New cases below 400,000 for second day; concerns linger over spike amid eased curbs

South Korea reported fewer than 400,000 new cases for the second day in a row Friday as the omicron variant tightens its grip on the country. The country reported 339,514 new infections as of midnight, raising the total caseload to 11,162,232, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's daily tally was down from 395,597 on Thursday and 490,881 on Wednesday, which was the second-highest daily caseload. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 14,294, up 393 from Thursday,

Social AffairsMarch 25, 2022

US condemns N. Korean missile launch, vows to take all necessary steps

The United States on Thursday condemned North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), vowing to take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the country and its allies.    White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said the path to diplomacy was still open but that the North must immediately stop its destabilizing actions.    "The United States strongly condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its test of a long-ran

North KoreaMarch 24, 2022

UN-Habitat Korean committee holds seminar on platform economy

  Experts have discussed the current status and direction of the platform economy as part of policy seminar series of “The Digital Age, the Road to the Cooperative Economy of Korea” organized by the UN-Habitat Korean National Committee on Wednesday.  In this seminar, experts from each field participated in resolving the monopoly on platform profits and legislating. They discussed regulations on “dinosaur” platforms for two hours and policy recommendations for p

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2022

Air Force aims to “drastically” improve command & control system for future warfare

South Korea has launched a project to “drastically” improve the Air Force’s command and control system, intending to enhance the military’s capabilities to detect and respond to air-based threats and its adaptability for the future battlefield. Defense contractor Hanwha Systems has begun developing the system to upgrade the function and capabilities of the Master Control and Reporting Center, which serves as a front-line unit in air defense, the Defense Acquisition Progr

DefenseMarch 24, 2022

N. Korea fires ICBM, breaks self-imposed moratorium

North Korea on Thursday fired an intercontinental ballistic missile after more than a four-year hiatus, breaking its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. Pyongyang launched an ICBM-class projectile that flew more than one hour and 10 minutes toward the East Sea at 2:34 p.m. from the Sunan area of the capital city Pyongyang. The ICBM flew around 1,080 kilometers at an altitude of 6200 km or higher, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that the missile is presumed to have been f

North KoreaMarch 24, 2022

Digital gadgets lose function after short-lived QR code verification scheme

With the lifting of the IT-based COVID-19 contract tracing scheme, owners of cafes, restaurants, and small and medium-sized shops now ponder over what to do with the digital devices they used for scanning personal QR codes. Since March 1, the government scrapped electronic contact tracing and vaccine passes in which visitors to public facilities including singing rooms, indoor gyms and residential nursing homes were required to get checked through mobile applications on their smartphones.

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2022

Moon-Yoon strife continues

Friction between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol appears to be intensifying, with the two sides openly criticizing one another.  Since the presidential election earlier this month, Moon and Yoon have been at odds over multiple issues, such as the relocation of the presidential office and appointment of high-ranking officials, including the governor of the Bank of Korea. A meeting between Moon and Yoon has still not taken place, marking the most prolonged delay bet

PoliticsMarch 24, 2022

Impeached Park discharged from hospital, returns home

Former President Park Geun-hye was discharged from hospital on Thursday and took residence in her new home, after spending four years and nine months in prison for a series of corruption charges. Appearing in front of the Samsung Medical Center where she was treated for chronic illnesses from November, Park said she has recovered and expressed gratitude to the medical staff. “I offer my greetings to the public in five years. With all your care, I was able to recover my health. I would

PoliticsMarch 24, 2022

Nearly 1 in 4 Koreans diagnosed with smartphone overdependence

Nearly a quarter of the South Korean public are dangerously reliant on smartphones, with almost 40 percent of the country’s youth diagnosed with smartphone overdependence, the Ministry of ICT and Science said Thursday. According to the ministry’s survey on the country’s digital divide and overdependence on smartphones, 24.2 percent of 10,000 households nationwide fell under the category of smartphone overdependence, up 0.9 percentage points on year. The ministry divided the

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2022

[Newsmaker] S. Korea reports all-time high daily COVID-19 deaths

South Korea reported the highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths during the 24 hours of Wednesday, the country’s health authorities said Thursday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 470 deaths in a single day, breaking the previous record of 429 reported a week ago. The total deaths from COVID-19 reached 13,902. Of the total, 7,130 deaths were reported between February and March, along with the rapid spread of the omicron variant here. The

