Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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[Online Predators] Online reviews of sex tourism in Southeast Asia proliferate
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Middle East’s big AI push lures Korean tech firms
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[Herald Review] 'Culinary Class Wars': fresh, creative survival show minus the drama
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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Pikki Pikki dance: Korean cheerleader dance routine takes social media by storm
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S. Korean official visits China on N.Korean defector issue
A South Korean government official visited Beijing on Wednesday for a two-day consultation with Chinese authorities over North Korean defectors.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Kim Soo-kwon, director-general of the Korean Peninsula peace regime bureau, will meet with Chinese foreign ministry officials to find solutions on China’s policy of forced repatriation of North Korean refugees. He will also meet with North Korean defectors who have been living in the South Korean Consulate G
March 7, 2012
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German Embassy recognizes press officer’s 40-year service
German Embassy press officer Doe Phil-young has been honored with a medal for his 40 years of service to the German Embassy.Doe is the longest serving employee at the German mission here, and is thought to be the longest serving member of foreign diplomatic staff currently working in Seoul. He was the first person ever to be awarded the honor from the German Embassy at a dinner to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his career at the German ambassador’s residence this Monday. “His cooperation was
March 6, 2012
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Foreign minister to visit U.S. on N.K.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will travel to the United States this week, officials said Tuesday, after a diplomatic breakthrough under which North Korea agreed to halt key parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for food aid from the U.S.During his five-day trip starting Wednesday, Kim plans to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday in Washington after making a stop in New York, a senior official at the foreign ministry said.In New York, Kim wil
March 6, 2012
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‘Failure to pass N.K. rights bill shameful’
Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han said it was “shameful” that South Korea has not been able to pass a pending bill on North Korean human rights at the National Assembly for the past three years.“The U.S., which has signed the North Korean Human Rights Act, is more active than us in making efforts to improve North Korean human rights,” Kim told reporters.“It is irony, or rather a shame, for South Korea to have the bill pending at the National Assembly for more than three years, while it s
March 5, 2012
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KOICA aims to enhance aid expertise in 2012
OECD’s development assistance committee to review Korea’s aid programs in DecemberThis is the first installment of a series of articles introducing programs and activities of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, a state-run organization for overseas assistance and humanitarian aid. -- Ed. The Korean government’s aid program, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, has seen rapid growth over the past 20 years since its foundation in 1991, as Korea pulled off “the miracle of the Han Ri
March 4, 2012
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Nepali tourism showcased in Seoul
The Nepali Embassy held a seminar to attract tour companies here to offer more packages to Nepal. The country of 27 million people receives around half a million tourists each year, but is trying to attract more to visit world-renowned sites such as the birthplace of the Shakya Muni Buddha and Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Tourism is already forms a large part of the country’s economy, creating an estimated 548,000 jobs.Visitors contribute around 3 percent of the country’s GDP, but the newly-f
March 4, 2012
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Celebrating independence in Korea
The Dominican Republic’s ambassador has thanked Korea for helping her country’s development, while celebrating the Caribbean nation’s independence day.The Embassy of the Dominican Republic celebrated the 168th anniversary of independence along with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with South Korea last week in Seoul.Ambassador Grecia Fiordalicia Pichardo Polanco listed her president’s visit to Korea in 2006, and knowledge sharing initiatives as key events since ties were formed on Ju
March 4, 2012
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Israel shows art through film
A special Israeli video art show is to be held in Seoul from March 6. The exhibition titled “Afterwards: The Story from Israel” at the Total Museum of Contemporary Art is presenting seven Israeli video artists’ works to Korea. The exhibition at the Pyeongchang-dong museum is part of the Israeli Embassy’s celebrations of 50 years of diplomatic ties with Korea this year. More than 150 people attended the Korea-Israel Friendship Association’s 2012 general meeting on Feb. 28, which also marked the a
March 4, 2012
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German Embassy press officer marks 40 years in job
He witnessed the then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl pray for peace on a bridge between the two Koreas in 1993, before flying back to Seoul with him in a helicopter. And throughout his 40-year career, long-serving German Embassy press officer Doe Phil-young has built a few bridges between the European nation and Korea himself. “Being the Chancellor of united Germany, he went to Panmunjom and stood on the Bridge of No Return where he made a speech and prayed for Koreans’ unity,” said Doe recalling
