Kim Young-hwan, the prominent anti-North Korea activist freed Friday from detention in China, pledged to continue his fight for democracy and human rights in the communist country. Kim, 49, and his three colleagues arrived in Seoul on the same day China expelled them after 114 days of detention. They were arrested on March 29 in the northeastern border city of Dalian apparently for helping North Korean refugees. They were charged with “endangering national security.”“The reality in North Korea i

Unusual data attributed to costly political events, hoarding supplies, point to further decline of N.K. economyNorth Korea’s rice prices and currency exchange rates have sharply risen in recent months, data showed Sunday, threatening its already crumbling economy. According to Daily NK, a specialized online news outlet, the price of rice in Pyongyang more than doubled from 2,600 North Korean won a kilogram on April 25 to 5,300 won on July 13.The prices also maintained an upward slide in two othe

Amid slight signs of change, North Korea’s recent disclosure of its presumed de facto first lady is reinforcing the prospect of reform under the budding leadership of Kim Jong-un. Little was officially announced about her status or background, other than video footage and pictures from the communist regime’s mouthpieces. The young, elegant-looking woman, reportedly surnamed Hong, accompanied Kim during official activities such as a visit to a kindergarten and concert. Analysts see her ongoing me

Travel writer and relief worker Han Bi-ya, called on the Korean government on Tuesday to shift its foreign aid policy to a more specialized, grant-based approach.She underlined the significance of close cooperation between the government, development-related agencies and non-governmental organizations in crafting programs that reflect the needs of recipients. “While Korean NGOs and other related sectors have secured some level of professionalism in development and relief activities, the governme

Minister avows onset of unification preparations, calls for dialogue with North KoreaWhite porcelain ceramics represent the epitome of Korea’s traditional aesthetics ― steeped in simplicity, purity and harmony with nature. The moon jar, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, is the most prized of its kind. Its exact symmetry, round shape and milky white hue are reminiscent of a full moon and characterize fertility and a good harvest. Due to their large size, the upper and lower parts of the

The Unification Ministry plans to produce digital albums that contain video messages from South Koreans for their relatives across the border amid stalled exchange visits of the families displaced by the Korean War, its chief Yu Woo-ik told The Korea Herald. The ministry has recently made sample compact discs and will shortly allocate money from its budget for full-fledged operations, he said, without elaborating on the exact amount. “The resumption of family reunions is the most urgent task tha

Unification Minister Yu optimistic on N.K. stability, signs of opennessUnification Minister Yu Woo-ik proposed unconditional talks with North Korea to discuss reunions of separated families, tours to Mount Geumgang and other stalled cross-border projects. In an interview with The Korea Herald, he expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of the reclusive country opening up to the outside world under new leader Kim Jong-un, though the signs are still meager. “I want to deliver my proposal to

Foreign ministers of 27 Asia Pacific countries on Friday backed U.N. sanctions on North Korea and called it to refrain from any further provocations. The top diplomats wrapped up the annual ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum, the region’s largest security conference, in Phnom Penh.“(The ministers) urged concerned parties not to take any further provocations and to comply with their respective obligations under the relevant U.N. Security Council Resolutions and their co

A senior Foreign Ministry official said Friday that China is likely to free four South Korean activists it held for more than three months. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan met Meng Jianzhu, China’s police chief and state councilor, in Seoul and requested the release of Kim Young-hwan and three other anti-North Korea crusaders. “Yang responded that he is taking serious consideration in light of the two countries’ ties,” the official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.“They did not

South Korea is considering withdrawing at least some of its troops protecting aid workers in Afghanistan starting as early as next year, government officials said Thursday.One official said the mission for the unit, called “Ashena,”will be over at the end of this year, and other nations are also set to withdraw their forces from the war-ravaged country.“We’re looking into ways to pull out Ashena forces over several phases,” the official said.Another government official said some troops will stil

The two Koreas were engaged in different diplomatic games at a forum in Phnom Penh on Thursday with the South seeking a Southeast Asian warning against provocations and the North calling for the resumption of the six-party talks. Foreign ministers of 27 Asia Pacific countries gathered in the Cambodian capital for the annual ASEAN Regional Forum hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The region’s largest security conference brought together Pyongyang, Seoul, Washington an

Beijing seeks to gain from access to natural resources, tighter reins on wayward neighborAmid deepening international isolation, North Korea is ratcheting up economic cooperation with China through trade, investment and joint industrial projects. A barrage of sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s atomic programs has choked off revenue streams and outside assistance. A series of provocations including an April rocket liftoff have brought many inter-Korean projects to a halt in recent years. Closer ties

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― In its first formal response to a North Korean performance featuring Disney characters without authorization, the U.S. government on Monday stressed the importance of protecting intellectual property rights.“All countries should abide by the rules and laws of international commerce, including respect for IPR,” a State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency on the customary condition of anonymity.The remarks came after North Korea’s state media showed Mickey Mo

Korea should ramp up efforts to defend its interests in the continental shelf that promises access to vast seabed resources and opportunities for scientific discovery, Park Yong-ahn, vice chairman of the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, said. The professor emeritus of oceanography at Seoul National University was reelected to the New York-based body in June for his fourth five-year term. The agency was established in 1997 to facilitate the U.N. Convention of the Law of the

Three neighbors jockeying for control of huge oil, gas, mineral reserves in East China SeaThe East China Sea has been contested for decades by South Korea, China and Japan, all seeking to tap huge oil, gas and mineral reserves believed be buried under the seabed. With their extended continental shelves overlapping in the northeastern part of the ocean, the Asian powers are laying formal claims with a U.N. body in charge of sea shelf carve-up.The three-way jousting recently took a twist. Seoul an

Working-level officials from South Korea and China have already agreed to submit a joint claim to an extended portion of continental shelf to a U.N. body to counter Japan’s increasing maritime assertiveness, a source with close knowledge of the matter told The Korea Herald. The two countries have been preparing formal documents to present to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. They filed their respective preliminary reports in May 2009, maintaining that their continental

The U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. James Thurman on Sunday apologized for his soldiers’ use of handcuffs on Korean civilians last week that stoked a public furor over their excessive use of force. U.S. military police on duty handcuffed a 35-year-old person, surnamed Yang and two other Koreans on Thursday after arguing over parking issues and tried to haul them onto base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.“I am very sorry this occurred. I want to express my sincere apology to the individuals and

Investigators on Thursday raided the home and office of Ro Su-hui, a key member of a pro-North Korea group who illegally traveled in the communist state for more than three months, as part of their probe into his unauthorized visit. Ro, 68, vice chairman of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification, was arrested on charges of breaching the National Security Law upon his return to Seoul later in the day through the border village of Panmunjom. He will be questioned about his activities in the Nor

Korea is seeking to scale up its partnership with Central Asia in efforts to shore up its charge into the region’s vast resources reserves and growing energy and infrastructure industries. The Foreign Ministry hosted a cooperation forum in Seoul on Wednesday with more than 100 policymakers, businesspeople and scholars from five Central Asian countries ― Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. They took part in sessions on issues such as renewable energy, medical care and

North Korea increased its shipment of natural resources to China as it suffered from international sanctions and isolation stemming from its weapons programs, South Korean data showed.The North’s external trade surged 51 percent last year to a 22-year high of $6.3 billion thanks to robust Chinese demand, according to the state-owned Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Pyongyang’s exports, chiefly consisting of natural resources, soared 84 percent to $2.79 billion. Imports rose 32.6 percent