The Korea Herald

Tokyo’s nuclear move worries neighbors

Japan’s recent amendment to its atomic energy law is rekindling fears about its formidable nuclear and missile technologies that experts say could quickly turn it into an atomic weapons power. Its parliament on Wednesday passed the revision to the Atomic Energy Basic Act including “national security” among its goals. The revision was the first in 34 years.“The safe use of atomic power is aimed at contributing to the protection of the people’s life, health and property, environmental conservation

Foreign Affairs June 22, 2012

Japan’s law revision fans concerns over nuclear development

Japan has rewritten the basic law on atomic energy to include “national security” among its goals, fueling concerns over the possibility of using nuclear power for military purposes.The first amendment in 34 years of the Atomic Energy Basic Act, a regulatory and institutional roadmap for its nuclear activities, invited criticism from Japan’s anti-nuclear scientists and civic activists. “The safe use of atomic power is aimed at contributing to the protection of the people’s lives, health and prop

Foreign Affairs June 21, 2012

Up to 200,000 incarcerated in N.K. prison camps

Human rights groups claim up to 200,000 North Koreans are held in political prison camps and penitentiaries across the country facing malnutrition, harsh labor, torture and executions.Most prisoners were confined not for dissent but for political misdemeanors such as singing South Korean songs or joining a reading club, former detainees and activists say. According to Amnesty International, 150,000 to 200,000 are incarcerated in six sprawling gulag-style prisons ― Camp No. 12 in Hoeryeong, No. 1

North Korea June 20, 2012

North Koreans increasingly open to outside media

Access to foreign news, entertainment seen changing people’s views, challenging regime Before crossing North Korea’s border with China in 1999, Joseph Park could never have imagined seeing a South Korean soap opera. When he visited the North about a decade later, he saw a booming black market in films, dramas and music produced in the democratic, affluent South.Sophisticated but low-cost gadgets are being sneaked into border towns, where food and daily goods had been clandestinely dealt in since

North Korea June 20, 2012

North Koreans increasingly open to outside media

[Han Dong-man] Beginnings of green growth showing in Rio

Twenty years ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosted the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, better known as the “Earth Summit.” The concept of sustainable development was reconfirmed in Rio to be handed down to future generations after its first introduction by the Brundtland Commission in 1987. After two decades, we are back in Rio to celebrate its twentieth anniversary and build on its legacy.A total of 122 heads of states are here in Rio with delegations from 189 countries. Their pu

Foreign Affairs June 20, 2012

[Han Dong-man] Beginnings of green growth showing in Rio

North Korea under growing pressure over human rights

The campaign for North Koreans’ human rights is receiving fresh impetus as South Korea, the U.S. and the international community are ratcheting up pressure on the repressive regime to address grave living conditions and cease punishment of repatriated defectors. Seoul and Washington have been calling on the communist state to dismantle political prisons and divert scarce resources to food supplies. They are also beefing up cooperation to free four South Korean activists held in China, a shift fr

North Korea June 19, 2012

North Korea under growing pressure over human rights

China’s national park plan stirs historical controversy

The Korean government said on Monday it will look into whether a new national park under construction in northeastern China includes symbols that falsely represent the history between the two countries. The Chinese province of Jilin on April 20 began work to transform a fortress built by the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo into a large-scale national park by October. Among some 20 envisioned facilities is a set of bronze statues that show a king of Balhae, which succeeded Goguryeo in 698, rec

Politics June 18, 2012

Leftist under fire for national anthem remarks

Saenuri slams UPP’s Lee for rejecting symbol of patriotismA progressive lawmaker at the center of an ideological row has become embroiled in a fresh dispute after he showed disrespect for the national anthem.In a private meeting with reporters Friday, Rep. Lee Seok-ki of the far-left Unified Progressive Party said that Aegukga (song for love of the country) was made the national anthem by the dictatorial regime. “Aegukga is just one of the songs you sing to show your love for the country,” he wa

Politics June 17, 2012

Leftist under fire for national anthem remarks

GGGI to become international body

14 countries to sign treaty in Brazil next week; inaugural meeting set for OctoberThe Global Green Growth Institute created by the Korean government is set to transform into an international organization in October, Seoul officials said Thursday.Fourteen countries are scheduled to sign a treaty for the status change at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro on June 20-22. They plan to hold the inaugural meeting in October here.The Seoul-based think tank was launched in

Foreign Affairs June 14, 2012

Korea waived from U.S. sanctions on Iran oil but concerns linger

South Korea will be exempted from U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil but concerns persist as ongoing talks with the EU over its upcoming ban on insurance for ships carrying the crude remain deadlocked, industry officials and analysts said Tuesday.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that Korea and six other economies will receive a 6-month waiver, citing a “significant” reduction in crude imports from the Middle Eastern country. The other recipients are India, Turkey, Taiwan, South Afr

Foreign Affairs June 12, 2012

Korea waived from U.S. sanctions on Iran oil but concerns linger

Detainees meet with S. Korean consuls in China

Korean consuls met with four South Korean activists detained in Dandong, China, on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said. Kim Young-hwan and three other activists for North Korean human rights have been held on charges of “damaging national security” since late March. The ministry identified the three as Yoo Jae-gil, 43, Kang Shin-sam, 41, and Lee Sang-yong, 31. Kim, 48, had his first meeting with Shenyang-based South Korean consuls on April 26. According to Seoul officials, the other three refused

North Korea June 11, 2012

Detainees meet with S. Korean consuls in China

Korea, U.S. discuss detained activists

South Korean and U.S. officials discussed Monday how to deal with China’s detention of four South Korean activists for North Korean human rights, the Foreign Ministry said.Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, met with Seoul’s top nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam and Kim Soo-kwon, the ministry’s director-general of Korea peace regime.The government and civic activists are campaigning for the freedom of Kim Young-hwan and three other activists who have been in Chinese cu

North Korea June 11, 2012

Seoul rebuffs Tokyo’s protest against statue of comfort woman

The Korean government on Sunday remained unwavering despite Tokyo’s ongoing protest against a memorial in Seoul dedicated to women who were forced into sex slavery during Japanese colonial rule. Japan has officially claimed that the “peace statue” in front of its embassy in Seoul breaches the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international treaty that outlines a framework for diplomacy, a report submitted to the Diet showed Saturday.The bronze statue was erected in December to mark t

Foreign Affairs June 10, 2012

Kim Jong-un’s late mother made public in video clip

The late mother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was unveiled in a video on Sunday in the latest twist to the communist state’s campaign to idolize the young commander and cement his fledgling leadership. The 90-minute film, titled “The Mother of Great Military First Chosun,” contains a sketch of the living years of Ko Young-hui. It showed her watching a little Kim draw a picture, receiving shooting training and cleaning a field jumper owned by his deceased father, Kim Jong-il, in the 1980s or

North Korea June 10, 2012

Kim Jong-un’s late mother made public in video clip

Great Wall rekindles history row

The Korean government said on Thursday it will closely watch whether China’s new survey has distorted historic facts to include parts of Korea within the Great Wall area. China announced on Wednesday that the ancient bulwark is more than two times longer than previously thought. Its first-ever official measurement concluded the structure is 21,196 kilometers long, revising its 2009 estimate of 8,852 kilometers. The research said the wall’s eastern parts covered some areas which belonged to ancie

Foreign Affairs June 7, 2012

Articles by Shin Hyon-hee