US spy plane dispatched to Korea following S. Korea's rocket launch: tracker

A US spy aircraft flew over the Korean Peninsula on Friday, an aviation tracker showed, in what appears to be a sortie to monitor North Korea's military activities following South Korea's launch of a space rocket. The United States Air Force's RC-135W Rivet Joint was spotted flying between the west and east coasts of the peninsula, according to Flightradar24, a real-time flight tracker. The plane flew into South Korean airspace from abroad, an official at the US Forces Korea (USFK) said withou

Foreign AffairsOct. 22, 2021

NSC calls for efforts for stability after N. Korea's SLBM test

Ensuring stability on the Korean Peninsula is the most important goal in handling issues surrounding North Korea, the presidential National Security Council (NSC) said Friday, after the North's test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. National security adviser Suh Hoon made the remarks while presiding over a regular NSC meeting, days after North Korea test-fired a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, marking the North's latest weapons test in recent weeks. In a statement, t

North KoreaOct. 22, 2021

Yoon accused of 'mocking' nation with pic of dog with apple

Yoon Seok-youl, a leading opposition presidential contender, drew fire Friday after a photo of his dog being fed an apple sparked speculation that he likened the people to a dog following a reluctant apology for making insensitive remarks about a former dictator. In Korean, "apology" and "apple" are homonyms and the fact that Yoon's dog Tory was given the fruit only hours after the candidate issued a public apology led to criticism that Yoon was insincere in his apology and

PoliticsOct. 22, 2021

S. Korea to hold nationwide shopping festival next month

South Korea will launch a nationwide shopping festival next month to boost domestic consumption amid the pandemic, the industry ministry said Friday. The annual Korea Sale FESTA will kick off Nov. 1 for a 15-day run, both online and offline, and a total of 1,276 companies have expressed their intention to take part in the event, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The government plans to issue discount coupons and hold various events in cooperation with retailers and 17 pr

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2021

US envoy on N. Korea to visit Seoul to discuss ways to resume dialogue

The top US envoy for North Korea will visit Seoul this weekend, with his arrival delayed a day for an unspecified reason, an informed source said Friday. Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea, was initially scheduled to begin a three-day trip here Friday for consultations with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk. But his itinerary has changed, and he plans to fly to Seoul on Saturday, according to the source, who requested anonymity and did not elaborate on the reason. Kim and

North KoreaOct. 22, 2021

N. Korean delegation to attend UN climate conference in Glasgow

A North Korean delegation is expected to attend a UN  climate conference slated to kick off in Britain later this month, a Seoul official said Friday. Officials at the North Korean Embassy in London will participate in the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, which will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow. "As far as I know, the North Korean mission in Britain is sending a delegation," a foreign ministry official said. According to a recent US intelligence repo

North KoreaOct. 22, 2021

Military reports 6 additional COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported six additional COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,992, the defense ministry said. Four Army officers and two draftees tested positive for the virus, according to military data. Five of them were fully vaccinated. Of the cumulative cases in the military, 1,923, or 96 percent, have been fully cured, with 69 still under treatment. (Yonhap)

DefenseOct. 22, 2021

S. Korea to hold annual Hoguk defense exercise next week

South Korea will kick off an annual military exercise next week to strengthen defense readiness, officials said Friday, amid lingering tensions over North Korea's recent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test. The Hoguk exercise will run from Monday to Nov. 5 across the country, involving the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps., to enhance interservice cooperation, according to the officials at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The North has often responded angrily to such an exercise,

DefenseOct. 22, 2021

Navy gets upgraded destroyer with stronger anti-sub capabilities

The Navy received an upgraded destroyer on Friday, after more than a year of refurbishment aimed at bolstering anti-submarine and other capabilities, the state arms procurement agency said. The 3,200-ton Gwanggaeto the Great destroyer was handed over to the Navy, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, as South Korea seeks to strengthen subsurface operations amid renewed tensions over North Korea's recent test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile. The destroyer was sent f

DefenseOct. 22, 2021

Robust vaccination campaign keeps new infections largely in check

South Korea reported 1,440 new daily cases Friday in a downward trend in its coronavirus infections as its strong vaccination push seems to be helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus from spinning out of control. The new tally, including 1,420 local infections, brought the total caseload to 348,969, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's number is down one from the 1,441 counted the previous day. It is also down 117 from a week ago. The death toll came to

