With a new development agenda taking off over the next 15 years, traditional and emerging donors should join forces alongside the private sector, civil society and other non-state actors to beef up financial sources and leverage inclusive growth, leading international policymakers said Tuesday. The Korea Herald brought together four officials from around the world to explore ways to better implement the Sustainable Development Goals set forward early this year by 193 countries at the U.N. They a

Foreign Affairs Oct. 28, 2015

After years of public protests and ensuing delays, the Navy is poised to introduce a strategic naval base on Jejudo Island as early as December as part of the country’s efforts to beef up maritime defense, officials said Monday. A captain-led unit is scheduled to be launched on Dec. 1 to defend the base together with the Navy’s 7th Task Flotilla and part of the Submarine Force Command, which will move to the island from their current headquarters in Busan and Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, r

Defense Oct. 26, 2015

With risks and challenges faced by refugees across the world having become one of the greatest global issues today, the status and conditions of asylum seekers in South Korea have also been highlighted. The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles shedding light on refugees in Korea, their hardships, the systematic fallout, the country’s own history and ways to go forward. The following is the third installment. - Ed.From late President Kim Dae-jung to conscientious objectors and North Ko

Foreign Affairs Oct. 25, 2015

Despite their efforts to reboot security cooperation, the defense ministers of South Korea and Japan divulged a fault line over Tokyo’s possible exercise of its right to collective self-defense in a contingency on the peninsula during their talks Tuesday. Han Min-koo hosted his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani, who arrived for a three-day stay primarily designed for his participation in the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition. The six-day trade fair began early in the day at Se

Defense Oct. 20, 2015

Though Seoul had managed to boost prospects for greater U.S. attention to North Korea through last week’s summit, it highlighted an increasingly convoluted dilemma between its traditional ally and a rising China amid their intensifying rivalry for regional supremacy. The Park Geun-hye administration has been boasting that its bilateral relations with the U.S. and China are at their “best-ever.” After appearing alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a massive military parade in Beijing last month

Foreign Affairs Oct. 19, 2015

Despite Seoul’s pleas, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday reaffirmed the country’s unwavering stance against a transfer of key technologies for building next-generation fighter jets, casting a cloud over South Korea’s multibillion-dollar initiative. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo met with Carter on the sidelines of President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the Pentagon in Washington, requesting he once again reconsider approving the export of four core technologies from Lockheed M

Defense Oct. 16, 2015

Defense Minister Han Min-koo is expected to reiterate his request this week to reconsider Washington’s refusal to transfer technologies essential for Seoul’s fighter jet initiative, officials said Wednesday, despite the murky prospects for a reversal. Han will meet with his U.S. counterpart Ash Carter while accompanying President Park Geun-hye on her trip to Washington, which includes a stop at the Pentagon. The Defense Ministry and the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration have c

Defense Oct. 14, 2015

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are expected to hold talks next week despite strained bilateral ties, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. Seoul’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo will meet with his counterpart Gen Nakatani who is seeking to visit chiefly for the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, which is slated to kick off next Tuesday for a six-day run. They are forecast to discuss North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats and other regional and bilater

Defense Oct. 14, 2015

The Navy plans to boast its growing naval might at a fleet review in Busan this weekend, peppered by a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, South Korean Aegis destroyers and submarines and other cutting-edge vessels. The event, scheduled for Oct. 17-23, marks the 70th anniversary of the Navy’s founding. Some 30 ships including an Aegis-equipped destroyer and 214-ton submarine will be on display, as well as maritime patrol aircraft, CH-47 choppers, F-15K fighters and about 30 Coast Guard planes

Defense Oct. 14, 2015

South Korea’s state-run arms development institute was found Monday to have lost a fax encryption system in Russia, stoking concerns over a potential compromise of sensitive information that may pose a threat to the country’s national security. The Agency for Defense Development acknowledged that the device disappeared from its office in Moscow last October. The equipment, last used in June 2014, is attached to a fax machine and designed to encode plain text and decipher encrypted messages.  (Yo

Foreign Affairs Oct. 12, 2015