The Azerbaijani Embassy held a memorial last week to commemorate the massacre that eventually sparked the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.Known as Black January, the event annually marks the martyrdom of 137 Azeri citizens, who were killed by Soviet troops from Jan. 20-21, 1990. Armed with rifles and tanks, some 26,000 soldiers stormed the capital Baku to murder, torture and imprison demonstrators who demanded national freedom.The bloody crackdown, enforced under a martial law decre

The Ukrainian Embassy brought in the new year with a celebration that featured the country’s traditional dress, songs and food. The Orthodox New Year’s Day, observed on the first day of the Julian calendar, is an informal holiday commemorated in Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece. People reflect on the previous year’s achievements and pray for meaningful resolutions in the coming months, according to embassy second secretary Yulia Savelieva. Ukrainians celebr

At the Corea Image Communications Institute’s annual award ceremony last week, which honored individuals who have popularized Korean culture worldwide, over 60 foreign ambassadors and diplomats engaged in an evening of cultural diplomacy. CICI president and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies professor Choi Jung-wha, in her opening speech, attributed the success of hallyu, or Korean Wave, to “thousands of years of condensed artistry that has ruptured onto the modern world stage.” “It didn’t hap

The prospective trilateral free trade agreement between China, Korea and Japan would open a new chapter of cooperation and prosperity in Northeast Asia, anchoring the three economies at the center of the world’s wealth value chain, a top economist argued. The ambitious trade and investment accord, endorsed during the sixth trilateral summit on Nov. 1 in Seoul ― involving Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo ― aimed for a “comprehensive

With Pyongyang escalating its nuclear brinksmanship, support for consensual unification between South Korea and North Korea is losing ground, while the belief in absorption is gaining traction. Approaches to the nationally cherished goal have been dichotomized between the country’s liberals and conservatives, with the former advocating cooperation and engagement with the North and the latter backing high-handed diplomatic and military actions. While most experts have preferred gradual unificatio

North Korea’s impetuous testing of its nuclear arsenal last Wednesday was a sign of a desperately isolated regime that calculates survival ahead of all other factors, experts noted. Known as the “byungjin line,” the dual-track policy aims to bolster deterrence against outside attack while simultaneously developing the economy. Adopted in the early 1960s, the strategy has effectively buffered the sustainability of the regime. The fourth nuclear detonation in North Hamgyeong Province, purported to

Ethiopia is a country with a long history and diverse cultures. We are the oldest independent nation in the world with deep roots in our ancient civilizations. As Africa’s second-most populous country with 90 million people, Ethiopia is becoming a continental hub with capital Addis Ababa housing the African Union. Our government is a federal republic founded in August 1995, following a transitional government that ended 17 years of Marxist dictatorship of the Derg (the Coordinating Committee of

Seoul and Tokyo will make efforts to harness the positive momentum created by the agreement on wartime sexual slavery for this year and onward, to strengthen trilateral economic cooperation with China and the tripartite alliance involving the U.S, a political scientist highlighted. The landmark accord reached at the tail end of last year to resolve the euphemistically described “comfort women” issue, involving women forced into sexual service for the imperial Japanese army, was “a clear diplomat

Korea’s anticipated membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership will help the country’s small and medium-sized firms capitalize on overseas markets and will exert pressure on North Korea to open its doors, a respected economist highlighted. Despite Seoul’s belated decision to join the multinational free trade scheme, announced in mid-October, the mega-sized agreement presents myriad opportunities, encompassing goods and services, rules of origin, trade remedies, government procurement, the envir

A true reconciliation with neighboring nations takes forgiveness and remembrance from the whole of society, Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Ignacy Majka said in an interview last week. Referring to Poland’s postwar rapprochement with Germany, Majka stressed that the majority of a national community, from top to bottom and across the political spectrum, must be involved to keep the conciliatory momentum alive. “Real reconciliation does not have to take place at the high political level. It can come f

The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea on Thursday declared the results of South Korea and Japan‘s agreement on wartime sex slavery issue “invalid,” urging renegotiation and the dismissal of Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.The epochal agreement Monday, in which Japan apologized for victims of sexual slavery during World War II, in addition to funding a 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) project to support the surviving “comfort women.” But the surviving victims, along with the nongovernmental organiz