The Korea Herald

Mexico looks to next 50 years of Korea ties

Looking back on Korea and Mexico’s 50 years of diplomatic relations, Mexican Ambassador Martha Ortiz de Rosas sees much success, but room to further fulfill their great potential. “I think it has been a very successful 50 years of diplomatic relations. We have strengthened our cooperation in all the fields in bilateral relations since 1962 and we still have a lot potential ahead of us in all the fields,” said Ortiz de Rosas last Friday, a few days ahead of a reception to celebrate the 50th anniv

Sept. 16, 2012

Malaysia underscores economic, military ties on National Day

Malaysia underscored close economic and military ties with Korea at a reception celebrating its 55th anniversary as an independent nation at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Sept. 10.Malaysian Ambassador to Korea Dato’ Ramlan bin Ibrahim addressed more than 100 foreign envoys, military personnel, local government officials and friends of Malaysia with Noh Dae-lae, commissioner of the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration, during the reception.Malaysia’s National Day is Aug. 31.“We are happ

Sept. 16, 2012

Malaysia underscores economic, military ties on National Day

Hope for Afghans’ future

Ambassador says travel ban for Koreans could be lifted soonKorea could lift its ban on its citizens traveling to war-torn Afghanistan within a matter of months, the Afghan ambassador said in an interview Tuesday.Ambassador Mohammad Yunos Farman said he was “very optimistic” that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would ease restrictions on travel to the central Asian country in the coming months.“I have a good a friend at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here. He was ambassador of Korea in Kabul at

Sept. 16, 2012

S.Korea regains old embassy in U.S., snipes at Japan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A grand, aging red-brick house in Washington concealed by a pair of towering magnolia trees has become an unlikely setting for South Korea's festering grievances against Japan and a sign of growing tensions between two staunch U.S. allies.More than a century ago, the building housed the first Korean diplomatic mission in the U.S. But shortly before annexing Korea in 1910, imperi

Sept. 14, 2012

Dokdo museum opens in Seoul

Shows Koreans’ interaction with islets over 1,500 yearsA state-run history institute opened a museum dedicated to Dokdo in Seoul on Friday to showcase its 60 years of research findings and help promote understanding of the strategic and ecologic significance of the tiny East Sea islets. The facility, runs by the Northeast Asia History Foundation, presents maps, historical documents, charts, images and press records in chronological order. They were categorized into history and natural environmen

Sept. 14, 2012

Gov't develops 159 ODA programs for customized assistance

The South Korean government has finalized 159 programs for its official development assistance to developing countries, as part of an effort to provide each recipient with customized aid, the Prime Minister's Office said Friday.The selected 159 programs under one of the four categories -- economy, society, governance and future-oriented issues -- were made based upon Seoul's development experience

Sept. 14, 2012

Free child care to be expanded

The central and local governments agreed to share around 664 billion won ($588 million) of additional burdens required for the expanded state childcare program, the Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday. The agreement came as the local governments have been complaining that they are running out of funds for the program to provide free childcare services to all families with children up to 2 years old, regardless of the parents’ income level. Previously, only lower income families were eligible f

Sept. 13, 2012

Court to disclose texts of rulings for all criminal cases

All court rulings in criminal cases will be disclosed to the public, starting next year, as part of the judiciary branch’s efforts to bring transparency and fairness to the legal system, the Supreme Court said Wednesday,All courts here, including the appellate and highest courts, will be obliged to provide access for citizens to the texts of their rulings in all criminal cases via online or offline, the top court said, noting the system will be expanded to civil cases from 2015.So far, the Supre

Sept. 12, 2012

400 nabbed for sharing, possessing child porn

Police said Wednesday they have caught nearly 400 people in a massive crackdown on those possessing or distributing obscene materials on the Internet.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they have arrested four, including a 31-year-old suspect surnamed Lim, for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography and booked 393 others for similar charges without physical detention. Internet pornography has been blamed for a recent spate of sex crimes on children and women that have trigg

Sept. 12, 2012

Korea, Norway agree to work together for Arctic

OSLO (Yonhap News) ― South Korea and Norway agreed Wednesday to partner with each other to tackle climate change threatening the Arctic and develop the resources-rich region without harming its environment, including opening up polar shipping routes.South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg reached the agreement during summit talks, and the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to help shipping firms of their nations open new sea lanes o

Sept. 12, 2012

Old U.S. document undermines Japan’s claim to Dokdo

ATLANTA (Yonhap News) ― In yet another historic document that undermines Japan’s claim to the sovereignty over Dokdo, the United States did not acknowledge the rocky outcroppings in the East Sea as Japan’s territory a century ago.The document, titled “Asiatic Pilot: East Coast of Siberia, Sakhalin Island and Korea,” and drawn up by the U.S. Hydrographic Office in 1909, was obtained by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.It names Dokdo as Hornet Islands or Liancourt Rocks and describes them as “two bar

