The Korea Herald

Park leads campaign to help N.K. defectors

Feb 22, 2012

Lawmaker says China should be more responsible for safeguarding universal human rightsAmid growing public criticism of China for forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors, Rep. Park Sun-young of the conservative Liberty Forward Party has shouted a short yet impassioned slogan ― “Save our friends!”The resolute voice that belied her small frame and mild demeanor reverberated around the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, where the former law professor has staged a hunger strike since Tuesday to protest B
New history textbooks to feature Kim Jong-un

Feb 21, 2012

South Korean history textbooks for secondary school students that will be used for the new semester will include the definite description of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the education ministry said Tuesday.The education ministry said it has requested the Korea Authorized Textbook, which
Four more N. Korean defectors detained in China: lawmaker

Feb 20, 2012

A South Korean lawmaker claimed Monday four more North Korean defectors had been detained by Chinese authorities in the central city of Zhengzhou while fleeing their impoverished homeland, raising the number of defectors believed to be in custody to 34. Rep. Park Sun-young of
N.K. to hold party gathering in mid-April

Feb 20, 2012

North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party will hold a crucial meeting of representatives in mid-April for the first time since 2010, its state media said Monday, drawing attention to whether its new leader will officially take the top party post.“The Workers’ Party has decided to convene the meeting in mid-April to glorify the sacred revolutionary life and feats of its late leader Kim Jong-il, and rally close around his son and successor, Kim Jong-un,” the party’s Central Committee said in a statement
Conductor Chung met N. Koreans

Feb 20, 2012

A renowned South Korean conductor met with North Korean musicians earlier this week to discuss staging a joint performance of orchestras of the two Koreas in Pyongyang, officials said Monday.“Chung Myung-whun, who leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, had consultations with North Korean officials in Beijing on Sunday,” an official at Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.An official with the Seoul metropolitan orchestra also confirmed the news.“We understand Chung met with officials of a North Kor
‘Repatriation to N.K. technically a Chinese matter’

Feb 20, 2012

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry is urgently calling on China to stop repatriating North Korean defectors but it is technically up to China to decide the issue, a South Korean envoy to Beijing said.A senior official at the ministry on Sunday told reporters that Seoul will renew calls on China to abide by two international treaties ― the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.“Whether to recognize North
Pyongyang warns of attack

Feb 19, 2012

North Korea warned on Sunday that it will respond with a “merciless counterstrike” to the South Korea-U.S. joint drill in the West Sea scheduled for Monday. The navies of the two allies are set to begin a five-day joint anti-submarine drill on Monday as part of their efforts to improve their ability to counter North Korean submarines. “If a military provocation occurs, a merciless counterstrike will begin,” North Korean military’s western command said, according to Pyongyang’s Korean Central New
NKorea threatens to attack SKorea over drills

Feb 19, 2012

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea has threatened to attack South Korea accusing it of planning live-fire drills near their disputed sea border.The North's military said in a statement Sunday that South Korea planned artillery drills from five front-line islands off the western coast on Monday.It
N. Korea turns down S. Korea's offer of Red Cross talks

Feb 18, 2012

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday rejected South Korea's offer to hold Red Cross talks on reunions of separated families, saying Seoul should first respond to its demand for an apology for not paying official respect over the death of former leader Kim Jong-il and for a promise to c
N.K. leader attends orchestra concert held in memory of late leader

Feb 18, 2012

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a music concert held in commemoration of the birthday of his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il, state media said Saturday.North Korea held a military parade and other events this week to mark the 70th birthday on Feb. 16 of
Pyongyang's call for troops pullout 'especially unacceptable,'U.S. says

Feb 18, 2012

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- The United States made clear Friday that North Korea's demand for the pullout of American troops on the Korean Peninsula is not negotiable."I think you know that we have said, for quite some time, that we are not prepared to accept preconditions for the resumpti
Kim Jong-il’s eldest son ‘in financial trouble’

Feb 17, 2012

MOSCOW (Yonhap News) ― Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-il, is having financial problems after his own country and China cut off funding over recent doubts he expressed about his younger brother’s grip on power, a Russian newspaper said.According to the latest edition of Argumenty i Fakty, Kim Jong-nam was recently kicked out of his 17th-floor room at a luxurious hotel in Macao because he could not pay the $15,000 that was due. Kim, believed to be in his early 4
Parade, tributes mark 70th birthday of late North Korean leader

Feb 17, 2012

Parade, tributes mark 70th birthday of late North Korean leaderNorth Korea celebrated what would have been the 70thbirthday of its leader Kim Jong Il Thursday with a parade presided over by his son and successor, Kim Jong Un.North Korean military vehicles are lined up at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in
Ex-S. Korean official met N. Korean diplomats: source

Feb 16, 2012

Yim Tae-hee, a former South Korean presidential chief of staff, recently met with North Korean diplomats in the Chinese capital, a source here said Thursday."Yim and an accompanying person met with two diplomats from the North Korean embassy here from Feb. 2 to 4," the source said."I heard Yim told
S. Korea, China to hold talks on N. Korean defectors

Feb 16, 2012

Senior diplomats from South Korea and China are scheduled to hold talks later this month to address outstanding issues between the two nations, including North Korean defectors detained in China, a diplomatic source said Thursday. The talks come as Seoul has urged Beijing not to send back a group of North Koreans detained in China as they hope for South Korean intervention to avoid repatriation to their communist homeland. During the talks, South Korea will “emphasize again that China should not