The three major presidential candidates appear to be committed to similar foreign policy lines centering on peninsular peace, regional harmony and Korea’s greater role in line with its middle power status. Whoever wins the Dec. 19 election will face tough challenges: defrosting inter-Korean relations; adjusting policies to the rivalry between the U.S. and China; managing historical and territorial feuds with Japan; and engaging in multilateral efforts to tackle climate change, development and ot

Foreign Affairs Nov. 22, 2012

While U.S. President Barack Obama builds his legacy in Myanmar, his trip sheds new light on the Southeast Asia country's military relationship with its traditional partner, North Korea.His three-country tour is chiefly designed to boost Washington's strategic "pivot" to the region, reward sweeping political and economic reforms in the once pariah nation and check the growing influence of China, one of its biggest patrons. Obama also used his historic visit to pressure Pyongyang to follow its old

Foreign Affairs Nov. 20, 2012

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and his Kenyan counterpart Raila Odinga agreed Monday to step up bilateral cooperation in development, business and culture during their talks in Seoul, officials here said. The two leaders also swapped views on the situation in the region and ways to boost collaboration in the international arena, the prime minister’s office said. Odinga arrived here on Sunday for a three-day official visit, following Kim’s trip to Kenyan capital Nairobi in July. He is running for p

Foreign Affairs Nov. 19, 2012

Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik urged North Korea to break a “vicious cycle of sanctions and isolation” by changing course and engaging in dialogue with the South. With leadership shifts taking place across the region, neighbors will have a chance to “break with their passive concept of maintaining the status quo” and reassess their policy so as to help resolve the standoff with the nuclear-armed state and realize the peninsula’s unification, he said in a forum Tuesday.“North Korea must no longer

North Korea Nov. 14, 2012

North Korean defectors Kim Kwang-hyok and Ko Jong-nam dreamed of a life free from repression and hunger. Nearly four years later they found themselves at the bottom of the social ladder, suffering from financial difficulties, prejudice and social isolation.That was the “miserable life” in the South the couple described at a news conference in Pyongyang on Nov. 8 after they returned to the North with their 2-year-old son Se-han. According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, Kim, 2

North Korea Nov. 14, 2012

Korea should streamline its policy process and boost cooperation with the non-governmental sector so that it can follow through with its commitment to overseas development aid despite budget constraints, a leading foreign affairs think tank said.Seoul joined the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee in 2010 to become the first member of the international community to turn from aid recipient to donor. But the country fell slightly short of its target amount of foreign aid last year. Hong Ji-in,

Foreign Affairs Nov. 12, 2012

Following is the last in a series of articles on the future relations between China and two Koreas under next Chinese leader Xi Jinping ― Ed.A rising China has been a boon for the Korean economy as its top export market, a major manufacturing base and rich source of investment, tourism and cheap products, despite the countries’ growing competition in the world markets. Their ever-deepening ties are about to take a fresh turn as the world’s second-largest economy shifts toward domestic consumptio

Foreign Affairs Nov. 7, 2012

Newly re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to more flexibly implement his two-track approach on North Korea, pressing it to give up nuclear arms while promising rewards for a shift toward openness and reform. The Democrat president’s re-election will likely facilitate cooperation with South Korea and other regional partners in curbing the communist state’s nuclear ambitions.A potential game changer is the South’s December presidential election to replace Lee Myung-bak, the hardline

North Korea Nov. 7, 2012