March 4, 2012
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Nuclear envoys of two Koreas to attend U.S. forum
Pyongyang’s vice foreign minister may join further gathering with U.S. officials Negotiators on nuclear issues from South Korea and North Korea are scheduled to attend a U.S. security conference later this week in New York, brightening prospects for the resumption of six-party talks, sources said.Ri Yong-ho, North Korea’s vice foreign minister and chief envoy to the six-party talks, is to attend the forum, held by Syracuse University from Wednesday to Friday, which South Korean nuclear envoy Lim
March 4, 2012
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Envoys discuss nuclear summit agenda
Korea’s chief nuclear envoy has outlined predicted topics to be discussed by international heads of state at the upcoming Seoul Nuclear Security Summit with foreign diplomats here. Lim Sung-nam outlined topics that could be included in the March summit’s action plan at an ambassadors’ conference ahead of the event.Lim, who is the special representative for Korean peninsula peace and security affairs, said that the communiqu for the Seoul summit may cover areas of major concern including the mana
March 4, 2012
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‘Brothers’ Turkey, Korea to partner on trade
Korea could ink a trade agreement with Turkey by the end of March, according to the country’s ambassador here.“Our target date is the end of March and at the latest by the end of the first half of this year,” said Turkish Ambassador, Naci Saribas. The trade volume between the two nations is almost $6 billion with $5.7 billion of that being South Korean goods going to Turkey.He listed Turkish imports to Korea of textiles, clothing, agriculture, food, small machinery, chemicals, iron and steel, mi
March 2, 2012
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Safeguarding nuclear materials key, say envoys
Korea’s chief nuclear envoy has outlined predicted topics to be discussed by international heads of state at the upcoming Seoul Nuclear Security Summit with foreign diplomats here. Lim Sung-nam outlined topics that could be included in the March summit’s action plan at an ambassadors’ conference ahead of the event.Lim, who is the special representative for Korean peninsula peace and security affairs, said that the communiqué for the Seoul summit may cover areas of major concern including the man
March 2, 2012
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Seoul bolsters efforts for N.K. defectors
Foreign minister expected to bring up the issue in meeting with Chinese counterpartSouth Korean politicians and the government are adding their weight to calls for China to stop repatriating North Korean defectors. The movement sparked by Rep. Park Sun-young of the conservative Liberty Forward Party is gaining support from lawmakers, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-hwan is expected to bring up the issue during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Friday. According to F
March 1, 2012
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Lee renews appeal to Japan to resolve comfort women issue
President Lee Myung-bak renewed his appeal to Japan Thursday to redress long-running grievances over the country's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, saying the issue is an urgent humanitarian matter.Lee made the remarks during a speech at a ceremony commemorating Korea's 1919 nationwide up
March 1, 2012
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[URGENT] Two Korean doctors kidnapped in Pakistan: report
[URGENT] Two Korean doctors kidnapped in Pakistan: report "파키스탄서 한국 국적 의사 2명 피랍"<신화>
Feb. 29, 2012
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U.S. set to announce results of talks with N. Korea: source
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- The United States will soon release some details of "modest progress" in its latest high-level talks with North Korea, an informed diplomatic source said Tuesday."The State Department is expected to announce contents related to consultations with North Korea at around 9 a
Feb. 29, 2012
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Pressure mounts on China over N.K. defectors
Seoul expresses regret over China’s rejection of visa request by S. Korean lawmakerThe international community is expected to continue pressuring China over the human rights of North Korean defectors who are at the risk of repatriations by Chinese authorities.The U.S. congressional-executive commission on China said it will hold a hearing on Thursday in Washington to address the North Korean defectors held by the Chinese authorities.Witnesses include Suzanne Scholte, chairman and founding member
Feb. 28, 2012
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S. Korean lawmaker’s visa request to China rejected
Global efforts to pressure China to treat North Koreans as refugees By Kim Yoon-miA South Korean lawmaker, who has been waging a sit-in and hunger protest against China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, said that the Chinese authorities refused to issue her a visa for entry.Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor conservative Liberty Forward Party had planned to visit the South Korean embassy in Beijing to be debriefed on the situation of the defe
Feb. 28, 2012
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Consulate-General in Sendai wins 2011 Diplomat Award
The Consulate-General in Sendai, Japan, has won the 2011 Diplomat of the Year Award, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday.Conferred by Yeongsan Foundation in recognition of contributions to diplomacy, the award is given in two sectors -- the government sector and the civilian sector. “In the government sector, the award goes to Consulate-General in Sendai which showed exemplary consulate services for Koreans overseas in the aftermath of an earthquake in Japan in March last year
Feb. 28, 2012