N. Korea calls for speedy recovery efforts in flood-hit eastern regions

North Korea called on officials to finish recovery efforts at a flood-hit eastern province before the founding anniversary of the Workers' Party next month as it held an enlarged meeting of the provincial military commission, state media reported Tuesday. The South Hamgyong Provincial Military Commission of the Workers' Party met on Sunday to inspect the progress of recovery efforts and discussed measures to "ensure the high quality and speed of construction," the Rodong Sinmun, the or

North KoreaSept. 14, 2021

Typhoon Chanthu brings heavy rain on Jeju

Typhoon Chanthu is dumping heavy rain and bringing strong winds on the southern island of Jeju, a weather agency said Tuesday, causing safety concerns and disruptions in transportation. The season's 14th typhoon, packing wind gust of up to 39 meters per second, passed 210 kilometers east of Shanghai, China, as of 9 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to come the nearest to the island on Friday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The typhoon is expected to affect the island throughout the wee

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2021

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church, dies

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, the founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, died Tuesday. He was 85. The pastor emeritus of the world's largest congregation passed away at 7:13 a.m. at a Seoul hospital. He had been under medical treatment suffering a cerebral hemorrhage since last year. In 1936 in the southeastern rural county of Ulju, he was born to a family with Buddhist belief. His family moved to the southern port city of Busan after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. He is known to have come to beli

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2021

New cases under 1,500 for 2nd day; infections in capital area at peak

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed under 1,500 for the second straight day Tuesday as health authorities worry about a potential virus flare-up during a major holiday that starts later this week. The country added 1,497 COVID-19 cases, including 1,463 local infections, raising the total caseload to 275,910, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was up 64 from 1,433 cases the previous day. Virus cases usually begin spiking Wednesday whe

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2021

S. Korea, Australia urge N. Korea to return to dialogue 'without preconditions'

South Korea and Australia have urged North Korea to return to talks "without preconditions," stressing that diplomacy and dialogue are essential to bringing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The two countries made the call in a joint statement adopted following the biennial "two plus two" talks of foreign and defense ministers that took place in Seoul on Monday. The talks came amid renewed concerns after the North test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missiles over the week

North KoreaSept. 14, 2021

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan to hold trilateral talks on N.Korea diplomacy

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan were set to hold trilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday about efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, amid renewed tensions over the recalcitrant regime's recent missile launches. The talks between Seoul's nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, come after the North test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend amid signs of its

DefenseSept. 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul Metro union calls off planned walkout on last-minute deal

The unionized workers of Seoul Metro, operator of the Seoul subway system, called off a planned walkout that was set to take place Tuesday as they reached a last-minute deal with the management. The deal was reached shortly before midnight following a marathon negotiation that began at 3 p.m. Under the agreement, Seoul Metro withdrew its earlier plan to lay off 1,539 workers, or 10 percent of its workforce. The parties also agreed to establish a consultation body between the management and the u

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2021

2.2 magnitude quake hits S. Korea's southeastern region: KMA

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's southeastern region early Tuesday, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred 11 kilometers southeast of Miryang, a city about 390 km southeast of Seoul, at 3:36 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at 35.41 degrees north latitude and 128.78 degrees east longitude at a depth of 16 km. The KMA asked people to be mindful of their safety, as the tremor could be felt in regions close to the epicente

Social AffairsSept. 14, 2021

US remains open to diplomacy with N. Korea after latest missile launch: White House

The United States remains open to diplomacy and dialogue with North Korea, a White House spokesperson said Monday, despite North Korea's missile launch that it said poses threat to US allies in the region. Karine Jean-Pierre, principal deputy spokeswoman for the White House, said the US offer to meet anywhere, anytime also remains unchanged. "So you know our position has not changed when it comes to North Korea," she said when asked aboard the Air Force One en route to Boise, Idaho whe

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 14, 2021

Top court dismisses Mitsubishi's appeal of asset seizure order

South Korea's top court has confirmed a lower court's order to seize Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.'s assets here to compensate wartime forced labor victims, judicial officials said Monday. The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Japanese company's appeal of a court order to seize its six patent rights and two trademark rights registered in South Korea. In 2018, the top court ordered Mitsubishi to compensate South Korean workers who were mobilized into forced labor in the company's plants

