The Korea Herald

Korea, Colombia agree to seal trade deal this year

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday agreed to seek an early conclusion of a free trade agreement and to develop bilateral relations beyond economic interests.The two leaders agreed to upgrade their half-century-old ties to a “strategic cooperative partnersh
Universities resist, bow to reforms

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

The recent government announcement of a list of 43 poorly managed universities to face subsidy cuts or closure has not only spurred reform efforts but provoked resistance.Forty-seven faculty members of Seoul-based Chugye University for the Arts on Wednesday announced their resignation in protest of
Toxic substance found in military antiseptics

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

The military used antiseptics containing toxic substances over the past two years a government report said on Thursday.According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, a public contractor had supplied the DAPA with antiseptics that were 7 to 40 percent industrial methanol, for two years,
Lockheed to assemble Korean T-50 jets

DefenseSept 15, 2011

U.S. company hints at transferring some of stealth technologies to S. KoreaFORT WORTH, Texas ― Lockheed Martin will establish facilities in the U.S. for the final assembly of Korea’s T-50 supersonic aircraft to meet the possible U.S. demand for trainer jets, a senior official at the defense giant sa
Korean researcher appointed to U.N. panel

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

Kim Hyoun-soo, explosives expert at the state-funded Agency for Defense Development, has been appointed as a member of the International Explosives Technical Commission under the International Civil Aviation Organization, officials said Thursday.The 54-year-old researcher at the High Energy Density
Jonathan Lee named Dokdo envoy

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

Teenager to campaign on green issues around Korean isletsYoung environmentalist Jonathan Lee has been named a goodwill ambassador to promote environmental protection for Dokdo, the easternmost islets of Korea.The North Gyeongsang provincial government, whose jurisdiction covers the islets, said Wedn
Power blackouts strike across the country

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

Traffic lights are off at an intersection in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on Thursday, due to a nationwide power outage. (Yonhap News)Seoul and many other parts in Korea suffered power cuts on Thursday as the unseasonable heat drove up electricity consumption beyond capacity.According to the Korea Electr
Military to assign more women to combat duties

DefenseSept 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The military will place female officers in more combat duties that have so far been closed to them, a senior official said Thursday.Boo Jae-won, head of the personnel planning bureau at the defense ministry, said 12 combat branches will be open to female soldiers from 201
S. Korea proposes talks with Japan over wartime sex slaves

PoliticsSept 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday proposed holding talks with Japan to discuss the issue of Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, an issue that has long been one of the thorns in relations between the two nations.The Foreign Ministry called in Nobukatsu Ka
Former tax agency chief cleared of bribery charges

Social affairsSept 15, 2011

A former chief of the national tax agency was cleared on Friday of charges that he offered an expensive painting to his boss while he tried to secure the top post before taking the helm.The Seoul Central District Court found former National Tax Service chief Han Sang-yool not guilty of bribing Jeon
Laughter really is the best medicine

ScienceSept 15, 2011

PARIS (AFP) - A rattling good laugh with friends will help you deal with pain thanks to opiate-like chemicals that flood the brain, according to a British study released on Wednesday.Researchers carried out lab experiments in which volunteers watched either comedy clips from "Mr Bean" or "Friends,"
Rockets fall near S. Korean embassy in Afghanistan

InternationalSept 15, 2011

Several rockets fell near the South Korean embassy in Afghanistan this week, but no casualties were reported, a foreign ministry official said Thursday.Three or four rounds of rocket-propelled grenades landed close to the embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, but they did not appear to be
U.S. spy plane to begin flights near DMZ soon: report

DefenseSept 15, 2011

The U.S. is poised to start flying a spy plane near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to acquire further intelligence on North Korea, a report said.In an article dated Monday, the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military newspaper, quoted U.S. Air Force officials as saying the U.S. was negotiating with South K
Russia could write off N.Korea's $11b debt: report

North KoreaSept 14, 2011

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russia will most likely write off North Korea's Soviet-era 11 billion-dollar-debt to clear the way for closer economic cooperation, Izvestia newspaper said on Wednesday.Moscow and Pyongyang discussed closer energy cooperation and the outstanding debt when North Korea's secretive lead
Diplomats who don’t speak good English?

Foreign affairsSept 14, 2011

Ministry claims report was wrongly analyzedSouth Korea’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, which came under fire earlier this year for making hundreds of translation errors in overseas trade deals, is again being criticized for its officials’ suspected lack of ability to communicate in English