UN rapporteur for North Korean human rights to visit Seoul this week

UN special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights is set to visit South Korea this week to meet Seoul officials and defectors from the reclusive regime. Elizabeth Salmon is expected to arrive in Seoul on Monday for a nine-day stay to meet foreign, unification and justice officials, as well as North Korean defectors and rights groups, according to the foreign ministry. She is also scheduled to hold a press conference in Seoul on Sept. 12. The rapporteur will submit a report on North Korea

Sept. 4, 2023

Seoul seeks to nullify ICSID ruling on damages it owes to Lone Star

  The Ministry of Justice announced Friday that it had sought an annulment of an international arbitration's ruling to pay $216.02 million in damages to US-based private equity firm Lone Star over its sales of a Korean commercial bank in 2012. The government seeks to nullify the entire award it owes to Lone Star to save taxpayers' money, it said in a statement. This announcement came four months after the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes rectified Seou

Sept. 1, 2023

Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Poland discuss security, arms cooperation

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Poland held talks in Warsaw during which they discussed ways to expand security and arms cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday. During the talks Thursday, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, assessed major deals between the two countries last year to supply South Korean weapons systems, including K2 battle tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers and FA-50 light attack aircraft, according to the ministry. T

Sept. 1, 2023

[Photo News] UAE CLIMATE AGENDA

A video of Ban Ki-moon, former secretary general of the United Nations, plays at "Road to COP 28," a conference hosted by the UAE Embassy in Seoul on Thursday. Ban underlined the significance of COP 28, the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference to be held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai, the UAE, addressing progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and identifying areas where more action is needed. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald)

Aug. 31, 2023

All 44 S. Korean citizens safe in Gabon

The safety of all 44 South Korean citizens in Gabon has been confirmed after a military coup took control and placed the nation's president, Ali Bongo, under house arrest, according to a government official in Seoul on Thursday. The official said on condition of anonymity that 43 out of 44 -- including staff at the Korean Embassy in Gabon and their families -- were confirmed to be safe by the embassy. The official added that one Korean citizen has been detained by the military coup but the

Aug. 31, 2023

S. Korea, Japan, China to hold high-level meeting

South Korea, Japan and China will soon convene a high-level meeting to discuss the resumption of their suspended leader-level talks, ending the four-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as Seoul looks for better ties with Beijing. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday it is looking into dates with its Japanese and Chinese counterparts, in response to reports that the meeting laying ground work for the trilateral summit will take place in late September. The ministry has said pre

Aug. 30, 2023

Yoon meets with US senator to discuss bilateral ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) on Tuesday and discussed ways to develop bilateral ties, his office said. During their meeting at the presidential office, Yoon said South Korea and the United States are optimal economic cooperation partners sharing the common values of freedom and democracy, which can combine the US' competitiveness in technology and South Korea's competitiveness in manufacturing, presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said in a written briefin

Aug. 29, 2023

Yoon meets with UAE official to discuss bilateral ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a visiting United Arab Emirates official Tuesday and discussed ways to deepen bilateral ties, his office said. During the meeting with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, over lunch, Yoon once again expressed his gratitude for the UAE's hospitality during his state visit to the country in January, according to the presidential office. Yoon said the bilateral relationship has developed rapidly in the past y

Aug. 29, 2023

S. Korea, China in talks to arrange summit next month

South Korea and China are in talks to arrange a summit between Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a multilateral summit event early next month, officials said Tuesday. The discussions come as bilateral relations appear to be thawing following tensions in recent months over Yoon's remarks on Taiwan and the Chinese ambassador to Seoul's thinly veiled warning against South Korea's alignment with the United States. "The two countries' diplomatic au

Aug. 29, 2023

[Photo News] EMIRATI WOMEN'S DAY

Aisha Bilkhair, research advisor and head of the Oral History Team at the National Library and Archives, shared her understanding of human heritage, sustainability, United Arab Emirates-Korea cultural similarities and the role of women in human history at a celebration of Emirati Women’s Day at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. Founded in 2015 by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, widely known as the Mother of the Nation for the UAE, the day honors Emirati women’s efforts and leaders

Aug. 29, 2023

S. Korea, US, Japan hold missile defense drills after N. Korea's botched rocket launch

South Korea, the United States and Japan staged a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday in response to North Korea's purported space rocket launch last week, officials said. The exercise took place south of the southern island of Jeju after Pyongyang's attempt to launch its Chollima-1 rocket, carrying what it claimed to be a military reconnaissance satellite, was unsuccessful last Thursday, its second failure this year.

