Moon Jae-in (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Following are excerpts from The Korea Herald’s interview Monday with Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea. -- Ed. Q: You and the Democratic Party of Korea have been labeled as leftist, progressive or pan-progressive. How do you define your ideologies?A: I think the labels are meaningless. At a time of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, what use are such labels? The tasks that face us are not about political cant. Were

The city of Seoul is gearing up for its annual spring festival lineup, but is facing difficulties as the events’ main venue, Seoul Plaza, is illegally occupied by die-hard supporters of ousted President Park Geun-hye. Despite the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s repeated requests to vacate the space, about 40 pro-Park tents remain clustered in one-third of the area, refusing to yield both to government orders and the Constitutional Court’s decision to expel Park from power.Pro-Park protest tents

Japan extended its unilateral sanctions imposed on North Korea for two more years Friday as the North's provocative behavior is not showing any signs of letting up.The extension was endorsed at a cabinet meeting held earlier in the day. The existing sanctions were set to expire next Thursday.  (Yonhap)The decision will allow Tokyo mostly to keep a ban on trade with the North and prevent the entry of North Korean ships into Japanese ports. The ban on port entry has been in place since 2006, when

The US military is capable of intercepting North Korean missiles before they reach US targets, the commander of the US Northern Command and commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Thursday."I am confident in our ability to employ the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System to defend the Homeland against a limited long-range ballistic missile attack from North Korea," Gen. Lori Robinson said in a statement submitted for a Senate Armed

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Friday to work closely together to convince North Korea to curb its nuclear program as they held their first summit talks overshadowed by surprise US military strikes against Syria the previous night.The two sides reached the agreement, sharing the view that the North's nuclear advancement has reached "a very serious stage,"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during a briefing on the outcome of the summit

UN Security Council adopts statement condemning NK missile launchThe UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a statement strongly condemning North Korea's latest missile launch. It was the fourth time the Security Council has adopted a press statement on North Korea. United States' Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley greets United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Security Council chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. (Yonhap)The statement d

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called strongly for China to use its influence over North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programs, as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Florida for summit talks with President Donald Trump."We are hopeful that China will find ways to exercise influence over North Korea's actions to dismantle their nuclear weapons and their missile technology programs," Tillerson told reporters after greeting Xi at a Florida airport. US Secret

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) – US President Donald Trump greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, kicking off a series of crucial first meetings where he plans to focus on reducing the trade deficit with the world's No. 2 economy and getting Beijing to exercise genuine pressure on North Korea.Trump and the first lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan as they arrived at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in a black limousine around 5:10 p.m. A military guard lined the

South Korea’s wild pollack population, considered near-extinct since the turn of the millennium, may be making a comeback. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Thursday that a wild pollack, locally called “myeongtae,” was caught in eastern waters near Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. The fish, procured through a net installed 100 meters underwater, was 56 centimeters long, a tad smaller in size than its typical 61 centimeters. It was transported live to a research facility under the Nation

South Korean prosecutors investigating ousted President Park Geun-hye’s irregularities have used Google’s Timeline location history service to track a plastic surgeon’s secret visits to the presidential office, it was revealed Wednesday. 　 Kim Young-jae, the 55-year-old owner of a luxury anti-aging clinic in southern Seoul who was indicted for performing illegal anti-aging treatments to the then-president and lying under oath, has entered Cheong Wa Dae at least 17 times, the investigators claime

South Korea ranked 33rd out of 34 countries surveyed on national happiness, despite improvements in welfare, a study showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, South Korea saw its happiness ranking drop by three notches over the past five years from 2011 to 2016. In terms of well-being, the country ranked 21st, two steps up from 2011.(123RF)The study was based on a comparative analysis of 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

A 66-year-old supporter of former President Park Geun-hye has been indicted for a violent act that caused the death of another pro-Park protestor during a rally on the day of Park’s impeachment, prosecutors said Tuesday. The man, identified by his surname Jeong, is accused of hijacking a police bus and ramming it against bus barricades during a protest near Anguk Station on March 10. His action caused a 100-kilogram police speaker to fall and hit a fellow rally participant from the same group. A

Hyundai Engineering has finalized a deal worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.2 billion) with Ahdaf Investment Company for the construction of the second phase of a refining complex in Iran, the Korean company said Monday. The contract signed in Tehran is considered to be the largest in amount to date for such projects procured by South Korean companies in Iran. “The project allowed us to spearhead into the Iranian construction market as a lead manager. We plan to do everything in our capacity to clinch a

동물원 사육사가 코끼리 코에 맞아 숨진 사건이 일본에서 발생했다.12일 영국매체 <데일리메일>에 따르면 이 사육사는 철장 안 코끼리를 자극했다. 와카야마현에 위치한 어드벤처월드 개장 전의 일이다. (사진=유튜브 동영상 캡쳐)현지경찰은 “불필요한 자극이 원인이었다”고 밝혔다. 이어 “코로 얻어맞고 철장에 머리를 부딪혀 사망한 것으로 보인다”고 발표했다. 동물 애호단체 등은 ‘동물이 서식지를 벗어나 철장에 갇히면 이상행동을 보일 수 있다’며 이 코끼리 변호에 나섰다. 코리아헤럴드 정민경 기자 (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)