The Korea Herald

Indonesia urges N. Korea to continue talks, dialogue

North KoreaMay 15, 2012

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia's president has urged North Korea to keep communication channels open to prevent misunderstandings with other countries. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono discussed tensions on the Korean peninsula Tuesday with Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of North Korea's parliament. Kim is traveling in the region, apparently to drum up outside investment. His...
Hwang’s landslide a big boost for Park

PoliticsMay 15, 2012

Ruling party solidifies power base for Park GH ahead of presidential race Former floor leader and veteran lawmaker Hwang Woo-yea was elected on Tuesday to head the Saenuri Party, taking on the challenges of calming a factional rift and helping the party win the presidential election. In the ruling party’s national convention, Hwang grabbed an overwhelming 30,027 of the 35,184 valid ballots to b...
Umbrella union calls off allegiance to UPP

PoliticsMay 15, 2012

The leader of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions said on Tuesday it is impossible for the group to continue to support the scandal-ridden Unified Progressive Party. The umbrella trade union group is the largest supporter for the leftist minority party. “We have allied together in every election, but it is impossible for us to support the UPP in its current shape,” KCTU chairman Kim Young-h...
Norway, Finland support Korea’s Arctic plan

Foreign affairsMay 15, 2012

Korea has secured support from Norway and Finland in its bid to become a permanent observer to the Arctic Council, a multinational forum on energy, shipping, exploration and other crucial issues in the North Pole region. Korea has been striving to boost its presence in the Arctic as global powers jockey to take advantage of its huge resources, strategic location and new key sea routes opening up...
Lee supports Myanmar reform

PoliticsMay 15, 2012

President praises Nobel peace laureate’s fight for democracy, reform YANGON ― President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday met Myanmar’s iconic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the country’s old capital of Yangon to show appreciation for her decades-old fight for democracy and human rights. He also visited the tomb of her father Gen. Aung San to pay his respect to the country’s independence hero, as...
China keeps silent on detained S. Korean

Social affairsMay 15, 2012

The Chinese authorities have continue to withhold information about arrested South Korean human rights activist Kim Young-hwan, despite Seoul’s diplomatic efforts. Kim, along with three other South Koreans, has been in the Chinese Ministry of State Security’s custody since March 29 on charges of “damaging national security.” Kim is a former pro-North Korean movement leader who turned to promoti...
Whistle-blowing monk takes aim at top Jogye Order official

Social affairsMay 15, 2012

A Buddhist monk who revealed an all night gambling and boozing party by fellow monks said Tuesday that he will make fresh revelations soon, targeting the highest ranks of the country’s largest Buddhist sect, Jogye Order. “(Next revelations) will include the executive director himself,” Ven. Seongho told reporters at the entrance of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul...
Suu Kyi key driver of Myanmar’s democracy

PoliticsMay 15, 2012

YANGON ― Myanmar’s iconic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is the key driver of the country’s political reform. Suu Kyi entered parliament after her National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the April 1 by-elections. The opposition party secured 43 of the 44 seats it contested in the landmark polls to carve out a presence in the country’s 664-member bicameral legislature ...
Lee mourns 1983 bombing victims

Social affairsMay 15, 2012

YANGON ― President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday mourned the 17 South Korean victims of a bombing by North Korean agents in Yangon in 1983. After meeting with Myanmarese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, he visited the Martyr’s Mausoleum, a monument to Suu Kyi’s father and independence hero Gen. Aung San, amid tight security. The attack left a total of 21 dead, and was aimed at assassinating then-...
N.K. stops GPS jamming

North KoreaMay 15, 2012

North Korea has stopped transmitting signals which jammed the GPS systems of hundreds of civilian aircraft and ships in South Korea for two weeks, officials said Tuesday. The state Korea Communications Commission said the signals designed to jam global positioning systems halted as of 8:34pm on Sunday. The transport ministry confirmed civilian flights had not been affected since Sunday night. ...
Korea must empower women, youth: UNFPA

Social affairsMay 15, 2012

To cope with demographic changes, South Korea needs to work harder to empower women and young people, the chief of the United Nations Population Fund said Tuesday. “Population dynamics is deeply related to human rights and gender equality,” said Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UNFPA on Tuesday. He was in Korea for two days to forge ties with the government, which is one of the e...
Korea seeks bigger role in Arctic

Foreign affairsMay 15, 2012

Energy-hungry emerging economy eyes resources reserves, shipping lanes, permanent status at Arctic Council Korea is stepping up its foray into the Arctic as melting ice caps are opening up a treasure trove of untapped resources, new sea routes and potential for scientific discovery. Despite its late entry and lack of major energy corporations, Korea can harness its edge in shipbuilding and engi...
N. Korean leader invites Indonesian president for visit

North KoreaMay 15, 2012

JAKARTA (Yonhap News) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to visit his country in a letter delivered by the communist nation's number two leader, the Jakarta government said Tuesday. Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's ceremonial head of state, extended the invitation to Yudhoyono during a bilateral meeting at the presidential palace in Jakarta ea...
Eurozone avoids recession, zero growth first quarter

NationalMay 15, 2012

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The eurozone logged zero growth in the first three months of the year, the EU said Tuesday, narrowly avoiding recession after a 0.3-percent contraction in the last quarter of 2011. The estimate from the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat surprised analysts who had predicted a 0.2-percent decline in economic output across the 17-nation currency area from January to March. The fi...
Myanmar gave up nuclear programs: president

PoliticsMay 15, 2012

Myanmarese President Thein Sein said Monday the country had given up its plan to develop nuclear programs in cooperation with Russia in the mid-2000s. He told visiting Korean President Lee Myung-bak that Russia offered to build two 10 megawatt nuclear reactors for civilian, not military, use. But the country’s military junta did not push the project due to its inability to manage it, he was quo...