The Korea Herald

Prominent U.S. figures flock to Park’s dinner

Oct 15, 2015

WASHINGTON -- In a ritzy dinner event hosted by President Park Geun-hye in Washington on Wednesday, a number of prominent U.S. figures graced the occasion, expressing their full commitment to keep the bilateral friendship vital.　Representing the U.S. government, Secretary of State John Kerry attended the event spending the entire evening side-by-side the South Korean leader on the second day of her four-day visit to the U.S. (Yonhap)The two sat at the head table and exchanged congratulatory rema
Park says S. Korea reliable partner of U.S.

Oct 15, 2015

President Park Geun-hye has said that South Korea is a reliable partner of the United States, calling their alliance a linchpin of Washington's strategy of rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region. "South Korea and the U.S. are strongly bound to each other by common values and ideals of freedom, democracy and human rights," Park said Wednesday at a South Korea-U.S. friendship gathering in Washington. Park said the dynamic and evolving alliance between South Korea and the U.S. is moving towa
Park calls for increased cooperation with U.S. on lunar exploration

Oct 15, 2015

President Park Geun-hye has voiced hope that South Korea and the United States will boost cooperation in lunar exploration and other space programs. South Korea joined the global space club with a successful launch of a satellite into orbit in 2013, though its rocket was built in cooperation with Russia. South Korea is seeking to develop the country's own space vehicle and to launch an unmanned spacecraft to probe the Moon by 2020. "I hope that South Korea and the U.S. will expand cooperation
Park calls for cooperation with U.S. on R&D, engineering

Oct 15, 2015

President Park Geun-hye called Wednesday for close cooperation between South Korea and the United States in research and development and engineering as Seoul is seeking to open a new era of manufacturing. South Korea views research and development and engineering as the key to bring innovation to manufacturing. "The two countries can build up the technology and experiences that can lead manufacturing innovation" if they combine technology and excellent manpower, Park said in a Washington forum
Park visits NASA space flight center

Oct 15, 2015

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday visited the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, a move that underscored South Korea's efforts to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. on space initiatives. She received a welcoming message from an astronaut in the International Space Station and a briefing on NASA's Mars exploration program before touring facilities at Goddard. Goddard Space Flight Center, set up in 1959, is a high-tech research institute for space exploration. It operates, among
Park pays tribute to American soldiers killed in Korean War

Oct 15, 2015

President Park Geun-hye Wednesday paid tribute to American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as she began the second day of her visit to the United States. Park laid down wreaths at the Korean War Veterans Memorial and observed a moment of silence as a military brass band played somber music. "I came here to convey South Koreans' mind that (we) will not forget those who helped us when we were in trouble," Park told a group of surviving veterans and family members of those who served in t
Korea, U.S. revise procurement pact to allow more Korean deals

Oct 14, 2015

South Korea and the U.S. signed an agreement Wednesday to allow more Korean firms to win commercial deals in the U.S. Forces Korea's defense goods procurement, the Defense Ministry said. Because of the formerly loose definition of "Korean company" in the Logistics Cost Sharing Implementing Agreement, contracts were awarded to foreign companies posing as local firms, according to the ministry. A revision of the agreement signed on Wednesday has re-defined the scope of Korean companies as those
Northeast Asian nations seek to boost cooperation on nuclear safety

Oct 14, 2015

South Korea, Japan and China will seek to strengthen cooperation on nuclear safety as they gather for a meeting with related officials and experts next week, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.South Korea will host the International Forum on Northeast Asia Nuclear Safety Cooperation in Seoul on Oct. 22-23 with the aim of building a consensus on the need for a regional body tasked with promoting nuclear safety, the ministry said in a press release.The meeting will bring together government offic
Korean-American Harvard student challenges Trump

Oct 14, 2015

A Korean-American Harvard University student said Tuesday he challenged Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump because he wanted to make it known that Trump has made wrong accusations about defense relations between South Korea and the United States."People tend to believe what influential people like Trump say even if they make wrong claims. I just wanted to make it known that (Trump's claims) are wrong," said Joseph Choi, 20, a Harvard University student majoring in economics, told
Korea, Japan, China to hold cyber policy talks

Oct 13, 2015

South Korea, Japan and China will hold talks this week to boost cooperation on cyberspace issues, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The three sides will meet in Seoul Thursday to discuss the cyber security environment, including recent cyber threats, each country's policies on cyberspace issues, international rules governing cyberspace, and cooperation against cyber crime and terrorism, the ministry said in a press release. The meeting will come about two weeks ahead of a trilateral summit to
MIKTA condemns terrorist bombings in Turkey

Oct 12, 2015

South Korea and three other nations Monday condemned the terrorist bombings in Turkey that killed at least 97 people over the weekend. The foreign ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia, which together form the middle-power MIKTA group with Turkey, issued a statement condemning the attacks launched on a peaceful rally in Ankara on Saturday. "We extend our sincere condolences to the victims and families of those involved and wish those injured a speedy recovery," the statemen
S. Korea to chair multilateral aid assessment body

Oct 11, 2015

South Korea has been chosen as the next chair of an international body tasked with assessing development aid by multilateral organizations, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.South Korea will succeed the United States as chair of the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network, a 17-member body established in 2002 to assess the effectiveness and accountability of multilateral organizations offering development and humanitarian assistance, the ministry said in a press release.As the ch
Park to visit U.S. for summit with Obama

Oct 11, 2015

President Park Geun-hye will visit the United States this week for summit talks with her American counterpart, Barack Obama, a senior presidential official said Sunday.Park will depart for Washington on Tuesday for a four-day trip, which will include a summit with Obama on Friday, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs Ju Chul-ki said during a press briefing.It will be Park's second official visit to the U.S. and her fourth summit with Obama since she took office in February 2013."The
UNESCO panel publishes Japan's admission of forced labor on website

Oct 11, 2015

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has published on its website the minutes of a meeting in July where Japan admitted its use of forced Korean labor in the 1940s.The minutes, published on pages 220-224 of a summary of the annual meeting in Bonn, Germany, record the listing of 23 early Japanese industrial facilities, including shipyards and coal mines, on the UNESCO World Heritage list.Some of the facilities were sites of forced Korean labor in the 1940s, when the Korean Peninsula was under Japa
Suicide bombings kill 95 people at Ankara peace rally

Oct 11, 2015

Nearly simultaneous explosions targeted a Turkish peace rally Saturday in Ankara, killing at least 95 people and wounding hundreds in Turkey’s deadliest attack in years _ one that threatens to inflame the nation’s ethnic tensions. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there were “strong signs” that the two explosions _ which struck 50 meters (yards) apart just after 10 a.m. _ were suicide bombings. He suggested that Kurdish rebels or Islamic State