The Korea Herald

Devoted nun, dentist wins Lee Tae-seok award

Park Jeong-sook, a nun and dentist who devoted her life to caring for the needy in Bangladesh, received the Foreign Ministry’s Lee Tae-seok Award last week. The award was launched in 2011 and named after a Catholic priest who died a year earlier at age 48 while helping displaced people in South Sudan. Park, 49, has been setting up schools, homes and other facilities for the poor and children with disabilities in Dhaka since 2005. In 2007 she opened a hospital to provide free dental care services

Dec. 3, 2013

Devoted nun, dentist wins Lee Tae-seok award

Indonesia protests to Korea over alleged U.S. spying role

Indonesia has lodged a protest against South Korea’s alleged support of U.S. interception of undersea telecommunications channels across Asia, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday. Jakarta’s Vice Foreign Minister Wardana called in Seoul’s ambassador Kim Young-sun on Tuesday at the instruction of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. That was apparently to verify news reports that South Korea and Singapore are key “third parties” helping what is called the “Five Eyes” partners ― the U.S., t

Foreign Affairs Nov. 27, 2013

Koreas to discuss Gaeseong communications, border controls

The two Koreas plan on Friday to discuss ways to improve passage across the border, communications, and customs procedures at their joint factory park in Gaeseong, the Unification Ministry said Tuesday. The North agreed to the South’s formal request on the previous day for the meeting through the secretariat of an inter-Korean panel in charge of setting rules and settling disputes on a consensus basis. It will be the first round of consultations on these matters since Sept. 13. An agreement was

North Korea Nov. 26, 2013

Foreign Ministry opens international law center

The Foreign Ministry announced the launch of a research institute for international law on Monday to beef up its diplomatic capabilities and networks with think tanks and experts at home and abroad. The Center for International Law has been set up at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, a state-run institution for research and the training of diplomats run by the ministry, which is based in southern Seoul. It also appointed as the inaugural president Shin Kak-soo, former vice foreign minister

Foreign Affairs Nov. 25, 2013

Will Iran deal boost prospect of N.K. talks?

A landmark deal between Iran and world powers to rein in its nuclear program is raising an expectation that North Korea may again creep up Washington’s foreign policy agenda and the stage could be set for restarting the long-stalled denuclearization talks. But differences between the two countries in the level of atomic weapons development and economic conditions as well as Pyongyang’s history of cheating are likely to limit the cause for any optimism. Iran and the so-called P5+1 -- the five per

North Korea Nov. 24, 2013

Will Iran deal boost prospect of N.K. talks?

KF hosts middle-power diplomacy forum

Diplomats and experts participating in a Seoul forum Thursday discussed how to enhance public diplomacy of middle-power countries in line with their growing roles in world politics.About 50 officials and scholars from home and abroad were present at the KF Global Seminar hosted by the Korea Foundation. “Middle powers today aim to strengthen their capacities by building networks so as to become pivotal, constructive and responsible facilitators on global issues,” Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul

Foreign Affairs Nov. 21, 2013

Korea, U.S. differ over Japan’s military role

Japan’s exercising of its right to collective self-defense would help boost the U.S. deterrence against threats such as North Korea’s nuclear program and contribute to regional stability, a ranking U.S. official said Wednesday. The Shinzo Abe administration is seeking to reinterpret the country’s pacifist constitution to expand its Self Defense Forces operations as part of apparent efforts to normalize the state.But the move has fueled concerns in Seoul and Beijing, where resentment still runs d

Foreign Affairs Nov. 20, 2013

Guizhou strives to balance economy, environment

GUIYANG/BEIJING, China ― At the epicenter of breakneck growth in southwestern China, Guizhou province is ramping up efforts to tackle pollution that poses an increasing threat to the region’s public health, foreign investment and tourism. Fortified with ample cultural and natural heritage, the provincial government is seeking to turn one of the country’s least developed regions into an industrial and tourism hub. One year ago it unveiled plans to pump 100 million yuan ($16.4 million) into each o

National Nov. 18, 2013

The great North Korean bailout

Policy experts are trapped in a conventional delusion that either fear or friendship will change North Korea’s behavior. Nothing could be further from the truth. This failing state behaves like a juvenile delinquent; no amount of mother’s love or papa’s iron fist is going to influence it. This troubled child needs a new life ― an opportunity like the Soviet elites took advantage of in 1991.Interviews with former members of the Soviet elite suggest the Russian revolution was orchestrated by a pro

North Korea Nov. 17, 2013

Evidence found to indicate Korean uprising at Japanese military base

A government panel said Friday it has found evidence that indicates an uprising of some 700 Koreans at a Japanese military base in the 1940s in protest against their forced labor. The Commission on Verification and Support for the Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Colonialism in Korea, affiliated with the Prime Minister’s Office, said the discovery was based on records of the prison life of Kim Sun-keun, who led the uprising, and testimonies of his family. In August 1943, a 23-year-o

Foreign Affairs Nov. 15, 2013

Report on Abe’s derisive remarks angers politicians

The ruling and opposition parties spewed stringent criticism Friday after a news report emerged that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Korea “stupid.” The Shukan Bunshun, a Japanese major weekly, on Thursday cited unnamed sources close to Abe as saying that the nationalist premier told them China is a country that is silly but diplomacy is possible with, whereas Korea is a “simple and stupid” one. A Seoul official told The Korea Herald that the report “can’t be true” and the Foreign Mini

Foreign Affairs Nov. 15, 2013

[Newsmaker] Rajin-Khasan key project for Seoul, Moscow

The participation of South Korean firms in the development of a railway between North Korea and Russia and a North Korean port is poised to be the centerpiece of renewed cooperation between Seoul and Moscow. President Park Geun-hye and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to cooperate on the project during their summit Wednesday. Seoul’s support for the Rajin-Khasan project reflects President Park Geun-hye’s desire to rebuild relations with Moscow. The Russian-led initiative calls for the ref

Foreign Affairs Nov. 14, 2013

[Newsmaker] Rajin-Khasan key project for Seoul, Moscow

Korea boosts support for typhoon-hit Philippines

The Korean government, businesses and civic groups are joining forces to provide relief assistance to the Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan. The government on Tuesday unveiled plans to provide $5 million of assistance and dispatch a team of 20 medical professionals, 14 rescue workers, four officials from the state aid agency and two diplomats. They are expected to arrive there as early as Thursday.Seoul City said Wednesday it would offer $200,000 to the archipelago country through

Foreign Affairs Nov. 13, 2013

Korea boosts support for typhoon-hit Philippines

Korea, Israel sign working holiday deal

Korea and Israel on Wednesday clinched an agreement to allow their young students to study, work and travel in each other’s country. Under the working holiday program, up to 200 Koreans aged between 18 and 30 can spend as long as one year studying, interning and traveling in Israel. Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun and his Israeli counterpart Zeev Elkin signed the pact in Seoul. For Korea, Israel will be the 17th country with which it has such a program. The other 16 include the U.S., Japan,

Foreign Affairs Nov. 13, 2013

40 Koreans feared missing after Philippines typhoon

Up to 40 South Koreans are believed to be missing after a Philippine island was ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan last week, Seoul officials said Monday. The Korean Embassy in Manila said it has been receiving reports of missing family members and friends on Leyte and Samar islands since Friday. The embassy dispatched two diplomats and an assistant to nearby Cebu island early Monday, while two officials each from Seoul’s Foreign Ministry and the National Emergency Management Agency were scheduled

Foreign Affairs Nov. 11, 2013

Articles by Shin Hyon-hee