Lee Joon-gyu, a former ambassador to India, has been tapped as the new South Korean envoy to Japan and tasked with untangling the unabated controversy over a recent settlement on the “comfort women” issue, sources said Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry is expected to request an agreement for the 62-year-old career diplomat, replacing Yoo Heung-soo who recently offered to step down. Lee Joon-gyu (Yonhap)Since he began his diplomatic service in 1978, Lee has taken up various posts, including chancello

Foreign Affairs May 24, 2016

Following last month’s mass defection from China, some workers at another North Korean restaurant abroad have escaped the country, Seoul’s Unification Ministry confirmed Tuesday, indicating they are likely on their way to the South. Two to three servers at a diner in China have been taking refuge in Thailand awaiting their flight to Seoul, according to news reports Monday. But speculation varied over the facility’s location, from Xian to Shanghai to Hangzhou. “It is true that employees at an ove

North Korea May 24, 2016

Positioned off the southern tip of the peninsula and at the center of Northeast Asia, Jejudo Island has for years been enticing tourists and investors from around the globe on the back of its natural sights, serenity and the K-pop culture craze. A destination for honeymoons and vacations, the volcanic island attracts more than 12 million people every year, adding to its regional cultural diversity. It boasts a mild climate, unique ecosystem, three UNESCO natural heritage sites and a host of trea

Foreign Affairs May 23, 2016

Despite Pyongyang’s unabated nuclear ambitions, Seoul should seek to craft an “exit strategy” to defuse cross-border tension away from the current focus on sanctions and pressure, said Johan Galtung, founder of the Peace Research Institute Oslo.Galtung, who also founded conflict mediation organization Transcend International, noted that the South Korean Park Geun-hye government, with its hard-line stance against the North, should now take a different approach.“I think it is more Washington’s rat

Foreign Affairs May 23, 2016

With many wartime sex slavery victims staunchly resisting the recent settlement with Seoul, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should write a letter to each of them to deliver his sincere atonement and expedite the deal’s execution, a former Japanese leader told The Korea Herald. Tomiichi Murayama, who offered a watershed apology in 1995 for the country’s sexual enslavement of Korean women and other atrocities, said he “welcomes” Abe’s acknowledgement of the government’s responsibility and apolo

Foreign Affairs May 22, 2016

Russia’s central bank has directed local institutions to halt financial transactions with North Korea, marking the latest in a string of countries joining the global sanctions push, a news report said Friday. The central bank on Thursday circulated U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270 imposed in March, following Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests earlier this year, noting that the local banks can engage in wire transfers or other dealings with the North only upon U.N. approval, Radio Free As

North Korea May 20, 2016

The official appointment of Ri Yong-ho as North Korea’s new foreign minister has given rise to a blend of cautious hopes and skepticism over cross-border ties. Pyongyang on Monday informed the British government that it has appointed the former vice foreign minister as the successor of Ri Su-yong through a diplomatic letter to its embassy in London, according to the Associated Press. Ri, 60, is a career diplomat with extensive experience in negotiations with Seoul and Washington, having served a

North Korea May 18, 2016

Despite persistent setbacks, Seoul and Tokyo made progress during a consultation Tuesday in their efforts to set up a foundation for the victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery, a senior official said. Chung Byung-won, director general for Northeast Asian affairs at the Foreign Ministry here, flew Monday to Tokyo for talks with Kimihiro Ishikane, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Kimihiro Ishikane, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan

Foreign Affairs May 17, 2016

Some private companies from Iran, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries were found to have been operating North Korean flag vessels in violation of the latest U.N. Security Council resolution, news reports said Tuesday. At least four ships -- including the Deniz, the Yekta and the Al Iman -- had been reflagged to the communist country since last year and making port calls at Iran, Iraq and Somalia in care of Iranian and UAE firms, Japan’s Kyodo News and the U.S.’ Voice of A

Foreign Affairs May 17, 2016

GURAGE/KITENGELA, Ethiopia/Kenya -- Fatima Surel, 30, walks four hours twice daily to get water, carrying her 2-year-old son Fuad on her back far away from her small village in Adoshe, some 170 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa. Yet the water that filled her two 1-gallon (3.8 liters) bottles was barely transparent, tainted with red clay, dirt and other indiscernible substances. She knows the water cannot be safe, but it is the only source she can access. “It’s really heavy to carry these, and

Foreign Affairs May 16, 2016

ADDIS ABABA/BOLE -- More than 60 years ago, Kostle flew thousands of kilometers away from his homeland to fight in the Korean War while serving as a young bodyguard of then Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. Until he passed away a year ago after suffering a stroke, he vividly remembered the snowy winter during which the whole world turned sheer white, and how he had developed skills to fix telephone lines amid the chaos. In one heartwarming episode recounted to his son, he gave his rations to oth

Foreign Affairs May 15, 2016

With Japan welcoming U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima later this month, a frosty and bitter air has gripped diplomatic and academic circles in Seoul. The White House gave reassurances that there would be no apology for the U.S. nuclear bombing 71 years ago or a major speech during his visit. Yet concerns persist that the stopover itself would be tantamount to indulging a government that has been accused of raising the specter of militarism through its revisionist moves. The Hiros

Foreign Affairs May 12, 2016

KAMPALA/MPIGI/MUGONGO, UGANDA -- “I work first! I serve first! I sacrifice first!”About 35 community leaders of this rural district of Mpigi stood up, clenched their fists and chanted this slogan after mapping out challenges faced by their villages and detailing action plans to tackle them. The leaders, some as young as 25 and up to 70 years old, were handpicked by their own people to spearhead rural development, taking a page from the Saemaul (new village) movement that unfolded in the 1970s in

Foreign Affairs May 11, 2016