Success of Abe's visit to U.S. depends on how he honestly apologizes for wartime history: NYT

The success of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the United States depends on how honestly he faces up to the country's wartime past, the New York Times said, as Abe strongly indicated he won't issue a new apology.Abe is scheduled to make a weeklong visit to the U.S. next week amid calls for him to use the visit, which includes an address at a joint meeting of Congress, to offer a sincere apology for Japan's wartime atrocities and mend fences with neighboring nations."The success of

April 21, 2015

Danish minister visits water forum

Kirsten Brosbol, the Danish minister for environment, visited Korea last week to participate in the World Water Forum in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, to send a political message to the United Nations on water and promote Danish green technologies. At the Danish pavilion in the Daegu Exhibition and Convention Center, Brosbol urged the U.N. to adhere to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals to protect clean water. The shortage of clean water was identified as the world’s greatest cha

April 19, 2015

Park arrives in Peru for economic boost

President Park Geun-hye will seek the export of South Korea’s light attack aircraft to Peru during her four-day state visit to the South American country, an official said Sunday.Park arrived in Lima on Saturday for talks with her Peruvian counterpart, Ollanta Humala, on how to further strengthen economic and other relations. The talks are set to be held on Monday.South Korea said a planned rollout ceremony for the first basic trainer ,which would be assembled in Peru in cooperation with the Kor

April 19, 2015

Bolivia, Korea to boost trade, exchanges

The Bolivian Embassy held a reception on April 10, two weeks ahead of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, to mark the official launch of an organization for trade and investment here. The G-Ocean group, which deals with international trade and provides consulting for overseas businesses, has organized various cultural and commercial events between the two countries since last year. The group president Shin Tae-yi said Korean companies’ participation in infrastructure projects in Bolivia wil

April 19, 2015

Azeri, Korean musicians consort at concert

An Azeri musical duo teamed up with a Korean violinist at the Korea Foundation Spring Concert at Seoul Arts Center on Friday, showcasing a dazzling performance of classical music. Cellist Aleksey Miltych, pianist Saida Tagi-Zadeh and violinist Kim Bomsori played duets and trios by Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Piazzolla, as well as compositions by Azerbaijan composers Gadjiyev, Amirov, Karayev, Zulfugarov and Gadjibekov. The Azeri musicians told The Korea Herald that they were invited to perform in Ko

April 19, 2015

S. Korea's finance minister highlights role of GCF to G-20

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan urged the Group of 20 major economies to lend support to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), an organization that helps developing countries tackle climate change-related problems, in Washington on Saturday. In a meeting held immediately after the G-20 financial ministerial gathering, Choi said the GCF can help developing countries deal with environmental issues, adding that climate change can be utilized as growth opportunities.The meeting was also attended by World B

April 18, 2015

Park arrives in Colombia on 1st leg of S. America tour

President Park Geun-hye arrived in Colombia Thursday on the first leg of a four-nation trip to South America to help boost South Korea's ties with the "continent of opportunities."The visit underscored Park's efforts to build confidence with her counterparts from Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil to expand cooperation with the emerging markets.The combined gross domestic product of the four countries stood at US$3.1 trillion, about half that of 33 South and Central American countries.Seoul said l

April 17, 2015

F.M. Yun urges global teamwork against cyber terror

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se Friday called for closer global cooperation against cyber-attacks, citing the hacking of Sony Pictures and South Korea's nuclear power plant operator by North Korea.After their own investigations, the U.S. and South Korea announced that North Korea was behind the series of online attacks.The communist nation denied the allegations.The two cases "vividly" showed the gravity of the cyber threat, Yun said while delivering a keynote speech at the Global Conference on Cy

April 17, 2015

U.S., S. Korea weighing Chinese opposition to THAAD: USFK commander

The United States and South Korea are weighing Chinese opposition to a potential deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to the South, the U.S. Forces Korea commander said Thursday, strongly suggesting the two sides are discussing the issue.   The remark by Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti appears to run counter to what U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said during a visit to South Korea last week that the U.S. is not ready to begin discussions with Seoul about whether to deploy THAAD to the

April 17, 2015

S. Korea, U.S., Japan agree to bolster 3-way cooperation

South Korea and Japan Thursday agreed to make efforts to improve ties amid a deepening chasm caused by their troubled shared history.  The agreement was made at a trilateral meeting also involving the United States here as the three countries concurred to bolster cooperation to tackle challenges in the region and beyond as their No. 2 diplomats held an unprecedented meeting seen as U.S. efforts to improve relations between the two Asian allies.  Despite such efforts, there was no noticeable prog

April 17, 2015

Vice ministers of Korea, U.S., Japan hold talks

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan held their first-ever trilateral vice-foreign-ministerial talks on Thursday in Washington as Seoul seeks to boost pragmatic cooperation with Tokyo such as on security and the economy despite persistent historical tension.South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong arrived in the U.S. capital late on Wednesday ahead of the three-way meeting the following day with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki. With

April 16, 2015

Japan to 'respect S. Korea's sovereignty' in defense matters

Japan has said it will respect South Korea's sovereignty in matters related to defense and security, in what could be an appeasing gesture aimed at easing escalating tension between the two over issues ranging from territorial and historical disputes to wartime sexual slaves, a senior foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.Japan delivered its stance during the so-called 2+2 talks held in Seoul, which involved two senior foreign affairs and defense officials from each side. The session was l

April 14, 2015

Korea to close Libya mission

South Korea plans to close its embassy and extract staff from Libya in the face of heightened security concerns following a recent deadly attack on the mission, officials said Tuesday. Political affairs and consular services will continue in Tunisisa, where the embassy was transferred last July. Two diplomats who have since been shuttling between the two countries for alternate two-week stays will also stay in the Tunisian capital of Tunis, while further discussions are needed on how to maintain

April 14, 2015

Seoul mulls closing embassy in Libya

South Korea is considering closing its embassy and withdrawing its staff from Libya amid security concerns in the aftermath of Sunday’s deadly attack on the facility, officials said Monday. A group of armed gunmen fired 40 shots from a machine gun while driving past the embassy early on Sunday, killing two Libyan guards and wounding another. The Tripoli chapter of the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility via Twitter, saying it had “removed” two guards. The Foreign Ministry convene

April 13, 2015