President Lobo tells The Korea Herald of his hopes to learn from Korean development and education and to draw investment to his countryHonduran President Porfirio Lobo on Monday expressed hope to learn how Korea developed its islands in the west coast into model cities of development and trade.The Latin American country is passing an amendment to its constitution to designate a sizable piece of un

North Korea has been digging special tunnels at a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in North Hamgyong Province, sparking concerns that it may be preparing for another nuclear test, government and military sources said Sunday.North Korea conducted its two previous plutonium-fueled nuclear tests, one each in 2006 and 2009, at the site. “South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities have spotted the No

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A senior U.S. senator Monday called on the Obama administration to secure transparency in the distribution of food aid to North Korea before any resumption of the aid, which was suspended years ago over the same issue, is made.“Any resumption of U.S. food aid to North Korea should be contingent on North Korea allowing access and accountability by monitors in accordance w

A senior Chinese official has supported North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s plans to cede power to his youngest son, the North’s official news agency reported Tuesday.Meng Jianzhu, Chinese state councilor and public security minister, “warmly congratulated Kim Jong-il upon his reelection as general secretary of the WPK and Kim Jong-un upon his election as vice chairman of the Central Military Commis

As the nation marks the second anniversary of the death of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, which falls on Wednesday, a government agency said Tuesday that the number of organ donation pledges in South Korea exceeded the 100,000 mark for the second straight year, apparently influenced by a precedent set by the late cardinal.According to the Korean Network for Organ Sharing, a total of 124,300 South

TOKYO (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s foreign minister voiced concern about possible negative effects that the upcoming outcome of Japan’s review of new middle school textbooks could have on relations between the two countries, according to an interview published Tuesday.Japanese school texts accused of glorifying the country’s wartime past have long been considered a thorn in relations between Seou

With more than a decade of past experience as a U.N. officer and senior executive for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, I consider myself a global intrapreneur through trial and error.What is an intrapreneur? Simply put, an intrapreneur is member of an organization that utilizes entrepreneurial methodologies and strategies in order to increase the efficiency of the organizations

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The White House said Friday that North Korea will face further isolation if it refuses to engage in dialogue with South Korea in a serious manner.The North demonstrated a lack of seriousness once again by walking out of its rare military talks with the South last week, White House spokeswoman Robert Gibbs said at a press briefing.“I think it was clear, again, when talks

South Korea hailed Saturday the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a victory for the Egyptian people toward democracy.Mubarak’s three-decade reign ended earlier Saturday, Korean time, after the besieged ruler decided to comply with protesters’ requests for him to step down. A junta of military commanders will now assume power in a culmination of the 18-day uprising in the most populou

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il could attempt further provocations to boost the standing of his heir-apparent son, the top U.S. intelligence official predicted Thursday, saying the regime‘s deadly attack on a South Korean island was believed to be part of such efforts.Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in written testimony to the House Intelligence Com

The number of new Korean family names and clans seems to be rising in South Korea, with growing numbers of marriage immigrants choosing to create their own names to adapt to the local community.South Korea, according to a census conducted in late 2000, had 286 family names divided into 4,179 clans, with Kim, Lee and Park among the most popular Korean surnames.With a growing influx of foreigners to

President Lee Myung-bak named South Korea’s ambassador to Vietnam, Park Suk-hwan, the new first vice foreign minister Tuesday in a reshuffle that also replaced four other vice-ministerial posts and three presidential secretaries, a presidential spokesperson said.Park, 56, a career diplomat, entered foreign service in 1979 and has since worked mostly for Asian affairs. His previous overseas posts w

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy will visit China later this week for talks with his counterpart on North Korea and its nuclear programs, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.Wi Sung-lac plans to meet with Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei on Thursday to discuss the nuclear standoff and other North Korea issues as well as strategies to deal with them, the ministry said in a statement without elaboratin

Not many people know about the Gulf Cooperation Council or what it stands for but everyone knows about its member states and their importance in the development of this nation.To shed light on various issues, the GCC is teaming up with leaders from both sides to participate in two-days of seminars.“The relations between the GCC and South Korea are wide and comprehensive and encompass all fields of

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that his government will introduce a carbon emissions trading system in a flexible way, taking impact on businesses into account.“The government is planning to introduce the emissions trading scheme at an opportune time after thoroughly sounding out the opinions of industries,” Lee said in his biweekly radio address.“A business that emits greenhouse gases more t

A Seoul court sentenced a Taiwanese man to a one-year prison term for swindling money from a Korean family through a fake kidnapping telephone scam, court officials said Monday.The 31-year-old defendant, whose name was withheld, had been indicted on charges of receiving 2 million won ($1,800) in July of last year from Korean parents by claiming their son had been kidnapped with a fake voice of a b

South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon won the men‘s 5,000-meter race at the Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan Monday, grabbing one of four gold medals for South Korea on the successful first day of competition.At the Indoor Speed Skating Stadium in Astana, Lee topped the pack at 6:25.55, breaking his own Asian record by about 0.8 seconds. This is the first career Winter Asiad gold for Lee, who w

Taekwang Group chairman Lee Ho-jin and six other senior executives have been indicted on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust, prosecution officials said Monday, capping an investigation that initially raised suspicions of political and business lobbying.The 49-year-old Lee is charged with pocketing 53.6 billion won ($47.7 million) through accounting maneuvers and causing damage to the comp

Korean marine and naval troops are to participate in a multinational humanitarian exercise to take place from Feb. 7-18 in Thailand, officials said.It is the second time for Korean troops to join the Cobra Gold exercise, which the U.S. Pacific Command and the Thai military command have annually organized to practice multinational peace-keeping operations since 1981.The exercise, which will occur i

When a scandal over the misuse of funds by Community Chest Korea hit in mid-October, donations to South Korea’s biggest charity plummeted.But while much of the public shunned the charity, major conglomerates such as Samsung Group, POSCO and LG Group donated large sums of money just weeks after the scandal erupted.Both Samsung and POSCO defended their donations recently, while LG declined to commen