Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, US hold talks in Bangkok

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States have held bilateral talks in Thailand to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches and joint efforts to resume nuclear talks with the regime, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.Lee Do-hoon and his US counterpart, Stephen Biegun, met Wednesday in Bangkok on the sidelines of a series of multilateral meetings involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)."The two sides exchanged their analysis on recent and curr

Foreign AffairsAug. 1, 2019

Bolton says NK missile launches didn't break promise

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that North Korea's missile launches this week do not represent a violation of leader Kim Jong-un's promise not to conduct long-range missile tests.Bolton, however, questioned the regime's seriousness about resuming denuclearization talks, as he spoke to Fox Business a day after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea for the second time in less than a week.The North claimed the tests involved a new large-calib

North KoreaAug. 1, 2019

BOK says may consider further rate cut amid looming uncertainty

South Korea's central bank said Thursday it may consider further slashing its policy rate to help boost economic growth should conditions worsen amid escalating trade tension with Japan.Last month, the Bank of Korea cut the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.50 percent, citing slower-than-anticipated growth."Should external conditions worsen and downside risks expand, (we) may consider taking an additional policy measure," the Bank of Korea said in a report submitted to the parliam

EconomyAug. 1, 2019

Body presumed to be N. Korean soldier found in S. Korean border river

A body presumed to be a North Korean solder has been found in a South Korean river near an inter-Korean border city, authorities said Thursday.The military discovered the body Wednesday in the Imjin River in the border city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which was presumed to have been dead for at least two weeks based upon its condition, according to local police and fire authorities. It was wearing military uniform-like pants and a belt bearing a big star on its buckle, and the fingerprints were

North KoreaAug. 1, 2019

Consumer price growth stays below 1% for 7th month

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in July from a year earlier, staying below the 1 percent threshold for the seventh consecutive month, government data showed Thursday.From a month earlier, the consumer price index fell 0.3 percent, according to the data from Statistics Korea. "Consumer price growth below 1 percent due to temporary factors is not tantamount to deflation," Lee Doo-won, director at the agency's price statistics division, said, citing declines in prices of pe

EconomyAug. 1, 2019

Exports down for 8th straight month amid trade dispute, chip slump

South Korea's exports decreased 11 percent in July from a year earlier, extending their on-year fall to an eighth consecutive month, amid the drawn-out trade dispute between the United States and China, and a decline in prices of semiconductors, data showed Thursday.Outbound shipments came to $46.14 billion for July, down from the $51.8 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports fell 2.7 percent on-year last month to $43.7

EconomyAug. 1, 2019

US has no plans to adjust military exercise with S. Korea: report

The United States has no plans to adjust its planned military exercise with South Korea next month, Reuters quoted a US official as saying Wednesday.North Korea said last week that it launched two short-range ballistic missiles to send a "solemn" warning to the South over the exercises, which it condemns as an invasion rehearsal. On Wednesday it fired what Seoul said was two more missiles of a similar kind."No adjustment or change in plans that we're aware of or are planning,"

DefenseAug. 1, 2019

NK test-fired new rocket system under leader's supervision: state media

North Korea said Thursday it tested a new rocket system in launches conducted the previous day, raising questions about South Korea's assessment that the communist nation is believed to have fired short-range ballistic missiles.Leader Kim Jong-un "guided a test-fire of a newly developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system on July 31," the Korean Central News Agency said."The test-fire scientifically confirmed that the tactical data and technical characteristics of t

North KoreaAug. 1, 2019

N. Korean soldier expresses desire to defect after crossing land border: JCS

A North Korean soldier crossed the inter-Korean land border and expressed a desire to defect to South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.The man was spotted moving southward along the Imjin River after crossing the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the central part of the inter-Korean border at around 11:38 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the JCS. After confirming that an unidentified object spotted by our thermal observation devices was a person,

DefenseAug. 1, 2019

S. Korean parliamentary delegation visits Japan over trade row

A group of 10 South Korean lawmakers visited Japan on Wednesday to help resolve a monthlong trade row between the two countries. During a two-day stay, they will meet leading politicians and call for a diplomatic resolution to the dispute sparked by Japan's curbs on exports to South Korea of three industrial materials early this month. Japan is expected to go further and pass a bill Friday to drop its neighbor from a list of 27 countries given preferential trade status."We will have sincere

PoliticsJuly 31, 2019

Portuguese coach in S. Korea says Ronaldo didn't play in exhibition match due to fatigue

