The Korea Herald

'TPP will spur erosion of China’s manufacturing edge’

This is the 11th and last installment in a series of interviews with scholars and experts on China as a resurgent Asian power that is changing the regional order. This installment looks into China’s economic issues. -- Ed.　If the Trans-Pacific Partnership is ratified, it will spur the movement of the world’s manufacturing center from China to countries in Southeast Asia where the labor cost is cheaper and investments will flow in, China expert Jee Man-soo said. Jee Man-sooJee, a research fellow

Foreign Affairs Dec. 24, 2015

'TPP will spur erosion of China’s manufacturing edge’

Petition against Japan normalization treaty dismissed

The Constitutional Court refused Wednesday to review a petition by a Korean woman who challenged the constitutionality of a 1965 treaty to normalize ties between Seoul and Tokyo on the grounds that the treaty limited individual rights to seek compensation for colonial-era forced labor. The Constitutional Court delivers a ruling over the constitutionality of a 1965 treaty to normalize relations between Seoul and Tokyo on Wednesday. (Yonhap)Under the treaty, Tokyo offered Seoul $5 million in free

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2015

Petition against Japan normalization treaty dismissed

Cabinet OKs Air Force reorganization plan

The Air Force will reorganize its hitherto geographically arranged command structure into a function-based one to enhance efficiency in peacetime and wartime aerial operations, officials said Tuesday.The plan was endorsed at the Cabinet meeting, which was presided over by President Park Geun-hye.Under the plan, the Air Force Operations Command will have two major subordinate units -- the Air Combat Command and the Air Mobility & Reconnaissance Command, whose roles are divided by combat role, rat

Defense Dec. 22, 2015

N.K. to face greater dilemma over its nuke policy in 2016

North Korea is expected to face a greater dilemma next year over its policy of simultaneously developing nuclear weapons and its economy, a local think tank said Tuesday, noting that it would struggle to find a way out of it through provocative moves such as nuclear and missile tests. The dilemma may further deepen as the North is likely to face a “serious” shortage of food, caused by this year’s severe droughts, lack of international aid and sanctions over its nuclear and missile development, a

North Korea Dec. 22, 2015

Saenuri lawmaker Yoo tapped as finance minister

President Park Geun-hye tapped Saenuri Party Rep. Yoo Il-ho to lead the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and double as deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, in a Cabinet reshuffle that affected six high-level posts, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.Park also named Lee Joon-sik, former vice president of Seoul National University, as the education minister and deputy prime minister in charge of social affairs.Yoo Il-ho, Lee Joon-sik (Yonhap)For the post of the interior minister, the presid

Foreign Affairs Dec. 21, 2015

Saenuri lawmaker Yoo tapped as finance minister

Seoul, Beijing hold EEZ talks Tuesday

The vice foreign ministers of South Korea and China will hold maritime demarcation talks in Seoul on Tuesday for the first time since 2008, as the two neighbors remain poles apart over how to address their overlapping exclusive economic zones.The talks were arranged after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed the early resumption of the official talks during his summit with President Park Geun-hye in Seoul on Oct. 31. The talks, which used to be director-general-level, have been elevated to the vi

Foreign Affairs Dec. 21, 2015

‘China shifting toward knowledge-based economy’

This is the 10th installment in a series of interviews with scholars and experts on China as a resurgent Asian power that is changing the regional order. This installment looks into China’s industrial innovations. -- Ed.　China’s economy is transitioning toward a knowledge-based one through its constant pursuit of technological innovations, mitigating its notoriety for churning out low-quality and fake products, China expert Eun Jong-hak said.The transition has been substantiated by China’s massi

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2015

‘China shifting toward knowledge-based economy’

Seoul, Tokyo fail to bridge differences over sex slavery issue

Seoul and Tokyo failed to bridge their differences Tuesday over the issue of Japan’s colonial-era sexual enslavement of Korean women during their 11th round of director-general-level talks in Tokyo, dashing hopes of settling it by the end of the year. Lee Sang-deok, director general of Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul`s Foreign Ministry speaks to the press in Tokyo on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The two sides agreed to hold an additional round of consultations at the “earliest date,” Lee Sang-deok, direct

Foreign Affairs Dec. 15, 2015

Seoul, Tokyo fail to bridge differences over sex slavery issue

Peninsular conflict would have greater regional impacts: U.S. JCS chief

The top U.S. general on Monday voiced concerns about the potential “transregional” ramifications of North Korea’s military threats that have evolved with its development of ballistic missiles and capabilities in the cyber and space realms. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 1. (AP-Yonhap)Speaking at a defense forum, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford stressed that a conflict on the Korean Peninsula would not be li

Defense Dec. 15, 2015

Peninsular conflict would have greater regional impacts: U.S. JCS chief

S. Korea, Laos agree to work closely on hydropower project

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn and his Lao counterpart, Thongsing Thammavong, agreed Monday to work closely on a hydropower project in the Southeast Asian country, a South Korean official said.The two sides had planned to sign a deal on the development of Sepon III hydropower plant at their meeting, though they failed to ink the deal due to differences.The two sides remain at odds over which country will build a road leading up to the power plant, among other things.Still, Hwang and T

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2015

S. Korea to continue efforts for talks with N. Korea: minister

South Korea won't give up efforts to improve ties with North Korea despite a failure to strike a deal in their latest talks, a top official said Monday.Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said the government will "leave the door for dialogue open and continue efforts for the development of South-North relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula on a step-by-step basis."He was speaking at a parliamentary forum on the feasibility of a second inter-Korean industrial complex.The two Koreas had two da

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2015

Ahn exit deja vu for opposition camp

The defection of Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and the looming split of the party is a heavy blow to the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, with only four months remaining until the next parliamentary elections. NPAD floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul (front) and a few other lawmakers wait for the party`s sgeneral assembly to open at the National Assembly on Monday. (Yonhap)But it is also a repetition of history for a party that has experienced countless divisions and mergers over the past six decades.All th

Politics Dec. 14, 2015

Seoul warns against further N.K. nuclear, missile tests in 2016

North Korea may stage additional nuclear and missile tests including from a submarine next year, the country’s top military commanders warned Monday, calling for developing a joint response mechanism with the U.S. and airtight readiness posture at all times. In the wake of the abrupt calling-off of the much-touted performance by North Korea’s Moranbong Band last weekend in China, relations between Pyongyang and Beijing may well head further downhill, the military assessed. “We see that we should

North Korea Dec. 14, 2015

Why is N.K. obsessed with Mount Geumgangsan tours?

North Korea is keen on resuming the long-stalled tours to Mount Geumgangsan as they would offer a stable source of hard currency, spur efforts to develop tourism on its east coast and eventually enhance the regime’s political legitimacy, analysts said Monday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun inspects a fish farm in Pyongyang last week. (Yonhap)Restarting the tour program was one of the thorniest issues at the rare cross-border talks that broke down Saturday as Pyongyang insisted it should be addr

North Korea Dec. 14, 2015

Why is N.K. obsessed with Mount Geumgangsan tours?

[Newsmaker] N.K. female band cancels Beijing show

Much-anticipated performances in China by a North Korean female propaganda troupe were canceled abruptly Saturday, sparking many rumors including one related to a possible friction between Beijing and Pyongyang over the latter’s nuclear program. The performances by the Moranbong Band were supposed to begin at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing at 7:30 p.m., but they were called off just three hours before. They were scheduled to continue three days from Saturday.Following the

North Korea Dec. 13, 2015

[Newsmaker] N.K. female band cancels Beijing show

Articles by 송상호