New COVID-19 cases above 500 for 3rd day; virus curbs tightened in Busan

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 500s for the third straight day Friday, as cluster infections continued to emerge across the nation. Social distancing rules were tightened in some cities, including Busan and Jeonju. The country reported 558 more COVID-19 cases, including 533 local infections, raising the total caseload to 104,194, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added two more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,737.

Social AffairsApril 2, 2021

Early voting for next week's by-elections begin

Voters headed to polling stations Friday as two-day early voting kicked off ahead of next week's by-elections for mayors of the country's two biggest cities. Early voting began at 6 a.m. and will last till Saturday evening at 722 polling stations ahead of the election day on Wednesday. Besides the two mayoral seats in Seoul and Busan, two regional administrative posts and 17 seats on regional legislative councils are also up for grabs. On the first day, 1.11 million of the total 12.16 millio

PoliticsApril 2, 2021

Denuclearization will be at center of new N. Korea policy: State Dept.

Denuclearization of North Korea will be at the center of any new US policy toward the reclusive nation, a State Department spokesman said Thursday, adding the country's policy review will soon be concluded. Ned Price also said any US policy toward North Korea will be executed in "lockstep" with key US allies, including South Korea and Japan. "I wouldn't want to prejudge the conclusion of any ongoing review, but we have said that denuclearization will remain at the center of Amer

North KoreaApril 2, 2021

About half of foreign embassies closed in N. Korea amid COVID-19 restrictions: Russian Embassy

North Korea's highly restrictive coronavirus measures and lack of essential goods have caused many foreign embassies to close and international humanitarian workers to leave the country, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said Thursday. In a post on its official Facebook page, the embassy said a total of 12 nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France, closed their missions due to pandemic-caused challenges and that there now remain only nine ambassadors and four diplomats who work a

North KoreaApril 1, 2021

N. Korean airline publishes flight schedule to China, but no flight detected yet

North Korea's national carrier was set to operate two flights between Pyongyang and Beijing this week, its website showed Thursday, drawing attention to whether the route will resume after more than a year of suspension amid coronavirus concerns. According to the flight schedule released on Air Koryo's website, the airline's JS251 flight will depart from Pyongyang at 4:00 p.m. and arrive in Beijing at 5:50 p.m. on Thursday. Another flight is scheduled to depart from Beijing for Pyongyang on Fri

North KoreaApril 1, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee calls for clarification from Myanmar military over including two protesters on wanted list

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung has officially requested clarification from the Myanmar military regarding the inclusion of two representatives of the Myanmar Democracy Network in Korea on a list of wanted individuals following their meeting with him, the local government said Thursday. In a statement released March 25, the MDN said, “Through a state-run newspaper published on March 23, 2021, the Myanmar military identified the two representatives, Yan Naing Htun and Soe Moe Thu, as

Social AffairsApril 1, 2021

Military to resume search for Korean War remains

South Korea’s military and an international recovery team led by the UN Command will resume an annual search for the remains of Korean and UN soldiers missing from the 1950-53 Korean War, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The excavation project, which lasts from April to November annually, will begin Monday. The search has been held since 2019, a year after South and North Korea agreed to a military pact singed to end hostilities in the inter-Korean border.　 The command is

DefenseApril 1, 2021

[News Focus] Age gap seen in jobless payouts

SEJONG -- Recent data from a state-funded agency suggested that South Koreans in their 20s and 60s took the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus in terms of job security, with a noteworthy disparity among generations -- or somewhat by gender in the same age groups -- being posted. This is seen from a comparison of unemployment-benefit payouts to people who lost jobs or closed small businesses, offered by the Korea Employment Information Service. Its data provides the growth of the tally for be

Social AffairsApril 1, 2021

Defense ministry voices confidence in probe results of deadly Cheonan ship sinking

The defense ministry said Thursday that it trusts the results of a civilian-military joint probe blaming North Korea for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship, after a presidential committee decided to revisit the case following a petition. On March 26, 2020, the warship Cheonan went down near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, killing 46 sailors. After an extensive probe by the joint investigation group involving international experts, So

DefenseApril 1, 2021

Janssen's COVID-19 vaccine eligible for approval: panel

A South Korean panel of experts on Thursday recommended the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, saying it showed around 66 percent efficacy. The advisory board consisting of outside experts and officials of the country's drug safety agency announced its review on the efficacy and safety of Janssen's one-shot regimen. The panel's review is the second step of three separate independent evaluations before the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety gives the final approv