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2021

2.4 magnitude quake hits S. Korea's central region: KMA

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's central region Friday morning, the state weather agency said. The earthquake occurred about 26 kilometers south of Jecheon, 168 km southeast of Seoul, at 6:51 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter is estimated to be at a depth of 14 km. The earthquake was recorded at a maximum of Level 3 on the seismic intensity scale in North Chungcheong Province, where the epicenter was located. Gangwon Province in th

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2021

N. Korea's nuclear activity spawning, a big challenge for safeguard efforts: IAEA chief

North Korea's nuclear activities has expanded over the years and continue to move ahead, creating a big challenge for verification and safeguard efforts, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Thursday. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also highlighted the need for a diplomatic process to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. "What is relevant is to see that compared with 2009, this program has spawned in activity wise, geographically into t

North KoreaOct. 22, 2021

Humanitarian aid will not weaken US sanctions but win hearts of people: US officials

Allowing humanitarian assistance to a country under US sanctions does not weaken the sanctions against the regime but rather serves American interests in the long-term, US officials said Thursday. Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of treasury, also said providing humanitarian assistance to the people would better serve American interests and policy goals. "We ultimately want to and need to and will ensure that our sanction regimes have an economic impact on their targets. But as (former) Se

Foreign AffairsOct. 22, 2021

Foreign minister to visit Russia next week for talks on peninsula issues

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit Russia next week for discussions on bilateral ties and issues surrounding the Korean peninsula, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Chung will arrive in Russia on Tuesday for a three-day trip and will hold talks with his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Wednesday. The two will meet for the first time since the Russian foreign minister visited Seoul in March this year. The talks are expected to touch on recent developments on the peninsula as Seoul st

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2021

S. Korea, Paraguay vow to boost trade cooperation

  South Korean and Paraguayan trade ministers agreed Thursday to make joint efforts to boost cooperation in trade and industry fields in the post-pandemic era, officials said. During the meeting held in Seoul, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and his Paraguayan counterpart, Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria, discussed ways to promote bilateral investment and exchanges in a wide range of sectors, such as vaccine and climate change, according to the officials of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and En

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2021

Defense minister says S. Korea can thwart North’s ‘rudimentary SLBM’

North Korea is still working on improving missiles, but its latest submarine-launched ballistic missile tested Tuesday is still an early-stage weapon that can be intercepted, Defense Minister Suh Wook told the National Defense Committee on Thursday. “We have to look at not just that single missile launch but a whole system that goes with it,” Suh said during an annual National Assembly audit, referring to North Korea’s capability to build a submarine big enough to fire multipl

DefenseOct. 21, 2021

Health minister pins Nov. 1 as Korea’s point of return to normal

South Korea could discontinue most of its COVID-19 restrictions within mere weeks, according to top health officials. Kwon Deok-cheol, the minister of health and welfare, told lawmakers Wednesday that Nov. 1 is the likely date for the country’s “return to normal.” He said during a parliamentary audit of the ministry that the COVID-19 response team was “considering the first day of November as the date of the transition.” Korea Disease Control and Prevention Ag

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

[News Focus] US nationals could overtake Chinese as most numerous foreign visitors to Korea

SEJONG -- US nationals are likely to make up the largest proportion of inbound foreign visitors this year, overtaking Chinese visitors, who have held the No. 1 position for more than a decade. According to the Korea Immigration Service, the total number of foreigners who visited South Korea posted 747,813 for the first nine months of the year. Data showed that almost 1 in 4 of the non-Korean visitors were US nationals: They made up 24.2 percent of the 181,558 people who visited Korea during t

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

Seoul city govt. to report all participants of Wednesday labor rally to police

The Seoul city government said Thursday it will file complaints with police against all participants in a labor rally called by a militant umbrella union a day earlier on charges of violating the infectious disease prevention act. On Wednesday afternoon, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) staged a massive rally in central Seoul for about two hours as part of a one-day general strike to bring labor issues to the fore in the runup to the 2022 presidential election. About 27,000 union

PoliticsOct. 21, 2021

NK: SLBM test not aimed at US

North Korea on Thursday defended its latest test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile as necessary for its own defense and said the weapon does not target the US. 　 A spokesperson for the North’s Foreign Ministry said it is “truly concerned” that the US is showing “abnormal reactions” to the country’s exercise of its right to self-defense and criticized the US for taking “provocative moves” by calling for an emergency UN Security Coun

North KoreaOct. 21, 2021