South Korea
Bangla New Year 1429 celebrated in South Korea
The Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul celebrated the Bangla New Year 1429 with great fervour and festivity Sunday at the Eunpyeong Culture and Arts Centre in Seoul.
Wearing colourful clothes, more than 300 Bangladeshi nationals living in South Korea joined the event with their families.
The auditorium of the centre was decorated with colourful banners, festoons, balloons and decorative items and Bangladeshi handicraft items were displayed at the entrance.
The main attraction of the event was a Mangal Shobhajatra, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) cultural heritage.
People – with colourful dresses, banners, festoons, masks and traditional musical instruments – cheerfully marched the street.
In the cultural segment, the embassy officials, their families, and expatriate Bangladeshis sang "Esho He Boishakh" to greet the Bangla New Year.
They performed poetry recitations, folk songs, and dances.
Different indoor games were also arranged for children and women. Bangladesh Ambassador to South Korea Delwar Hossain handed out prizes to the winners.
The guests were served panta-ilish and different smashed items and sweetmeats.
South Korea committed to deepen ties with Bangladesh through EPS prog: Envoy
South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has expressed his commitment to deepen and strengthen the people-to-people partnership between Korea and Bangladesh, making the best use of the Employment Permit System (EPS) programme.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad and Ambassador Lee saw off 123 Bangladeshi workers on Monday who left for South Korea.
Also read:Gwyn Lewis of Ireland appointed UNRC in Bangladesh
It was the 14th batch of Bangladesh workers to Korea after Korea resumed admitting foreign workers through the Employment Permit System (EPS) in December 2021, according to South Korean Embassy in Dhaka.
South Korea: North Korea test-fired missile from submarine
North Korea flight-tested a ballistic missile that was likely fired from a submarine on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, continuing a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations that may culminate with a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch occurred from waters near the eastern port city of Sinpo, where North Korea has a major shipyard building submarines. It said the short-range missile flew 600 kilometers (372 miles) at a maximum altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles) but it didn’t immediately provide details about the submarine that would have been involved in the launch.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials were analyzing the launch, the military said, describing it as a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a “serious threatening act that harms international peace and stability.”
Japanese Defense Minister Nobu Kishi told reporters that the missile fell outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone and that no damage to aircraft or vessels was reported.
South Korea’s national security director Suh Hoon and other senior officials during an emergency meeting denounced the launch and urged North Korea to return to long-stalled talks aimed at defusing the nuclear standoff, Seoul’s presidential office said.
It was apparently North Korea’s first demonstration of a submarine-launched ballistic missile system since October last year, when it fired a new short-range missile from the 8.24 Yongung – its only known submarine capable of launching a missile. The October underwater launch was the North’s first in two years.
On Wednesday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected a suspected ballistic missile fired from near the capital, Pyongyang. Both exercises come ahead of the inauguration on Tuesday of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to take a tougher approach over the North’s nuclear ambitions.
Also Read: North Korea fires ballistic missile amid rising animosities
Yoon’s office said in a statement that his government will pursue “actual deterrence ability” against the North’s nuclear and missile threat, but didn’t specify how. Yoon has vowed to strengthen South Korea’s defense in conjunction with its alliance with the United States, which he said would include enhancing missile striking capabilities.
So far this year, North Korea has fired missiles 15 times. They include the country’s first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 in March that demonstrated a potential range to reach the entirety of the U.S. mainland.
North Korea has been clearly exploiting a favorable environment to push forward its weapons program with the U.N. Security Council divided and effectively paralyzed over Russia’s war on Ukraine. The unusually fast pace in testing activity underscores a brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions, experts say.
There are also signs that North Korea is restoring tunnels at a nuclear testing ground, where it had conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017, in possible preparations for another explosive test. Analysts say the North could use another nuclear test to claim it can now build small nuclear warheads for its expanding range of shorter-range weapons threatening South Korea and Japan, or put a cluster of bombs on a multi-warhead ICBM.
