Pentagon chief arrives in S. Korea for talks on alliance, N. Korea

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to discuss a range of bilateral and global issues, such as North Korea and the wartime operational control transfer, officials said. Austin arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, from Japan on the day for a three-day stay as part of his first Asia swing since taking office in January. He is the first Cabinet-level US official of the Biden administration to visit the country. US Secretary of State Antony

DefenseMarch 17, 2021

Biden administration using 'toned-down' approach toward N. Korea to prevent escalation: report

The Biden administration is using "toned-down" rhetoric against North Korea to help prevent any unnecessary escalation of tensions before its ongoing review of how to deal with the North concludes, a news report suggested Tuesday. Citing unidentified senior administration officials, NBC News reported that "senior officials" of the administration have agreed to use "toned-down" rhetoric when speaking publicly about North Korea. The report also said officials at the

Foreign AffairsMarch 17, 2021

N. Korea has achieved 'alarming success' in nuclear, missile development: US commander

North Korea has achieved alarming success in its pursuit of nuclear and long-range missile capabilities and continues to expand its arsenal, which includes three ballistic missiles that can reach the US homeland, a US commander said Tuesday. Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, also noted the North may resume its long-range missile testing to check the capability of a newly unveiled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "T

North KoreaMarch 17, 2021

Discussion of nuclearizing S. Korea may help denuclearize N. Korea: US lawmaker

Serious discussions on the nuclearization of South Korea and Japan may put pressure on China to finally step in and help denuclearize North Korea, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives said Tuesday. Rep. Steve Chabot from Ohio argued the only way to denuclearize the North is to have China put more pressure on Pyongyang. "The thing that scares the PRC, that keeps them awake at night, is a nuclear Japan or a nuclear South Korea," said the ranking member of the House Su

North KoreaMarch 17, 2021

Defense minister expresses regret over N. Korea's criticism of military exercises

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said Tuesday North Korea's criticism of Seoul's military exercise with the United States was "regrettable." Suh made the remark at a parliamentary hearing hours after Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to scrap an inter-Korean military agreement over the combined exercise by the allies. "I find criticism of a defensive and annual exercise regrettable," Suh said. Asked about the possibility that Nor

DefenseMarch 16, 2021

Blinken says US is looking at pressure measures, diplomatic paths, in NK policy review

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Washington is looking at various ways to address the North Korean nuclear issue, including "pressure measures" and "diplomatic paths," during its ongoing policy review. During a press conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts, Toshimitsu Motegi and Nobuo Kishi, in Tokyo, Blinken also pointed out the US' commitment to dealing with human rights abuses in the North. His remarks came h

Diplomatic CircuitMarch 16, 2021

Moon discusses digital partnership with Latin American countries

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday held a meeting with ministers and ambassadors of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil to discuss digital partnership with Latin American countries. This is the president’s first face-to-face diplomatic meeting over the past year amid canceled or delayed state visits in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Korea is an optimal and reliable partner for your envisioned transition towards an ecofriendly digital economy. Korea has

PoliticsMarch 16, 2021

Seoul sees signs of new spike amid softened social distancing

South Korean health officials on Tuesday announced special measures attuned to the spring season to beat back the spread of COVID-19. Son Young-rae, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson, told a news briefing that about a month into eased social distancing, signs of a new surge of COVID-19 cases were growing in and around Seoul, which account for nearly 70 to 80 percent of recently diagnosed patients. For the whole of last week, Korea counted over 400 cases each day, which

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

[News Focus] South Korea fastest in female part-timer growth in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea posted the highest growth in the portion of part-timers of all employed women among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in recent years. In its analysis on the part-time employment of women by the Paris-based organization for 36 of its members, 20.8 percent of all Korean employed women had a part-time job status as of 2019, the latest year for which data was available. Compared to 2014, when the figure stood at 15.5 percent, this mark

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

S. Korean civic group extends COVID aid worldwide

Global Together, a South Korean civic group helping underprivileged countries with health care and education, said Monday it has donated face masks and coronavirus test kits to Uzbekistan. The group held a ceremony with the Uzbekistan Embassy here to mark the delivery. “With the current COVID-19 continuing, support for masks and diagnostic kits will greatly help overcome the COVID-19 crisis in Uzbekistan. Moreover, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Global Together, Korean stude

