PAJU, Gyeonggi Province -- Crossing armed borders alone to flee a poverty-stricken life in North Korea was one of the biggest challenges 29-year-old Lee Kang has faced. Starting life over in South Korea, entirely different from his former home, was another. In the beginning, everything was surreal, as if he were living in two different worlds. He would be in South Korea when awake, but he would return to the North in his dreams at night, Lee told The Korea Herald.But thanks to the help he receiv

North Korea June 10, 2019

A former ambassador to Vietnam was dismissed from his post for violating the anti-graft law and other irregularities, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Former Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do-hyun received flight tickets and accommodation from a Vietnamese company when he attended an opening event for a golf course in Vietnam with his family in October. He is also suspected of verbally abusing his officials.  The irregularities were found when the Foreign Ministry conducted an inspection of the

Foreign Affairs June 7, 2019

Japan has faced difficulties engaging North Korea despite having expressed willingness to hold a summit with the North without preconditions. Tokyo had sought to convey its stance to Pyongyang during a two-day conference that kicked off Wednesday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, according to a Japanese news outlet on Wednesday. However, the communist regime had canceled its participation in the event.  According to Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s Foreign Ministry sent Asian and Oceanian Affairs Burea

North Korea June 6, 2019

North Korea has 27 diplomats dispatched as permanent representatives to three UN offices as of this year, a US-based media outlet reported Wednesday.　According to Radio Free Asia, Pyongyang has nine diplomats -- including Ambassador Kim Song -- stationed at the UN’s New York headquarters, and nine -- including Han Tae-song, the ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva -- dispatched to Switzerland.  Another nine are in Vienna, Austria, where international organizations, such as the I

North Korea June 5, 2019

South Korea is making efforts to revive US-North Korea talks, as it is key to reviving inter-Korean relations, Seoul’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Tuesday.Speaking to foreign journalists in Seoul, Kim said inter-Korean business projects, the Kaesong industrial park and Kumgangsan tourism will be normalized once conditions are met. “At this point, the resumption of the US-DPRK negotiation is the important priority,” Kim said at a press conference at the Seoul Foreign

North Korea June 4, 2019

World leaders, activists and academics gathered to discuss gender equality in South Korea during a conference organized by the Canadian Embassy in Seoul on Monday. The event held in Seoul marked the opening of the Women Deliver Conference 2019, which is being held over three days in Vancouver, Canada. According to the embassy, some 7,000 participants from over 160 countries were to participate in the conference, with an additional 100,000 people joining online.  During the conference in Seo

Diplomatic Circuit June 4, 2019

Seoul and Washington have agreed to appoint a South Korean four-star general to lead the envisioned future joint command and relocate its headquarters from Seoul to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan met in Seoul to discuss the pending issues and vowed to closely cooperate to back the on-going diplomatic efforts on the denuclearization of North Korea. During the 60-minute t

Defense June 3, 2019

The recovery project to return the remains of fallen heroes of the Korean War to their bereaved families is a race against time, as the war generation is aging, the chief of the division in charge of DNA analysis at the Defense Ministry told The Korea Herald.While South Korea is actively carrying out work across the country to recover war remains -- recently expanding the area up to the Demilitarized Zone bordering North Korea -- identifying and returning remains to families continues to make sl

Defense June 2, 2019

CHEORWON, Gangwon Province -- A helmet with six bullet holes, a canteen pierced 23 times and a rifle with a round of ammunition left in the chamber. On Tuesday, those traces of the Korean War were found just where the war had left them, on the untouched highland of Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone.The scene is where more than 300 young South Korean, French and American soldiers died fighting the North Korean and Chinese forces. The other side is believed to have lost some 3,000 sold

Defense June 2, 2019

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Wednesday the recent missile launches by North Korea were a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, contradicting US President Donald Trump. North Korea launched multiple projectiles on May 4 and 9 -- of which the latter involved what were officially identified as short-range missiles -- in what is seen as a protest over the deadlock in nuclear talks with the US. While Trump played down the launches, his officials have been making contradic

North Korea May 30, 2019

A Panama-flagged vessel suspected of carrying North Korean coal appeared Tuesday to be returning to Indonesia, from where it had departed, after being refused port entry and drifting in the sea for over a month.Citing a ship tracking site, Voice of America Korea reported that the bulk carrier, Dong Thanh, started to move again after staying on the southernmost waters off Malaysia for about three weeks. As of Tuesday, the vessel is 242 kilometers from the Port of Jakarta in Indonesia, according t

North Korea May 30, 2019

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau will host its annual roadshow in June for travel agencies of South Korea and Sri Lanka to exchange latest industry information.The event will take place at Lotte Hotel in Busan on June 4 and Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on June 10.  According to the tourism bureau, 10 Sri Lankan tour and resort companies will participate, and the event will provide opportunities for Korean and Sri Lankan travel agencies to hold business-to-business meetings.The bureau

Diplomatic Circuit May 27, 2019

Regional government officials and experts gathered to discuss child-friendly urban planning at a forum organized by UNICEF Korea on Friday. A consultative group of regional governments held the forum with the UNICEF Korea Committee at a children’s culture center theater in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Opening the forum, Tim Gill, a UK-based children’s rights specialist, explained that creating a child-friendly city starts from understanding how children view cities. He stressed that

Diplomatic Circuit May 27, 2019

The chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Hwang Kyo-ahn criticized the liberal government’s conciliatory policy toward North Korea on Thursday, claiming it making the military “brain-dead.”“Even when politicians speak of peace, the military should prevent weakening of its defense posture,” Hwang said in the party’s supreme council meeting held in Goseong, Gangwon Province.  As part of a political campaign promoting people’s livelihood, t

Politics May 24, 2019

Gen. Robert Abrams, the top commander of the combined forces here, said the recent launches of short-range missiles by North Korea were part of routine military exercises and that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula has not changed. During a symposium in Honolulu on Wednesday, Abrams said joint military exercises between South Korea and the US were suspended in consideration of diplomatic efforts made by the two governments with North Korea. Abrams serves as the commander of the Unite

Defense May 24, 2019