The Korea Herald

Arrest sought for ex-police chief

Social affairsJan 12, 2011

The prosecution Wednesday requested an arrest warrant for former National Police Agency Commissioner-General Kang Hee-rak for receiving kickbacks from a contractor in exchange for influence-peddling. The investigators summoned former Korea Coast Guard head Lee Gil-bum on similar suspicions which allegedly involve several high-ranking police officials and politicians. According to officials at the
Seoul remains lukewarm on N.K. calls for talks

North KoreaJan 12, 2011

North Korea is stepping up efforts to persuade a reluctant South Korea into having talks, apparently realizing that inter-Korean dialogue is its only hope of resuming larger-scale talks with regional powers and thereby securing much needed aid.The North called for better ties with Seoul in its New Year’s editorial, and has repeatedly proposed, through both official and unofficial channels, to iron
Obama urged to ask Hu to accept N.K. refugees

North KoreaJan 12, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A human rights group here on Tuesday urged U.S. President Barack Obama to press China to stop repatriating North Korean refugees.“We urgently request that during your meetings next week with President Hu Jintao ... that you request China to end its current policy of repatriating North Korean refugees back to North Korea,” Suzanne Scholte, chairwoman of the North Korea Fr
Gates urges N.K. to announce nuke, missile testing moratorium

North KoreaJan 12, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday called on North Korea to impose a moratorium on nuclear and missile testing to help revive international dialogue deadlocked for two years over the North’s provocations.Speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Gates also said that North Korea’s missiles and nuclear weapons will pose a
Koreas restore Red Cross hotline on border

North KoreaJan 12, 2011

North Korea reopened its Red Cross hotline with South Korea at their joint truce village Wednesday as promised, an official said, as the communist state continues to appeal for talks with Seoul in an apparent bid to draw much-needed assistance.Liaison officials of the two countries made their first contact in nearly eight months on the hotline installed at Panmunjeom, a Unification Ministry offici
UK beauty queen set for deployment to Afghanistan

InternationalJan 12, 2011

LONDON (AFP) – A former Miss England may be deployed in Afghanistan as early as next year after she returned to the Army following her term as a beauty queen.Corporal Katrina Hodge, who has already served in Iraq, swapped active duty for the glitz and glamour of the catwalk when she took the title last January.But she has now handed over her crown and is back on exercise in Army fatigues preparing
Chief auditor candidate gives up nomination

PoliticsJan 12, 2011

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The president's pick for chief auditor gave up his nomination on Wednesday after being pounded for a nine-digit salary that he received from a law firm and his role in a prosecution probe that had implicated the president.Chung Tong-ki, a former senior prosecutor, stepped down 12 days after President Lee Myung-bak named him on Dec. 31 to head the Board of Audit and Inspe
Gates urges N. Korea to impose moratorium on nuke, missile testing

North KoreaJan 12, 2011

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates Tuesday called on North Korea to impose a moratorium on nuclear and missile testing to help revive international dialogue deadlocked for two years over the North's provocations.Speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Gates also said that North Korea's missiles and nuclear weapons will pose a threat to the U.
S. Korea to lower legal adult age to 19

Social affairsJan 12, 2011

The South Korean legislature is expected to pass a bill next month that would lower the legal adult age from the current 20 to 19 to reflect rapid social changes and global trends, parliamentary and judicial officials said Wednesday.The bill, set to become effective as of July 1, 2013, will allow Koreans to engage in legally binding activities without parental consent when they reach 19 years of a
Military minces words on reform

PoliticsJan 11, 2011

Generals are still too attached to decorations, outfitsWithdrawing the plan to detach the star-studded plates from military generals’ sedans has prompted concerns over whether the top brass’ reform drive is eroding.At the beginning of this year, the Army leadership asked generals to remove the plates ― a longtime symbol of their pride and authority ― displaying its strong resolve to revamp the mil
NASA spots tiny Earth-like planet

InternationalJan 11, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― NASA has spotted a tiny, rocky planet about the size of Earth doing a speedy orbit of a star outside our solar system, but its scorching temperatures are too hot for life, the space agency said Monday.The exoplanet, named Kepler-10b, is the smallest-ever planet discovered outside our solar system, and was located by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft.It is about 1.4 times the size of Eart
Top auditor nominee yet to make decision

PoliticsJan 11, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak’s chief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki said Tuesday he was preparing for the parliamentary confirmation hearing despite growing pressure from political parties to withdraw from his position. “I will do what I have to do,” Chung said in response to a reporter’s question on whether he was getting ready for next week’s confirmation hearing as he entered his office in Seou
Seoul to assist acquisitions of foreign firms

PoliticsJan 11, 2011

A presidential council said Tuesday it will support Korean businesses’ mergers and acquisitions of foreign companies as part of efforts to raise national competitiveness, benchmarking a Chinese policy. “We will seek to strengthen Korean companies’ global investment capabilities to encourage M&As of competent overseas firms, especially in the energy and resources sector,” Kang Man-soo, chief of the
Book of condolences opened for Czech hero

Foreign affairsJan 11, 2011

The Czech Republic Embassy in Korea has set up a book of condolences in memory of former Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier, who was a key player behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and South Korea.Dienstbier was the first post-communist and democratic minister of foreign affairs of Czechoslovakia as well as the leading personality of the Czechoslovak
‘Philippines interested in nuclear power plants’

Foreign affairsJan 11, 2011

South Korea may have a new customer for its nuclear power plant technology.The Philippines, a longtime ally to Korea, expressed interest during a three-day visit by their Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo.While the details are still being discussed in Manila, the Southeast Asian nation believes that nuclear technology is an ideal option to replace fossil fuels and help protect their environment.“We