Jalina Porter, the U.S. State Department’s deputy spokesperson, said during a briefing Friday that the United States assesses that North Korea could be ready to conduct a nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site as early as this month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has punctuated his recent missile tests with statements warning that the North could proactively use its nuclear weapons if threatened or provoked. Experts say such rhetoric possibly portends an escalatory nuclear doctrine that would create greater concerns for South Korea and Japan.
Kim made one of those statements during an April 25 parade in Pyongyang, where he showcased the most notable weapons in his military nuclear program, including ICBMs and what appeared to be a new type of missile designed to be fired from submarines that could be larger than previous models.
“(North Korea’s) submarine technology probably remains short of being able to stay at sea for extended periods while avoiding detection. But the ability to launch ballistic missiles from a submarine would further complicate missions to neutralize and defend against North Korea’s nuclear forces,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University.
He said the Kim regime appears to be preparing to test a miniaturized nuclear device that it can use to arm its submarine-launched or tactical missiles, and multiple warheads on its ICBMs.
North Korea has been pushing hard to acquire an ability to fire nuclear-armed missiles from submarines, which in theory would bolster its deterrent by ensuring retaliation after absorbing a nuclear attack on land.
Ballistic missile submarines would also add a new maritime threat to the North’s growing collection of solid-fuel weapons fired from land vehicles, which are being developed with an apparent aim to overwhelm missile defense systems in South Korea and Japan.
The North in recent years has been developing and testing a family of missiles named Pukguksong, which are designed to be fired from submarines or land vehicles. Still experts say the heavily sanctioned nation would need considerably more time, resources and major technological improvements to build at least several submarines that could travel quietly in seas and reliably execute strikes.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries said the North Korean missile fired on Wednesday traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) at a maximum altitude of 800 kilometers (500 miles). North Korean state media have yet to comment on that test.
North Korea fires ballistic missile amid rising animosities
North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to speed up the development of his nuclear weapons “at the fastest possible pace” and threatened to use them against rivals.
The launch, the North’s 14th round of weapons firing this year, also came six days before a new conservative South Korean president takes office for a single five-year term.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile was fired from the North’s capital region and flew to the waters off its eastern coast. It called North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches “a grave threat” that would undermine international peace and security and a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launch by the North.
The statement said that Won In-Choul, the South Korean JCS chief, held a video conference about the launch with Gen. Paul LaCamera, an American general who heads the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command in Seoul, and they agreed to maintain a solid joint defense posture.
Japan also detected the North Korean launch and quickly condemned it.
“North Korea’s series of actions that threatens the peace, safety and stability of the international community are impermissible,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters during his visit to Rome.
Also read: North Korea tests new weapon bolstering nuclear capability
Kishida said he’ll discuss the launch when he meets Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi later Wednesday. “Naturally, we will exchange views on the regional situation in the Indo-Pacific and East Asia, and I will thoroughly explain the reality of the region including the North Korean missile launch today, to gain understanding about the pressing situation in the East Asia,” he said.
Japanese Vice Defense Minister Makoto Oniki said that the missile was believed to have landed in waters outside of the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone. There has been no report of damage or injury reported from vessels and aircraft in the area.
It wasn’t immediately known what missile North Korea launched. South Korea’s military said the missile flew about 470 kilometers (290 miles) at the apogee of 780 kilometers (485 miles), while Oniki of Japan said it traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) at the maximum altitude of 800 kilometers (500 miles).
Observers say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in weapons testing this year underscores its dual goal of advancing its missile programs and applying pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations. They say Kim eventually aims to use his expanded arsenal to win an international recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state that he believes would help force the United States to relax international economic sanctions on the North.
One of the North Korean missiles tested recently was an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of reaching the entirety of the American homeland. That missile's launch broke Kim's self-imposed 2018 moratorium on big weapons tests.
There are signs that the North is also preparing for a nuclear test at its remote northeastern testing facility. If made, the nuclear bomb test explosion by North Korea would be the seventh of its kind and the first since 2017.
Last week, Kim Jong Un showcased his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles targeting both the United States and its allies during a massive military parade in capital, Pyongyang. During a speech at the parade, Kim said he would develop his arsenal at the “fastest possible pace” and warned that the North would preemptively use its nuclear weapons if its national interests are threatened.
