South Korea's top nuclear envoy met with the US special envoy for North Korea in Moscow on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said, as Pyongyang warned of a closing window of opportunity on a nuclear deal.Lee Do-hoon held a breakfast meeting with Mark Lambert and the two discussed how to deal with North Korea following last month's collapse of working-level talks between North Korea and the US, the foreign ministry said without elaborating.The talks in Stockholm -- the first since the coll

North KoreaNov. 10, 2019

With all of its members coming back to public life over the weekend, popular K-pop band BIGBANG is set to return to show business, but the future of the group remains unknown due to an ongoing corruption scandal.As a well-known fashion icon across Asia, its leader G-Dragon, who was discharged from the military on Oct. 26, resumed his entertainment activities with a fashion collaboration with Nike.He participated in designing the US-based firm's flagship sneaker line of the Air Force 1 Para-noise

PerformanceNov. 10, 2019

Ten days after an ambulance chopper crashed into the East Sea, the authorities continued operations to find four missing persons on Saturday, with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon vowing to do everything to the end.On Oct. 31, the ambulance helicopter, carrying seven people, crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. The chopper, owned by the National 119 Rescue Headquarters, was on a mission to save a patient from a fishing boat. So far, three bodies

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2019

Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, was summoned by police on Saturday for questioning into his alleged attempts to cover up drug suspicions surrounding one of the company's singers, officers said.Yang, an idol-turned-K-pop guru who once led one of the country's biggest K-pop management firms, arrived at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency building in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, to undergo interrogation into suspicions that he threatened a whistleblower who earlier re

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2019

A North Korean foreign ministry official has urged the United States to make a "forward-looking" decision within this year, saying the "window for opportunity is closing every day."The remarks by Jo Chol-su, director-general of the North American department at the North's foreign ministry, at the 2019 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on Friday are the latest in a series of attempts by Pyongyang to pressure Washington to come up with new proposals in their denuclearization t

North KoreaNov. 9, 2019

US President Donald Trump said Friday he has been invited to attend World War II anniversary celebrations in Russia in May, prompting speculation of a possible meeting there with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Trump said in response to a reporter's question that he was invited to attend the May celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory in the war. Russian government officials said earlier that Kim had also been invited, but that he had not sent a response yet."I wa

North KoreaNov. 9, 2019

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks with France's digital affairs secretary in Seoul Friday to discuss bilateral relations, peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula and cooperation in new technologies, Seoul's foreign ministry said. During the talks with Cedric O, Kang noted that bilateral cooperation has deepened in various areas since South Korean President Moon Jae-in's visit to France in October last year, the ministry said in a press release.She also expressed gratitude to the French se

Foreign AffairsNov. 8, 2019

Struggling to innovate in a fast-changing, competitive market, South Korean banks have their eye on a new integrated financial service -- open banking.The service lowers the threshold for bank customers by allowing them to use virtually all banking services of different banks via a single mobile application. While this new financial technology service increases user convenience, it has also raised concerns about excessive competition.On Oct. 30, 10 major commercial banks here started offering th

MarketNov. 8, 2019

Jungkook, a member of K-pop boy band BTS, was booked as a suspect for allegedly causing a car accident last month, police said Friday.A car driven by the 22-year-old singer crashed into a taxi on a road in central Seoul in October, according to police. Both Jungkook and the taxi driver suffered minor injuries. Police said they booked Jungkook on charges of violating the traffic law, adding that they will call in him in the near future for questioning.Police earlier said he was not driving under

PeopleNov. 8, 2019

The education ministry said Friday it will conduct a special crackdown on alleged irregularities in the private education sector, including high-priced consulting services tailored for college admission.The move is part of the government's pre-emptive measures to tackle potential rises in expensive private tutoring services as the government has announced a change in the policy related to college admission. The Ministry of Education announced a set of measures to combat high-priced private educa

PoliticsNov. 8, 2019

Woori Bank Vietnam, the local subsidiary of South Korea’s Woori Financial Group, held its office opening ceremony in Danang this week, officials said Friday.The bank’s Danang office had earlier obtained its business license in September and kicked off business on Oct. 25, becoming Woori’s tenth bank office in Vietnam and the first in the central region. It was also the first foreign bank to kick off since the State Bank of Vietnam reinforced regulations for foreign banks in May

MarketNov. 8, 2019

On the wall of the main library in Seoul National University, yellow sticky notes with messages of support for Hong Kong protesters for democracy filled empty spaces Friday. One of the notes read, “I advocate (for the Hong Kongers) as one human being, remembering that liberty was not given but was achieved.”A group of South Korean students on Wednesday transformed one side of the school’s main library building, hanging up sheets of large paper where people could write messages

Social AffairsNov. 8, 2019

A few years ago, Korea’s cartoon industry saw arguably its biggest triumph with “Pororo the Little Penguin.” The cute, innocent penguin character was a massive hit across the nation and in other countries.Over the past few months, another penguin character has charmed Koreans. This time, the penguin character is far from innocent. Rather, it is blunt, careless and tough. Pengsoo debuted six months ago under Educational Broadcasting System, a public broadcasting station tha

TelevisionNov. 8, 2019

Sportswear brand Nike will soon release a new edition of the iconic Air Force 1 sneaker in collaboration with G-Dragon. Named AF1 (Air Force 1) Para-Nose, the sneakers mark the first project for the leader of Big Bang since being discharged from the military last month.  Air Force 1 is Nike’s signature line, touted as an icon of street fashion and beloved by sports fans around the world since its release in 1982. Trendsetter G-Dragon has been leading his fashion label Peaceminusone s

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2019

South Korean and Japanese trade officials are expected to hold their second round of working-level meetings in Switzerland later this month in an effort to resolve the two countries’ ongoing trade dispute at the World Trade Organization, the Korean government said Friday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the two countries have agreed to meet Nov. 19 in Geneva. Their previous meeting had ended with minimal results last month.The agreement came after Seoul filed a com

IndustryNov. 8, 2019

　South Korea’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom said Friday it has introduced upgraded functions for its smart speaker Nugu, including a voice assistant that sounds like a popular K-pop singer.　Titled “Nugu Celeb Alarm,” Nugu’s new voice command service is based on Irene, leader of girl group Red Velvet. This was achieved via a technology that converts written text into verbal speech, the company said. 　For the service, SKT collaborated with S.M. Entertainment, one of th

IndustryNov. 8, 2019

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Friday she sees a point in claims that the possible termination of a military intelligence-sharing pact between South Korea and Japan could benefit North Korea and China.Kang made the remarks as the General Security of Military Information Agreement is set to expire on Nov. 23 unless Seoul retracts its decision to end the agreement seen as a symbolic framework to foster the US' trilateral security cooperation with its two Asian allies. "I think we can ma

DefenseNov. 8, 2019

South Korea and the United States will hold their annual defense ministers’ talks in Seoul next week to reaffirm their alliance and discuss issues including the transfer of wartime operational control, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his US counterpart Mark Esper will attend the 51st Security Consultative Meeting on Nov. 15, where they are expected to touch on pending issues, such as Seoul’s intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo. Esp

DefenseNov. 8, 2019

President Moon Jae-in on Friday stressed the importance of ridding the nation of corrupt practices, listing education and prosecution reform as two of the most urgent issues. Speaking at a meeting of the anti-corruption policy committee, Moon said the labor market and the practice of giving preferential treatment to retired public officials need urgent reform.  “Anti-corruption reform and (building a) fair society is a calling of our administration,” Moon said. Listing changes m

Social AffairsNov. 8, 2019