Social AffairsSept. 13, 2021

S. Korea, Australia reaffirm commitment to Indo-Pacific stability

South Korea and Australia reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific region during their foreign and defense ministers' talks Monday, casting themselves as "like-minded" democracies amid China's growing assertiveness and North Korea's renewed threats. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Defense Minister Suh Wook, and their Australian counterparts, Marise Payne and Peter Dutton, respectively, held their countries' fifth biennial "two-plus-two"

Foreign AffairsSept. 13, 2021

South Korea, Australia stress security cooperation to tackle mutual challenges

The foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and Australia held talks Monday and emphasized the importance of bolstering mutual security ties and strategic communication to tackle common challenges.  South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook together met with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defense Minister Peter Dutton in Seoul for the so-called “two-plus-two” dialogue, where they discussed a range of issues including

Foreign AffairsSept. 13, 2021

Moon heading to New York for UN General Assembly

President Moon Jae-in is heading to New York on Sunday to deliver his speech at the United Nations General Assembly but nothing has been decided on bilateral meetings, including a possible summit with US President Joe Biden, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday. The president plans to visit New York and Honolulu during his five-day trip to the US. This will be his fifth attendance at the annual General Assembly, a diplomatic mega event that convenes Sept. 21 for two weeks. Moon plans

PoliticsSept. 13, 2021

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun decides to drop out of ruling party's primary

Chung Sye-kyun, former prime minister and presidential hopeful, on Monday decided to drop out of the ruling party's presidential primary race, according to his campaign team representatives. The former business executive-turned-politician decided to end his primary race after holding a meeting with his campaign team and plans to hold a press conference to announce his decision at the National Assembly later in the day. Chung, a former six-term lawmaker, stepped down as prime minister in April

PoliticsSept. 13, 2021

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold talks amid renewed tensions over NK missile launch

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held talks in Tokyo on Monday to discuss cooperation in resuming dialogue with North Korea, amid renewed tensions caused by Pyongyang's recent cruise missile launches. The talks between Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came on the eve of their trilateral meeting with the US special representative for the North, Sung Kim. Earlier in the day, the North's official Korean Central News Ag

Foreign AffairsSept. 13, 2021

USFK reports 9 COVID-19 cases from new arrivals

Six American soldiers and three family members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday. Four of the service members and a family member arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights, while the others arrived at Incheon international airport, west of the capital, via commercial flights between Aug. 26 and Sept. 6, according to the US military. The latest cases raised the t

DefenseSept. 13, 2021

Natl. Assembly OKs opposition lawmaker's resignation over father's alleged land speculation

The National Assembly on Monday approved the resignation of Rep. Yun Hee-suk of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who offered to resign following speculation allegations over her father's past real estate transaction. Yun, a former economist and a rising PPP freshman member, had offered to give up her seat and presidential bid last month after being included in a group of main opposition lawmakers who either themselves or their families were suspected of being linked to speculative

PoliticsSept. 13, 2021

Inter-Korean missile race intensifies amid tension

South Korea and North Korea are locked in an expanding arms race to bolster their naval power through submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) with no end to tensions in sight. SLBMs are hard to intercept because they are fired from submarines deep in the sea. Seven countries that have nuclear weapons -- China, France, India, North Korea, Russia, the UK and the US – have developed them. South Korea is the only non-nuclear state to have tested them, recently. Nuclear warheads make No

DefenseSept. 13, 2021

North Korea test-fires new long-range cruise missiles

North Korea said Monday that it had successfully test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend, ramping up tensions as South Korea, the US and Japan get ready for a Tuesday meeting to discuss the North’s nuclear issue.  　 During the tests Saturday and Sunday, the cruise missiles flew in ovals and figure eights for more than two hours above the North’s land and waters before hitting targets 1,500 kilometers away, according to the Korean Central News Agency

North KoreaSept. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yoon Seok-youl allegations threaten to push political arena

The allegations surrounding conservative presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl are expanding, with Yoon accusing the head of the National Intelligence Service of meddling in a presidential election. On Monday, Yoon reported NIS chief Park Jie-won and informant Cho Sung-eun to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, in a countermove for coming under investigation for allegations raised by Cho. Yoon has accused Park and Cho of violating the National Intelligence Service Ac

PoliticsSept. 13, 2021