North Korea has previously unleased harsh rhetoric threatening to attack its rivals with its nuclear weapons. But the fact that Kim made the threat himself and in a detailed manner have caused security jitters among some South Koreans. Taken together with North Korea’s recent tests of short-range nuclear-capable missiles, some experts speculate North Korea’s possibly escalatory nuclear doctrine would allow it to launch preemptive nuclear strikes on South Korea in some cases.
Wednesday’s launch came before the May 10 inauguration of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to boost Seoul’s missile capability and solidify its military alliance with Washington to better cope with increasing North Korean nuclear threats.
North Korea has a history of raising animosities with weapons tests when Seoul and Washington inaugurate new governments in an apparent bid to boost its leverage in future negotiations.
Also read: Ukraine: Missile attack kills 5 in Odesa
Yoon’s power transition office called the latest North Korean launch “a grave provocation” and urged Pyongyang to stop acts that raise tensions and threaten international peace. It said in a statement that the Yoon government will strongly respond to North Korean provocations in close cooperation with the international community.
Some experts say the Biden administration’s passive handling of North Korea as it focuses on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China is allowing more room for the North to expand its military capabilities.
The Biden administration’s actions on North Korea have so far been limited to largely symbolic sanctions and offers of open-ended talks. North Korea has rejected the administration’s offer for talks, saying it must first abandon its “hostile policy,” in an apparent reference to U.S.-led international sanctions and U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises.
Inclusion of new locomotives to contribute to modernization of BR: South Korea
The inclusion of new locomotives is expected to significantly contribute to modernization of Bangladesh Railway (BR) system and improvement of connectivity and transportation, says the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka.
This will ultimately serve as a cornerstone of socio-economic development of Bangladesh, it said.
Bangladesh is the second largest recipient of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) loans worldwide in aggregate amount.
Also read: S Korea, BGMEA for seizing opportunities through better trade, investment cooperation
So far, the Republic of Korea has funded 24 development projects of Bangladesh with total amount of 1.2 billion US dollars through the EDCF.
On Wednesday, the inaugural ceremony of 30 metre-gauge and 16 broad-gauge locomotives was held at Kamalapur Railway Station with the virtual presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the chief guest.
U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas and South Korean Chargé d’Affaires Jungyoul Lee were also present in the occasion.
Dhaka, Seoul working closely to make more success stories: Envoy
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has released a video documentary on the history of Bangladesh-Korea relations during the past five decades focusing on the RMG cooperation and eying more success stories in potential sectors.
In the documentary, South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jung-keun said the two countries are now working closely together to make other success stories in other sectors in the coming years in the field of manufacturing, ICT, and infrastructure, etc, based on the success stories of cooperation in the RMG sector.
He mentioned that among all the partnership RMG cooperation has been the symbol and model of successful bilateral ties between Korea and Bangladesh for the past five decades.
The Embassy prepared this “very special” documentary as part of its preparation for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.
Also read:S Korea, BGMEA for seizing opportunities through better trade, investment cooperation
The role of South Korean companies in the beginning and growing phases of Bangladesh’s RMG industry, which became the world’s second largest RMG exporter, has been well known to many Bangladeshis. It has been the finest success story of the business collaboration as well as the close friendly bilateral ties between the two countries, said the Embassy on Tuesday.
However, the stories and memories of RMG cooperation between Korea and Bangladesh have been fading away over the years, it said.
Through the oral stories shared by the key figures who have been involved in the history of the cooperation, the documentary vividly revealed the true friendship between Korea and Bangladesh during the past five decades.
The RMG cooperation between Korea and Bangladesh started in 1978 when a joint venture was established a Korean company, Daewoo Corporation, and Desh Garment of Bangladesh.
Some 133 Bangladeshis recruited by Desh Garment went to Korea in 1979 and trained by the Daewoo Corporation for six months.
These people, upon returning to Bangladesh, played a key role in the birth of Bangladesh’s RMG industry by spawning the factories across the country.