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

S. Korea to monitor reported side effects from AstraZeneca vaccines

South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that they will keep a close eye on reported side effects of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines whose rollout has been suspended in major European countries over reported blood clots after vaccine injections. A large number of European countries, such as Germany, Italy and France, halted the use of vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University over reports of blood clots in some recipients. International

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

Kim Jong-un's sister denounces S. Korea-US joint military exercises

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful younger sister, slammed South Korea and the US for conducting joint military exercises and threatened to scrap an inter-Korean military pact Tuesday, a day before high-level US officials are to arrive in Seoul. 　 Kim, who has taken center stage in attacking Seoul and Washington in the past, also sent a direct message to the US for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January. She warned the US against “causi

North KoreaMarch 16, 2021

Govt. moves to allow foreign workers to land parcel sorting jobs

The government is pushing to revise local immigration laws to allow migrant workers from overseas to land parcel sorting jobs amid growing concerns over the industry's manpower shortage and notoriously long work hours, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Justice recently preannounced a revision of an enforcement decree on the Immigration Control Act to give more occupational choices to foreign nationals residing in South Korea with H-2 work and visit visas, according to the officials. Unde

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

Worst sandstorm in 10 years blows into Korea

The worst sandstorm in 10 years from China blew over to South Korea early Tuesday, and is expected to affect mostly the western part of the country until Wednesday. Yellow dust that originates in the Mongolian Plateau, the Gobi Desert and northeastern China gets carried over to the Korean Peninsula by the north winds that are typically prevalent in March. The Korea Meteorological Agency said the yellow dust will gradually dissipate on Wednesday, but remnants could linger depending on the atmos

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

Seoul mayor candidate Park vows to strengthen ties with Europe

Park Young-sun, the Seoul mayor candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has vowed to strengthen cooperation with Europe to drive the city to move toward a global city at a meeting with the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Monday. The candidate attended a special meeting hosted by the ECCK and shared opinions with European entrepreneurs on the business landscape in Seoul and ways to further develop Seoul into a global economic hub, the ECCK said Tuesday. During the meeting

PoliticsMarch 16, 2021

Former Seoul mayor has highest poll rating

Less than a month before the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor, Oh Se-hoon, a former mayor and the sole candidate from the main opposition People Power Party, is ahead of both of the other major candidates -- People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo and Park Young-sun, former minister of SMEs and startups and the sole candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea -- a poll showed Tuesday. According to a Realmeter survey of 1,030 Seoulites aged 18 or older on March

PoliticsMarch 16, 2021

Rival parties to seek special counsel probe into growing land speculation scandal

Rival parties tentatively agreed Tuesday to jointly seek an independent counsel investigation into a ballooning land speculation scandal. Rep. Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said his party will seek to launch an independent counsel probe into the scandal, practically accepting the ruling Democratic Party's earlier call for the investigation. "I request the implementation of a special counsel probe, as well as a parliamentary investigation (in

PoliticsMarch 16, 2021

Govt. task force to summon LH officials over alleged land speculation

A government task force will soon summon officials of the state housing developer for questioning on allegations of land speculation, a task force official said Tuesday. Twenty employees of Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) are currently under investigation for allegedly using insider information to purchase land mainly in Gwangmyeong and Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, before the area was designated as a major public housing development site last month. "We are currently analyzing material t

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

Victims seek to clear their names in retrials over civilian massacre in Jeju

JEJU -- A local court on Tuesday held sentencing hearings in retrials of more than 330 former prison inmates over the bloody 1948-1954 suppression of a civilian uprising on Jeju Island. The Jeju District Court began the hearing at 10 a.m. for 335 former inmates convicted of violating the defense security law during the Jeju April 3 uprising, in the nation's largest-ever trial involving the largest number of defendants in a single case. The retrials, divided into 21 sessions, are set to continu

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021

Greater Seoul area to adopt tighter curbs on virus-prone facilities, workplaces

The Seoul metropolitan area will implement more stringent antivirus measures on virus-prone facilities and expand testing on foreign workers at industrial complexes in the area to better contain the coronavirus, the health authority said Tuesday. Health authorities said they will closely monitor 30 multi-use facilities, including parks, amusement parks, department stores and markets, in the wider Seoul area until March 31 in response to growing concerns over a rising number of visitors in sprin

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2021