The Korea Herald

S. Korea launches third Aegis-equipped destroyer

DefenseMar 24, 2011

South Korea launched its third Aegis-equipped destroyer Thursday, which will become the centerpiece of its strategic mobile fleet aimed at enhancing capabilities to deter North Korean aggression and conduct broader-range operations. The 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyer, the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, was unveiled to the media during the launch ceremony at a shipyard of its builder, Hyundai Heavy Industri...
Police nab suspect in killing of activist’s mother

Social affairsMar 24, 2011

Seoul police on Thursday captured a 43-year-old man suspected of killing the mother of a senior member of a conservative civic group on Thursday. The murder case has drawn keen public interest as speculation has circulated that pro-North Korea terrorists might have killed her, as her son’s group has actively engaged in a series of activities against the communist country in recent years. The su...
Carter expected to visit Pyongyang next month

Foreign affairsMar 24, 2011

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is expected to visit North Korea next month to thaw the frozen dialogue between the two sides, reports said Thursday, as Washington continues to snub holding two-way talks with the unpredictable state. “It is highly likely that ex-President Carter will travel to North Korea in about a month as the North Korean mission in New York has been arranging for the visi...
S. Korea, Mongolia talk economic, civilian ties

PoliticsMar 24, 2011

Prime ministers and foreign ministers of South Korea and Mongolia held talks here Thursday, discussing how to improve their economic ties and better cooperate in easing tensions on the peninsula, the Seoul government said. Meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kim Hwang-sik, Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold expressed “solid support” about Seoul’s planned investment in developing m...
Seoul won’t stop N.K. leaflet drop

PoliticsMar 24, 2011

Pyongyang renews threat to strike South’s psychological warfare ‘facilities’ Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Thursday that it would not intervene in a plan by North Korean defectors here to fly anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North, a day after the communist state renewed its threat to strike South Korea’s propaganda apparatus. “There is nothing special the government can say about the activit...
Minor quake hits central Korea

Social affairsMar 24, 2011

The state’s geological survey recorded a small quake in central Korea on Thursday, causing alarm among citizens amid quake fears. According to the Daejeon Regional Meteorological Administration, a 2.8-magnitude quake struck 23 kilometers west of Okcheon County at 4:35 a.m. Although the Korean Meteorological Administration received no reports of damage, they have received reports of citizens fee...
Rival parties brace for by-elections

PoliticsMar 24, 2011

The main opposition Democratic Party is racked by internal bickering over whether chairman Sohn Hak-kyu, one of its presidential hopefuls, should run in the by-election next month, while the ruling Grand National Party is concentrating its resources on winning the governorship in Gangwon Province. An aide to Sohn criticized a group of DP legislators calling on the party chairman to run in the by...
Mando fined for paying union staff

Social affairsMar 24, 2011

Mando, the nation’s largest automobile parts maker, has been fined 25 million won ($28,000) for paying extra wages to fulltime unionists, officials said Thursday. The Suwon District Court slapped fines of 15 million won and 10 million won on the company president and another executive in charge of labor affairs, for breaking the “time off” system adopted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor l...
Amnesty slams Egypt for forced 'virginity tests'

DefenseMar 24, 2011

CAIRO (AFP) - Amnesty International on Wednesday condemned the "shocking" treatment of women protesters in Egypt after serious allegations that the army subjected them to torture and forced "virginity tests". The London-based rights group said that army officers violently cleared Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focus of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to resign last month, and held at least 18...
Man gets jail term for abusing children refusing to call him 'mom'

Social affairsMar 24, 2011

A transgender father of four has been given a two-year jail term for abusing his children who refused to call him "mom," a local court here said Wednesday. The 31-year-old man, identified only by his last name Oh, was charged with starving and beating up his four children -- one born to his first ex-girlfriend and three to the second one, whom he lived with from 2006 until last year. His second...
North Korea embraces more foreign English teachers

North KoreaMar 24, 2011

South Korea has hired tens of thousands of foreign English teachers to meet the increasing demand for English education. Little is known, however, about North Korea’s interest in the subject. But news reports say that North Korea recently requested that a Canadian relief agency send English teachers. The Mennonite Central Committee will select two English teachers and send them to North Korea to...
S. Korea to clamp down on illegal Chinese fishing

Foreign affairsMar 24, 2011

South Korea will take tougher steps to deal with illegal Chinese fishing activities in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to better preserve the country's marine resources, the government said Thursday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said more boats and personnel will be assigned to cope with illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea up until the end of April, when Chinese boa...
Carter due in Pyongyang on U.S.-N. Korean ties: source

North KoreaMar 24, 2011

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will likely visit North Korea next month to broker rapprochement in U.S. relations with the reclusive communist state, which have chilled over the North's nuclear and missile programs and other provocations, a diplomatic source here said Wednesday. "It is highly likely that ex-President Carter will travel to North Korea in about a month as the Nor...
N. Korea threatens fire over S. Korean propaganda leaflets

North KoreaMar 24, 2011

North Korea warned Wednesday it is ready to launch fire over a plan by South Korean activists later this week to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border from a western border island. Speaking to a reporter of the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), an unidentified North Korean commander denounced such psychological warfare against his communist regime as "an act of war," warning t...
Dormant volcano gets two Koreas together

North KoreaMar 23, 2011

Experts call for cooperation to cope with danger of possible eruption of Mount Baekdu Though longstanding enemies who exchanged fire as recently as November, the two Koreas are geographically divided by just a thin borderline. They are inescapably in the same boat when it comes to natural disasters. As neighboring Japan struggles to cope with the aftermath of an earthquake and Tsunami that took...