NK newspaper calls Japan 'malignant tumor' over plan to deploy missile defense system

North Korea's main newspaper denounced Japan as a "malignant cancer" of the region on Tuesday, blasting Tokyo's push to deploy missile defense systems that Pyongyang claims can be used to invade other countries.Referring to Japan's plan to set up a pair of US-developed Aegis Ashore systems in the country, the Rodong Sinmun said the systems target not only the Korean Peninsula but also China and Russia. In a commentary, the newspaper said the move is part of the country's broader scheme

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

BTS' management company to move into new building

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency for K-pop boy band BTS, said Tuesday it plans to move into a new 19-story office building in central Seoul next May in accordance with its business expansion plan.Big Hit and its affiliates will lease an entire building with 26 floors, including seven below ground, whose construction is to be completed in the Yongsan district by the end of this year, the company said."The office relocation has been planned in line with the company's rapid personn

EntertainmentJuly 2, 2019

Actor Lee Min-ho named as promotional envoy for Korean language education institutes

The government said Tuesday it plans to designate South Korean actor Lee Min-ho next week as a promotional ambassador to promote overseas institutes, established by South Korea, that offer foreigners Korean language courses and Korean culture activities.The culture ministry and the Seoul-based King Sejong Institute Foundation are scheduled to hold a ceremony in Seoul next Tuesday to mark the designation of Lee, an icon of "hallyu," or the Korean wave, as an envoy for the state-run King

PeopleJuly 2, 2019

546 N. Koreans defected to South during Jan.-June period: ministry

The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea during the first half of this year totaled 546, the unification ministry said Tuesday.The figure was up from 487 recorded during the same period a year earlier, according to the ministry. The annual number of North Korean defectors peaked in 2009 with 2,914. The figures have averaged around 1,000-1,500 since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011, the ministry said.Currently, more than 32,000 North Korean defectors are livi

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

Minor parties urge ruling party to spur efforts not to derail electoral reform bill

The chiefs of three minor opposition parties called on the ruling party Tuesday to make efforts not to derail an election reform bill that the four parties jointly put on a fast-track in April.The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BP), the liberal Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the leftist Justice Party (JP) urged the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to take the helm of a special panel tasked with handling political reform to enable the electoral reform bill to be passed by August. The fo

PoliticsJuly 2, 2019

[News Focus] ToolGen, Genexine seek to smooth path for merger

ToolGen and Genexine -- to be called ToolGenexine after merger -- held a strategy briefing for the media and investors earlier this week in an attempt to pacify their concerned shareholders.　The merger of the biotech companies, announced June 19, has stirred up mixed sentiments in the domestic bio industry. One side heralded it as a rare case of bio firms forging ties rather than the more common business model of a traditional chemical pharma firm acquiring a smaller biotech startup with innovat

IndustryJuly 2, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] Korea, Japan, China to discuss ways to save crested ibis in Seoul

Experts and government officials from South Korea, Japan and China will gather in Seoul next week to discuss ways to improve the environment for the crested ibis, an endangered species, an international organization said Monday. The crested ibis, a species that had mainly nested in Northeast Asia and parts of Russia, is at the brink of extinction. It is listed as Korea’s National Monument No. 198, but was last seen in the wild in 1979.  In an effort to save the species, a trilateral c

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 2, 2019

S. Korea, WFP in discussion with US on sanctions exemptions for rice provision to N. Korea

South Korea is in close cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) to discuss sanctions exemptions with the United Sates over its plan to send rice aid to North Korea, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.  Last month, the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs unveiled a plan to provide 50,000 tons of domestically harvested rice to North Korea through the WFP, which will handle its delivery and distribution there.  Details on how and when the assista

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

S. Korea-Japan relations heading to new low after Japan's retaliatory step

The long-fraught ties between South Korea and Japan are plunging to a new low, as their intractable historical issues are bleeding into the economic domain, with voices for reconciliation drowned out by domestic politics, nationalism and mutual distrust.On Monday, Tokyo blindsided Seoul by announcing that it would tighten restrictions on several key chemical exports to South Korea in an apparent response to last year's Supreme Court rulings here against Japanese firms over wartime forced labor.

