South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced Thursday that they will launch official talks toward a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul‘s trade ministry said.　 Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his UAE counterpart, Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, in Dubai, and issued a joint statement that calls for pushing to forge a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The CEPA is a type of free trade agreement that emphasize

Former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo died Thursday after battling blood cancer, officials here said. He was 71. Lee served as prime minister shortly between February and April in 2015 under then President Park Geun-hye before stepping down over bribery allegations. Considered a political heavyweight in Chungcheong Province, Lee entered politics in 1995 after working as a provincial police commissioner. He served three terms as a lawmaker for the conservative New Party Korea, United

South Korea and the US will hold working-level diplomatic talks this week in Hawaii to review progress in the implementation of their latest summit agreement, according to an official at Seoul‘s foreign ministry Thursday. Ko Yun-ju, the ministry’s director general for North American affairs, and Mark Lambert, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Japan and South Korea, will attend the allies‘ third Bilateral Policy Dialogue (BPD) slated for Thursday (local time). The

British architect Amanda Jane Levete gives online lecture at the Herald Design Forum on Thursday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

Maj. Gen Lee Sang-chul, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, was named as the new chief of the military intelligence body, the defense ministry said Thursday. The incoming commander of the Defense Security Support Command (DSSC) will be promoted to lieutenant general, the ministry said. “He was selected because of his outstanding capability and leadership to complete the reform of the DSSC and lead the organization in a stable manner,” the ministry said in a statement. The D

Top security officials held a regular National Security Council meeting Thursday and discussed ways of swiftly reopening stalled dialogue with North Korea, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting came after Suh Hoon, the nation‘s top security adviser, held talks with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington earlier this week and they reaffirmed their commitment to engaging with North Korea. 　The participants agreed to work closely together with related

Yanolja Co., a leading South Korean travel platform operator, said Thursday that it signed an agreement to buy a 70 percent stake in e-commerce businesses of Interpark Corp. for 294 billion won (US$248 million). 　Yanolja said its move to acquire Interpark‘s travel, performing arts, shopping and book businesses is intended to make inroads into the global travel market dominated by foreign platform companies. 　“The two companies will cooperate to strengthen the competitiveness and

For top actor Kong Hyo-jin, raising awareness on environmental issues and fighting against climate change are causes that are very close to her heart. 　 “I wrote a book to talk about the environment and introduce basic measures that anyone can take to save the Earth from the climate crisis 10 years ago. Nothing has changed since then. I thought I needed a place to talk more about this issue to keep me alert about the ongoing climate crisis,” Kong said during an online press confere

Held online and offline, forum discusses how design should adapt to changes brought on by pandemic and look beyond

Disney+, which will launch its service in Korea on Nov. 12, on Thursday revealed seven new Korean shows that will be available on its platform. The lineup is part of Disney’s plan to create over 50 Asia Pacific original contents by 2023. “For many decades, the Walt Disney Company has been entertaining consumers and has been an integral part of the local creative ecosystem,” Luke Kang, president of the Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific, said at the start of the press event. &l