Articles by Shin Hyon-hee
Shin Hyon-hee
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Diplomatic fiasco dogs Moon ahead of Trump summit
A series of foreign policy and security fiascos are posing a threat to President Moon Jae-in’s diplomacy, with internal discords on North Korea, a US missile shield and guest receptions spilling over into Washington ties just 10 days ahead of his first summit. A sense of doubt has been seeping out of Washington since the liberal administration unveiled a surprise announcement on June 5 that it will cease the deployment of the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launchers here. The decision
Foreign Affairs June 19, 2017
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[Newsmaker] Kang faces mountain of challenges
With silver hair and a cheery smile, she stood out amid a torrent of camera flashes. As she delivered her inauguration address, younger diplomats gazed in awe, letting out whoops when she touched on better work-family balance. The number of followers of the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account surpassed 100,000 following her appointment, with photos of her making her maiden appearance at her office Sunday garnering more than 4,600 retweets.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha formally took office Monda
Foreign Affairs June 19, 2017
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Search for 7 Navy sailors ends after bodies found on ship
YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) -- The search for seven US Navy sailors who went missing after their destroyer collided with a container ship off the Japanese coast was called off after several bodies were found Sunday in the ship's flooded compartments, including sleeping quarters. Navy divers found "a number of" bodies in the USS Fitzgerald, a day after the destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship four times its size, said Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the Navy's 7th Fleet.
Defense June 18, 2017
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To North Korea and back: Otto Warmbier's strange, sad trip
WYOMING, Ohio (AP) -- Over and over, Otto Warmbier apologized and begged -- at first calmly, then choking up and finally in tears -- to be reunited with his family. North Korean officials seated at long tables watched impassively, with cameras rolling and journalists taking notes, as the adventuresome, accomplished 21-year-old college student from suburban Cincinnati talked animatedly about the "severe crime" that had put him there: trying to take a propaganda banner for someone back home, suppo
North Korea June 18, 2017
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NK claims US seized its diplomatic package, demands explanation
North Korea has claimed that the United States recently mugged its delegation carrying a diplomatic package in New York, calling on Washington to provide an explanation on what it calls a provocation.According to the (North) Korean Central News Agency on Sunday, which quoted its foreign ministry, a group of government officials and police officers from the US took a diplomatic package from its delegation Friday at John F. Kennedy International Airport before it was about to board a flight home.T
North Korea June 18, 2017
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58 dead in central Portugal wildfires; many killed in cars
AVELAR, Portugal (AP) -- Raging forest fires in central Portugal killed at least 58 people, many of them trapped in their cars as flames swept over a road, in what the prime minister on Sunday called "the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years." Nearly 60 other people were injured, including four firefighters and a seriously injured minor, Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes told state broadcaster RTP. A lightning strike is believed to have sparked the blaze in the Pedrogao
World June 18, 2017
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Rout by Macron's party expected in French parliament vote
PARIS (AP) -- French voters are casting ballots Sunday in the final round of parliamentary elections that could clinch President Emmanuel Macron's hold on power, as his fledgling party appears set to rout mainstream rivals and turn politics as usual on its head. Pollsters say that after its dominant performance in last week's first-round vote, Macron's Republic on the Move! party could win up to 450 seats Sunday in the 577-seat National Assembly, the powerful lower chamber. If the steamroller ef
World June 18, 2017
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'Sombre' Britain prepares for historic Brexit talks
LONDON (AFP) -- Britain begins historic talks Monday on leaving the European Union while still mourning the victims of a devastating fire and reeling from an election that has badly weakened the government.Brexit minister David Davis will travel to Brussels to meet Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, to kick off hugely complex withdrawal negotiations that are expected to conclude within two years.Worried by immigration and loss of sovereignty, Britain last year voted to end its decades-ol
World June 18, 2017
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Gulf crisis mediation shifts to US as Tillerson helms talks
Efforts to end a two-week-old crisis in the Persian Gulf shifted to the US, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson canceling a trip to Mexico to try to end a Saudi-led coalition’s isolation of Qatar.The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the coalition, affirmed a need for a strong Western role in resolving the dispute, telling the Guardian newspaper in the U.K. that any agreement would have to be overseen by "Western allies."Kuwait and Turkey have been trying to mediat
World June 18, 2017
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German minister sees hope of 'soft' Brexit, with conditions
BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's foreign minister says there may now be a chance of a "soft" British exit from the European Union that keeps the U.K. in the bloc's single market, but is warning that Britain couldn't pick and choose its conditions. Brexit negotiations start on Monday, with question marks over Britain's approach after Prime Minister Theresa May lost her parliamentary majority in an election meant to strengthen her hand in the talks. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Sunday's Wel
World June 18, 2017
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Macron eyes next stage in revolution in parliament vote
PARIS (AFP) -- French voters went to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election set to hand a landslide victory to the centrist party of President Emmanuel Macron which would complete his stunning reset of national politics.The new assembly is due to be transformed with a new generation of lawmakers -- younger, more female and more ethnically diverse -- winning seats in the afterglow of Macron's success in last month's presidential election.The scale of the change is forecast to be so large
World June 18, 2017
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Pakistan investigating S. Korean in connection with IS abductions: reports
Pakistan has revoked the visa of a South Korean national and launched an investigation into him in connection with two Chinese citizens who were recently abducted and killed by the Islamic State, according to local and foreign media reports. The South Korean, only identified as Su, runs a language school in Pakistan where the two Chinese in their 20s are believed to have worked until they were abducted, according to local daily Dawn and other media. Su, who has stayed in Pakistan since 2011 on a
Social Affairs June 18, 2017
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With aloof NK, civic groups hit snag in aid projects
On May 26, the Moon Jae-in government gave its first green light to a civic group’s application to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea, indicating a shift in Seoul’s approach toward the issue. The decision paved the way for the Seoul-based Korean Sharing Movement to help curb the spread of malaria in not only the epidemic-susceptible North but border regions in the South, for the first time in four years. The approval prompted more than 50 other civic groups to rush to file applications for
North Korea June 18, 2017
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Doctors report Warmbier’s brain damage while voices grow for NK travel ban
An American college student who was recently released from North Korea has suffered severe brain damage, his doctors said Thursday, adding to growing calls in the US for a travel ban to the reclusive nation amid souring public sentiment and safety concerns. Otto Warmbier (AP-Yonhap)Otto Warmbier, 22, returned home to Ohio on Tuesday after being jailed in the communist state for more than 17 months following months of covert diplomacy led by Joseph Yun, a special representative for North Korea po
North Korea June 16, 2017
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Moon says talks possible if North Korea halts tests
President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he would pursue talks with North Korea if it halts nuclear and missile tests, heralding a sweeping turnaround in Seoul’s policy that has long centered on sanctions and pressure. Marking the 17th anniversary for a watershed inter-Korean peace declaration in 2000, Moon made a first dialogue offer for the first time since taking office just about a month ago. He even displayed his willingness to hold parallel negotiations on denuclearization and a peace treaty --
North Korea June 15, 2017
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