Korea is broadening its engagement with Southeast Asia by providing support for emerging countries to consolidate democracy and build institutions indispensable for sustaining their growth, Chung Hae-moon, chief of the ASEAN-Korea Center, said. Ties between Seoul and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations have been evolving for the past 25 years from an economy-centered partnership to comprehensive cooperation in security, politics, culture and global diplomacy.Korea is keen to sha

Foreign Affairs April 11, 2013

North Korea on Thursday threatened to close a joint industrial park in Gaeseong one day after it barred South Koreans’ entry, fueling concerns about their possible detention.Pyongyang’s official media said its Wednesday decision resulted from Seoul’s conservative politicians and news outlets “speaking nonsense that we would not be able to do anything with the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.” “Military provocations against the complex mean a self-destruction of the traitor forces,” a spokesman of th

North Korea April 4, 2013

Pyongyang on Wednesday blocked South Koreans from entering a joint factory complex just north of the heavily fortified border, prompting Seoul to warn that it would take military action should its workers’ safety be compromised. The North’s Central Special Direct General Bureau informed Seoul early in the morning that it would only allow the departure of South Korean officials and employees from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. The Unification Ministry urged immediate renunciation of the decisio

North Korea April 3, 2013

North Korea said Tuesday it will restart its graphite-moderated nuclear reactor to extract plutonium for nuclear weapons, breaching its 2007 agreement and inviting international criticism. The official Korean Central News Agency said the regime would “adjust and change its existing nuclear facilities” in line with its new two-pronged policy of building atomic arms and boosting the economy, citing a spokesman for the General Department of Atomic Energy. “This applies to uranium enrichment plants

North Korea April 2, 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s appointment of Park Bong-ju as prime minister apparently reflects his resolve to kickstart the country’s long-overdue economic development. Park was once a symbol of economic reform, having spearheaded an ambitious yet unsuccessful project in 2002 to crank up industries and productivity along with three other specialists, Ro Do-chul, Kwak Pom-ki and Chon Sung-hun. The 74-year-old technocrat cultivated his expertise while studying at an engineering university, ma

North Korea April 2, 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his missile forces to be on standby Friday in protest against the United States’ use of nuclear-capable stealth bombers during its joint military drills with South Korea. The communist ruler convened a rare “urgent operation meeting” at the Supreme Command slightly past midnight to discuss the strategic rocket unit’s mission of a firepower strike, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He signed a plan on technical preparations of missiles,

North Korea March 29, 2013

Korea has been credited with establishing “green growth” as an international goal. Former President Lee Myung-bak touted it as the next big thing, harmonizing environmental protection and economic development.A slew of projects, including a river restoration, were pushed in its name and Korea carved its place in the international community by bridging rich and poor countries whose priorities clashed. Like many of his policies, however, “green growth” is now at risk of sinking into obscurity, as

Foreign Affairs March 28, 2013

North Korea on Wednesday severed its military hotline with the South and closed a communication office near the border in protest against recent U.N. sanctions, ongoing Seoul-Washington military drills and their other “hostile” acts. The South’s Unification Ministry immediately urged Pyongyang to retract the decision, which it said will hamper smooth operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex by complicating its workers’ entrance and exit. “Increasing U.S. nuclear threats against us and a fran

North Korea March 27, 2013

Seoul on Tuesday protested Japan’s approval of newly updated schoolbooks that carry its claim to the Korean islets of Dokdo and distort its wartime atrocities.The Foreign Ministry called in Takashi Kurai, a minister at the Japanese Embassy, and delivered a written complaint. “We strongly protest and urge a fundamental rectification of the Japanese government’s authorization of high school textbooks including content that still does not look squarely at history and evades its responsibilities,” m

Foreign Affairs March 26, 2013

The developing world’s drive to stamp out poverty should be integrated with environmental efforts to minimize its vulnerability to climate change and achieve sustainable growth, the new chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee said Tuesday.Erik Solheim, who took the helm of the club of major patrons of developing countries in January, described Korea as an “inspiring example for the rest of the world,” highlighting its rapid economic ascent and increasing climate efforts. The seasone

Foreign Affairs March 26, 2013

The Korean version of the Helsinki process has begun to move forward, with the U.N. Human Rights Council’s March 21 decision to establish a Commission of Inquiry for the “grave, widespread and systematic” human rights violations in North Korea. David Alton, a member of the British House of Lords, emphasized the need for a “Helsinki process with a Korean face” to address egregious human rights conditions in North Korea. The establishment of the COI can be construed as setting in motion the Korean

North Korea March 26, 2013

Defectors, experts and activists on Monday hailed the recent approval of a U.N. panel to probe human rights breaches in North Korea as a landmark step in a long battle to end the oppressive regime’s cruelties. The U.N. Human Rights Council last week unanimously approved a formal inquiry mechanism, which they said would mark the “most credible, systemic and comprehensive probe ever” into rampant abuses there. “The Commission of Inquiry is a victory for all North Korea human rights activists inclu

North Korea March 25, 2013

Seoul faces daunting challenges of countering growing cyber threats that gained fresh attention after Wednesday’s hacking attacks on broadcasters and banks. The government, military and private sector have been beefing up their chiefly passive defense to safeguard the country’s heavily intertwined computer networks from outside intrusions.While probes are under way to determine the latest attackers, officials and experts pinpointed North Korea as the likely suspect in light of past cases and pat

Defense March 21, 2013