The Korea Herald

Korea, Japan fall short of forging military info sharing

Sept 8, 2016

South Korea shied away from forging a military intelligence sharing pact with Japan during talks between the leaders of the two countries in Laos, the foreign ministry said Thursday.　The long protracted issue of signing the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was discussed during the summit meeting between President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Vientiane, on Wednesday, Cho Jung-hyuck, spokesman of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, said during
Korea, US, Japan discussing trilateral talks of top diplomats this month

Sept 8, 2016

South Korea, the United States and Japan are in talks to hold a trilateral meeting of their top diplomats on the sidelines of a United Nations plenary session scheduled for later this month in New York, official sources said Thursday.The trilateral meeting, if held, will bring together South Korean Foreign Ministry Yun Byung-se, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida when they gather for the UN plenary high-level meetings slated from Sept. 19-26, diplomatic
Park, Abe hold summit over NK provocations, bilateral issues

Sept 7, 2016

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday called for closer cooperation with Japan in countering North Korea's provocations and bringing about its denuclearization, saying the communist state's evolving nuclear and missile programs pose a "serious" threat to both countries. South Korean President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe ahead of a bilateral summit in the Laotian capital of Vientiane on Wednesday. (Yonhap)During a bilateral summit with Park, Japanese Prime M
Park arrives in Laos to attend ASEAN, EAS summits

Sept 6, 2016

President Park Geun-hye arrived in Laos on Tuesday to attend a series of summits with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where she is expected to call for stronger international unity against North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.Her four-day visit to the Laotian capital of Vientiane comes amid Pyongyang's continued provocations, including Monday's launch of three mid-range ballistic missiles. It is the third and last leg of her three-nation trip that also to
Park, Obama to hold summit amid NK provocations

Sept 6, 2016

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday will hold a summit with her US counterpart Barack Obama in Vientiane to discuss an array of issues, including North Korea's continued provocations, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.The summit will be held in the afternoon -- hours after Park arrives in the Laotian capital to attend a series of summits with the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Cheong Wa Dae said. Their talks were arranged amid Pyongyang's continued provocations, incl
Park, Xi reconfirm differences over THAAD

Sept 5, 2016

President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday reconfirmed their differences over the planned deployment of a US anti-missile system to South Korea, but agreed to strengthen their "strategic communication," Park's office Cheong Wa Dae said.During the summit on the sidelines of an economic forum in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, Park repeated that the need for a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system on the Korean Peninsula will disappear if North Korea's nuclear
Park, Xi hold summit amid THAAD row

Sept 5, 2016

President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a summit in Hangzhou, China, on Monday amid strains in their relations over the planned deployment of a US antimissile system in South Korea.The bilateral talks, the eighth between Park and Xi, were held on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in China's eastern lakeside city.The issue related to the stationing of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system on the Korean Peninsula has
Turkey honors patriotism on 94th Victory Day

Sept 5, 2016

Marking the 94th anniversary of victory in the Battle of Dumlupinar, which spawned the creation of the Republic of Turkey, the Turkish embassy commemorated the country’s unwavering spirit of patriotism and democracy last week. Known as Armed Forces Day, or Victory Day, Turkish Forces at the behest of Mustafa Kemal Pasha (1881-1938) -- army commander, revolutionary and the first president of Turkey, referred to as “Ataturk,” the father of the Turks -- fought and defeated the Greek army in the fin
Kazakhstan urges world to desert nuclear arms

Sept 5, 2016

On Aug. 29 1991, Kazakhstan voluntarily renounced its military nuclear capacity by closing down the Semipalatinsk test site, a primary experiment ground for the Soviet Union’s atomic weapons.By terminating the world’s fourth-largest atomic arsenal of more than 1,400 nuclear warheads at the time, the Central Asian nation was embarking on a path of disarmament and peace as a responsible member of the international community. Marking the 25th anniversary of the event, Astana held a two-day forum ti
Treasures from Afghanistan unveiled in Korea

Sept 5, 2016

Exhibition titled “Treasures from Afghanistan” at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul has introduced the country’s ancient relics in Korea for the first time. (National Museum of Korea in Seoul)Timeworn relics from Afghanistan have been unveiled in Korea for the first time, through joint collaboration between the two countries’ national museums. Displaying artefacts of ancient civilizations between the 20th century B.C. and the seventh century, the exhibition titled “Treasures from Afghanistan
Park arrives in Russia for economic forum, summit with Putin

Sept 2, 2016

Vladivostok (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye arrived in Vladivostok, Russia, on Friday to attend an economic forum and a summit with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, as part of her eight-day trip that also includes visits to China and Laos.In the eastern Russian port city, Park will attend the annual Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), a venue to discuss ways to bolster regional cooperation in developing Russia's resource-rich Far East.President Park Geun-hye waves as she boards her plane at
France finishes celebrating 130th year of ties with Korea

Aug 31, 2016

The France-based leg of the yearlong South Korea-France cultural exchange project has drawn the curtains with a colorful flourish, celebratory of the 130th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties.As of the end of August, the events of the "Years 2015-2016 of Korea-France Bilateral Exchanges" have hailed about 2.26 million visitors in France, which ran from September 2015, the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Tuesday.Being the largest cultural project between the
Korea's vice foreign minister leaves for China, possibly to arrange summit

Aug 31, 2016

A senior South Korean diplomat will leave for China on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, raising expectations that Seoul is seeking to arrange a summit between the leaders of the two countries.Lim Sung-nam, vice foreign minister, will be in Beijing until Thursday during which he will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Liu Zhenmin, according to the ministry. His trip is just days before leaders of the group of 20 industrialized and emerging countries are to gather in China early next month. E
Colombia, a land of opportunity

Aug 28, 2016

By Colombian Ambassador Tito Saul Pinilla After more than 50 years of struggle to end an armed conflict with guerilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, peace has been ushered in to Colombia, which now stands at a momentous juncture with newfound optimism. The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has stamped a definite end to the violent warfare through negotiations and signing of a cease-fire with the insurgency group in Havana, Cuba on June 23.Even though the peace deal is
‘Diplomacy never too late to curb NK nuke’

Aug 28, 2016

With Pyongyang ratcheting up its nuclear brinksmanship and missile provocations, the international community has stood firm in sanctioning the regime through United Nations Security Council resolution 2270, considered the toughest in history. Predicting “North Korea will fall on a path of isolation and self-destruction through strengthened sanctions and pressure by the international community,” South Korean President Park Geun-hye has justified her preference for using sticks over carrots in dis