New Year's Eve celebrations roll across Asia, but wars cast a shadow on 2024

Revelers across Asia celebrated the countdown to midnight on New Year's Eve with fireworks and brightly lit signs — offering a hopeful start to 2024 for some, even as the globe's ongoing conflicts raised security concerns and led to muted or even canceled festivities. As the clock struck midnight in Australia, more than 1 million people — a number equivalent to one in five of the city’s residents — watched a 12-minute firework display focused on the Sydney Har

Foreign AffairsJan. 1, 2024

Yoon's approval rating inches up to 37.2 pct: poll

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating rose slightly to 37.2 percent, after stagnating for the past two weeks, a poll showed Sunday. The rating was up 0.9 percentage point from the previous week, while the negative assessment went down 1.2 percentage points to 59.6 percent, according to a survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local business news outlet on 2,007 people aged 18 and over from Tuesday to Friday. The positive assessment rose the most among respondents in their 30s and 40s

PoliticsJan. 1, 2024

S. Korea vows responsibility as elected UNSC member as 2-year term begins

South Korea vowed Monday to do its part "responsibly" to contribute to international efforts in addressing global challenges that threaten peace and security, as it began its two-year term as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council. South Korea won the UNSC nonpermanent member seat in June last year with 180 votes from 192 member states at the UN General Assembly in New York. It will serve on the council, one of the six key organs of the UN, until 2025. The UNSC is pri

Foreign AffairsJan. 1, 2024

NK leader says Korean Peninsula inching closer to armed conflict

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for perfecting the military's readiness posture, saying the Korean Peninsula is "inching closer to the brink of armed conflict" and a clash could happen at any time, state media said Monday. Kim made the remark during a meeting with major commanding officers of the Korean People's Army at the office building of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. During the meeti

North KoreaJan. 1, 2024

US warns N. Korea's space rocket launches flout UN Security Council resolutions

North Korean space rocket launches violate UN Security Council resolutions, a US State Department spokesperson said Sunday, after Pyongyang announced a goal of launching three more military spy satellites in 2024. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un put forward the goal among others as the five-day Central Committee gathering of the ruling Workers' Party concluded on Saturday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. "Space launch vehicles incorporate technologies

North KoreaJan. 1, 2024

[KH Explains] An extra day is not necessarily a bonus

As the year 2024 approaches, people around the world are gearing up for a leap year, but not everyone will be welcoming the extra day. The concept of a leap year arises from the fact that a year in the international solar calendar is not exactly 365 days long. Instead, it consists of 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. To account for this extra time, we add an extra day to our calendars every four years. This additional day is what gives us a leap year, complete with the leap day Fe

Social AffairsDec. 31, 2023

Cancer survival rate rises, but cancer patients at all-time high

Roughly seven out of 10 cancer patients in South Korea survive at least five years after cancer is detected, but the number of new cancer patients is at an all-time high according to a state report released Thursday. The five-year relative survival rate for people diagnosed with cancer between 2017 and 2021 was 72.1 percent, according to the joint report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Central Cancer Registry. It increased from 65.5 percent in 2016, and marked a significant incre

Social AffairsDec. 31, 2023

S. Korean shipbuilders rank 2nd in new global orders in 2023: data

South Korean shipbuilders ranked second in 2023 in terms of new global orders for the third straight year, industry data showed Sunday. Local shipbuilders clinched a combined 10.01 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders this year, accounting for 24 percent of the 41.49 million global total, according to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. The South Korean industry's total was down 37.6 percent from a year earlier. The global tally also went

PoliticsDec. 31, 2023

Sacked N. Korean military official returns to No. 2 post of military

North Korean Marshal Pak Jong-chon, who was sacked earlier this year, has returned to the second most powerful position of the country's military after the country's leader Kim Jong-un as part of a year-end ruling party reshuffle, according to state media Sunday. Pak was named the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea in the reshuffle from the five-day plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee that ended Saturday, according to

North KoreaDec. 31, 2023

About 100,000 people expected to gather for New Year's Eve ceremony in central Seoul

This year's bell-tolling ceremony on New Year's Eve in central Seoul will feature various performances and is expected to draw a crowd of about 100,000 people, city officials said Sunday. The popular midnight bell-ringing celebration at the Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul on Dec. 31 has been held every year since 1953 to ring in the new year, though public attendance was prohibited during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's event will start off at 11 p.m. at Bosingak Pavilion,