Sept. 12, 2012

Korea to counter Japan’s ad campaign

Japanese government uses newspaper advertisment to reiterate its claim to DokdoAfter a couple weeks of letup, tension is rekindling between Seoul and Tokyo over Dokdo as the two governments gear up for an advertisement blitz in Japanese newspapers.The Japanese Foreign Ministry ran an advertisement in local newspapers Tuesday which reiterates its long-standing claim to Korea’s easternmost islets. In response, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry announced its plan to launch an ad campaign countering Japan’s

Sept. 11, 2012

S. Korea ready to run Dokdo ads in Japanese media: FM

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said Tuesday that the government is ready to run ads on its easternmost islets of Dokdo in Japanese media, in a rare move aimed at reinforcing its global public relations campaign over the East Sea islets and countering Japan's territorial claim."The government is preparing to run ads in Japanese media to tell the Japanese people that Dokdo is a Korean t

Sept. 11, 2012

Korea, Greenland to cooperate on green growth

Korea and Greenland plan to step up cooperation for environmentally friendly development projects as Seoul seeks a slice of the resources-rich region’s research and business boom. President Lee Myung-bak and Kuupik Kleist, prime minister of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory, forged four agreements Sunday on mineral and resources exploration, geological survey and science and technology. They also agreed to work together on green growth and Arctic shipping lanes.Earlier in the day, Lee lan

Sept. 10, 2012

Korea, Greenland to cooperate on green growth

Diplomatic heavyweight bridges uneasy neighbors

The stand-out story from November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Hawaii was the United States’ “pivot” toward Asia.With renewed focus on Pacific relations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton must have been vexed to arrive at this month’s APEC meeting in Vladivostok to find two of its biggest allies at each others’ throats.And so one of her first tasks in Russia was reminding Korea and Japan that they are ultimately friends, despite their differences. “I raised these issues w

Sept. 10, 2012

Diplomatic heavyweight bridges uneasy neighbors

Swedish prince to attend Jeju conference

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden will travel to Korea to participate in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress in Jeju on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Swedish Embassy.Philip will be attending as a patron of the IUCN and will participate in a number of events including the World Leaders’ Dialogue and an award ceremony Saturday. Philip will meet with Korean Minister for Environment Yoo Young-sook on Wednesday.Philip previously visited the IUCN hea

Sept. 9, 2012

Seoul Literary Society to host author

Seoul Literary Society is inviting its members to an evening with Korean novelist Kim Young-ha on Sept. 17.The author of “I Have the Right to Destroy Myself” will make a presentation before taking questions from the audience at Scandinavian Design House in Apujeong in Seoul. The event, to begin at 6 p.m., will also include a reception of Swedish food. Kim is one Korea’s most famous writers, and his works have been translated into 15 languages. “Whatever Happened to the Man Stuck in the Elevator?

Sept. 9, 2012

Seminar looks at globalization in Latin America

The ambassadors of Argentina and Brazil addressed a seminar on the effects of globalization on trade and investment in Latin American countries on Aug. 30.Argentine Ambassador Carlos Alberto Arganaraz and Brazilian Ambassador Edmundo Sussumu Fujita gave welcoming speeches at “The Era of Globalization: Trade, Investment and Legal Perspectives in Latin America,” which took place from 9 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. at COEX Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul.The Korea Legislation Research Institute-organized semi

Sept. 9, 2012

Sporting spirit unites Korea, U.K.

While one set of Olympic Games is long finished, another just wrapped up in London. The Paralympics Games kicked off on Aug. 29, finishing Sunday. British Ambassador Scott Wightman was among those who followed the action.“I visited the Incheon training facility in December so I was able to meet some of the athletes then,” Wightman told The Korea Herald at his residence in Seoul on Tuesday. “We’ve had a couple of the athletes that took part in an event that we arranged to mark 100 days before the

Sept. 9, 2012

Ecuador seeks Korean support for unique habitat

A former ambassador spearheading a unique Ecuadorian initiative to protect one of the most bio-diverse places on earth has asked Korea for its support.Speaking at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul on Thursday, Yasuni-ITT Initiative Secretary of State Ivonne Baki expressed her hope that the Korean government and local concerns would support the Ecuadorian government’s proposal to refrain from exploiting oil reserves at Yasuni National Park by contributing to the cost of forgone oil revenues. The i

Sept. 9, 2012

Ecuador seeks Korean support for unique habitat