Aug. 29, 2023

S. Korean FM seeks support for World Expo bid in Europe

Foreign Minister Park Jin has held a flurry of discussions with leaders of European nations to seek support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, his office said Tuesday. On the sidelines of the 2023 Bled Strategic Forum held in Slovenia the previous day, Park held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Armenia, North Macedonia, Slovakia and Switzerland, and paid a courtesy visit to Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov. Park stressed that the southeastern port city of Bu

Aug. 29, 2023

[Contribution] Tajikistan to strengthen cooperation on global initiatives on water

It should be noted that in the course of advancing the global water agenda, the concept of water diplomacy was created and is being used by the international community, the main idea of ​​which is the use of a new negotiating tool in order to find close positions to address issues related to water management. Today, we can state that Tajikistan is the owner of five global practical initiatives, which are directly related to the fate of mankind, and practically no country remains neutral in their

Aug. 28, 2023

Singapore touts bilateral milestones on Independence Day

Singapore and Korea highlighted their bilateral milestones achieved over the years, commemorating Singapore’s 58th Independence Day on Friday. Singapore became independent from Malaysia on Aug. 9, 1965. Noting recent achievements in his remarks at the event, Singapore ambassador to Korea Eric Teo highlighted Singapore as Korea’s first free trade agreement partner in Asia in 2006 and the No. 1 infrastructure investment destination for Korea in the region for many years. He recalled Si

Aug. 28, 2023

German, Korean experts discuss decarbonization

Experts from South Korea and Germany discussed ways to tackle urgent environmental challenges by decarbonizing industry at the 3rd Korean-German Climate and Environment Conference in Seoul on Thursday. The conference, held under the theme "Decarbonization in the Industry: Solutions for Carbon Neutrality in the Industry Sector," featured presentations on innovative solutions for achieving carbon neutrality in the marine sector, strategies for identifying, reducing, and neutralizing gree

Aug. 25, 2023

US sanctions co-founder of Tornado Cash for laundering stolen cryptocurrency for N. Korea

The US Department of Treasury on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a co-founder of virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash for assisting a North Korean hacking group that has stolen hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Roman Semenov is one of three co-founders of Tornado Cash, which was designated by the treasury department in 2022. "Today, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Roman Semenov, one of three co-founders of the sanctioned vi

Aug. 24, 2023

US envoy to Seoul says Russia dealing in 'military cooperation' with N. Korea

The United States ambassador to South Korea on Wednesday slammed Russia over alleged discussions with North Korea on military cooperation, amid signs of growing military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. "What Russia appears to be doing with the DPRK is not just a violation of the very resolutions it voted for, but is dealing in weaponry and discussions of military cooperation with a regime that has flouted every aspect of international rule of law," Ambassador Philip Goldberg said in

Aug. 23, 2023

US envoy affirms value of Camp David pledge, addresses concerns

The commitment to joint action on common security threats that South Korea, the US and Japan signed at a Camp David summit Friday is a political agreement rather than a legally binding pact, US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg said Wednesday. The security pledge, the first of its kind, has sparked concern over deeper security links between Seoul and Tokyo, two American allies that have separate defense treaties with Washington. A potential military alliance with Japan worries South Kore

Aug. 23, 2023

Momentum for talks with Japan, China still high: official

South Korea still sees strong momentum for resuming three-way talks with Japan and China, a meeting Seoul will host this year after a four-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a source said Wednesday amid Beijing’s criticism of Seoul’s trilateral summit Friday with the US and Japan. China says the landmark summit US President Joe Biden held with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat is an attempt to pit Chin

Aug. 23, 2023

Iranian funds from S. Korea will not go to Iran: NSA Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- Iranian assets currently frozen in South Korean banks will not go to Iran, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday, dismissing concerns that the money could be used to advance the Middle Eastern country's illegal weapons program. The US said earlier that it was in negotiations with Tehran to transfer the frozen funds from South Korean banks to a special account in Qatar in exchange for the release of five US citizens currently detained in Iran. "First of a

Aug. 23, 2023