In the interview, Rokeya Quader, the Chairman of Desh Group Ltd. and widow of the late Noorul Qader, founder of the Desh Garment shared a detailed story of the start of the joint venture.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, who was a pioneer of Bangladesh’s RMG industry and the former President of the BGMEA, also elaborated his own experience in the Korea-Bangladesh RMG cooperation.
Kihak Sung, the Chairman of Youngone Corporation, the first foreign investor in Bangladeshi’s RMG industry and the largest Korean investment company in Bangladesh also shared the story of his business in Bangladesh, including the establishment of the KEPZ, Korean Export Processing Zone, in Chattogram.
At present, Korea is the 5th largest foreign direct investor in Bangladesh in terms of the volume of the accumulated stock investment and RMG sector accounts for more than 70 percent of Korea’s investment in Bangladesh which reached over 1.3 billion dollars in 2021, according to Korean Embassy.
Historical Stories
The documentary also introduced several significant historical stories on the beginning of the diplomatic relations between Korea and Bangladesh, in particular the role of Ban Ki-Moon, 8th United Nations Secretary-General in the early days of the relations.
When the Republic of Korea officially recognized Bangladesh as an independent country on May 12, 1972, the recommendation of the recognition was drafted by Ban Ki Moon who was a desk diplomat in charge of Korea-Bangladesh relations on that time.
In December 1973, when Korea established formal diplomatic relation with Bangladesh, Ban, who was Second Secretary at the Korean Consulate General in New Delhi, visited Dhaka with Ambassador Loh Shin-young, who later became Prime Minister as well as Foreign Minister of Korea and met Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman.
Also read: S Korea to create decent employment for girls in Bangladesh
The trade volume between the two countries reached a historic height in 2021 crossing 2.1 billion dollars after almost 10 years of stagnation, said the Embassy.
Both countries are now enjoying very close relationship and strong ties which is very promising sign to make continuous effort to further expand the bilateral trade and to diversify the relationship.
The documentary was first broadcasted in full via Ekattor Television on April 14th. The full video clip can be found at the Embassy’s Facebook and YouTube page.
S. Korean president-elect nominates ex-PM as PM
South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol nominated former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as the prime minister of his incoming government, the presidential transition team said on Monday.
Yoon, who will be sworn in as the country's 20th president on May 10, told a press conference on Sunday that Han extensively served in key positions of the government, irrespective of politics, thanks to the recognition of his ability and expertise.
Yoon said the nominee Han amassed an abundant experience and knowledge in economy, trade and diplomacy as a career economic bureaucrat.
Han, 72, held a number of high positions under the governments of both liberal and conservative presidents.
Also Read: South Korea's omicron deaths surge amid faltering response
He served as senior presidential secretary for economic affairs under former liberal President Kim Dae-jung, as finance minister and prime minister under former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, and as ambassador to the United States under former conservative President Lee Myung-bak.
The prime minister's nomination is subject to the parliamentary approval.
Also Read: Bangladesh keen to sign FTA with South Korea, Tipu Munshi tells Ambassador
3rd Bangladesh, South Korea FOC to be held in Dhaka
The third Korea-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) will be held in Dhaka on March 31.
First Vice Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Choi Jong Kun will visit Dhaka to attend the event.
Read:Dhaka, Kathmandu eye broader cooperation in key areas
The two countries, headed by Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong Kun and Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Masud Bin Momen, will discuss a wide range of agenda on bilateral, regional and global issues, including various ways to strengthen bilateral partnership in particular, as the two countries will celebrate together the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023.
The two countries established Vice-Foreign Ministerial level consultations in 2009.
The 2nd consultations was held in Seoul in November 2014.
South Korea's omicron deaths surge amid faltering response
South Korea reached another daily record in COVID-19 deaths on Thursday as health officials reported more than 621,000 new infections, underscoring a massive omicron surge that has been worse than feared and threatens to buckle an over-stretched hospital system.
The 429 deaths reported in the latest 24 hours were nearly 140 more than the previous one-day record set on Tuesday. Fatalities may further rise in coming weeks considering the intervals between infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
The 621,266 new coronavirus cases diagnosed by health workers were also a record daily jump, shattering Wednesday’s previous high of 400,624. That pushed the national caseload to over 8.2 million, with more than 7.4 million cases added since the start of February.
