Articles by Ahn Sung-mi
Ahn Sung-mi
sahn@heraldcorp.com-
[Newsmaker] Controversial Harvard professor claims no contemporary evidence on ‘comfort women’
A Harvard professor whose earlier claim that victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery were voluntary prostitutes stirred great fury is expected to draw further criticism with his renewed assertion that denies contemporary evidence to back the existence of the euphemistically labeled “comfort women.” The South Korean government, as well as experts here, rebuffed his argument, saying Japan’s sexual enslavement is a historical fact that has already been “proven unive
Foreign Affairs Jan. 6, 2022
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‘Nothing agreed until everything agreed’: US holds firm on sanctions on Iran
The US said “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” on lifting its sanctions on Iran, indicating that an immediate breakthrough to unlock some $7 billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea could be difficult. State Department spokesman Ned Price made the remarks Tuesday in the US, when asked about whether the issue of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea due to US sanctions will be resolved soon. It comes as South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun is in
Foreign Affairs Jan. 5, 2022
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NK is one year closer to perfecting nuclear weapons due to Biden’s policy: Bolton
A former national security adviser to Donald Trump slammed Joe Biden’s foreign policy, saying North Korea is a year closer in perfecting its nuclear and ballistic missile technology as a result of Biden’s diplomacy on Pyongyang -- or lack thereof. In an op-ed published by Washington-based news outlet the Hill on Sunday, John Bolton identified Iran and North Korea as the Biden administration’s nuclear proliferation failures in 2021. Bolton, who championed a hawkish policy
North Korea Jan. 3, 2022
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Seoul should opt for strategic clarity in US-China rivalry: Yoon's foreign policy aide
A policy of “strategic ambiguity” has guided South Korea’s diplomacy over the years, with Seoul seeking to juggle relations with its security ally Washington and key trade partner Beijing. But this precarious balancing act may no longer be sustainable, according to a key foreign policy adviser to the main opposition People Power Party’s presidential nominee. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Korea University professor Kim Sung-han, who advises Yoon Suk-yeol, said
Foreign Affairs Dec. 28, 2021
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NK’s nuclear issue requires both peace and denuclearization tracks: Lee’s foreign policy adviser
For years, South Korea, the US and the international community have tried to coax North Korea into giving up its nuclear and missile program. Despite a series of negotiations, headline-grabbing summits and carrot-and-stick tactics, the reclusive regime has not ceased from developing the weapons of mass destruction, but instead has been advancing them. What the years of failed negotiations have taught us is that the North’s nuclear issue is a complex conundrum that requires a multifaceted
Foreign Affairs Dec. 27, 2021
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South Korea to expand cooperation with US on supply chain, technologies in 2022
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday the country would look to expand cooperation with the US on many fronts next year, including on supply chains and cutting-edge technology, as well as North Korea’s denuclearization. The Foreign Ministry, along with the Unification and Defense Ministries, jointly delivered a written policy report for 2022 to President Moon Jae-in on Monday, detailing Seoul’s priorities and direction on diplomacy, security and North Korean policies
Foreign Affairs Dec. 23, 2021
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Seoul has ‘much more to offer’ in the global chip supply chain: US diplomat
South Korea is an essential partner in the global semiconductor supply chain and has much more to offer, a visiting senior US diplomat in charge of economic and trade policy said Friday. Jose Fernandez, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, made the remark at the start of the sixth Senior Economic Dialogue with Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon. Marking his first trip to the region since taking office in August, his weeklong trip to Tokyo
Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2021
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‘Golden time’ in inter-Korean relations is up till March presidential election: KINU
The runup to the March 9 South Korean presidential election could be a “golden time” to make strides in the stalled diplomacy with North Korea and a potential inter-Korean summit could be an answer for a breakthrough, experts at the state-funded think tank said Wednesday. “The period up till the presidential election could be the ‘golden time’ where decisive change could happen (on the peninsula),” Lee Sang-sin, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for
North Korea Dec. 15, 2021
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Assembly speaker calls for solidarity and cooperation in Asia Pacific to tackle COVID-19, climate crisis
South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug on Tuesday called on countries in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to tackle various global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate crisis. His remarks came during the inaugural ceremony of the 29th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum that kicked off for a three-day run from Monday to Wednesday. Under the theme of “The Role of Parliaments in Strengthening Re
Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2021
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At G-7, FM Chung discusses peninsula issue with US, remains apart with Japan
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stressed the partnership with Washington, but remained apart on key sticking points with Tokyo, in a brief meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the Group of Seven session in the UK. Chung joined the in-person gathering of G-7 foreign and development ministers meeting in Liverpool, England, over the weekend, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. South Korea was invited as a guest -- along with Australia, India, South
Foreign Affairs Dec. 13, 2021
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New NK sanctions could put brakes on Seoul’s hopes of diplomacy with Pyongyang: experts
The announcement of fresh US sanctions against North Korea might deal a blow to Seoul’s attempts to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang, experts said Sunday. The US on Friday declared extensive sanctions and visa bans on human rights grounds against officials and entities in eight countries, including China, Russia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and North Korea. The action, coinciding with international Human Rights Day and a two-day summit on democracy led by Washington, is a tool to “draw a
North Korea Dec. 12, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Vice FM hints at Seoul veering away from diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games
South Korea is seeking to play its “role as the previous host nation” of the Winter Olympics, First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Thursday, alluding that Seoul is less likely join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Games. Choi made the remarks during an interview with local radio station TBS, stressing that the upcoming Beijing Olympics are a “relay of Northeast Asian Olympics from PyeongChang to Tokyo and Beijing and are very meaningful.”
Foreign Affairs Dec. 9, 2021
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Advisers to rival presidential candidates clash over NK policy
Advisers to South Korea’s two leading presidential candidates agreed during a forum in Washington that the alliance with the US needs to be strengthened, but opinions diverged on how to denuclearize North Korea. Former South Korean Ambassador Wi Sung-lac, who advises Lee Jae-myung of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Sung-han, a professor at the Korea University Graduate School of International Studies who advises Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative opposition People
North Korea Dec. 8, 2021
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Seoul raises concern over Japan’s ‘short-term’ focused Fukushima release assessment
The South Korean government has again raised concern about Japan’s plans to treat radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant and release it into the sea, saying Tokyo has only looked at the short-term impact on the marine environment. Korean officials and experts voiced their concerns to their Japanese counterparts at a special virtual session held last Friday, in regard to a draft report released by the Tokyo Electric Power Co., the state-run operator of the wrecked p
Foreign Affairs Dec. 7, 2021
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[Election 2022] How rival presidential candidates differ on US policy
At a time when uncertainty looms large on regional and international security order, South Koreans will head to the polls in March to elect a new president. The leading contenders are Lee Jae-myung of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative opposition People Power Party. While domestic issues such as runaway housing prices and continuing economic fallout from the pandemic are expected to be on the forefront of voters’ minds, the result will al
Foreign Affairs Dec. 6, 2021
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