The foreign ministers of South Korea and the U.S. on Wednesday agreed to intensify policy coordination to better cope with the growing uncertainty in North Korea in the aftermath of the execution of its leader’s uncle. During their talks in Washington, Yun Byung-se and John Kerry concurred on the need for more systematic and frequent discussions at various levels focusing on North Korea conditions, which would progress to involve China and other neighbors later on. “We decided to intensify our c

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is set to confer with key officials in Washington over North Korea and relations with Japan frayed by its premier’s visit to a controversial war shrine. During a three-day stay, he is scheduled for talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Monday and Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday. Yun also plans to meet with other former and incumbent officials from the administration, Congress and think tanks including Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Rober

North Korea appears to be quickening a reshuffle of its top brass to consolidate his power in the aftermath of the execution of leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful uncle. Pyongyang has replaced its coal industry and metal industry ministers in recent weeks, while calling in a raft of ambassadors known for close ties with Jang Song-thaek, the deceased vice chairman of the potent National Defense Commission. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Sunday introduced Mun Myong-hak as coal indus

North Korea appears to be ramping up its peace offensive after leader Kim Jong-un called for better cross-border relations and economic revival in his New Year address. State media have been churning out articles and editorials since Wednesday, pledging efforts to enhance inter-Korean relations and achieve the nation’s late leaders’ goal of national reunification. The overture is apparently aimed at expanding industrial cooperation with and extracting food handouts and other economic aid from th

South Korea plans to kick-start a long-delayed program to build fighter jets despite lingering skepticism over its feasibility and technological barriers, officials said Sunday. The ambitious project, called KFX or Boramae, is aimed at producing F-16-class fighter jets. The military aims to introduce the first model by 2023 and deploy 120 units over the following several years, officials said. “The Boramae project will kick into high gear this year to develop 120 Korean-made fighter planes,” a s

Korean newspapers recently carried a photo of the new U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, holding a calligraphic work with “friend” in Japanese at Mangokuura Elementary School in the northeastern city of Ishinomaki. This region was one of many hit by the devastating 2011 tsunami. Cal Ripken Jr., a Major League Baseball hero, coached orphans in China as a special envoy of public diplomacy appointed by the U.S. State Department. President Barack Obama visited Shanghai in 2009 and participa

South Korea is ratcheting up diplomatic efforts with the U.S. and China amid growing uncertainty surrounding North Korea following the execution of leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle. Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se plans to travel to Washington next week for talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other ranking officials. With Pyongyang’s nuclear program topping the agenda, the two top diplomats are also expected to trade views regarding the situation on the peninsula in the wake of the

Korea unveiled a new promotional video on Dokdo on Wednesday, countering Tokyo’s increasing territorial assertions and lambasting Japanese politicians’ visits to a controversial war shrine. The 260-second clip was released at midnight on YouTube and the Foreign Ministry’s website (dokdo.mofa.go.kr). It was an update to a previous piece that was uploaded in late October but taken down shortly due to its unauthorized use of clips from Japanese broadcaster NHK.The latest version is much shorter tha

South Korea and Myanmar have agreed to establish a memorial early this year for victims of North Korea’s bombing in Yangon in 1983, Seoul officials said. The monument is to be erected on a 258-square-meter site at Aung San National Cemetery in the former Myanmar capital. “We’re all set for the project, with the statue already completed by our contractor. There will be a launching ceremony next year (2014) with the families of the deceased officials,” the official said last month on condition of

Tension is escalating in Northeast Asia in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip to a controversial war shrine, putting the U.S.’ strategic refocus toward the economically vital region to the test. Abe on Thursday became the country’s first leader to visit the Yasukuni Shrine in nearly eight years to mark the first anniversary of his second premiership. It instantly incited strong condemnation from Korea and China with which Japan’s relations are already snowed under in festering

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un instructed the military to beef up its combat readiness during a visit to an army unit, state media said Wednesday, as cross-border tension remains high since the shock execution of his uncle. Kim inspected the Command of Large Combined Unit 526 in the western port city of Nampo on Tuesday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the accession of his late father and longtime strongman, Kim Jong-il, as supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, the Korean Central News A

The Korea Herald presents the top 10 most memorable local and international news of the year 2013. [National News]         [World News]             

South Korea is moving to beef up its peacekeeping forces in South Sudan amid growing threats of a civil war in the African country. The Defense Ministry said Monday it would send cargo planes carrying firearms, ammunition, food and other supplies as early as Wednesday to its contingency in Bor, some 170 kilometers north of the capital Juba. Seoul has also requested Japanese Self Defense Forces in South Sudan to provide 10,000 rifleshots, officials said. South Korea’s Hanbit unit, consisting of 2

The planned reorganization of the National Security Council reflects Seoul’s efforts to better tackle daunting diplomatic challenges and react quickly to the fast-evolving security dynamics involving North Korea and the region.  President Park Geun-hye approved plans to install the NSC’s standing committee and secretariat on Friday. Headed by national security office chief Kim Jang-soo, the panel is to gather once a week to fine-tune foreign and security policies and make policy recommendations

China’s Foreign Ministry has tapped Qiu Guohong, director general for external security affairs, as its next ambassador to South Korea, officials here said. Qiu, a Japan expert, is expected to succeed Zhang Xinsen in February. The incumbent has served in Seoul since March 2010 and held a farewell ceremony Thursday.Since entering the foreign affairs service in 1981, Qiu worked in Tokyo and Osaka for about 15 years and was deputy director general for Asian affairs from 2006-08. After a stint as Ch

The U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific pared its growth expectations next year for the Asia-Pacific region to 5.6 percent on Thursday on the back of persistent slow recovery, policy uncertainty and protectionism in emerging markets. In a year-end update to its yearly economic and social survey, UNESCAP forecast a moderate rebound in the regional economy next year compared with an expected 5.2 percent expansion in 2013. But the revised outlook reflects a 0.4 percentage p

Thousands of North Korean soldiers reaffirmed their loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un Monday on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of his father, former ruler Kim Jong-il. The massive rally in front of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang was held in the wake of last week’s shocking execution of the young leader’s uncle Jang Song-thaek.Top officials of the communist regime attended the event, including Choe Ryong-hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the (North) Korean

The sudden announcement of the demise of Kim Jong-un’s uncle underscores the instability and fierce power struggle within the 2-year-old regime and prefigures a string of bloody purges, officials and analysts said Friday. Pyongyang’s state media on Friday released information about the execution of Jang Song-thaek, former vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, for conspiring against Kim, the party and the state. It labeled him a “traitor for all ages” and “worse than a dog.”

South Korea on Sunday announced the first expansion of its air defense identification zone in 62 years in a tit-for-tat against China’s recent airspace declaration that fueled fresh tension in Northeast Asia. Seoul’s new zone stretches further south to include its submerged rock of Ieodo and areas south of the two islands of Marado and Hongdo, effective as of Dec. 15, Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok said. The areas overlap with those of China and Japan.Beijing’s ADIZ in East China Sea

Seoul’s deputy envoy to the six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea departed for Washington on Sunday to discuss ways to boost policy coordination and improve the situation on the peninsula, the Foreign Ministry said. Lee Do-hoon, director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs, will meet with officials at the U.S. Department of State, the White House and other organizations until Thursday. His travel comes a month after a visit to the U.S. capital by Cho Tae-yong, South Korea’s