Foreign AffairsJuly 2, 2019

Moon calls DMZ meeting end to N. Korea-US hostile relations

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korea and the United States have effectively declared an end to their hostile relations with the symbolic weekend meeting between their leaders at the inter-Korean border.Although they did not sign any document, their action was tantamount to a "de facto declaration of an end to hostile relations and the beginning of a full-fledged peace era," Moon stressed, speaking at a Cabinet meeting. He was referring to a meeting between US President

North KoreaJuly 2, 2019

[Newsmaker] Singer-actor Park Yoo-chun given suspended sentence for drug use

A local court sentenced Park Yoo-chun, an actor and former member of boy band JYJ, to 10 months in prison on Tuesday, suspended two years, for using an illegal drug.Suwon District Court in the city of Suwon, south of Seoul, also ordered the 32-year-old disgraced entertainer to pay a fine of 1.4 million won (around $1,203) and issued probation and treatment orders for him."Drug-related crimes should be harshly punished due to severe addiction and harmful effects on individuals and society,&q

Social AffairsJuly 2, 2019

Riot police clear away protests from Hong Kong legislature

Hundreds of protesters swarmed into Hong Kong's legislature Monday night, defacing portraits of lawmakers and spray-painting pro-democracy slogans in the chamber before vacating it as riot police cleared surrounding streets with tear gas and then moved inside.The three-hour occupation, which ended early Tuesday, came on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony's return to China, a city holiday, and reflected mounting frustration with Hong Kong's leader for not responding to protesters'

InternationalJuly 2, 2019

US voices commitment to stronger ties with S. Korea, Japan

The United States remains committed to strengthening cooperation with South Korea and Japan to face common challenges, the State Department said Monday in response to escalating tensions between the Asian neighbors. This week Japan announced toughened controls on high-tech exports to South Korea amid an ongoing dispute over Korean court rulings against Japanese firms.The courts ordered Japanese companies to compensate South Korean workers for their forced labor during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial ru

InternationalJuly 2, 2019

BTS launches fan community on mobile application

Roaring K-pop boy band BTS launched Monday an official mobile application channel to connect with fans around the world.The septet announced the opening of BTS Weverse, an official fan community based on the application Weverse. Through the channel, BTS will communicate with fans using text messages as well as video clips and photos, according to Big Hit Entertainment.The app will provide exclusive content featuring BTS. Posting its first video clip on BTS Weverse, the BTS members said &quo

PerformanceJuly 1, 2019

[Graphic News] DMZ: World’s last Cold War frontier

Where is it? 　　The 4-kilometer-wide DMZ runs for 250 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula, around 50 kilometers north of Seoul and 200 kilometers south of Pyongyang. 　At its center is the Military Demarcation Line, where the front line was located when the cease-fire stopping Korean War hostilities was signed in 1953. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to pull back their forces 2,000 meters.What is it? 　　A barrier separating North and South Korea, heavy weaponry is banned within the DMZ. P

North KoreaJuly 1, 2019

Baskin Robbins hit by claims of sexualizing 11-year-old

Baskin Robbins is at the center of heated debate concerning its latest promotional video, which features an 11-year-old model. As the ad came under fire, the ice cream chain took it down from the internet and apologized Saturday. The video, released Friday, features kid model Ella Gross advertising the new flavor “Pink Star.” She wears a sleeveless pink dress and savors the ice cream in various poses. Within a day of the release, heated debate erupted online as to whether the ad was

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ may not be epic, but it’s a delightful teen flick

How do you follow up after “Avengers: Endgame,” the pinnacle of a multibillion-dollar movie franchise built up over 11 years and 22 films that was epic, flamboyant, dramatic and even nostalgic? You don’t try to top it -- you build on the new world with a charming and relatable hero.Jon Watt’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is a delightful teenage coming-of-age tale with great characters, good humor and an upgrade in action, serving both as a wistful epilogue to t

FilmJuly 1, 2019

Ahn Eun-me turns museum space into dance stage

Ahn Eun-me is a one-of-a-kind Korean contemporary dancer. Even then, not many would expect to see her in an art museum. “It is strange to look back on my own past 30 years,” Ahn said during a press conference held Wednesday at the SeMA’s main branch in Seosomun-dong, Seoul, where a solo exhibition of her work is underwayTitled “Known Future,” the show comprises installations, video works, sounds, archive materials and performances.A statue of Ahn, painted in glitter

Arts & DesignJuly 1, 2019

[Jared Dillian] High tax states are practicing financial destruction

It is clearer than ever that the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 made high tax states less competitive with low tax states. But instead of using this moment to reflect on how taxes influence behavior, politicians in places such as Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Illinois are inexplicably doubling-down by threatening to raise taxes on their citizens even more. Until politicians start to understand the benefits of economic incentives and an equitable tax system, expect these high-tax states

ViewpointsJuly 1, 2019