The Korea Herald

Auction aborted for baby food intended for N. Koreans

Dec 6, 2011

South Korea plans a second attempt to auction off baby food originally intended for North Korean children, officials said Tuesday.The move comes after nobody bid for 540,000 packs of baby food on Onbid, an auction Web site run by the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp.South Korea plans to issue a second public notice and adjust the prices, said an official handling the issue at the Unification Ministry. He did not elaborate on further details.The baby food is part of 5 billion won ($4.4 milli
N. Korean leader blasts breakdown in military discipline: report

Dec 5, 2011

SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il regularly blasts the breakdown in military discipline among troops, a report based on internal data collected over the last decade said Monday.The report compiled jointly by the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), the Institute f
N.K.’s participation in Vietnam War described in new dossier

Dec 5, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― North Korea dispatched dozens of pilots to the Vietnam War decades ago, with its communist ally short of specialists to operate MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighter jets in battles against the United States, according to a recently released dossier.“On 21 September 1966 an official North Korean request to be allowed to send a North Korean Air Force regiment to help defend North Vietnam against U.S air attacks was officially reviewed and approved by the Vietnamese Communist Party’
U.S.-N.K. talks floated amid envoy’s visit

Dec 5, 2011

Glyn Davies to meet with South Korean chief negotiator this weekHigh-ranking officials of the U.S. and North Korea may hold a third round of negotiations on the stalled six-party nuclear talks after the new U.S. special envoy to North Korea visits his South Korean counterpart in Seoul this week, sources said.Glyn Davies, who has been serving as the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was appointed special envoy to North Korea, replacing Stephen Bosworth.Davies was introduc
South Korea to give $5.7 million to N.K. through UNICEF

Dec 5, 2011

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the government will offer $5.65 million to North Korea for humanitarian purposes through the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF.The donated money will be used for vaccines for children and pregnant women, medicine kits for children, instant foods, food supplements and nutrients for prevention of malnutrition. The government said the donation will benefit about 1.46 million North Koreans.“The decision is in line with the government’s basic stance of
Marshmallows to be sent to N. Korea on Christmas Eve

Dec 2, 2011

A civic group led by a U.S. pastor said it will send marshmallows in balloons to North Korea on Christmas Eve.Seoul USA, which annually launches balloons into North Korea containing religious material and daily necessities, said it will send thousands of marshmallow stars, Christmas trees and reindeer into the world’s most isolated country.“The balloons are launched from secret locations on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone,” the group said in a statement.Eric Foley, co-founder and
U.S. lawmakers urge POW return from North Korea

Dec 1, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a symbolic resolution calling on North Korea to return U.S. and South Korean prisoners of war and any civilian detainees.The bill, adopted by House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, urges North Korea to release any such prisoners and admit to abducting more than 100,000 South Korean civilians, reveal their status, and free them.It also presses the U.S. government to resume search and r
Photos confirm mobilization of college students at N.K. construction sites

Dec 1, 2011

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Recent photos taken by an American visitor confirmed Thursday that North Korea has mobilized its college students in massive construction projects in Pyongyang ahead of a milestone political event next year.The North has launched the construction drive as part of attempts t
Court rejects arrest warrant for police chief assailant

Nov 30, 2011

A local court on Tuesday rejected the prosecution’s request to arrest a man accused of assaulting Jongno Police Chief Park Geon-chan. The Seoul Central District Court said it was unclear whether Park was assaulted, and that the accused, identified by his family name Kim, had the right to defend himself from the accusations.Kim, 54, was apprehended on Nov. 27 after police film footage showed him grabbing Park’s cap and yelling at him around 9:30 p.m. during a rally against the ratification of the
N.K.’s fiery words may be complaints about inter-Korean relations

Nov 30, 2011

A sudden increase in the vehemence of North Korea’s anti-South Korea propaganda may be a show of dissatisfaction at unchanging inter-Korean relations.Beginning in the final days of November, the North began making anti-Seoul statements with renewed vigor.On Nov. 24, North Korea’s Korea Central News Agency reported that the Supreme Command of the North Korean People’s Army would turn Cheong Wa Dae into a “sea of fire” and that the fire will grow until it destroys “the base of the traitors.”The th
N.K. claims uranium, reactor projects progressing rapidly

Nov 30, 2011

North Korea announced on Wednesday that its enriched uranium production efforts are “progressing apace,” scoffing at calls from South Korea and the U.S. to halt all related programs.North Korea has called for an early resumption of the six-party talks without preconditions, but South Korea and the U.S. insist Pyongyang must first take concrete steps to show its sincerity, such as a monitored shutdown of its uranium enrichment plant.Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said that it was speeding up the co
‘Two Koreas should restore channel of communication for improving ties’

Nov 30, 2011

A U.S. expert on the Korean peninsular issues on Wednesday stressed the need to restore an inter-Korean communication channel to ease the strained ties between the two Koreas.Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korean studies and director for the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, also said that as China’s top priority is regional stability, its policy toward North Korea may not change any time soon.“It is better to have a channel of communication with North Korea than
Six-party talks ‘not effective’ framework for denuclearization of North Korea

Nov 30, 2011

A renowned U.S. expert in East Asia affairs said on Wednesday the six-party talks framework is unworkable stressing South Korea and the U.S. should not expect too much of China in resolving North Korean nuclear issues.Balbina Hwang, assistant adjunct professor at Georgetown University, also said that the communist state is unlikely to renounce its nuclear ambitions and will continue to use deceptive means to gain economic concessions at the multilateral denuclearization talks.“We have to underst
Opposition leader urges more exchanges with N. Korea

Nov 29, 2011

The head of South Korea's main opposition party called on the Seoul government Tuesday to expand its dialogue with North Korea, claiming only cooperation and exchanges can bring changes to the communist North."Raising the level of exchange and cooperation between the South and the North can change N
Seoul stages anti-piracy exercise

Nov 29, 2011

South Korea on Tuesday staged a joint anti-piracy exercise in the waters off the southeastern city of Masan, involving its latest replacement forces for its 300-strong contingent in Somali waters.The naval exercise, also involving coast guards and a vessel from a private shipping company, was jointl