Despite the increasingly powerful international sanctions against North Korea, China should play a greater role in boosting their effectiveness and curbing the Kim Jong-un regime’s nuclear ambitions, a former key U.S. administration official said Wednesday. Robert Einhorn, who served as special advisor for nonproliferation and arms control to the U.S. Secretary of State and as a coordinator for Iran and North Korea sanctions until last year, also raised the need for strong punishment if the comm

North Korea April 23, 2014

North Korea has stepped up activity at its nuclear site, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, in a fresh sign that the communist country may push ahead with a fourth atomic test in breach of international resolutions. Concerns have been growing since Pyongyang threatened a “new form of nuclear test” late last month in protest against the U.N. Security Council’s condemnation of its test-firing of ballistic missiles. Though no signs were spotted of an impending underground explosion, the ministr

North Korea April 22, 2014

The Global Green Growth Institute is committed to crafting low-carbon development strategies for emerging countries by harnessing innovation and fostering public-private cooperation in line with Seoul’s drive for a creative economy, its new chief said. Yvo de Boer, former executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, also expressed his resolve to remake the Seoul-based international organization that has taken flak for its lax budget and personnel management in recent y

Foreign Affairs April 21, 2014

As the death toll creeps up and hope fades for about 240 missing passengers on the submerged ferry, grief and despair are sweeping through the nation. Many South Koreans opt for donations and volunteer work over spring festivals, weekend getaways and Easter celebrations. At the frontline of the rescue efforts, the families of the missing have been camping out on Jindo Island off the southwestern coast since the Sewol capsized and sank there. But it is the entire population, not only the relative

Social Affairs April 20, 2014

Last June, Rep. Lim Su-kyung of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy was at the center of a sour ideological debate after calling North Korean defectors “apostates.” A former high-profile pro-unification activist, Lim was once called the “flower of reunification” by Pyongyang for her unauthorized participation in the 1989 World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang as a university student.The 44-year-old lawmaker made the remarks during an impromptu meeting with a defect

North Korea April 16, 2014

As President Park Geun-hye continues her pitch for unification as a potential “bonanza,” one government organ that would conventionally be at the vanguard of the drive appears to be increasingly inconspicuous: the Unification Ministry. With foreign affairs and security being the conservative president’s fortes, Cheong Wa Dae has gradually been taking over the ministry’s traditional role ― along with its influence. While regular, administrative tasks associated with inter-Korean affairs remain bu

North Korea April 16, 2014

Seoul, Washington and Beijing are intensifying diplomatic efforts as they wrestle to rein in North Korea’s nuclear threats and find middle ground in reopening a long-stalled six-nation forum aimed at disarming the communist country. Hwang Joon-kook, Seoul’s new special representative for Korean peninsular peace and security affairs and top envoy to the six-party talks, returned home after separate trips to Washington and Beijing over the last week. In Washington, Hwang and his U.S. and Japanese

North Korea April 13, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was “reelected” as head of the country’s most powerful body at a parliamentary session Wednesday, which experts said may offer a glimpse into its leadership reconfiguration in the wake of the execution of his influential uncle. The Supreme People’s Assembly meeting came about a month after the election under the young ruler of a new roster of deputies for the rubber-stamp parliament, including Kim Jong-un and other 686 military and party officials who all won unan

North Korea April 9, 2014

Korea doled out more than $1.74 billion in official development assistance in 2013, up about 9.2 percent from a year before, as the world’s 16th largest donor country, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said Wednesday. Seoul spent $1.3 billion in bilateral aid, consisting of $800 million in grants and $500 million in low-interest loans, and $450 million in multilateral projects run by international organizations. Despite the increase, the sum represents a paltry 0.13 percent of gross national inco

Foreign Affairs April 9, 2014

North Korea may have temporarily shut down its plutonium reactor due to water supply problems that could pose risks of radiation exposure in case of a natural disaster or other major incidents, a U.S. think tank said Monday, adding to controversy over the nuclear complex’s safety. Recent satellite imagery indicated that the Yongbyon site in the country’s northwest appeared to have been struggling to ensure stable water supplies to its cooling systems in the aftermath of torrential rain and subse

North Korea April 8, 2014

The chief negotiators of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program agreed Tuesday to boost cooperation to discourage the communist state from engaging in further provocations amid growing concerns over the possibility of a fourth atomic blast. They gathered in Washington to discuss ways to ramp up their trilateral coordination as Pyongyang repeatedly threatened a “new form of nuclear test” to beef up its deterrence. Hwang Joon-kook, Seoul’s new special representati

North Korea April 8, 2014

This is the fourth installment in a series of interviews with chiefs of United Nations offices in Korea. ― Ed.With industrialization playing a key role in economic growth, the U.N. Industrial Development Organization has been striving to bridge Korean businesses and emerging markets through research, surveys and seminars since the launch of its Seoul office in 1987. The office is now gearing up to put its cause into action: After years of study, it will embark on its first-ever pilot program in

Foreign Affairs April 6, 2014