The Korea Herald

U.N. chief praises Park‘s ’trustpolitik‘

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her “trustpolitik”toward North Korea on Friday, saying the policy and her principled approach to Pyongyang contributed to reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Ban, who arrived in his native South Korea on Thursday for a home leave, made the remark during a meeting with Park, saying he came home light-hearted after Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to reopen a joint industrial complex and hold talks on setting up re

Politics Aug. 23, 2013

U.N. chief praises Park‘s ’trustpolitik‘

Foreign policies boost Park’s ratings

Six months in office, President Park Geun-hye’s approval ratings have reached a new high buoyed by her North Korea and security policies. Park’s approval ratings have gradually climbed since taking office in February and she now enjoys the highest approval ratings recorded by democratically elected presidents after six months in office, after President Kim Young-sam’s 83 percent. At the start of her term, a Gallup Korea polls gave Park an approval rating of 42 percent, which has climbed to 59 pe

Politics Aug. 23, 2013

Radio communication confirms successful launch of new satellite

YASNY, Russia (Yonhap News) -- South Korea’s new multipurpose satellite made contact with a ground station in the Asian country early Friday, confirming its successful deployment into its target orbit, officials in Yasny said.The first communication contact was made at 2:35 a.m. (5:35 a.m. KST), according to the officials from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).The Korea Multipurpose Satellite-5 (KOMPSAT-5) was launched Thursday from a launch base in Yasny, located some 1,800 kilomete

Technology Aug. 23, 2013

Radio communication confirms successful launch of new satellite

U.N. body collects testimonies of N. Korean human rights

In the first public hearing of its kind in Seoul, former North Korean political prisoners testified Tuesday to a United Nations' investigative body on the brutal treatment the communist country meted out to people who stepped out of line. The public hearing is part of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) commissioners' 10-day visit to South Korea to investigate and compile reports on human rights conditions in the North. The U.N. established the COI under its Human Rights Council in March, and i

North Korea Aug. 20, 2013

N. Korean leader extends condolences over first anniversary of Unification Church founder death

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has extended a condolence letter to mark the one year anniversary of the death of the Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the North's state media said Tuesday. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report monitored in Seoul, Kim "sent words cherishing the memory of Moon Sun Myung." "Kim Jong-un prayed for the repose of Moon, who worked hard for national concord, prosperity and reunification and world peace," the KCNA said in an English

North Korea Aug. 20, 2013

Seoul offers talks on Geumgang tours on Sept. 25

South Korea on Tuesday proposed talks with the North on Sept. 25 to restart the stalled tours to Mount Geumgang after a five-year freeze in a fresh sign of thaw in cross-border relations. The surprise announcement came two days after Pyongyang accepted Seoul’s offer of talks to arrange the first reunions of separated families in almost three years and proposed a separate meeting on Thursday over the tour project. While stressing the need to deal with the two issues separately, the Unification Mi

North Korea Aug. 20, 2013

Seoul offers talks on Geumgang tours on Sept. 25

N. Korea accepts Seoul’s proposal for talks over family reunions

Pyongyang on Sunday accepted Seoul’s proposal for talks on Friday to arrange the first reunions of separated families in nearly three years around Korean Thanksgiving next month in another sign of a thaw in their relations.Positively evaluating the North’s acceptance, Seoul requested that the talks be held at the Peace House on the South’s side of Panmunjeom as initially proposed. Pyongyang said it wanted to hold the meeting at Mount Geumgang so that Seoul officials could take stock of facilitie

North Korea Aug. 18, 2013

N. Korea accepts Seoul’s proposal for talks over family reunions

Two Koreas agree on Gaeseong normalization

GAESEONG -- The two Koreas agreed Wednesday to take steps to reopen the Gaeseong factory park after 133 days of suspension, as the sides compromised on the key issue of how to prevent another closure in the future. Under a five-point accord signed at the close of the seventh round of talks in Gaeseong, they will meet again “in the near future” to form a new joint committee to discuss compensation for businesses and ways to improve passage, communications and customs and how to protect South Kore

North Korea Aug. 14, 2013

Two Koreas agree on Gaeseong normalization

‘North seen eager to settle Gaeseong row’

Skepticism was growing about the prospect of an early normalization of the Gaeseong industrial complex as the two sides geared up for new talks on Monday in the North’s border city.The two Koreas failed to narrow their differences during the previous four rounds this month. The sour mood was especially apparent after a North Korean delegate refused to shake hands with his counterpart before talks last week. Pyongyang has consistently blamed the South on every occasion the talks have failed to pr

North Korea July 21, 2013

Korean, U.S. reaffirm N.K. contingency plan

Top South Korean and U.S. military officers reiterated Thursday that the allies would respond firmly to any North Korean provocations in accordance with their recently signed contingency plan.During their 37th Military Committee Meeting, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo and his U.S. counterpart Gen. Martin Dempsey also reaffirmed that preparations for the transfer of wartime operational control slated for 2015 were “on track.”Dempsey reiterated the U.S. commitment to def

Latest News April 19, 2013

Cyprus needs 75 mn euros to avoid default on bills: official

NICOSIA, (AFP) Cash-strapped Cyprus will fall short by at least 75 million euros ($97 million) to pay its bills in April, including government salaries and pensions, an official warned on Monday.Accountant General Rea Georgiou told parliament's finance committee that the government was trying to avoid a payment default for the month of April."The cash deficit for April is 160 million euros. The 85 million in reserve is not enough and we need a similar amount to avoid a default," Georgiou said, a

World News April 8, 2013

Japan increasingly nervous about North Korea nukes

TOKYO (AP) -- It's easy to write off North Korea's threats to strike the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile as bluster: it has never demonstrated the capability to deploy a missile that could reach the Pacific island of Guam, let alone the mainland U.S. But what about Japan? Though it remains a highly unlikely scenario, Japanese officials have long feared that if North Korea ever decides to play its nuclear card it has not only the means but several potential motives for launching a

World News April 8, 2013

EU: 'unacceptable' for Austria to hold up bank secrecy reforms

BRUSSELS, (AFP) - It is unacceptable for Austria to refuse to reform its bank secrecy rules, the European Commission said Monday, after fellow holdout Luxembourg signalled it was ready to change amid an EU putsch on tax evasion."It is unacceptable that a member state blocks this," a spokeswoman for EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said."It would appear very difficult for (Austria) to maintain its position ... when all member states are ready" to agree the automatic exchange of bank account i

World News April 8, 2013

Putin says N.Korean conflict could be worse than Chernobyl

HANOVER, Germany, (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Monday that any military conflict on the Korean peninsula had the potential to be worse than the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl."If something happens, God forbid, (then) Chernobyl which we all know about very well would simply seem like a children's fairy tale," he told reporters at an industrial fair in Germany.Speaking at a joint press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin welcomed a US decision to delay the test

North Korea April 8, 2013

SK Group head admits to involvement in fund creation

The convicted chairman of SK Group, a major South Korean conglomerate, admitted Monday to having been involved in the establishment of an investment fund created with embezzled company money.Chey Tae-won, 53, received a four-year prison term in January for embezzling 49.7 billion won (US$44.5 million) in company funds and funneling it into a firm headed by a former executive at SK's telecommunications unit. The funds were used for personal investments in stock futures and options in 2008.Appeari

Industry April 8, 2013

Articles by (공용)코리아헤럴드