Unification Minister Yu optimistic on N.K. stability, signs of opennessUnification Minister Yu Woo-ik proposed unconditional talks with North Korea to discuss reunions of separated families, tours to Mount Geumgang and other stalled cross-border projects. In an interview with The Korea Herald, he expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of the reclusive country opening up to the outside world under new leader Kim Jong-un, though the signs are still meager. “I want to deliver my proposal to

North Korea July 16, 2012

A senior Foreign Ministry official said Friday that China is likely to free four South Korean activists it held for more than three months. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan met Meng Jianzhu, China’s police chief and state councilor, in Seoul and requested the release of Kim Young-hwan and three other anti-North Korea crusaders. “Yang responded that he is taking serious consideration in light of the two countries’ ties,” the official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.“They did not

Foreign Affairs July 13, 2012

The two Koreas were engaged in different diplomatic games at a forum in Phnom Penh on Thursday with the South seeking a Southeast Asian warning against provocations and the North calling for the resumption of the six-party talks. Foreign ministers of 27 Asia Pacific countries gathered in the Cambodian capital for the annual ASEAN Regional Forum hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The region’s largest security conference brought together Pyongyang, Seoul, Washington an

North Korea July 12, 2012

Beijing seeks to gain from access to natural resources, tighter reins on wayward neighborAmid deepening international isolation, North Korea is ratcheting up economic cooperation with China through trade, investment and joint industrial projects. A barrage of sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s atomic programs has choked off revenue streams and outside assistance. A series of provocations including an April rocket liftoff have brought many inter-Korean projects to a halt in recent years. Closer ties

North Korea July 11, 2012

Korea should ramp up efforts to defend its interests in the continental shelf that promises access to vast seabed resources and opportunities for scientific discovery, Park Yong-ahn, vice chairman of the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, said. The professor emeritus of oceanography at Seoul National University was reelected to the New York-based body in June for his fourth five-year term. The agency was established in 1997 to facilitate the U.N. Convention of the Law of the

Foreign Affairs July 10, 2012

Three neighbors jockeying for control of huge oil, gas, mineral reserves in East China SeaThe East China Sea has been contested for decades by South Korea, China and Japan, all seeking to tap huge oil, gas and mineral reserves believed be buried under the seabed. With their extended continental shelves overlapping in the northeastern part of the ocean, the Asian powers are laying formal claims with a U.N. body in charge of sea shelf carve-up.The three-way jousting recently took a twist. Seoul an

Foreign Affairs July 10, 2012

Working-level officials from South Korea and China have already agreed to submit a joint claim to an extended portion of continental shelf to a U.N. body to counter Japan’s increasing maritime assertiveness, a source with close knowledge of the matter told The Korea Herald. The two countries have been preparing formal documents to present to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. They filed their respective preliminary reports in May 2009, maintaining that their continental

Foreign Affairs July 8, 2012

The U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. James Thurman on Sunday apologized for his soldiers’ use of handcuffs on Korean civilians last week that stoked a public furor over their excessive use of force. U.S. military police on duty handcuffed a 35-year-old person, surnamed Yang and two other Koreans on Thursday after arguing over parking issues and tried to haul them onto base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.“I am very sorry this occurred. I want to express my sincere apology to the individuals and

Social Affairs July 8, 2012

Investigators on Thursday raided the home and office of Ro Su-hui, a key member of a pro-North Korea group who illegally traveled in the communist state for more than three months, as part of their probe into his unauthorized visit. Ro, 68, vice chairman of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification, was arrested on charges of breaching the National Security Law upon his return to Seoul later in the day through the border village of Panmunjom. He will be questioned about his activities in the Nor

North Korea July 5, 2012