The Korea Herald

USFK chief says he expects dialogue with North on armistice

The new commander of the United States military forces in South Korea said Thursday he expects resumption of talks and coordination with North Korea during his first visit to the frontline region separating the two sides.The Joint Security Area (JSA), the inter-Korean truce village where South and North Korean soldiers are standing face-to-face, was the choice for Gen. Vincent Brooks' first field inspection as the top commander of the 28,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea. "Each time I come back (her

Defense May 12, 2016

Brazil’s Senate impeaches President Dilma Rousseff

Brazil’s Senate voted Thursday to impeach President Dilma Rousseff after a months-long fight that laid raw the country’s fury over corruption and economic decay, hurling Latin America’s largest country into political turmoil just months before it hosts the Summer Olympics. Rousseff’s enraged backers called the move a coup d’etat and threatened wide-scale protests and strikes. Her foes, meanwhile, insisted that she had broken the law, and that the country’s deep political, social and economic woe

World News May 12, 2016

Park pushes reform agenda following trip to Iran

President Park Geun-hye is seeking to capitalize on diplomatic and economic achievements from her groundbreaking visit to Iran to push forward stalled domestic reforms. Park secured Iran's support for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula during talks with her Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani earlier this week in Tehran -- the first summit between the leaders of the two countries in more than half a century. She also met with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a symboli

Politics May 4, 2016

Trump, Clinton all but certain to face off in fall campaign

Once dismissed as a fringe contender, businessman Donald Trump now is all but certain to lead the Republican Party into the fall presidential campaign against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton -- a stunning political triumph for a first-time candidate whose appeal to frustrated voters was widely underestimated. Trump's victory in Indiana Tuesday and Ted Cruz's abrupt decision to drop out resolved the Republican nominee for 2016, but it still left the party in a deep state of uncerta

National May 4, 2016

Trump, Clinton all but certain to face off in fall campaign

Military academies end cadets’ drinking bans

　Up until this year, cadets at South Korea’s military academies were banned from getting married, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol off campus as part of an effort to instill a sense of discipline throughout their four-year training and education process. 　From this year, however, the Army, Navy and the Air Force Academies have eased their rules to allow cadets to drink outside the schools, as the policy was criticized for being out-of-date. Drinking on campus and in uniform is still bann

Politics May 2, 2016

Military academies end cadets’ drinking bans

Lawmakers-elect gear up to craft new bills

Lawmaker-elects are gearing up to seize the legislative lead with eye-catching and trailblazing bills when the 20th National Assembly begins its four-year term end-May.　Lawmaker-elect Lee Hye-hoon of the Saenuri Party has vowed to introduce a bill aiming to restrict the government from granting presidential pardon to convicted chaebol owners. Conglomerate leaders have mostly enjoyed the privilege and the release has was often been justified as a step to jumpstart the economy. 　“Releasing them do

Politics April 29, 2016

Lawmakers-elect gear up to craft new bills

Strong quake in southwestern Japan kills nine, topples homes

Nine people were killed after a powerful earthquake hit southern Japan, toppling homes, sparking fires and injuring hundreds, officials said Friday, as rescuers scrambled to find residents feared trapped in rubble.Tens of thousands of people fled their homes after the 6.5-magnitude quake struck the southwestern island of Kyushu, buckling roads and leaving lumps of broken concrete strewn in the streets. This aerial photo shows houses damaged by a magnitude-6.5 earthquake in Mashiki, Kumamoto pref

World News April 14, 2016

Strong quake in southwestern Japan kills nine, topples homes

Istanbul bomber identified as militant with links to IS

Turkey's interior minister on Sunday identified the suicide bomber who killed himself and four foreign tourists in Istanbul as a militant with links to the Islamic State group.Minister Efkan Ala said the bomber was Turkish citizen Mehmet Ozturk, who was born in 1992 in Gaziantep province, which borders Syria. He said Ozturk had no previous criminal record and five other people were detained as part of the investigation. Saturday's explosion killed five people, including Ozturk, andeurowounded do

World News March 20, 2016

Obama arrives in Cuba for what he calls a "historic visit"

Stepping into history, President Barack Obama opened an extraordinary visit to Cuba on Sunday, eager to push decades of acrimony deeper into the past and forge irreversible ties with America's former adversary. ``It is wonderful to be here,'' he said.Obama's whirlwind trip is a crowning moment in his and Cuban President Raul Castro's ambitious effort to restore normal relations between their countries. While deep differences persist, the economic and political relationship has changed rapidly in

World News March 20, 2016

Obama arrives in Cuba for what he calls a

Defense Ministry dismisses N.K.’s missile claim

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday cast doubts on North Korea’s ability to ensure that its intercontinental ballistic missiles can reenter the atmosphere after being fired, despite its claims to have acquired the related technology.The ministry’s spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said that based on intelligence reports, Pyongyang does not appear to have acquired the technology to develop a “reentry vehicle” for its long-range missiles, which is key technology required to utilize the weapons.“What

Defense March 15, 2016

Defense Ministry dismisses N.K.’s missile claim

Execs of int'l school in Seoul indicted over alleged embezzlement

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted three board members of the Seoul branch of a British international school over allegations they embezzled some billions of won in school expenses in violation of the private school act.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the dean of admissions at Dulwich College Seoul, identified only by her surname Lee, is accused of siphoning off some 7.2 billion won ($6 million) of tuition from 2010 to 2015 to redeem loans. The money was borrowed to

Social Affairs March 8, 2016

Denuclearization of Korean Peninsula top priority: U.S.

The United States said Tuesday that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the highest priority in its North Korea policy and pressed the communist country to give up its nuclear programs. The close cooperation on Resolution 2270 adopted by the U.N.Security Council, imposing the strongest sanctions yet on Pyongyang, demonstrated that South Korea and the U.S. are in "firm agreement" on dealing with threats posed by the North, the U.S.Embassy said in a press release.Last week, the U.N. adopte

North Korea March 8, 2016

A look at sweeping new U.N. sanctions on North Korea

A U.N. resolution unanimously adopted Wednesday ratchets up sanctions on North Korea, with a raft of new measures that are the toughest yet to hit the reclusive country.Here are the key points of the resolution: ARMS EMBARGO TIGHTENED- Prevents sales of small arms, transfers of any item except food and medicine that could be used by the armed forces, for example trucks.- Bans military and police cooperation, shutting down North Korea's training programs abroad, in particular in Africa. These wer

North Korea March 3, 2016

Seoul warns of N.Korean terror threat

The National Intelligence Service reported to the National Assembly on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently ordered terrorist attacks in the South, which reportedly include kidnapping or poisoning government officials or North Korean defectors here. Saenuri’s Rep. Lee Cheol-woo, member of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, said that the North may target the country’s power supplies or public areas. He added members of the media who criticize the Kim regime may be vic

Defense Feb. 18, 2016

Korea-U.S. drills to map out N. K. endgame scenario

Next month’s joint military drills by South Korea and the United States will simulate an endgame scenario for North Korea that has the military recover the entire territory of the peninsula after the collapse of the Kim Jong-un regime, a military official said Thursday.The relatively rare simulation -- military operations are usually focused on hitting the North Korean leadership in Pyongyang -- coincided with Defense Minister Han Min-koo saying that the annual war games would be “the biggest ye

Defense Feb. 18, 2016

Korea-U.S. drills to map out N. K. endgame scenario

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