Jose Morais, the Portuguese football coach who guided the K League All-Star team in an exhibition match against Juventus FC last week, said Wednesday that Cristiano Ronaldo didn't play due to fatigue from a tight schedule. Some 63,000 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium went home Friday feeling disappointment and anger after Ronaldo failed to play in a 3-3 draw between Juventus and All-Stars from the South Korean pro football league. The non-appearance of 34-year-old Juventus forward caused a huge b

SoccerJuly 31, 2019

Arrest warrant issued for progressive activist for threatening lawmaker with animal carcass

A Seoul court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against a progressive activist who allegedly threatened a lawmaker by sending him a box containing an animal carcass. The Seoul Southern District Court approved the warrant for the activist, who has only been identified by his family name, Yoo, citing a high risk of him fleeing and destroying evidence. The 35-year-old is accused of sending a box containing a threatening letter, a knife and a dead bird to Rep. Youn So-ha, floor leader of the lef

Social AffairsJuly 31, 2019

NK calls for abrogation of military info-sharing pact between S. Korea, Japan

North Korea said Wednesday a military information-sharing pact between South Korea and Japan must be abolished since it contains Tokyo's ambition to reinvade the Korean Peninsula.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, said that the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) should be scrapped immediately since it is a "war-inciting, peace-destroying agreement." The deal, signed by Seoul and Tokyo in 2016, is designed to facilitate

North KoreaJuly 31, 2019

Staatskapelle Dresden to perform in Seoul, joined by Chung Myung-whun, Kim Sun-wook

Conductor Chung Myung-whun and pianist Kim Sun-wook will join the Staatskapelle Dresden during its visit to Korea in September for two concerts in Seoul. 　The orchestra’s visit to Korea is its first in four years.   The Staatskapelle Dresden will go on stage at the Sejong Center on Sept. 27, followed by another concert at the Seoul Arts Center on Sept. 29. While the Sejong Center performance will include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, the

PerformanceJuly 31, 2019

[Graphic News] Smuggled drugs down 41% in H1

　Drug smuggling detected by the South Korean authorities dropped sharply in the first half of 2019, customs data showed, although illegal attempts to smuggle drugs continue to rise. 　A total of 86.8 kilograms of drugs were confiscated in the January-June period, down 41 percent from 146.9 kilograms posted a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.　Despite the on-year decline, the agency said the figure is still the second-highest in a decade. (Yonhap)

NationalJuly 31, 2019

Gwangju police chief vows thorough probe into balcony collapse

Jang Ha-yeon, commissioner of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, on Wednesday vowed to thoroughly investigate the collapse of a balcony inside a nightclub in Gwangju that killed two people and injured 25. “We will mobilize all the functions at the police agency to clearly investigate all the suspicions,” Jang said. “We are gathering intelligence to find out whether allegations of cozy ties between the police (and the club) are true.”The balcony at the club next

Social AffairsJuly 31, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae voices deep concern over NK’s missile launch

South Korea’s presidential office on Wednesday expressed deep concerns over North Korea’s latest missile launch, saying North Korea’s actions could damage efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles near the east coast city of Wonsan, six days after the last missile launch, early Wednesday morning, Seoul’s military said. In response to the missiles, the presidential office also called a National Security Co

North KoreaJuly 31, 2019

Hong Kong’s EMF wraps up after days of e-sports festivities

HONG KONG -- The 2019 E-Sports & Music Festival Hong Kong wrapped up three days of esports competition, cosplay competition to musical performances Sunday. Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the third annual gathering of gaming fans in Asia kicked off Friday with thousands of fans flocking to the scene.Game on One look at the entrance of the event was enough to see that this was a special occasion. Brightly colored wigs and fa

CultureJuly 31, 2019

[Kim Myong-sik] Defender of justice or enforcer for power?

A star is born, one too bright to behold without wondering how long it could burn. Yoon Seok-yeol, South Korea’s new prosecutor-general, has already led investigations into “past evils” for two years as head of the Seoul Prosecutors’ Office amid claims that President Moon Jae-in was carrying out a political vendetta. Until the meteoric rise of his career, one rarely seen in the nation’s history of law enforcement, he had moved from one remote provincial prosecutors&

ViewpointsJuly 31, 2019

[John Bernstein] Now or never for these Democratic candidates

It’s time for the Democrats to winnow.Twenty presidential candidates were set to debateTuesday and Wednesday. It’s their second round, and the last with so many candidates split over two nights. After this there’s a break until September, and the Democratic National Committee is making it harder to qualify for the next round. At best, maybe a dozen candidates will still be debating in September, and it’s hard to believe that anyone who can’t qualify can recover to w

ViewpointsJuly 31, 2019