Korea, Singapore discuss mutual recognition of vaccine certificates

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug and his Singaporean counterpart Tan Chuan-Jin agreed on the need to mutually recognize COVID-19 vaccination certificates and to resume a reciprocal quarantine exemption arrangement at a virtual meeting held on Friday, officials said Sunday. They also shared views on the Korea-Singapore Digital Partnership Agreement and the Korean Peninsula. Park said, “We are keenly interested in the efforts of Singapore to strike the right balance between inf

Social AffairsAug. 29, 2021

Air Force chief, US space commander agree to form consultative body on space policy

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho has signed a deal with the chief of the US space operations and agreed to form a joint consultative body on space policy to strengthen cooperation, his office said Sunday. During his visit to the Air Force Space Command in Colorado, Park signed a memorandum of understanding with Gen. John Raymond on the formation of a joint space policy consultative body on Friday (US time), becoming official partners in space security cooperation. The Air Force plans t

DefenseAug. 29, 2021

Seoul's nuclear envoy to visit Washington for talks on N. Korea

South Korea's top nuclear envoy is set to depart for the United States on Sunday for talks on efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, the foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk's four-day trip to Washington comes after his US counterpart Sung Kim's visit to Seoul last week, during which the two discussed humanitarian aid to the North amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's protest against military exercises between the South and the US During his trip, Noh plans to meet officials from the S

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 29, 2021

New cases under 1,700; number of critically-ill patients on rise

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,700 Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but the number of patients in critical condition stayed high, sparking concerns over more fatalities down the road. The country added 1,619 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,576 local infections, raising the total caseload to 248,568, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Sunday's tally compares with 1,793 on Saturday and 1,841 on Friday. Daily cases have stayed

Social AffairsAug. 29, 2021

USFK reports 11 more COVID-19 cases

The US military in South Korea reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total number of its infections to 1,297. Five infections were reported from Osan Air Base and three COVID-19 patients -- one soldier and two civilian workers -- were identified from Camp Humphreys, both located in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to US Forces Korea. USFK said three family members from its base in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, also tested positive. The

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2021

DP lawmakers withdraw contentious bill banning slander of ex-wartime sexual slavery victims

A group of ruling party lawmakers have withdrawn a controversial bill designed to curb slander of former wartime sexual slavery victims and their advocacy groups, in the face of strong criticism from opposition parties. According to a National Assembly website tracking legislative bills, the proposal to revise the act on protecting so-called comfort women was withdrawn on Wednesday after its submission 12 days ago. "Comfort women" is a euphemistic term for those who were sexually ens

PoliticsAug. 28, 2021

New cases hover around 1,800, with critical patients increasing

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell to slightly under 1,800 Saturday, but the number of critical patients kept rising, while health authorities started to discuss special antivirus measures for the upcoming Chuseok holidays. The country added 1,793 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,738 local infections, raising the total caseload to 246,951, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Saturday's tally compares with 1,811 on Friday, 1,882 on Thursday, 2,155 on Wedne

NationalAug. 28, 2021

S. Korea, Thailand agree on cooperation in health care, future industries, green technologies

The top diplomats of South Korea and Thailand agreed Friday to strengthen cooperation in future industries, health care and green technologies during their talks in the Southeast Asian country, the foreign ministry said. The talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, came as Seoul strives to advance its New Southern Policy aimed at deepening diplomatic and economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the talks,

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

S. Korea struggling to curb surges in coronavirus infections among foreign workers

South Korea is grappling with a growing number of coronavirus cases among migrant workers, many of whom are living and working in conditions highly vulnerable to cluster infections. New COVID-19 cases among foreign nationals last week reached 1,665, a 20.7 percent increase from the previous week, according to health authorities. They accounted for 13.6 percent of all new cases during the period, up 2.5 percentage points from 11.1 percent a week earlier and much higher than the proportion of t

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2021

Latvia Embassy unveils exhibition showcasing 30th anniversary of Latvia-Korea relations

