The Korea Herald

Aussies top ally for Korea after U.S.

Aug 25, 2013

Australia is probably South Korea’s secondlargest defense partner after the U.S., according to incoming ambassador William Paterson
U.S. senator McCain arrives in Seoul for N.K. issues

Aug 25, 2013

U.S. Senator John McCain arrived in Seoul on Sunday to meet with South Korean government officials and activists to discuss issues of mutual interest including North Korea's nuclear weapons program and human rights conditions.The Arizona senator, accompanied by fellow Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, arrived at Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, in the afternoon for his first trip here since 1991. During his two-day stay in South Korea, he is scheduled to meet with local activi
Oh Joon named new envoy to U.N.

Aug 22, 2013

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday tapped Oh Joon, a former ambassador to Singapore, as the new representative of its mission at the United Nations. The 57-year-old career diplomat will replace Kim Sook, who has served at the multinational body since May 2011. Since his 1978 entry into diplomatic service, Oh has taken up various key positions including deputy ambassador to the U.N., deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, and embassy minister in Brasilia. For the consul general post i
[Newsmaker] Merkel’s Nazi camp visit a lesson for Japan

Aug 21, 2013

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to former Nazi concentration camp Dachau received mixed reactions, but in doing so, she became the first-ever incumbent chancellor to take such a step.Merkel was immediately slammed for combining the obvious potent symbolism of a German head of state describing the shame she feels about an ugly chapter in her country’s history ― indeed, in world history ― with a planned Oom-pah-pah beer tent and campaign rally moments later. “We speak about the duty to rem
Korea-Japan summit at G20 gathering unlikely: source

Aug 21, 2013

The first summit meeting between South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not likely to take place on the sidelines of the upcoming Group of 20 forum in Saint Petersburg, a government source said Wednesday.The relations between the two nations have been frosty over various historical issues including Japan's renewed territorial claims to South Korean island of Dokdo as well as its leaders' unrepentant remarks regarding its war atrocities.The comments by the
PM Chung to visit Middle East, Southwestern Asia next week

Aug 21, 2013

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won embarks on an eight-day tour of Asian and Middle Eastern countries next week to help boost bilateral economic and cultural exchanges, his office said Wednesday.Chung is scheduled to visit Bahrain, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Turkey for eight days from Sunday. He is expected to be the first South Korean official to make a state visit to Bahrain and Sri Lanka, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.On Monday, he will hold bilateral talks with his Bahraini
John McCain due in Seoul on N. Korean human rights

Aug 21, 2013

U.S. Senator John McCain will fly into Seoul Sunday to promote improved human rights conditions in North Korea, sources here said Wednesday.The Arizona senator will stay until Monday while meeting with local activists, promoting the enhancement of human rights conditions in North Korea, the sources said. The U.S. embassy here refused to confirm the visit.McCain, the Republican presidential nominee in 2008, has taken a hawkish stance on the communist North, which is viewed as a country having one
Top U.S. lawmaker calls on Japan to accept history

Aug 19, 2013

A U.S. lawmaker on Monday called on Japan to face up to the past to become a “stronger country” and thaw its relations with neighbors frayed by territorial and historical tensions. Robert Menendez, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stressed the significance of trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Japan in deterring North Korean saber-rattling and safeguarding regional stability. “I do believe that historical issues need to be met and healed. I think nations
Envoy leverages soccer in pursuit of public diplomacy

Aug 18, 2013

Foreign diplomatic missions here use public diplomacy as one way to engender popular support in South Korea ― more is always better than less. That is why even soccer makes up part of an ambassador’s foreign policy tool kit.That is what Peru’s top diplomat here aimed for in taking part in the Peru-South Korea friendly soccer match on Wednesday.Peruvian Ambassador to South Korea Jaime Pomareda awarded a trophy to the captains of both national soccer teams, South Korean and Peru, after a friendly
Ecuador profiles music on Independence Day

Aug 18, 2013

The Ecuadorian Embassy in South Korea celebrated its independence day with musical performances by two pianists from the South American nation during a reception at a hotel in Seoul on Aug. 9.The musical duo of Noreia Mueckay and her son, Yarik Panko, performed a number of classical pieces for members of the foreign diplomatic community, Korean VIPs and friends of Ecuador during a reception celebrating the Andean nation’s 204th anniversary of independence from colonial rule.The reception celebra
Outgoing envoy leaves indelible mark on Uzbek-Korean ties

Aug 18, 2013

What drives the diplomatic relations between two countries, big commercial interests and strategic considerations, or can one diplomat make all the difference in the world? In the case of the ties between Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, and South Korea, one diplomat in particular could very well have been the crucial factor: outgoing Uzbek Ambassador to South Korea Vitali Fen.Fen, 65, returns to his home country Tuesday after completing a nearly 18-year posting here. He has
India lauds culture on Independence Day

Aug 18, 2013

A crowd of about 500 people watched with rapt attention a performance by a group of Indian school girls of the patriotic Indian song, “Sare Jahan Se Acha.”Originally an Urdu poem written in 1904, Mahatma Gandhi is said to have recited the same song while he was imprisoned in the 1930s. The acclaimed musician Ravi Shankar set the poem to music in the 1950s.But Koreans and Indians showcased the South Asian nation’s cultural traditions of music, dance and fashion during an all-day family-oriented c
Venezuela’s El Sistema strikes a chord with Korean music students

Aug 18, 2013

The Venezuelan Embassy showcased the South American country’s signature music education program, El Sistema, in a 10-day music camp for children and young adults that culminated with a performance at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday.Some 100 kids took part in the El Sistema-inspired music camp. They practiced all day for nearly two weeks, meeting daily in a rehearsal studio at the Sejong Center. All the hard work culminated with the performance as the “Sejong Dream Tree Harmon
China submits claim on East China Sea shelf to U.N.

Aug 17, 2013

China has submitted a claim to a U.N. commission stating that its naturally extended continental shelf stretches to the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea, state media reported Saturday, a move that could rekindle territorial spats with South Korea and Japan.South Korea, China and Japan have separately claimed the Okinawa Trough, with part of Seoul's recent claim overlapping with China's. Seoul and Beijing, however, share a largely similar stance on defining the limits while being in discord w
[Photo News] Anti-Japan protest

Aug 14, 2013