S. Korea still facing upward curve as COVID-19 cases top 100,000

South Korea's total virus caseload topped 100,000 on Thursday, about one year and two months after reporting its first confirmed case, as health authorities warned that the tally is expected to rise further amid sporadic cluster infections. The country reported 430 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, raising the total caseload to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea confirmed its first novel coronavirus case on Jan. 20, 2020. The country's accumula

Social AffairsMarch 25, 2021

National Assembly approves W15tr extra budget to fight aftermath of COVID-19

The National Assembly on Thursday approved an extra budget worth nearly 15 trillion-won ($13.2 billion) to help prop up small merchants and the vulnerable hit hard by the yearlong COVID-19 pandemic. The bill's passage enables the country's fourth round of emergency relief assistance since the first case of the new coronavirus was confirmed in South Korea in January last year. The latest aid package, which will selectively benefit small business owners, the jobless and other vulnerable people,

PoliticsMarch 25, 2021

New virus cases above 400 for 2nd day, virus fight hampered by loosened vigilance

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 400 for the second straight day Thursday as warm weather and the yearlong virus battle loosened citizen's vigilance against the pandemic. The country reported 430 more COVID-19 cases, including 419 local infections, raising the total caseload to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country added two more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,709. The fatality rate was 1.70 percent, t

Social AffairsMarch 25, 2021

S. Korea deeply concerned about N. Korea's projectile launch: NSC

South Korea's top national security officials expressed "deep concern" about North Korea's latest projectile launch Thursday, especially as it came amid the Joe Biden administration's review of Washington's policy on Pyongyang, according to Cheong Wa Dae. They issued the statement following a 90-minute "emergency" meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) standing committee. It was convened shortly after the South Korean military's announcement that the North lobbed at

North KoreaMarch 25, 2021

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Russia hold talks on bilateral ties, peninsula situation

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, held talks in Seoul on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties, the Korean Peninsula situation and other issues. The two countries' first foreign ministerial meeting in Seoul since 2009 came after tensions flared anew due to North Korea's missile launches in the morning and an acrimonious Sino-US rivalry that has brought China and Russia closer together. Chung called Russia a partner for regional peace, while touting progre

Foreign AffairsMarch 25, 2021

US wants to see stability of Korean Peninsula: Pentagon spokesman

WASHINGTON -- The United States opposes North Korea taking any actions that could raise tension on the Korean Peninsula, the spokesman for the US Department of Defense said Wednesday, amid reports that the North may be preparing to stage military provocations. John Kirby also called on the North to denuclearize. "We want to see North Korea denuclearize. We want to see stability and security on the peninsula and denuclearization is a key part of that," the Pentagon spokesman said at a

North KoreaMarch 25, 2021

N. Korea wants to change, US must find right mix of steps: Brooks

WASHINGTON -- Despite its harsh rhetoric and threats to further advance its weapons of mass destruction, North Korea wants to change and the United States must find what it is that the North truly wants and how to best approach the challenge, a former US Forces Korea (USFK) commander said Wednesday. Retired Army Gen. Vincent Brooks also argued Pyongyang still has its door open to dialogue for denuclearization. "I am of the view that the nuclear arsenal is not an end unto itself, but rathe

North KoreaMarch 25, 2021

US will not ask allies to choose between 'us and them' with China: Blinken

WASHINGTON -- The United States will work with its allies and partners to tackle challenges posed by increasingly aggressive China and Russia, but will not ask its allies to choose sides, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. The top US diplomat also said countries can work with China when necessary. "China's blatant economic coercion of Australia to Russia's use of disinformation to erode confidence in elections and in safe, effective vaccines, these aggressive actions threat

Foreign AffairsMarch 25, 2021

Govt. data shows half of top public officials own land amid snowballing scandal

About half of top officials at the central government and state-run institutions own land as part of their wealth, a government report showed Thursday, amid mounting public outrage over a land speculation scandal involving public officials. According to the annual government report showing the latest state of personal wealth of 759 high-ranking officials at the central government and state-run institutions, 51.1 percent, or 388, possessed land as part of their wealth. Some of them owned land i

PoliticsMarch 25, 2021

N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, an apparent move pressing the United States as Washington prepares to announce a new policy on the North. The missiles were fired from the North's eastern town of Hamju, South Hamgyong Province, at 7:06 a.m and 7:25 a.m. and flew around 450 kilometers with an altitude of 60 km, the JCS said. "South Korean and US intelligence authorities are analyzin

