Melting 50 Years of Ice Ambassador of South Korea Yang Sung-chul In the last few months, the world has seen and heard more about the divided Korean peninsula than at any time since the Korean War half a century ago. Emotionally wrenching reunions between families long separated by the war have aired repeatedly on television, along with footage of the presidents of North and South Korea cheerfully toasting each other in Pyongyang... more... Little Bank Makes Bid For Embassies’ Business Sequoia Competing With Riggs, Bank of America for Diplomats’ Accounts Can a little community bank, with a mere handful of branches and only $243 million in deposits, compete against such behemoths as Bank of America, First Union and Riggs? Tiny Sequoia National Bank thinks it can and has decided to go head to head with the giants in the... more... Intel Microchip Factory Leads Costa Rica’s High-Tech Boom SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — In the old days, Central America’s economies were so dominated by United Fruit Co. and other U.S.-based agribusiness interests that these impoverished countries came to be known as "banana republics." Today, at least one nation, Costa Rica, is on its way to becoming a "microchip republic," thanks to the enormous investments of a single U.S. multinational—Intel Corp... more...

Veteran Diplomat Recalls Challenges Of China, Saudi Arabia, Africa Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman Jr. Chas. W. Freeman Jr. likes to joke that his 30-year career as an American diplomat almost ended shortly after it began. Freeman was a junior diplomat in 1972 working as an interpreter for President Richard Nixon during his historic visit to China. The White House had excluded the State Department from the sensitive preparations for the China summit and department officials were kept in the dark throughout most of the trip. Of particular relevance to Freeman was the difficulty he had in securing an advance copy of Nixon’s toast to Chairman Mao Zedong that he was assigned to interpret. Aware of the importance of Nixon’s remarks and determined to faithfully convey the president’s comments, Freeman insisted that he review the text before the event. When a White House aide said this would not be possible, Freeman declared that he would then be unable to interpret that evening... more... Culture Section Hotels Section