10, Belarusian Ambassador to Korea Andrei Popkov believes cooperation in these fields is key to unlocking the t

Feb. 6, 2017

Prolonged statue rows with Tokyo deepen Seoul’s dilemma

Signs are growing over a strung-out standoff between Seoul and Tokyo as the Korean government is grappling with the statue of a wartime sex slave in Busan that has triggered a heated protest from Japan. On Jan. 6, Tokyo instructed its Ambassador to Korea Yasumasa Nagamine and Busan Consul General Yasuhiro Morimoto to return home in protest against the statue installed in front of the Japanese consulate general in Busan at the end of December. The Shinzo Abe government also declared a halt in hig

Feb. 6, 2017