The Korea Herald

U.S. official visits Seoul over Russia, Iran sanctions

Jul 28, 2014

A key U.S. official on sanctions policy visited Seoul on Monday as the West gears up for a further economic squeeze on Moscow in the wake of the downing of a Malaysian airliner, officials here said. Peter Harrell, deputy assistant secretary for counter threat finance and sanctions in the State Department’s economic and business affairs bureau, will hold a briefing session on Tuesday on U.S. sanctions against Russia and Iran for officials from the foreign, finance and industry ministries and bank
‘N. Korea should drop nuke activities’

Jul 27, 2014

North Korea should end its nuclear activities and provocative acts if it hopes to see the resumption of long-stalled talks aimed at convincing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said Sunday.Ambassador Sung Kim said that Washington remains open to dialogue with the North, but it will not rush into any serious process with the communist country unless the North takes “concrete steps” in showing its commitment toward denuclearization.“Obviously it is unfo
Songpa-gu sends flood relief assistance to Paraguay

Jul 27, 2014

Songpa-gu district chief Park Choon-hee presented a 30 million won ($29,000) check to Paraguayan Ambassador to South Korea Ceferino Valdez for flood relief in the South American country’s capital city of Asuncion at Park’s office in Seoul on Tuesday.Torrential rains caused the worst floods in the history of Paraguay at the end of June, displacing 300,000 people. Asuncion was the most affected area, particularly low-lying areas near the Paraguay River, with more than 75,000 people forced to flee
20 Koreans awarded scholarships to U.K.

Jul 27, 2014

British Ambassador to South Korea Scott Wightman (front row, center) poses for a photo with recipients of Britain’s Chevening Scholarship during an orientation event at his residence in Seoul on July 16. (Philip Iglauer/The Korea Herald)British Ambassador Scott Wightman presented the Chevening Scholarship to some 20 Korean students at his residence on July 16 to help them study for up to one year in the U.K. “We are sending around 20 scholars to study in the U.K. this year and I know that this n
Korea teams up with U.N. in new ‘global citizenship’ program

Jul 27, 2014

South Korea is working with the United Nations to foster a sense of global citizenship here and abroad through a teacher exchange program that brings foreign teachers here and gives Korean teachers a chance to visit classrooms in dozens of countries around the world.Some 57 teachers from Singapore, Russia, the United States, Australia and Britain completed a three-week program last Tuesday with a wrap-up session and closing ceremony at the offices of the U.N.-affiliated Asia Pacific Center of Ed
Envoy celebrates his faith at Ramadan

Jul 27, 2014

Muslim ambassadors here build bonds through faith, preparation of Eid
Gandhi statue unveiled at Buddhist temple

Jul 27, 2014

Indian Ambassador Vishnu Prakash and Busan Mayor Suh Byeong-soo participated in the unveiling ceremony of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at a Buddhist temple in Busan on Monday.Prakash, along with Hannarae Foundation of Culture chairman Ven. Shim San and other city and national government officials, participated in the unveiling of a bust created in honor of India’s iconic leader at Hongbeopsa Temple in South Korea’s second-largest city.The bronze bust of Mahatma Gandhi, crafted by Indian sculptor G
Malaysian, Dutch embassies mourn downed flight MH17

Jul 27, 2014

The embassies of the Netherlands and Malaysia here received flowers and condolences from well-wishers, including officials, businesses and the public, over the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down in the skies above Ukraine.The Malaysian Embassy opened a condolence book last week for all who wished to commemorate those who died on the flight.The Malaysian chancery in Seoul opened its doors Monday through Wednesday for those wishing to express condolences in writing or with flowers for
Tokyo gov. says Abe aims to improve ties

Jul 25, 2014

President calls on Japan to resolve sex slavery issue
World sees Korea as technology powerhouse: survey

Jul 25, 2014

Citizens of 17 major nations regard South Korea as a technology powerhouse that ascended from the ashes of a devastating war, a survey showed Friday. The Foreign Ministry released results of a worldwide survey on the image of the country. It commissioned Samjong KPMG LLC, an accounting and consulting house, to poll 6,000 people aged 18 or older in countries including Germany, India, Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa for one month from mid-October. It excluded the U.S., China, Japan
Japan, China held talks to discuss summit: report

Jul 25, 2014

Senior officials from China and Japan met early this month in Beijing to explore the possibility of a summit on the margins of an economic conference later this year, a news report said Thursday.The Japanese delegates from the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau held talks with officials including Xiong Bo, a deputy director-general for Asian Affairs at Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, Kyodo News reported. The Tokyo diplomats delivered Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s hopes for a formal m
President to meet visiting Tokyo governor Friday

Jul 24, 2014

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will meet this week with visiting Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe, her office announced Thursday, an event that may help warm frosty ties between the neighboring nations.The president plans to receive a courtesy call from the governor Friday morning at his request, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Min Kyung-wook said.Masuzoe will be the first Japanese politician to formally meet with Park in South Korea in 17 months, with the two nations still locked in political and diplom
After surviving reshuffle, Yun faces heavier diplomatic agenda

Jul 23, 2014

After weathering recent cabinet shake-ups, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is coming under pressure to improve testy relations with South Korea’s neighbors by untangling a matrix of diplomatic and geopolitical interests.Relations between Korea and Japan are at their lowest ebb in decades. An erratic Pyongyang continues to develop atomic weapons, whereas six-nation denuclearization talks remain in their sixth year of dormancy. Yet the Sino-U.S. rivalry is growing fierce, propelled by fast-evolving
S. Korea, Romania to join forces in IT industry

Jul 23, 2014

South Korea's science ministry said Wednesday it has opened an information technology research center with its Romanian counterpart to conduct a handful of IT projects in the Eastern European country over the next three years.Under the deal signed between South Korea's Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and Romania's Ministry of Communications and Information Society, the Bucharest-based center will map out pilot projects regarding the IT industry and push ahead with them. The two have
Meeting of Koreas' top diplomats at ARF undecided: official

Jul 22, 2014

South Korea's foreign minister may encounter his North Korean counterpart during next month's Asia security forum, but it is unclear whether they will hold a formal meeting, a government official said Tuesday.This year's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be held in Myanmar's capital of Naypyidaw on Aug. 9-10 amid nagging threats from North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and growing territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.North Korea's new foreign minister Ri Su-yong, who assumed h