National Politics Social Affairs Foreign Affairs Defense North Korea Science Diplomatic Circuit Education Business Economy Finance Industry Technology Automode Life&Style Culture Travel Fashion Food & Beverage Books People Expat Living Arts & Design Health Entertainment Film Television Music Theater World World News World Business Asia News Network Sports Soccer Baseball Golf More Sports Opinion Editorial Viewpoints English Eye Podcast English Cafe Go to Desktop Version Weekender Subscribe Leader’s Club Korean Mobile App Twitter Facebook Youtube RSS LATEST NEWS Apr 24, 2019 North Korea N. Korea replaces top official involved in negotiations with US A senior North Korean official, who served as Pyongyang’s chief interlocutor in talks with the United States, has been replaced as head of a key espionage agency handling inter-Korean affairs, a lawmaker said Wednesday.Kim Yong-chol, chief of the United Front Department, was recently replaced by Jang Kum-chol, Rep. Lee Hye-hoon of the Bareunmirae Party, who leads the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, said, citing a source from Seoul’s spy agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Yonha Apr 24, 2019 Defense Defense minister asks for US congress’ support for alliance Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo met US congressional leaders Wednesday and asked for their unwavering support for the maintenance of the strong alliance between the two countries, his office said. During his meeting with Sen. Chris Coons and Sen. Maggie Hassan in Seoul, Jeong expressed appreciation for their support for peace-building initiatives on the Korean Peninsula, while noting that the Seoul-Washington alliance and the joint defense posture “are stronger than ever before.”Jeong Kyeong-d Apr 24, 2019 Economy S. Korea asks Moody’s to reflect its policy efforts in credit evaluation South Korea’s chief economic policymaker asked Moody’s officials to take into account Seoul’s efforts to boost the economy and eased geopolitical risks in evaluating the country’s sovereign rating, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, made the appeal in a meeting with a Moody’s delegation led by Michael Taylor, chief credit officer for the Asia-Pacific, at a government building in Seoul.Hong Nam-ki (Yonhap)Moody’s upgraded the rating for South Kor Apr 24, 2019 Film ‘Avengers 4’ sets new first-day attendance record The eagerly awaited “Avengers: Endgame” drew more than 1.27 million viewers on the first day of its release in South Korea to set a new record, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the Korean Film Council, the US film set the new high as of 6:40 p.m., beating the previous record of 1.24 million posted by the Korean action fantasy “Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days” on Aug. 1 last year.The movie passed the 1 million mark at about 11:30 a.m., the fastest pace ever for a film shown Today North Korea Stalled nuclear talks put brakes on implementation of inter-Korean agreement About a year ago, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their historic first summit at the border village of Panmunjom, which led to a rapid thaw in inter-Korean relations.To mark the first anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration that the two Koreas signed at the April 27 inter-Korean summit, the South will hold a ceremony Saturday at the recently demilitarized Panmunjom, though Pyongyang’s lukewarm attitude toward Seoul in recent months indicates a slim chance of the N Today Diplomatic Circuit Experts discuss ways to enhance cultural exchange between Korea, ASEAN The Korean Wave has enhanced cultural exchange between Korea and the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, building a close regional bond, experts said at a forum organized by The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Under the theme of “ASEAN and Korean Waves,” some 30 high-level representatives from leading media organizations in Southeast Asian countries and Korea, as well as the government, academia and business communities, discussed ways to spread the phenomenon through mutu Today North Korea Kim-Putin summit will not be ‘game changer,’ says former CIA analyst As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia on Wednesday for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an expert on North Korea said the meeting would not be a “game changer.”Pak Jung, a senior fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies at the Brookings Institution, also said the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump was not a failure, but an opportunity for related parties to understand the limits to what each has been pursuing. Pak was a Apr 24, 2019 World [Graphic News] Global executions at lowest level in decade Executions fell worldwide by nearly a third last year to their lowest levels in at least a decade, but several countries recorded a rise, Amnesty International said. Use of the death penalty dropped in Iran -- by an eye-popping 50 percent, following a change to its anti-narcotics laws -- Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia, the rights group found in its annual review. But it rose in Belarus, Japan, Singapore, South Sudan and the United States, while Thailand resumed executions for the first time in a de Today Industry Hugel submits new drug application in China Botulinum toxin producer Hugel has submitted a new drug application in China for its product, the company announced Wednesday.Hugel is to become the first Korean company to enter the greater China region, which includes mainland China and Taiwan. Hugel and its Chinese partner, Sihuan Pharm, completed phase 3 clinical trials in 2018 and submitted the application Wednesday after finalizing the paperwork. Hugel expects to receive marketing approval within the first quarter of 2020, as the standard Today Industry Cho Won-tae appointed as Hanjin Group chairman Hanjin Group’s holding company Hanjin Kal said Wednesday its board of directors had decided to appoint Korean Air President Cho Won-tae as the group’s new chairman. The appointment of Cho is aimed at minimizing the leadership vacuum in the group and maintaining stable business operations, Hanjin Kal said in a statement, adding there will be no separate inauguration ceremony for Cho. Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae (Hanjin Group)This comes about two weeks after Cho’s father, former Hanjin Group Apr 24, 2019 Technology Netflix decides against cheaper subscription in Korea Global streaming service Netflix said Wednesday it has concluded its trial of mobile-only subscription plans for South Koreans users, signaling it will not roll out the pricing scheme that is cheaper than current membership plans. “The tests have concluded,” Netflix said in a statement sent to the The Korea Herald. “These tests we conduct may not get rolled out as member plans. Netflix will continue its efforts to provide the best entertainment experience for its members.” Netflix said last wee Today Industry SK denies $1b investment in Vietnam’s Vingroup SK has denied local reports that the conglomerate is gearing up for a $1 billion investment in Vietnam’s largest private company Vingroup.“We have been reviewing a number of investment cases, but there is no such case confirmed yet,” the company’s spokesman said. (Yonhap)News reports said the nation’s third-largest conglomerate will soon invest $1 billion to acquire shares of Vingroup through its overseas investment arm SK South East Asia Investment. Based in Singapore, SK’s investment unit was Today Columnists [Kim Myong-sik] Noisy but fruitless rows over official appointments After nearly two years in power, people holding high posts in the Moon Jae-in administration must have by now realized that one of the hardest parts of the job is to prove they are ethically stronger than those they replaced. Kim Eui-gyum, presidential spokesman until last month, had famously said, “There is no civilian surveillance in the DNA of the Moon government.” He was trying to distinguish the current liberal administration from the previous conservative rules of Lee Myung-bak and Park Ge Today Columnists [Eli Lake] When will the UN’s chief speak up for the Uighurs? There are a lot of people in the world who can plausibly claim ignorance of China’s foul campaign against its Muslim minority, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is not among them. Six months ago, the UN’s own committee on the elimination of racial discrimination released a devastating report on how China arbitrarily and systematically detains Uighurs in the western part of the country. Just last month, the UN high commissioner for human rights pressed the Chinese for access to the Uighur Today Columnists [Zaki Laidi] Algeria’s moment of truth By Korea Herald MORE 15 / 515668
