S. Korea, Central American countries express 'deep concerns' over ocean discharge of harmful materials

South Korea and eight Central American countries have adopted a joint statement expressing "deep concerns" over a massive discharge of contaminated materials into the ocean, calling for a collective response for marine safety, the foreign ministry said Friday. The statement was adopted at the vice-ministerial consultative dialogue between South Korea and the members of the Central American Integration System, or SICA in Spanish, that was held in Costa Rica on Thursday (local time).

Foreign AffairsApril 23, 2021

New COVID-19 infections nearing 800, rising untraceable cases portend further spike

South Korea's daily new virus cases neared 800 on Friday as growing untraceable cases, coupled with cluster infections, continued to hamper the country's virus fight against the pandemic. The country conditionally approved the use of COVID-19 self-test kits to beef up its testing capacity. The country reported 797 more COVID-19 cases, including 758 local infections, raising the total caseload to 117,458, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload has been

Social AffairsApril 23, 2021

US Senate passes 'Hate Crimes Act' in overwhelming vote

WASHINGTON -- The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at curbing a recent increase in hate crimes targeting Asian-American communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senate voted 94-1 to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which, if enacted, would allow expedited federal government investigation on COVID-19 related hate crimes that are increasingly targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Vice President Kamala Harris has partly attributed the recent increase in ant

Foreign AffairsApril 23, 2021

US welcomes S. Korea's new climate commitment as important action

WASHINGTON -- A US State Department spokesman on Thursday welcomed South Korea's new climate change commitment as one of important actions taken by countries at the ongoing climate summit that will help meet global goals. Ned Price made the remark after South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced in the virtual summit that his country will officially stop financing overseas coal power projects. "We saw a variety of other announcements today about the increasing scope and pace of actions

Foreign AffairsApril 23, 2021

US fully ready to deter any aggression from N. Korea: US commander

WASHINGTON -- The United States is ready and able to deter any aggression from North Korea, the chief of the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) said Thursday, also highlighting the US security commitment to South Korea. Adm. Charles Richard, however, said the best way to resolve issues with North Korea is with diplomacy. "I will tell you that I am very confident in my ability to deter, or we're very familiar with North Korea's capabilities and I'm very confident in our ability to deter tha

North KoreaApril 23, 2021

Moon raises carbon-cutting target as Biden resumes climate diplomacy

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday set more drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 than previously revealed to achieve a carbon-neutral Korea by 2050, at a two-day virtual climate summit ending Friday. The Leaders Summit on Climate, joined by 40 world leaders and hosted by US President Joe Biden seeking to restore US leadership on the carbon-cutting commitment, marks Washington’s return to the climate dialogue that the Donald Trump administration abandoned after withdrawing from

PoliticsApril 22, 2021

Gov't committee to screen new prosecutor general candidates next week

  The justice ministry said Thursday it will convene a special committee next week to review a list of recommended candidates to be the next prosecutor general. The prosector general candidate recommendation committee will gather on April 29 to review the eligibility of the candidates the ministry received since April 15. The nine-member committee headed by former Justice Minister Park Sang-ki is expected to produce a shortlist of three to four candidates to recommend to the justice min

PoliticsApril 22, 2021

UN rapporteurs send letter to S. Korea voicing concerns over anti-Pyongyang leafleting ban

UN special rapporteurs voiced concerns that South Korea's anti-leafleting law could restrict freedom of expression in a letter sent to the government calling for further clarification, the UN website showed Thursday. Tomas Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation, along with three other rapporteurs, made the appeal in a "communications" letter dated Monday, urging the South Korean government to provide additional information about the compliance of th

North KoreaApril 22, 2021

Church group leader prays for democracy in talks to Myanmar prime minister

South Korean churches have begun raising funds to support Myanmar’s democracy activists, chief of a church group here told the leader of Myanmar’s anti-junta National Unity Government on Wednesday. So Kang-suk, pastor and leader of the United Christian Churches of Korea, one of the country’s biggest associations of Protestant churches, told Mahn Win Khaing Than, prime minister of the NUG, in a video call that he prays for democracy to come swiftly to Myanmar.  The NUG wa

Social AffairsApril 22, 2021

Korea delays serious COVID-19 vaccine adverse report, again

South Korea’s national health agency once again put off announcing a case of a serious adverse event following COVID-19 vaccination, inviting concerns that it may mar public trust in the program. The latest case, the report of which was filed with the agency as early as April 9, went unaddressed until after a press leak Tuesday evening forced the disclosure. According to officials in Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province, a previously healthy civil servant was taken to the hospital on Apr

