The Korea Herald

Korea, Japan strive to narrow gap on sex slavery

Dec 27, 2015

Seoul and Tokyo are inching toward a compromise on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women by holding a director-general-level meeting on Sunday, a day before the ministers were set to sit down for talks. Japese Foreign Ministry`s Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kimihiro Ishikane walks into the building of Seoul`s Foreign Ministry on Sunday. (Yonhap)The 12th round of working-level talks were held for two hours to settle one of the thorniest issues that has lo
Korea, Japan to hold working-level talks on 'comfort women' issue

Dec 27, 2015

South Korea and Japan are set to hold a working-level meeting Sunday on the issue of former Korean sex slaves for Japan's World War II soldiers, officials said. Lee Sang-deok, director-general handling Northeast Asian affairs at the Foreign Ministry, is scheduled to meet with his Japanese counterpart, Kimihiro Ishikane, around 3 p.m. in Seoul, officials said. The two sides are expected to try to work out differences to ensure their top diplomats can produce a deal on wartime sexual slavery, th
'TPP will spur erosion of China’s manufacturing edge’

Dec 24, 2015

Yuan’s inclusion into IMF’s currency basket is ‘largely symbolic,’ says financial scholar
China denies media report that it offered to rent S. Korean port

Dec 23, 2015

China on Wednesday denied a Japanese media report that Beijing had proposed renting a port facility on a South Korean island in 2013. Japans Asahi newspaper reported earlier this week that China had asked South Korea to let a Chinese company rent a port facility on Koje Island off the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula.But, the proposal was rejected by South Koreas defense ministry, according to the report. "I have never heard of such a plan and the relevant report is not worth commenting
Korea to offer $1.5 million to 3 African nations

Dec 23, 2015

South Korea has decided to provide three African countries with $1.5 million in humanitarian assistance, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, as Seoul is aggressively pushing for "humanitarian diplomacy."South Korea plans to offer $500,000 each to the Central African Republic, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The three have long suffered severe humanitarian crises due to civil war, poor security and governance and climate change, said the ministry.There are more than 6 million r
FM Yun expects 'wise' court ruling on Korea-Japan ties

Dec 23, 2015

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expressed hope Wednesday for a "wise" verdict by the Constitutional Court, just hours before its ruling on a 1965 deal between South Korea and Japan.The court is scheduled to deliver a verdict later in the day on whether or not the bilateral Claims Settlement Agreement is constitutional.Japan claims that the deal, signed to normalize their diplomatic relations, settled all issues of compensation to victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule of Korea from 1
Korea, China hold first talks on EEZs in 7 years

Dec 22, 2015

South Korea and China opened the first talks Tuesday on their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in seven years but skepticism is rampant over an early deal.Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenmin began the negotiations here in an amicable mood as they cited good relations between Seoul and Beijing these days.Cho said the two sides are bracing for "difficult and lengthy" talks due to legal and technical issues."The negotiations are very difficult and im
Saenuri lawmaker Yoo tapped as finance minister

Dec 21, 2015

President Park Geun-hye tapped Saenuri Party Rep. Yoo Il-ho to lead the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and double as deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, in a Cabinet reshuffle that affected six high-level posts, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.Park also named Lee Joon-sik, former vice president of Seoul National University, as the education minister and deputy prime minister in charge of social affairs.Yoo Il-ho, Lee Joon-sik (Yonhap)For the post of the interior minister, the presid
Seoul, Beijing hold EEZ talks Tuesday

Dec 21, 2015

The vice foreign ministers of South Korea and China will hold maritime demarcation talks in Seoul on Tuesday for the first time since 2008, as the two neighbors remain poles apart over how to address their overlapping exclusive economic zones.The talks were arranged after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed the early resumption of the official talks during his summit with President Park Geun-hye in Seoul on Oct. 31. The talks, which used to be director-general-level, have been elevated to the vi
Korea, Israel to provide $4 mln in R&D funding to SMEs

Dec 21, 2015

South Korea and Israel will provide $4 million in research funds to small and medium enterprises in 2016 to promote close economic cooperation, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Seoul and Tel Aviv will each foot $2 million to support joint projects by SMEs from the two countries.The money will be used in areas like electronics, machinery, biotech and renewable energy. Companies picked can expect upwards to three years of support with maximum funding set a
U.S. should more forcefully intervene in resolving Seoul-Tokyo tensions: expert

Dec 21, 2015

The United States should intervene more forcefully in improving relations between South Korea and Japan, an American expert said, stressing that tensions between the two key allies are hindering the U.S.'s ability to deal with North Korea, China and other challenges.Mark Manyin, an Asian affairs specialist at the U.S. Congressional Research Service, made the point in a paper to the Council on Foreign Relations, arguing that forceful intervention carries risks, but the "costs of nonintervention a
Denmark marks 150 years since C. Nielsen’s birth

Dec 20, 2015

The Danish Embassy teamed up with communications company Jabra to hold a concert Tuesday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Danish composer Carl Nielsen. The event at the Seoul National University Museum of Art attracted 150 guests from diplomatic missions, cultural industries, educational institutions and business communities, part of worldwide performances celebrating the occasion. Danish-Korean group “Trio con Brio Copenhagen” ― comprised of Korean sisters, violinist Hong Soo-jin and cell
French language gets boost in Korea

Dec 20, 2015

The International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), an agency dedicated to popularizing French language and culture worldwide, launched a support group in Seoul last week to widen collaboration with Korea.The Council of Promotion of Francophonie in Korea is comprised of diplomats with networks in Tokyo, Hanoi, Bangkok and Jakarta. The agency will support cultural events, academic conferences and business partnerships, meeting once or twice a year.“We are here to celebrate Francophonie’s es
Tunisian Embassy celebrates quartet’s Nobel Peace Prize

Dec 20, 2015

The Tunisian Embassy on Tuesday held a reception to commemorate the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a coalition of unionists, employers, lawyers and human rights activists that brokered peace and forestalled a civil war.The quartet is credited with preventing violence in 2013, following the Jasmine Revolution that overthrew longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and ended six decades of dictatorship. By facilitating compromise between dive
Indonesia honors Korean Army general

Dec 20, 2015

The Indonesian Embassy on Friday awarded a former Korean military chief for his contributions to strengthening the bilateral alliance and Indonesia’s defense capacity. Former ROK Army Chief of Staff Kim Yo-han was awarded the Order of Service Medal, an honor bestowed to individuals who made distinguished achievements benefiting the Indonesian government or military. The medal is conferred by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. “The Indonesian government and army express deep gratitude to Gen. Kim