North KoreaMarch 25, 2021

Korea mulls time off for vaccine recovery

Fresh talks have started in Korea to decide whether workers should be given time off in case they suffer side effects following COVID-19 vaccinations. In a news briefing Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it may recommend workplaces permit workers to take unpaid time off without having to use up their regular leave. Whether to actually institute post-vaccination leave would remain up to the employer to decide. Since the vaccines began rolling out to front-line workers and nur

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2021

Pro-NK paper says verbal message between leader Kim, China's Xi signals stronger relations

A pro-North Korea newspaper stressed Wednesday that the recent exchange of verbal messages between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping signals an important step toward bolstering bilateral cooperation. "North Korea and China reaffirmed their traditionally friendly relations and agreed on their stance on global and regional politics," the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan, said. The paper stressed that their exchange of friendly messages c

North KoreaMarch 24, 2021

FM vows to work closely with US to protect Koreans after Atlanta shootings

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Wednesday stressed efforts to protect the safety of South Koreans living in the United States in the wake of recent deadly shootings in Atlanta, vowing close cooperation with Washington on the matter. He made the remarks during a regular meeting with senior officials at the foreign ministry, his office said, as four women of Korean descent were among those killed in the US city last week amid speculation that the killings could be a hate crime against Asians.

Foreign AffairsMarch 24, 2021

N. Korea resumes building up tensions as it awaits US move

North Korea’s missile launches Sunday marks its return to a fresh cycle of provocations to earn sanctions relief from the new US administration, experts said. On Wednesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the North fired two cruise missiles into the West Sea on Sunday, without elaborating on details. Senior administration officials from both Korea and the US said the North did not violate the UN Security Council resolutions. “It is not covered by UN S

North KoreaMarch 24, 2021

S. Korea, US, Japan to hold high-level talks next week

President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser Suh Hoon is expected to head to Washington next week to hold talks with his US and Japanese counterparts Jake Sullivan and Shigeru Kitamura as part of Washington’s ongoing policy review on North Korea. According to the White House on Tuesday, the US National Security Council will host the trilateral meeting at the end of next week, while the allies also plan to hold separate bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the daylong schedule.

Foreign AffairsMarch 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Former Seoul mayor far ahead of ruling candidate: poll

Two weeks before the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor, Oh Se-hoon, a former mayor and the sole candidate from the opposition bloc, is far ahead of Park Young-sun, former minister of SMEs and startups and the sole candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, a poll showed Wednesday. According to a Realmeter survey of 1,042 Seoulites aged 18 or older on March 22 and 23, Oh gained 48.9 percent support and Park stood at 29.2 percent support of respondents in the two-w

PoliticsMarch 24, 2021

First ever impeachment trial of judge begins

The nation’s first ever impeachment trial of a judge began Tuesday, as the Constitutional Court held a pretrial hearing for Lim Seong-geun, who stands accused of abusing his judicial power in several politically sensitive court rulings. The 300-seat National Assembly last month passed a motion tabled by a group of 161 lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party and minor liberal parties to impeach Lim, a sitting judge at the time, making him the first judge in South Korea to face an impeac

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2021

Unions oppose move to allow migrant laborers work at “death-ridden” logistics firms

A foreign workers’ representative group has called for improved working conditions at logistics firms, as the South Korean government mulls allowing migrant laborers to be dispatched as couriers to tackle the industry’s manpower shortage. In a statement released Wednesday, the Migrants’ Trade Union criticized the government for “effectively trying to make up industries short of local manpower with migrant workers.” The union said migrant laborers would be put at ri

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2021

Seoul declines to back UN resolution on NK rights

The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday condemning human rights violations in North Korea once again. South Korea decided not to co-sponsor it for the third year in a row. 　 The UN’s top human rights body passed the resolution by consensus for the 19th straight year during its 46th session in Geneva. 　 For the third consecutive year, South Korea opted out of co-sponsoring the bill, which denounces the regime’s human rights abuses, taking part in the

North KoreaMarch 24, 2021

S. Korea reports record-low childbirths in January

The number of babies born in South Korea fell to a record low in January, data showed Wednesday, underpinning the country's chronically low birth rate. A total of 25,003 babies were born in January, down 6.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any January since 1981 when the statistics agency began compiling related data. South Korea is struggling with a sustained fall in childbirths as many young people delay marriage or g

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2021