The Korea Herald

Park slams Japan for 'digging up past wounds' after Abe's shrine visit

Dec 30, 2013

South Korean President Park Geun-hye slammed Japan Monday for "digging up wounds of the past" after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid his respects at a war shrine last week in a move seen as an attempt to glorify the country's militaristic past.Abe made the visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday, sparking angry protests from South Korea and China. The shrine honors Japan's war dead, including class A criminals. Abe was the first Japanese prime minister to visit the shrine in more than seven y
[Newsmaker] Abe’s gamble falters under criticism

Dec 29, 2013

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe is struggling to contain a backlash over his recent visit to a controversial war shrine that has sparked a barrage of criticism even from domestic supporters and international allies, notably the U.S.The prime minister’s visit on Thursday to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo honoring war criminals has further aggravated diplomatic tension with South Korea and China, two major victims of Japan’s past militarism, and frustrated peace advocates in the island country.The visit
Korean and foreign envoys perform charity concert

Dec 29, 2013

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a charity concert with the diplomatic corps that showcased a multicultural array of talent and amity among South Korean and foreign envoys and their families in Seoul on Dec. 13.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Paraguayan Ambassador to South Korea Ceferino Valdez, who is also deputy dean of the Diplomatic Corps, opened the holiday event with heartfelt speeches that lauded multiculturalism and promoted the spirit of charity during the holiday season.“This j
Qatar celebrates National Day, envoy goes home after 5-year post

Dec 29, 2013

Qatari Ambassador to South Korea Ali Hamad Mubarak Al Marri completed his posting here and returned to his home country before the embassy hosted its National Day reception in Seoul on Dec. 18.In his place, Minister Counsellor Mohamed Ahmed Alsada presided as the embassy’s charge d’affaires during the reception.Al Marri began his posting in December 2008, serving almost exactly five years to the day as his country’s top diplomat here. The South Korean ambassador to Qatar is Chung Kee-jong.Al Mar
Afghanistan envoy returns to join presidential campaign

Dec 29, 2013

Afghan Ambassador to South Korea Yunos Farman abruptly left South Korea on Tuesday to join the presidential campaign of former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah as a senior aide in the war-torn country’s first ever democratic transition of power. Farman said he felt sorry he could not properly say good-bye to his friends and colleagues here, during an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald at his office in Hannam-dong in Seoul just hours before he was to catch a flight to Kabul, addin
‘Africa still not on Korea’s mind’

Dec 29, 2013

Sylvestre Bile, the ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire, knows South Korea well. After all, this is his second posting here. His first was for eight years when he opened the West African nation’s embassy in 1997.His current posting as ambassador started almost exactly one year ago. After more than a decade, one thing has not changed for the career diplomat: Putting his country on the map in the minds of South Koreans remains a singular ― perhaps even frustrating ― challenge.“South Korea has a very low p
Envoy lauds liberation fighters on Jamhuri Day

Dec 29, 2013

Kenyan Ambassador Ngovi Kitau celebrated the pioneers of African liberation and pointed out the implications of the current economic boom in Africa during the 50th anniversary of Kenyan independence from colonial rule at a hotel in Seoul on Dec. 16.One of the pioneers Kitau lauded during the reception for Kenya’s Independence Day, called Jamhuri Day by Kenyans around the world, was anti-Apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela, who passed away on Dec. 5.Others he paid
Abe’s shrine visit freezes Asia ties, rattles U.S.

Dec 27, 2013

Tension is escalating in Northeast Asia in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip to a controversial war shrine, putting the U.S.’ strategic refocus toward the economically vital region to the test. Abe on Thursday became the country’s first leader to visit the Yasukuni Shrine in nearly eight years to mark the first anniversary of his second premiership. It instantly incited strong condemnation from Korea and China with which Japan’s relations are already snowed under in festering
S. Korean parliament likely to adopt anti-Abe resolution

Dec 27, 2013

South Korea's National Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution next week to denounce Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for paying his respects at a war shrine in what was seen as an attempt to glorify the country's militaristic past.Leaders of the ruling Saenuri and the main opposition Democratic parties called in unison Friday for an anti-Abe resolution after the Japanese leader paid homage at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine that honors the country's war dead, including class A war criminals.South
U.S. response to Abe's Yasukuni visit re-examined

Dec 27, 2013

Amid speculation about how the Obama administration has responded to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to a highly controversial war shrine, the State Department reiterated Washington's explicit disappointment Thursday."The United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors," Jen Psaki, the department's spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.Her four-paragraph statement contained exactly the same wording as t
S. Korean relief troops arrive in Philippines

Dec 27, 2013

A contingent of South Korean relief troops arrived in the Philippines on Friday to start their one-year mission to support the typhoon-stricken Southeast Asian nation's restoration efforts, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) here said. A total of 520 troops, mostly composed of engineers and medics, will carry out relief missions and provide humanitarian support in Tacloban, an area hardest-hit by Typhoon Haiyan last month. The unit is named "Araw," which means blessing and hope in Filipino. Two amp
Abe’s war shrine visit enrages Japan’s neighbors

Dec 26, 2013

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the country’s first leader to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in almost eight years on Thursday, prompting strong condemnation from Korea and China.The U.S. expressed “disappointment,” calling on the Northeast Asian countries to find “constructive ways” to deal with historical issues. Seoul called Abe’s visit “deplorable and outrageous” and summoned a senior Japanese Embassy official to lodge a protest. “Prime Minister Abe’s worship at the Yasuku
No more fighting near S. Korean base in South Sudan

Dec 26, 2013

No more fighting is taking place near a U.N. peacekeeping base in South Sudan where the South Korean contingent of military engineers is stationed, a day after two mortar rounds struck the base, officials in Seoul said Thursday.The mortar attack came as South Sudan’s government troops and rebel forces clashed near the U.N. camp in the town of Bor, some 170 kilometers south of the capital Juba. The rounds struck the Nepalese camp inside the U.N. base, only 300 meters from the South Korean camp. S
Korea taking initiative in global antipiracy campaign

Dec 25, 2013

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. government on Tuesday noted South Korea‘s role in global efforts to counter piracy in waters off Somalia.South Korea is among more than 80 member states of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, a voluntary ad hoc forum created in 2009 under a U.N. Security Council resolution.The Contact Group has five working groups aimed at drawing on a wide range of international expertise and taking a problem-solving approach to piracy in cooperation with So
Seoul, Beijing agree to deepen joint high-level security talks

Dec 25, 2013

BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― Amid worries over instability in North Korea following the purge of leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle, China said Tuesday it agreed to deepen “strategic cooperation” with South Korea in the first high-level security talks between the two countries.Senior diplomats and defense officials of South Korea and China held their first “two-plus-two” talks in Beijing on Monday. The Dec. 12 execution of Kim’s uncle, Jang Song-thaek, topped the agenda, a Seoul diplomat said earlier. Chines