Korean newspapers recently carried a photo of the new U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, holding a calligraphic work with “friend” in Japanese at Mangokuura Elementary School in the northeastern city of Ishinomaki. This region was one of many hit by the devastating 2011 tsunami. Cal Ripken Jr., a Major League Baseball hero, coached orphans in China as a special envoy of public diplomacy appointed by the U.S. State Department. President Barack Obama visited Shanghai in 2009 and participa

Korea unveiled a new promotional video on Dokdo on Wednesday, countering Tokyo’s increasing territorial assertions and lambasting Japanese politicians’ visits to a controversial war shrine. The 260-second clip was released at midnight on YouTube and the Foreign Ministry’s website (dokdo.mofa.go.kr). It was an update to a previous piece that was uploaded in late October but taken down shortly due to its unauthorized use of clips from Japanese broadcaster NHK.The latest version is much shorter tha

Tension is escalating in Northeast Asia in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip to a controversial war shrine, putting the U.S.’ strategic refocus toward the economically vital region to the test. Abe on Thursday became the country’s first leader to visit the Yasukuni Shrine in nearly eight years to mark the first anniversary of his second premiership. It instantly incited strong condemnation from Korea and China with which Japan’s relations are already snowed under in festering

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un instructed the military to beef up its combat readiness during a visit to an army unit, state media said Wednesday, as cross-border tension remains high since the shock execution of his uncle. Kim inspected the Command of Large Combined Unit 526 in the western port city of Nampo on Tuesday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the accession of his late father and longtime strongman, Kim Jong-il, as supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, the Korean Central News A

The Korea Herald presents the top 10 most memorable local and international news of the year 2013. [National News]         [World News]             

The planned reorganization of the National Security Council reflects Seoul’s efforts to better tackle daunting diplomatic challenges and react quickly to the fast-evolving security dynamics involving North Korea and the region.  President Park Geun-hye approved plans to install the NSC’s standing committee and secretariat on Friday. Headed by national security office chief Kim Jang-soo, the panel is to gather once a week to fine-tune foreign and security policies and make policy recommendations

Thousands of North Korean soldiers reaffirmed their loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un Monday on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of his father, former ruler Kim Jong-il. The massive rally in front of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang was held in the wake of last week’s shocking execution of the young leader’s uncle Jang Song-thaek.Top officials of the communist regime attended the event, including Choe Ryong-hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the (North) Korean

The sudden announcement of the demise of Kim Jong-un’s uncle underscores the instability and fierce power struggle within the 2-year-old regime and prefigures a string of bloody purges, officials and analysts said Friday. Pyongyang’s state media on Friday released information about the execution of Jang Song-thaek, former vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, for conspiring against Kim, the party and the state. It labeled him a “traitor for all ages” and “worse than a dog.”

South Korea on Sunday announced the first expansion of its air defense identification zone in 62 years in a tit-for-tat against China’s recent airspace declaration that fueled fresh tension in Northeast Asia. Seoul’s new zone stretches further south to include its submerged rock of Ieodo and areas south of the two islands of Marado and Hongdo, effective as of Dec. 15, Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok said. The areas overlap with those of China and Japan.Beijing’s ADIZ in East China Sea