Read: Pfizer asks US to allow 4th COVID vaccine dose for seniors
The outbreak has been significantly bigger than what had been forecast by government health authorities, who maintain that omicron is nearing its peak. Officials have tried to calm public fears amid concerns about a faltering pandemic response, saying that omicron is no more deadly than seasonal influenza for vaccinated people and less dangerous than the delta strain that hit the country hard in December and early January.
South Korea still has a much lower rate of COVID-19 deaths in relation to size of population than the United States or many European nations, which officials attribute to high vaccinations with more than 68% of the population having received booster shots.
However, some experts say health officials clearly underestimated how the greater scale of outbreak would strain worn-out hospital workers who had just wiggled out of the delta surge. They criticize the government for sending the wrong message to the public by easing social distancing restrictions and effectively communicating that omicron is mild.
Transmissions were probably worsened by an intense presidential campaign leading up to last week’s election, which also appeared to have reduced political capacity to maintain a stringent virus response.
Lee Sang-won, a senior Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official, said during a briefing that health authorities feel “apologetic” over the explosion of omicron cases that has been bigger than they expected. He said around 70,000 of the new cases reported Thursday were infections that were mistakenly omitted from Wednesday’s tally, and that the real daily increase would be around 550,000.
Lee said the country’s recently revamped testing regime, now centered around rapid antigen tests to save laboratory tests for high-risk groups, is contributing to the rise in daily cases by casting a broader net to detect infections among the population.
He added that a highly transmissible omicron subvariant known as BA.2 also seems to be driving up infections. About 26% of the country’s recent cases have been linked to BA.2, up from around 17% last month, Lee said.
Read: COVID-19 cases more than double in China's growing outbreak
Omicron has forced South Korea to abandon a stringent COVID-19 response based on mass laboratory tests, aggressive contact tracing and quarantines to focus limited medical resources on priority groups, including people 60 and older and those with preexisting medical conditions.
Health officials have recently significantly eased quarantine restrictions and border controls and stopped requiring adults to show proof of vaccination or negative tests when entering potentially crowded spaces like restaurants so that more public and health workers could respond to rapidly expanding at-home treatments.
Nearly 2 million virus carriers with mild or moderate symptoms have been asked to isolate at home to save hospital space.
Bangladesh keen to sign FTA with South Korea, Tipu Munshi tells Ambassador
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Sunday urged the South Korean ambassador to Dhaka for more investment from his country in Bangladesh, whereby they can take advantage of the abundant and therefore cheap human resources here.
“We have long-standing trade and economic relations with Korea as an important business partner and now Bangladesh would like to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the country,” he said.
The commerce minister made the remarks when Korean ambassador to Dhaka Lee Jang-Keun called on him at his Secretariat office on Sunday.
Also read: Bangladesh can achieve fame in global market exporting gold jewellery: Tipu Munshi
In response Lee said Korea is working to set up a car-manufacturing plant in Bangladesh as Korea considers the country an important partner for increasing trade and investment.
Bangladesh has made unprecedented progress in the last ten years which is now visible, said Ambassador Lee.
“Korea's bilateral trade with Bangladesh is now at its peak. A number of Korean companies are working in various sectors of Bangladesh, including readymade garments and electronic products,” he added.
The Korean Ambassador said that Bangladesh has successfully tackled the Covid-19 situation.
Korean investors, mostly from their private sector, have invested in garment, electronics and other sectors in Bangladesh, operating several companies, which brings an opportunity to increase this investment and trade, Munshi said.
Md. Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary (Export), Nur Md. Mahbubul Hoque, Additional Secretary (FTA), first secretary of Korean embassy Youngmin Seo, among others, was present in the meeting.
Also read: CIP cards awarding: Businesses should prepare to compete in post-graduation period-Tipu Munshi
Bangladesh exported goods to Korea worth USD $398.66 million in the fiscal year 2020-21, at the same time imported goods of $ 1126.60 million.