North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s appointment of Park Bong-ju as prime minister apparently reflects his resolve to kickstart the country’s long-overdue economic development. Park was once a symbol of economic reform, having spearheaded an ambitious yet unsuccessful project in 2002 to crank up industries and productivity along with three other specialists, Ro Do-chul, Kwak Pom-ki and Chon Sung-hun. The 74-year-old technocrat cultivated his expertise while studying at an engineering university, ma

The Global Green Growth Institute is considering moving to the international business district of Songdo, Incheon, to take advantage of a synergy effect with the Green Climate Fund and various incentives from the city government, officials told The Korea Herald. The Incheon city government has recently offered the Seoul-based GGGI benefits including a 10-year free lease of office space and operating cost subsidies. “We’re looking into the option after receiving an offer of free office space for

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his missile forces to be on standby Friday in protest against the United States’ use of nuclear-capable stealth bombers during its joint military drills with South Korea. The communist ruler convened a rare “urgent operation meeting” at the Supreme Command slightly past midnight to discuss the strategic rocket unit’s mission of a firepower strike, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He signed a plan on technical preparations of missiles,

Korea has been credited with establishing “green growth” as an international goal. Former President Lee Myung-bak touted it as the next big thing, harmonizing environmental protection and economic development.A slew of projects, including a river restoration, were pushed in its name and Korea carved its place in the international community by bridging rich and poor countries whose priorities clashed. Like many of his policies, however, “green growth” is now at risk of sinking into obscurity, as

North Korea on Wednesday severed its military hotline with the South and closed a communication office near the border in protest against recent U.N. sanctions, ongoing Seoul-Washington military drills and their other “hostile” acts. The South’s Unification Ministry immediately urged Pyongyang to retract the decision, which it said will hamper smooth operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex by complicating its workers’ entrance and exit. “Increasing U.S. nuclear threats against us and a fran

Seoul on Tuesday protested Japan’s approval of newly updated schoolbooks that carry its claim to the Korean islets of Dokdo and distort its wartime atrocities.The Foreign Ministry called in Takashi Kurai, a minister at the Japanese Embassy, and delivered a written complaint. “We strongly protest and urge a fundamental rectification of the Japanese government’s authorization of high school textbooks including content that still does not look squarely at history and evades its responsibilities,” m

The developing world’s drive to stamp out poverty should be integrated with environmental efforts to minimize its vulnerability to climate change and achieve sustainable growth, the new chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee said Tuesday.Erik Solheim, who took the helm of the club of major patrons of developing countries in January, described Korea as an “inspiring example for the rest of the world,” highlighting its rapid economic ascent and increasing climate efforts. The seasone

The Korean version of the Helsinki process has begun to move forward, with the U.N. Human Rights Council’s March 21 decision to establish a Commission of Inquiry for the “grave, widespread and systematic” human rights violations in North Korea. David Alton, a member of the British House of Lords, emphasized the need for a “Helsinki process with a Korean face” to address egregious human rights conditions in North Korea. The establishment of the COI can be construed as setting in motion the Korean

Defectors, experts and activists on Monday hailed the recent approval of a U.N. panel to probe human rights breaches in North Korea as a landmark step in a long battle to end the oppressive regime’s cruelties. The U.N. Human Rights Council last week unanimously approved a formal inquiry mechanism, which they said would mark the “most credible, systemic and comprehensive probe ever” into rampant abuses there. “The Commission of Inquiry is a victory for all North Korea human rights activists inclu

Seoul faces daunting challenges of countering growing cyber threats that gained fresh attention after Wednesday’s hacking attacks on broadcasters and banks. The government, military and private sector have been beefing up their chiefly passive defense to safeguard the country’s heavily intertwined computer networks from outside intrusions.While probes are under way to determine the latest attackers, officials and experts pinpointed North Korea as the likely suspect in light of past cases and pat

South Korea and the U.S. agreed Wednesday to push for stern punishment of North Korea but leave the door open for dialogue, as Seoul continued to send conciliatory signals toward Pyongyang despite its increasing threats. Lim Sung-nam, Seoul’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and David Cohen, U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, met in Seoul to discuss country-level sanctions over the North’s nuclear test on Dec. 12.

The latest round of electronic break-ins on Wednesday added to tension across the border, rekindling concerns over North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated cyber warfare capabilities. Police launched an investigation after major broadcasters of KBS, MBC and YTN and Nonghyup and Shinhan banks reported a paralysis of their websites and computer networks. The South Korean military notched up its special alert level called INFOCON from 4 to 3. The Korea Communications Commission said malware was use

Korea is seeking to boost its role in the Arctic by sharing research assets and technological knowhow on coping with climate change, energy, shipping and other key issues, Seoul officials said Monday. Nearly 100 policymakers, diplomats, scientists and industry officials from Korea and the Arctic region took part in an international symposium in Seoul to discuss their policy, research and other activities. Titled “Arctic Research & Policy in the New Age of Opening Arctic,” the one-day event was j

The Foreign Ministry is expected to regain authority of some of its special recruitment programs that were taken away upon a nepotism scandal involving the daughter of a then-top diplomat in 2010.The Foreign Ministry will exclusively oversee the recruitment process for sixth- and seventh-grade diplomats starting this year, an official told Yonhap, citing improvement in its program operation capability and transparency. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security will continue to monitor t

Washington’s plan to reinforce its missile defense appears to be aimed at staying ahead of increasing threats by North Korea, which officials and analysts see as fast progressing on its path to a nuclear weapons state. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday the Pentagon will install 14 new ground-based interceptors at its bases in Alaska and California by September 2017. That marks a nearly 50 percent increase in the country’s missile defense capability with 30 units currently in place.

South Korea is among countries that have shown the fastest improvement in human development over the past 12 years but deepening inequality is impeding its progress, according to a U.N. report.Korea ranked 12th for three consecutive years in 2012 in the annual human development index released Thursday by the U.N. Development Program. Norway once again topped the overall list, followed by Australia, the U.S., Netherlands and Germany in the assessment of 187 countries in terms of health, education

Differences between Korea and the U.S. over a decades-old nuclear energy pact are casting a shadow over the first talks between Presidents Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama scheduled for early May.Park plans to visit Washington in her first trip as president which is expected to focus on their joint response to a North Korea-fueled security crisis. The two leaders will also discuss how to share costs for 28,500 U.S. troops stationed here, the transfer of wartime operational control slated for 2015

Norway signed an agreement with the Global Green Growth Institute on Thursday to provide $8 million to support environmentally friendly development in Ethiopia. Under the deal, the GGGI will lead research and help with policy planning in the African country. Norway is a founding member and donor partner of the GGGI, which was set up by the Korean government in 2010 and became an international organization in October. The Seoul-based institute envisages a “think and act tank” that brings together

Tension continued to escalate on Tuesday as North Korea intensified threats against South Korea and the U.S. warning of “catastrophic consequences.”The regime has cut off an emergency hotline with the South and declared the end of nonaggression pacts, in protest of joint military drills of the two allies.Pyongyang’s official media carried a statement from the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, blasting Seoul and Washington for staging “the most dangerous drills for a nuc

South Korea seeks to enhance public diplomacy efforts with China and Japan this year to help defuse regional tensions and find long-term solutions to territorial and historical issues, a Seoul envoy told The Korea Herald.The three countries agreed to launch a trilateral public diplomacy forum during a summit in Beijing last May. The plan proposed by former President Lee Myung-bak has made little progress amid rising political tensions among the three neighbors. “We are seeking to hold the public