The Korea Herald

안녕하세요 Shin Hyon-hee 기자입니다.

Articles by Shin Hyon-hee

Korea boosts cooperation with Nordic countries

Foreign affairsSept 26, 2014

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held talks with top diplomats of five Nordic countries on Thursday, as Korea is seeking to deepen cooperation on Arctic research, climate change and scientific development. The unprecedented meeting with Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland took place in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. The five are members of the 87-nation Nordic Council, an official inter-parliamentary forum launched in 1952 to discuss globalization, climate and free
Top diplomats of Korea, Japan to meet in New York

Foreign affairsSept 25, 2014

President Park Geun-hye (far right) delivers a speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday as North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong (left) and his aides confer. (Yonhap)The foreign ministers of Korea and Japan were to hold talks in New York on Thursday as the two countries seek to restore relations that are at their lowest ebb in decades. Yun Byung-se and Fumio Kishida will meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. They also had consultations last month at the ASEAN Regional Fo
Seoul City accused of forced Asiad ticket purchases

Foreign affairsSept 25, 2014

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is under fire after allegations surfaces that employees of some district offices were forced to buy tickets to the Asian Games to help boost sales. Organizers of the event, which kicked off Saturday in Incheon for a 16-day run, have been struggling to counter low ticket sales. Though the spectacular opening ceremony fared relatively well, many other competitions are taking place in empty stadiums.Seoul City reportedly requested its workers to join the cause last
Ceaseless struggle for justice

Foreign affairsSept 24, 2014

The following is the 11th and last in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug. 15. ― Ed.Despite pressing needs and ongoing diplomatic negotiations, prospects for an end to the tragedy of the “comfort women” remain dim in the face of Tokyo’s tenaciously defiant attitude toward wartime history and other hostile political and social circumstances. The two countries have since April
Resolving ‘comfort women’ issue as starting point for end to wartime sexual violence

Foreign affairsSept 24, 2014

Seo Hyun-juIn 1941, 15-year-old Kim Bok-dong left her home in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, under pressure from senior village leaders, who had made a sugar-coated proposal about working at a military uniform factory.Her journey ended after five years of tragedy. Kim was first raped by a Japanese army surgeon after arriving in Guangdong province in China via Shimonoseki and Taiwan. After that she was forced into sexual servitude in “comfort stations” run by the Japanese military in such r
Yun, Kerry discuss N.K. human rights, IS air strikes

Foreign affairsSept 23, 2014

The top diplomats of South Korea and the U.S. discussed the dire human rights situation in North Korea, Washington’s military operation against Sunni militants in Syria and other bilateral, regional and global issues in New York, officials said Tuesday. Yun Byung-se and John Kerry met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly immediately before an unprecedented ministerial gathering hosted by the top U.S. diplomat on Pyongyang’s human rights violations. Among other participants were Japanese
Korea, Iran seek ministerial talks at U.N

Foreign affairsSept 22, 2014

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Iran are seeking to hold their first bilateral talks in nearly six years in New York this week in apparent efforts to heal ties dampened by Tehran’s suspected military cooperation with Pyongyang and international sanctions, government sources said Monday. The meeting between Yun Byung-se and Mohammad Javad Zarif is likely to take place Friday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where President Park Geun-hye is scheduled to deliver a speech on W
New opposition chief raises hopes for Sewol breakthrough

PoliticsSept 21, 2014

Chiefs of the country’s two major parties are expected to hold a meeting Monday, boosting hopes for a breakthrough to end the prolonged stalemate over the special Sewol bill and put the paralyzed parliament back on track. The mood has shifted since Rep. Moon Hee-sang became the new interim chief of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy last week. In Friday’s acceptance speech, he signaled an intent to end the party’s boycott of legislative affairs, quoting the late President Ki
‘Comfort women’ abuses were crimes against humanity

Foreign affairsSept 21, 2014

After spending six years as U.N. human rights chief, Navi Pillay strongly urged Japan to investigate “every allegation of sexual slavery” and “prosecute perpetrators” through a rare statement and then again a media interview last month.Her perspective and interest in the issue of the “comfort women” stand out because they demonstrate the international community’s human rights standards and growing demands for Tokyo’s action.In the Aug. 6 statement, Pillay expressed “profound regret that Japan ha
[Herald Interview] Seeking justice for sex slavery victims

Foreign affairsSept 21, 2014

The following is the 10th in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug. 15. ― Ed.In 2007, U.S. lawmaker Mike Honda set a milestone in the issue of Japan’s sexual enslavement of Asian women during World War II by spearheading the adoption of a resolution at the House of Representatives calling for Tokyo’s apology. The resolution played a key role in boosting awareness in the intern
(Photo News) Headed for Incheon

Foreign affairsSept 17, 2014

Lee Ho-yeon, a member of the Incheon Asian Games steering committee, lights the torch at Seoul Plaza two days before the event kicks off. The torch arrived in the host city of Incheon later in the day. After a 36-day pilgrimage through 17 cities in South Korea, the flame reached the city two days before the opening ceremony. The torch will be left overnight in the port city for the next two days before completing the final leg of its 6,000-kilometer journey to Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. (Yonhap
‘U.S. offers to send envoy to free N.K. captives’

North KoreaSept 17, 2014

The U.S. has proposed consultations with North Korea over its plans to send a special envoy to secure the release of three Americans locked up in the reclusive country, a news report said Wednesday. The U.S. State Department has expressed that it is “open to all possibilities” and willing to dispatch a higher-profile figure than Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights, Voice of America reported, citing a source well versed in relations between Pyongyang and Washington. The North
Korea, Japan to hold strategic talks: report

Foreign affairsSept 17, 2014

South Korea and Japan plan to resume their strategic dialogue ― stalled for over a year and a half ― next month as they explore ways to mend relations severely dented by feuds over wartime history, a news report said Wednesday. The talks will take place in Tokyo on Oct. 1 between Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and his Japanese counterpart Akitaka Saiki, Kyodo News reported. The meeting was last held in January 2013 and will be the first since President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo
‘S. Korea, U.S. need radar, interceptor system for N.K. drones’

Foreign affairsSept 16, 2014

Seoul and Washington should jointly develop a radar and interceptor system for unmanned aircraft to cope with the growing number of North Korean drones encroaching on South Korean airspace and a globally intensifying robotics arms race, a U.S. defense expert said Monday. Van Jackson, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, stressed the need for the allies to adapt to an “evolving global and regional context” in which military robotics has become a domain of strategic competit
Hopes for Korea-Japan thaw grow

Foreign affairsSept 15, 2014

Hopes are rising slowly for a long-awaited thaw in relations between Korea and Japan as Seoul appears to be sending out reconciliatory signals while pressing Tokyo to come clean about its wartime atrocities. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se sat down with Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho for tea on the sidelines of a joint culture event on Sunday, marking their first one-on-one consultation. During the one-hour talk, the two diplomats concurred on the need for consistent efforts to shore up the relat