Social AffairsApril 22, 2021

Biden remarks pour cold water on Seoul’s ‘vaccine swap’ idea

South Korea’s hopes of procuring COVID-19 vaccines through a swap arrangement with the US are facing a roadblock, as Washington ruled out sending vaccines overseas until it secures adequate supplies at home.  US President Joe Biden made the remarks Wednesday, days after Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong revealed at a parliamentary session that Seoul was seriously discussing a “vaccine swap” arrangement with Washington as Korea scrambled to address its vaccine shorta

Foreign AffairsApril 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Belgian ambassador apologizes for wife’s assault

The Belgian ambassador to South Korea apologized on Thursday for his wife’s assault of a clothing store staffer in Seoul, which was captured on security camera and spread on social media earlier this week. The footage shows Xiang Xueqiu, wife of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier, slapping a storekeeper who tried to stop her from approaching a colleague behind the store counter. The colleague suspected that Xiang, 63, was trying to leave the shop wearing a piece of clothing she didn’t pay

Foreign AffairsApril 22, 2021

NK founder’s controversial autobiography published in South Korea

The republication of an autobiography of the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung has ignited controversy in South Korea, where possession of the book could violate national security laws. Starting this week, a number of major South Korean bookstores have accepted purchase orders for “Reminiscences: With the Century,” which emphasizes the North Korean leader’s childhood and what he did to resist the Japanese colonial regime. But South Korean historians and experts have sai

North KoreaApril 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] New mayor of Seoul promises to make city 'leap again'

New Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon promised Thursday to bring hope and vitality to a city plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic and matters of people's livelihoods. Oh said he would make five pledges to the nation's capital of 10 million during a virtual inauguration ceremony held two weeks after he took office. Those promises, he implied, are based on the failures of the Moon Jae-in administration to address the plight of small business owners in a pandemic and fix a turbulent housing market. "The R

PoliticsApril 22, 2021

No. of chickens dips to over 3-year low in Q1 amid bird flu

The number of layer chickens raised in South Korea fell to the lowest in more than three years in the first quarter, affected by the outbreak of bird flu across the nation, data showed Thursday. The number of layer chickens reached 62.1 million as of end-March, down 14.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest number since the third quarter of 2017, when the number of such chickens came to 51 million. The number of ducks raised in the cou

Social AffairsApril 22, 2021

[News Focus] High youth unemployment continues during Moon’s term

SEJONG -- Young Koreans in their 20s and early 30s have been frustrated with a tough hiring market, despite the Moon Jae-in administration’s pledge to prioritize job creation for the young generation. It has been nearly four years since President Moon Jae-in took office. But labor indexes suggest that the administration’s performance in the employment sector has fallen far short of the expectations many young job seekers had in 2017. The percentage of unemployment and underemploym

Social AffairsApril 22, 2021

S. Korean nuclear envoy holds phone talks with senior US diplomat

South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Noh Kyu-duk spoke by phone with acting US Assistant Secretary of State Sung Kim on Thursday and discussed Washington's policy review on North Korea. "The two sides noted that South Korea and the United States have closely been working together and coordinating on the course of the ongoing US policy review on North Korea, which is at its final stage," the ministry said in a release. Noh and Kim also agreed to continue consultations at every level

Foreign AffairsApril 22, 2021

1 in 3 households own pets in 2020: survey

About 1 in 3 South Korean households raised pets in 2020, a survey showed Thursday, with the number of pet dogs and cats here reaching 8.6 million. The number of households raising pets was estimated at 6.38 million in 2020, up 8 percent from the previous year's 5.91 million, according to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The figure roughly translates into 28 percent of the country's 23 million households. The calculation was based on the annual surve

Social AffairsApril 22, 2021

Nearly 2m vaccinated in S. Korea as inoculation rollout speeds up

South Korea has inoculated nearly 2 million people so far as the country ramps up its COVID-19 immunization drive by providing more shots and securing more doses. An accumulated 1,903,767 people were administered with their first shots as of Wednesday as part of the nationwide campaign that kicked off on Feb. 26, accounting for 3.66 percent of the country's 52 million population, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. An accumulated 60,622 people have been fully vaccinat

Social AffairsApril 22, 2021

Military reports 7 new COVID-19 cases

Five Army members and two Air Force officers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. Four of the soldiers and the two officers tested positive after either their recent vacation or coming into close contact with civilians who were confirmed to have been infected later, according to the ministry. The remaining member is a soldier in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan, who had been in isolation after one of his colleagues tested positive, it added. The new v

DefenseApril 22, 2021