The Korea Herald

Turkish Embassy to celebrate 60th anniversary of Korea-Turkey ties with cultural events

Mar 2, 2017

The Turkish Embassy in Seoul will host a variety of cultural events throughout the year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Ankara's envoy to South Korea Arslan Hakan Okcal said Thursday.On March 8, South Korea and Turkey mark six decades of formal diplomatic ties, a decision which followed the Eurasian country's dispatch of its troops to fight in the 1950-53 Korean War.With the total number of casualties reaching 1,005, Turkey suffered the third-larg
Negotiations launched officially to provide S. Korean land for THAAD deployment

Mar 2, 2017

South Korea and the United States officially kicked off negotiations Thursday to finalize the terms of deploying the advanced American missile defense system THAAD in South Korea, the foreign ministry said. "With regard to the provision of land (for the deployment), a request has been filed to open negotiations between the Ministry of National Defense and the US Forces Korea in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing. "T
S. Korea, US, Japan agree to work together over Kim Jong-nam's killing

Feb 28, 2017

South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Monday to work closely together in responding to the recent killing of the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, an official said.Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's chief envoy on North Korea issues, reached the agreement when he held talks in Washington with his US and Japanese counterparts, Joseph Yun and Kenji Kanasugi, amid mounting evidence that Pyongyang was behind the death of Kim Jong-nam, the leader's estranged brother.Kim Hong-kyun (
Azerbaijan marks Khojaly massacre, national progress

Feb 27, 2017

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Seoul, together with Korea’s National Assembly and Korea Post, organized a conference on Feb. 14 to mark the silver jubilee of bilateral ties and the 25th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre. The event at the National Assembly in Seoul comprised two-part exhibitions featuring photos and videos on the massacre that took place in the town of Khojaly in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on Feb. 25-26, 1992, as well as the last 25 years of Azerbaijan’s development and cooperat
‘US, China, Korea should work together against NK threat’

Feb 27, 2017

With North Korea scaling up its nuclear and missile capabilities, the United States should consider taking higher policy risks to break the security deadlock and tamp down the communist regime’s proliferating threat, according to a former director at the White House’s National Security Council.Victor Cha, speaking at a forum in Seoul on Feb. 17, said the new policy toward North Korea “should entail a higher level of risk acceptance,” as minimizing risk had restricted policy options and allowed P
‘NK nuke conundrum requires visionary diplomacy’

Feb 27, 2017

To stop North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats from fueling a regional arms race, South Korea and its regional security partners should jointly address the issue and the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a former South Korean foreign minister has said. Song Min-soon, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul and a foreign minister from 2006-8, said at a forum in Seoul on Feb. 15 that “the security of the world in a nuclear age cannot be achieved
China blocks access to streaming services of S. Korean pop culture

Feb 26, 2017

China has blocked access to newly updated clips of South Korean music and dramas on the country's online video sharing platforms, sources said Sunday, in an apparent bid to retaliate against Seoul's move to deploy an advanced US missile defense system. The move followed China's decision to prevent South Korean pop stars from appearing on Chinese entertainment programs since October as South Korea decided in July last year to station the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system on its soil.(Lov
S. Korea to raise issue with N. Korea's biochemical weapons threat

Feb 25, 2017

South Korea has decided to raise its voice against North Korea's possession of biochemical weapons in international meetings following the Malaysian police's announcement that a VX nerve agent was used to kill Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, foreign ministry officials said Saturday."The government will bring up the issue of North Korea's biochemical weapons programs when top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan meet in Washington on Mond
Foreign ministry asks for local government's cooperation in resolving sex slavery statue dispute

Feb 23, 2017

South Korea's foreign ministry has sent an official letter to local municipalities in the southeastern city of Busan, asking for cooperation in resolving diplomatic rifts with Japan over a statue symbolizing the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, officials said Thursday. In December, civic groups installed the girl statue in front of the Japanese consulate in the nation's second largest city. Japan demanded an immediate removal and recalled its ambassador to South Korea in protest last m
Sen. Gardner calls for relisting N. Korea as state sponsor of terrorism

Feb 23, 2017

A US senator called Wednesday for adding North Korea back to the State Department list of states sponsoring terrorism, saying the regime's recent assassination of its leader's half brother shows its "brutality."Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), a leading voice in Congress for greater pressure on Pyongyang, made the comments to Yonhap News Agency after Malaysian police identified two additional North Koreans, including a diplomat, as suspects in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the leader's estranged brother
South Korean ship released after being seized by Libyan military

Feb 21, 2017

A South Korean ship with 24 crew members and some 5,000 cars was released Tuesday after being seized by the Libyan military last week, Seoul‘s foreign ministry said.The ministry said that the ship, Morning Compass, which was travelling to reach its final destination of Germany, was captured by the Libyan Navy some 1,400 kilometers east of Misurata in the North African state’s northwest region at 5 p.m. on Saturday. This photo is captured from a Libyan news outlet site by Yonhap News Agency.The s
Foreign minister Yun dissuades Tillerson from reward-for-nuclear freeze deal with N. Korea: sources

Feb 21, 2017

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has voiced South Korea's reservations about any US agreement with North Korea that would reward Pyongyang for a nuclear freeze, sources said Tuesday, referring to the policymaker's recent talks with American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.Instead, any deal with Pyongyang should aim to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" manner, the sources quoted Yun as telling Tillerson during their talks in Bonn, Germany o
British Council Korea launches year-long U.K. arts festival

Feb 20, 2017

The British Council Korea (BCK) on Monday kicked off a year-long culture festival that will bring the latest arts and creative projects from the United Kingdom to different parts of Korea.Under the slogan "Creative Futures," the "U.K./Korea 2017-18" launched with an opening concert from the Lyndon Symphony Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul.The festivities, which runs until March 2018, will showcase a wide-range of British cultural content, including those in dance, theater, fi
ASEAN, Korea hash over cultural cooperation

Feb 20, 2017

The ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul held its ninth annual council meeting Thursday, hashing out issues to strengthen bilateral ties while commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. As this is the ASEAN-Korea Cultural Exchange year, events are scheduled on both sides, particularly in May and June. The discussion involving 11 high-level representatives from ASEAN and Korea focused on bolstering two-way cultural ties, according to the center. At the reception at L
Lord mayor of London visits Korea to bolster commerce

Feb 20, 2017

Andrew Parmley, the lord mayor of the City of London, is visiting Korea this week to strengthen bilateral commercial ties and promote Britain as the leading business hub of Europe. His visit on Tuesday and Wednesday is his second in the last six months, as the UK government strives to shore up economic partnerships around the world ahead of the country’s anticipated exit from the European Union. British Prime Minister Theresa May has stated that she intends to trigger the process by invoking Art