The Korea Herald

Choi He-suk

안녕하세요 Choi He-suk 기자입니다.

Articles by Choi He-suk

Seoul says Pyongyang has nothing to gain abusing reunions as political tool

North KoreaSept 21, 2013

Seoul denounced North Korea’s decision to postpone the cross-border family reunions as “inhumane” on Saturday and warned that Pyongyang had nothing to gain by using the event as a political tool. On Saturday North Korea announced that the family reunions, scheduled to be held at North's mountain resort of Kumgang from Sept. 25-30, are being postponed accusing Seoul of creating an atmosphere of contention. Pyongyang also postponed the planned negotiations with the South, slated for Oct. 2, on how
Pakistan releases senior Taliban commander:official

InternationalSept 21, 2013

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan on Saturday released its most senior Afghan Taliban detainee, Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior official of the interior ministry told AFP, in a move Kabul hopes will encourage peace talks with the insurgents."Yes Baradar has been released," Omar Hamid, a spokesman for interior ministry told AFP, without elaborating.Abdul Ghani Baradar, a one-time military chief often described as the insurgents' former second-in-command, was the most high profile detained Taliban commande
Syria opposition rejects Iran mediation offer

InternationalSept 21, 2013

BEIRUT (AFP) - Syria's opposition National Coalition on Saturday rejected an Iranian offer to broker talks with the regime, saying the bid was "not serious" and calling Tehran "part of the problem.""The Iranian initiative is not serious and lacks political credibility," the key opposition grouping said in a statement.The comments came after Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said Thursday that his government was willing to "facilitate dialogue" between the Syrian government and opposition fighters
Number of female teachers rise 36 percent in last decade

Social affairsSept 21, 2013

The number of female teachers in kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools rose 36 percent in the last decade that nearly seven out of every 10 teachers are now female, the latest education data showed Saturday.As of April, female teachers numbered 330,696, a 36.2 percent rise from 242,809 in 2003, while the number of their male counterparts fell 6.8 percent from 163,095 to 151,990 during the same period, according to the data.That made the proportion of female teachers rise to 68.5 per
More than 100 killed in Mexico landslides, flooding: official

InternationalSept 21, 2013

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AFP) - More than 100 people have been killed and scores are missing in landslides and flooding caused by heavy rain in Mexico, a senior government official said late Friday.Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong delivered the grim news from the resort town of Acapulco, in one of the worst-affected regions, with President Enrique Pena Nieto by his side.The death toll stood at 101, with 68 people missing following a massive mudslide that swallowed half of the village of La P
EU member states fear Syrian refugee influx

InternationalSept 21, 2013

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European Union governments are bracing for a surge in Syrian refugees that threatens to become a flood as hopes fade for a quick end to the bloody civil war.Some two million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries so far, with four million internally displaced as the death toll mounts to more than 110,000.Thousands are seeking a new life in the EU, especially in the bloc's wealthier member states, with Italy among the worst affected.The European Commission, the EU's executive
China says ready to talk if Japan admits dispute

InternationalSept 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) - China said Friday that it was ready to talk to Japan over an increasingly heated maritime row, but only if Tokyo declares the islands to be disputed.Foreign Minister Wang Yi faced questions about ties with the US ally during a visit to Washington, where he called for mutual respect in relations between the United States and a growing China.Wang laid blame for tensions on Japan, which in September 2012 nationalized the islands, known as the Senkakus in Japanese and as the Diaoy
China: N. Korea ready to make nuclear commitment

North KoreaSept 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – China's foreign minister pushed Friday for the restart of international talks on North Korea's nuclear program, saying that Pyongyang is ready to recommit to the goal of denuclearization.North Korea withdrew from the aid-for-disarmament talks in 2009, and over the past year has made clear it wants to be treated as a nuclear weapons state.But Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a Washington think tank the North has recently said it is ready to come back to a 2005 commitment on giving
UN climate report will not sway US deniers: experts