Social AffairsApril 1, 2021

Seoul High Court judge nominated as new Supreme Court justice

A senior judge at the Seoul High Court has been selected as the final candidate to succeed outgoing Supreme Court Justice Park Sang-ok, the top court said Thursday. Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su picked Seoul High Court Judge Cheon Dae-yeop out of three candidates proposed by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommending Committee and recommended him to President Moon Jae-in for official appointment, the court said. Cheong Wa Dae announced later that Moon plans to submit a motion on Cheon's no

PoliticsApril 1, 2021

N. Korea likely to conduct more KN-23 variant missile tests to replace Scud missiles: think tank

North Korea is expected to conduct more test launches of its Iskander-variant ballistic missiles in an effort to replace old Scud missiles with advanced solid-fuel ones, an expert of the state-run defense think tank said Thursday. Last week, the communist country fired two short-range ballistic missiles, believed to be an upgraded version of its KN-23 missile modeled after Russia's Iskander. The North's state media said they were new tactical guided missiles. "Russia developed the solid

North KoreaApril 1, 2021

[From the scene] Jeong Eun-kyeong gets AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

CHEONGJU, North Chungcheong Province -- AstraZeneca vaccinations will continue for all age groups here for the time being, South Korea’s top pandemic response coordinator said as she received her first dose of the vaccine Thursday. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong got AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at a public health center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, home to the agency’s headquarters. Jeong told reporters she had gotten

Social AffairsApril 1, 2021

Assembly speaker starts trade mission in Central Asia

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug began his nine-day visit to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to strengthen economic ties with the three emerging Central Asian nations, the National Assembly said Thursday. During the visit, Park will discuss cooperation in areas such as health care, energy, information and communications technology, public administration, agriculture and textiles. On Wednesday, Park visited Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to hold talks with National Assem

PoliticsApril 1, 2021

Japan’s bigger presence adds complexity to NK nuke talks

Japan is rising as a possible fourth player in North Korean denuclearization issues, boosted by the new US administration’s emphasis on South Korea-US-Japan ties, but the changes are likely to bring complications for Seoul, experts say. The three nations are holding a series of high-level talks. Following the new US security team’s trip to Seoul and Tokyo in March, their top security advisers plan to hold a face-to-face meeting Friday as part of Washington’s ongoing policy r

Foreign AffairsApril 1, 2021

Korea starts 2022 minimum wage deliberations

South Korea officially kicked off its annual procedure to set the country’s minimum wage level for the following year, with the labor and business sides presenting wildly divergent views on how the rate should be adjusted. Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-kap on Wednesday sent a written request to the Minimum Wage Commission to start the procedure to negotiate and determine the minimum wage level for 2022. The request authorizes the commission to gather 27 representatives -- nine

Social AffairsApril 1, 2021

S. Korea discusses upcoming NPT review meeting with Britain, EU

A foreign ministry official has held separate video talks with his counterparts from Britain and the European Union (EU) to discuss an upcoming conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the ministry said Thursday. Park Il, director general for nonproliferation and nuclear affairs, spoke via video links Tuesday with Samantha Job, director for defense and international security at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the ministry said. He also had video talks with Marj

Foreign AffairsApril 1, 2021

S. Korea considering allowing civilian aid to N. Korea amid increasing signs of border easing: official

The government is considering allowing local aid groups to resume assistance to North Korea as the country is showing increasing signs of easing its border restrictions with China, a unification ministry official said Thursday. "The possibility of the North Korea-China border restrictions easing has been constantly observed, and it is rather increasing," the official said. "We plan to make a conclusion in the direction of allowing nongovernmental organizations to resume humanit

North KoreaApril 1, 2021

S. Korea to invest W7tr for Aegis destroyers, attack helicopters

South Korea’s arms procurement agency said Wednesday that it will invest about 7 trillion won ($6.19 billion) to build three more Aegis destroyers and buy 36 American-made attack helicopters as part of a long-term initiative to bolster its military capabilities. The Navy is seeking to produce Aegis destroyers with better ballistic missile defense in upgrades to its Sejong class destroyer, the country’s first Aegis warship commissioned in 2008. The Navy expects to build the new destr

DefenseApril 1, 2021

Record high March temperatures reported Wednesday

The mercury soared far above 20 C across the country on the last day of last month, setting new temperature records for March, a state weather agency said Thursday. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the daily highest temperature in Seoul surged to 22.9 C on Wednesday, the third highest for the month of March after 23.8 C recorded for both March 28, 2014, and March 9, 2013. In Chuncheon, 85 kilometers east of Seoul, the daily high reached 23.5 C, higher than the previo

Social AffairsApril 1, 2021