The Embassy of Argentina here held an opening ceremony for the Sala Mirtha Legrand hall and the launch of El Ciclo de Cine Argentino 2019 on Thursday, with an aim to strengthen cultural ties between Argentina and South Korea. “Films are a bridge connecting the two countries culturally. Just as diplomatic relations expand into trade and politics, films will also help form friendly ties. This is why we have decided to screen Argentinian movies,” Argentine Ambassador to South Korea Alfr

European Union Ambassador to South Korea Michael Reiterer received the Grand Decoration of Honor in Silver with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria in recognition for his service to his mother country, the related embassies said.“I am deeply honored that the President of the Republic of Austria conferred this high distinction upon me -- a recognition of my nearly four decades of work as a diplomat with assignments on three continents. ... I take this as an encouragement to continu

Defense and nuclear experts from South Korea and Kazakhstan shed light on Kazakhstan’s denuclearization process in the 1990s as a reference for North Korea’s denuclearization, experts said.“North Korea’s denuclearization negotiation seemed to have hit a phase of stagnation, but recently there are signs of hope of reviving the talks,” said Lee Geun, president of the Korea Foundation, in the opening remarks at the second Korea-Kazakhstan Denuclearization Forum in cent

French Ambassador to South Korea Philippe Lefort will present Etoile du Cinema awards to Korean actress Bae Doona and Kwak Sin-ae, producer of the award-winning film “Parasite,” in Busan this week, the embassy said.From Saturday to Sunday, Lefort will be attending the 2019 Busan International Film Festival, set to kick off Thursday.The trip marks Lefort’s first visit to Busan since he took the post here last year, the embassy said.In Busan, Lefort will also attend the screening

The Oman Embassy in South Korea held an open-house program to showcase its rich culture and history to students as part of its public diplomacy. Over 50 students from Sangam Middle School in Seoul participated in the event, “Welcome to Oman,” which was held Aug. 27 in cooperation with the education department of the Seoul Metropolitan Office. Omani Ambassador Mohamed Al-Harthy welcomed the guests and delivered a lecture titled “Oman the Country of Sindbad and Land of Luban

The Korea Herald Young Diplomats Academy and the Young Opinion Leaders’ Knowledge Forum -- youth camps tailored for interaction with foreign diplomats, business leaders and renowned scholars -- have inspired future generations of leaders. The event at Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, from Aug. 2 to 4 attracted over 200 elementary, middle and high school students, providing a platform for differentiated learning, discussion and communication in English. For the annual event,

South Korea will provide about $200,000 worth of humanitarian aid to Namibia, which has declared a state of emergency over drought, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the African country has suffered from drought since October 2018, which has left up to 500,000 people or about 20 percent of the country's entire population short of food and water.  "The country will continue to expand its humanitarian assistance as a responsible member of the international c

Minister-level delegate discusses need for a trade pact

Sharing borders with five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Laos is seeking to facilitate the connectivity of infrastructure across the region by strengthening cooperation with South Korea. “There have been already a number of projects supported by the Korean government and implemented by Korean private companies in the past that contributed to the ASEAN connectivity in Laos,” Bounchanh Sinthavong, Laos’ minister of public works and transport, said in

Top nuclear negotiators from South Korea and the United States held talks in Germany on Thursday to discuss cooperation toward progress in working-level talks with North Korea, which are expected to resume this month, Seoul's foreign ministry said.South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, met with his US counterpart, Stephen Biegun, in Berlin as Washington and Pyongyang are seeking to re-launch their nuclear talks, likely in the middle of this month.During their impromptu meeting at the De

Former Samsung Executive Yang In-mo was elected as the new dean of the Honorary Consular Corps of Korea, an organization of diplomats promoting friendship and cooperation among countries. Yang, the honorary consul general of Croatia to Korea, started his two-year term as the sixth dean of the corps on July 1, after a unanimous vote at a regular annual meeting on June 26.  The corps of honorary consuls in Korea consists of honorary consuls in the private sector appointed by foreign governmen

Experts and government officials from South Korea, Japan and China will gather in Seoul next week to discuss ways to improve the environment for the crested ibis, an endangered species, an international organization said Monday. The crested ibis, a species that had mainly nested in Northeast Asia and parts of Russia, is at the brink of extinction. It is listed as Korea’s National Monument No. 198, but was last seen in the wild in 1979.  In an effort to save the species, a trilateral c

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, or Ithra, kicked off an event to promote Saudi Arabia’s culture in Seoul this week. The event has been held across the world to promote Saudi culture and history and expand cultural exchanges with other countries. In Asia, South Korea is the first to hold the event, titled “Bridges to Seoul,” which will run until Wednesday at Grand Hilton Seoul. “I am very pleased to promote the history and culture of Saudi Arabia to Korea

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Seoul-based foreign diplomats visited a new hiking trail on the eastern coast portion of the Demilitarized Zone on Saturday.Kang, ambassadors and representatives from 52 countries traveled to the DMZ Peace Trails in Goseong, Gangwon Province, which the government opened to the public on April 27 to mark the first anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Kang said while hiking the course

The Korea International Cooperation Agency on Friday held a ceremony marking the completion of a national museum in Congo, a project that was begun in 2012. The construction of the Congo National Museum in the capital city Kinshasa was funded by KOICA, a state-run aid organization. The museum will be the biggest museum in the country when it opens, KOICA said.  The South Korean aid group said it has funded $21 million for the project that is aimed at preserving cultural artifacts and to en