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2022

NK gears up for possible massive military parade

Satellite photos show more than 600 vehicles mobilized at a training ground in North Korea’s capital in a sign that the country is preparing for a large-scale military parade.  Citing imagery taken by Planet Labs, Radio Free Asia said Wednesday that the North on Monday mobilized around 600 to 650 vehicles at the Mirim airport in Pyongyang -– where rehearsals for previous military parades have taken place –- signaling a forthcoming gathering.  There were about 150 v

North KoreaMarch 24, 2022

Finger pointing and infighting seen in victorious People Power Party

With less than 70 days remaining until the local elections, finger pointing and infighting are brewing inside the conservative People Power Party even after its victory in the latest presidential election. The internal feud comes as core members of the People Power Party clash with traditional conservative faction heavyweights on how the government should run under President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and how the party should prepare to make nominations and devise strategies for the upcoming local el

PoliticsMarch 24, 2022

Moon offers condolences to China's Xi over plane crash

President Moon Jae-in has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping to express condolences over the recent crash of a Chinese airliner, Moon's office said Thursday. In the letter, Moon offered deep sympathy to victims and their bereaved families, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. The China Eastern flight crashed in southern China with 132 people on board earlier this week, with all of them being presumed dead. (Yonhap)

PoliticsMarch 24, 2022

Expanding communication, cooperation among countries key to security in NE Asia: experts

WASHINGTON -- Expanding and maintaining channels of high-level dialogue between countries, especially in times of crises, is a key to ensuring security in the Northeast Asian region, including the Korean Peninsula, a transnational group of experts and leaders said Wednesday. They also stressed the importance of promoting cooperation between the countries in areas such as disaster relief to build mutual trust. "Numerous crisis mechanisms have been established in Northeast Asia over the past

Foreign AffairsMarch 24, 2022

New cases below 400,000; COVID-19 deaths hit all-time high as omicron tightens grip

South Korea reported nearly 400,000 new cases and record high deaths Thursday as the omicron variant is tightening its grip on the country, sickening nearly 20 percent of the 52 million population. The country reported 395,598 new infections as of midnight, raising the total caseload to 10,822,836, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. While the daily tally was a sharp drop from the previous day's 490,881, which was the second-highest daily caseload, deaths hit a new rec

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2022

Juvenile offenders with no criminal responsibility on steady rise

The number of teenage felons aged between 10 and 13, with no criminal responsibility, has been on a steady rise in recent years, a police report showed Thursday. Last year, 8,474 people in the age group committed violent crimes, marking an increase for the third consecutive year from 7,081 in 2019 and 7,535 in 2020, according to a National Police Agency report submitted to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the ruling Democratic Party. Currently, those aged 14 and younger cannot be held criminally responsible

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2022

N. Korea to hold major festivals for late founding leader's birth anniversary

North Korea plans to hold various large-scale celebratory events, both online and offline, on the occasion of the 110th birth anniversary of its late founding leader next month, according to its state media Thursday. The North will hold a major spring festival in Pyongyang with magic shows and performances by art troupes around mid-April to commemorate Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un, on April 15, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "(The festival) w

North KoreaMarch 24, 2022

Yoon to hold phone call with Xi amid N. Korea tensions

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week amid rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Yoon's spokesperson said Thursday. Kim Eun-hye did not give the exact date due to diplomatic protocol but claimed it was unprecedented for Xi to speak with a foreign leader before they took office. "I understand the need for a phone call was conceived in accordance with our close cooperation with China on Asia-Pacific and Kor

PoliticsMarch 24, 2022

WFP extends N. Korea aid project until 2023

The World Food Programme (WFP) has extended its aid program for North Korea by one year until the end of 2023, its website showed Thursday, with strict border restrictions against the COVID-19 pandemic in place there. Under the UN agency's revised Interim Country Strategic Plan for North Korea posted on its website, it will provide additional food aid worth $32.56 million for 803,134 North Koreans through next year. The WFP had planned to offer $182.43 million worth of aid to 3.6 million people

North KoreaMarch 24, 2022

Relocation of allies' combined command to Pyeongtaek likely to be delayed to autumn: sources

The South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) will likely start relocating to a key US military base south of Seoul this fall, a few months later than expected, with the completion of a related construction work apparently delayed, informed sources said Thursday. The relocation of the Seoul-based CFC headquarters to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital, had been forecast to begin this summer following the construction of its new building. But the completion of th

DefenseMarch 24, 2022