Social AffairsDec. 31, 2023

N. Korea to launch 3 more military spy satellites next year: state media

North Korea aims to launch three additional spy satellites next year, the North's state media reported Sunday, after the successful launch of the country's first military reconnaissance satellite last month. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set forth the goal as he wrapped up five days of the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Based on the experience of successfully launching

North KoreaDec. 31, 2023

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' tops 5 billion YouTube views

"Gangnam Style," a 2012 global sensation by South Korean singer-rapper Psy, reached another milestone Saturday as the song's popularity has continued for more than a decade. The music video for the song exceeded 5 billion views on YouTube. Unveiled in July 2012, the main track from Psy's sixth full-length album became a global sensation as its comical music video and the singer's trademark horse dance went viral. The song made him the first K-pop act to rise to No. 2 on

Social AffairsDec. 30, 2023

DP leader rejects former leader's call for resignation

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, on Saturday rejected former party leader Lee Nak-yon's call for his resignation as they failed to patch up their differences. The two sides met for talks in Seoul after the former party leader demanded Lee Jae-myung step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the general elections scheduled for next April. The current leader rejected both demands and called on the former leader to remain in th

PoliticsDec. 30, 2023

Heavy snow advisory issued for parts of Seoul, surrounding areas

Heavy snow pounded the capital and parts of the surrounding Gyeonggi Province on Saturday, with snow or rain expected to fall in many parts of the country ahead of the new year. A heavy snow advisory was in effect for the entire capital, except for southwestern Seoul, parts of Gyeonggi Province, and most parts of the eastern province of Gangwon as of 1 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The advisory is given when the snowfall is expected to reach 5 centimeters or more

Social AffairsDec. 30, 2023

2 S. Koreans released 17 days after abduction in Nigeria

Two South Koreans have been released unharmed after being abducted by an unidentified armed group in southern Nigeria, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. The two men in their 50s and 60s, respectively, were taken during an ambush by the group in Gbaran in the southern district of Enwe in the West African country on Dec. 12, according to sources. They are employees of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean builder. South Korean authorities secured the custody

Foreign AffairsDec. 30, 2023

DP leader to meet ex-leader Lee Nak-yon Saturday amid call for resignation

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Friday he will have a breakfast meeting with former DP leader Lee Nak-yon this weekend amid the latter's call for his resignation. The former party leader has demanded Lee Jae-myung step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April. If Lee declines the proposal by the end of the year, the former leader has said he will set out to launch a new p

PoliticsDec. 29, 2023

Defense chief apologizes over Dokdo's description as disputed territory in education material

South Korea's defense chief has apologized over the description of the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo as a disputed territory in the military's newly published educational material for troops. On Thursday, the ministry began recalling the basic educational material after President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed immediate corrections. The material had listed Dokdo among disputes between major countries around the Korean Peninsula, such as China, Russia and Japan. "As I made t

DefenseDec. 29, 2023

Yoon, ex-President Park meet over lunch at presidential residence

President Yoon Suk Yeol and former President Park Geun-hye met over lunch at the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday, Yoon's office said. This was their third meeting since Yoon's inauguration in May 2022. Yoon asked Park about her health and how often she visits Seoul, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. The former president has lived in her hometown of Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, since she was pardoned in 2021 after spending four years and nine

PoliticsDec. 29, 2023

Korea to launch new ‘digital nomad’ visa on Jan. 1

South Korea will start issuing new “digital nomad” visas starting Monday, which will allow some foreign residents to stay for up to two years while maintaining a job back home, officials said Friday. “To make remote work and vacation of foreigners in Korea smoother, we have decided to launch a new digital nomad visa,” the Justice Ministry said, highlighting the rise of the "workcation" trend, where employees work remotely from a different location. “So far

Social AffairsDec. 29, 2023

Rain or snow expected nationwide on New Year’s Eve

As 2023 draws to a close, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast on Friday that most of South Korea will see either snow or rain over the weekend. According to the KMA, snow or rain is expected to fall in most parts of the country on Saturday and Sunday, as low pressure passes through. The central parts of the West Sea, western Seoul and northern South Chungcheong Province are expected to be hit with the first waves of snow or rain on Saturday morning. These weather conditions are expe

Social AffairsDec. 29, 2023