Sept 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The upcoming UN report on climate change is not likely to rattle US deniers of global warming who hold sway in the halls of power, experts say.A hefty analysis of the latest science on global climate change, the report is packed with recommendations for policymakers.It will be released at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) next week, though most Republicans in the US government are expected to dismiss it outright."The IPCC report will help for the observers a
N. Korea abruptly postpones family reunions with S. Korea

North KoreaSept 21, 2013

North Korea said Saturday it is postponing the planned reunions for families separated for six decades since the Korean War, accusing the South of seeking confrontation with the communist nation.The two Koreas have prepared to hold a round of family reunions at the North's scenic mountain resort of Kumgang from Sept. 25-30, in one of a series of signs of a thaw in relations between the two sides, along with the reopening of a joint industrial complex in the North.On Saturday, however, the North'
Apple’s iPhone poised for record as China joins global debut

TechnologySept 21, 2013

Apple Inc. attracted long lines of shoppers today for the global debut of its latest iPhones, the company’s biggest product introduction this year.In New York, customers lined up around the block to get into Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store, while in Munich about 2,000 gathered to buy the new iPhone 5s and 5c, and in London the waiting crowd stretched about a mile. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and other executives visited customers at stores in Palo Alto, California, near the compan
Syria sends watchdog chemical weapons inventory

InternationalSept 21, 2013

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Syria has sent the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons an ``initial declaration'' outlining its weapons program, the organization said Friday, in keeping with the agreement Russia and the U.S. brokered to have Syria give up its chemical weapons arsenal.Michael Luhan, the organization's spokesman, told The Associated Press the declaration is ``being reviewed by our verification division,'' but details of it will not be released.U.S. State Department
Officials: US moves to keep future Egypt aid money

InternationalSept 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration moved Friday to ensure it does not lose more than $500 million in potential Egypt aid as it weighs suspending assistance after this summer's coup, U.S. officials and congressional aides said. In a notification to Congress, the State Department outlined its intention to spend the money. But left unclear in the procedural step was how it would use the funds, with officials still mulling whether to punish Egypt's military by withholding economic and mil
Report: N. Korea's collapse possible any time

North KoreaSept 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) – The collapse of North Korea could occur abruptly and with little warning like that of East Germany, a U.S. think tank report said Friday."It is more a matter of 'when' that 'if' it will occur," said the 295-page report by Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.South Korea and the United States need to craft detailed contingency plans in case of the communist regime's collapse, which would be far more disastrous than the fall
김한길 “박 대통령, '채동욱 사퇴' 답해야”

한국어판Sept 15, 2013

　김한길 민주당 대표는 여야 대표 및 박근혜 대통령 간 3자회담에 응하겠다면서도 채동욱 검찰총장 사퇴사태가 국정원 선거개입사건의 연장선상이라며 대통령에게 답을 묻겠다고 밝혔다. 　김 대표는 일요일 오후 2시 서울시청 앞 서울광장에서 긴급기자회견을 열고 “회담의 주요 의제는 국정원 등 국가정보기관의 정치개입의 폐해가 돼야 한다. 검찰총장 사퇴 문제 역시 연장선상에 있다”면서 “이에 대한 분명한 답변을 대통령이 준비해야 할 것”이라며 이같이 말했다.　민주당 내에서는 16일 열릴 3자회담을 정권 차원의 ‘채동욱 총장 몰아내기’, ‘국정원 무죄만들기 프로젝트’로 규정하고, ‘유신•공작정치의 부활’ 등의 이유로 반발이 거셌다.　이정현 청와대 홍보수석은 이에 대해 ‘혼외아들 의혹’이 제기된 지 1주일 만에 채동욱 검찰총장이 전격 사의를 표명한 것과 관련, “사표수리를 하지 않았다. 진실규명이 우선”이라고 밝혔다.　이 수석은 이어 “진실이 규명되면 깨끗이 해결되는 문제”라며 “이번 사안을 의도적