The Latvian Embassy in Seoul unveiled an exhibition Teusday to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Latvia and Korea. The exhibition titled “Latvia: A New Beginning” was unveiled at the Geumjeong Cultural Center in Busan and will showcase diversity of Latvia’s culture until Oct. 9. One part of the exhibition, “Latvia. Architecture at Convergence,” reflects the rich culture of Latvia and has been created as a follow-up to a special issue of th

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 27, 2021

Colombian president hopes to boost economic ties with Korea

  Colombian President Ivan Duque on Thursday expressed hopes of expanded economic ties with Korea, touting the brotherhood between the two nations forged during Colombia’s participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. “More than 5,000 Colombians came into this nation to defend liberty and democracy. More than 230 were killed. Four hundred were injured. And they gave the best of their lives to protect this nation. So, there is a brotherhood that has existed since then,” the p

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 27, 2021

Remaining 13 Afghan evacuees arrive in South Korea

  The second and final group of Afghan evacuees who worked alongside the South Korean government arrived here on Friday, as part of Seoul’s mission to rescue civilians fleeing the war-torn country following the Taliban takeover.  The group of 13 Afghans onboard a C-130 military jet landed at Incheon International Airport at around 1 p.m., after leaving the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Thursday, according to the Foreign Ministry. Their arrival came a day later than the first

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

Unionized health workers to go on strike Sept. 2 amid prolonged pandemic

Unionized health workers will go on strike next week to demand better working conditions and the expansion of public health infrastructure amid the pandemic, their union said Friday, raising concerns over a workforce shortage in hospitals as South Korea is battling the worst wave of COVID-19. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) said 82 percent of 56,091 members from 124 hospitals and treatment facilities cast their ballot, and nearly 90 percent of them voted in favor of the str

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2021

Kabul airport blast occurred at site used during Korea's evacuation: source

The site of the deadly attack on the Kabul airport was the same gate that South Korea used days earlier to evacuate Afghan co-workers and their family members, a source said Friday. The suicide bomb attack at the airport's Abby Gate on Thursday has left scores of Afghans and US troops dead and many others wounded. South Korea used the gate Monday to bring 26 Afghans into the airport as part of the operation to evacuate 390 Afghans. Seoul's evacuation team is known to have chosen the gate, as a

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

Civic groups protest Japan's plan to release Fukushima water via undersea tunnel

South Korean civic groups on Friday urged Japan to scrap its plan to build an undersea tunnel to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. The groups, including the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements and the Korea Radiation Watch, held a joint news conference in Seoul to warn about serious environmental problems to be caused by a dumping of contaminated water through an undersea tunnel. "If radioactive wastewater is discharged th

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

USFK reports cluster infection at Osan base after recent no-mask dance party

At least 33 American service members stationed at Osan Air Base tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Friday, after the base came under fire for a no-mask dance party in disregard of social distancing rules. The infections were reported on Thursday and Friday at the base, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and contact tracing is under way, according to South Korean government officials. A dance party took place at the base Saturday involving dozens of individuals not wearing face

DefenseAug. 27, 2021

Defense chief to visit Egypt, Oman next week

Defense Minister Suh Wook will visit Egypt and Oman next week to meet with senior officials there to discuss ways to boost defense and arms industry ties, his office said Friday. Suh plans to leave for Egypt on Sunday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the country's defense chief Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed. It is the first time for a South Korean defense minister to visit the Middle Eastern nation, according to the ministry. During the stay, Suh will have talks with the defense chief and

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

S. Korea sends back 1 unidentified Afghan during evacuation: foreign ministry

The foreign ministry corrected the number of Afghan evacuees brought into South Korean on Thursday to 377 from 378, saying one person had to be returned to Kabul from Islamabad due to unclear identity. A total of 391 Afghans had originally been brought from Kabul to Islamabad, but while checking their identities before departure for South Korea, officials found one unidentified person not on the evacuation list, according to the ministry. "The person was sent back to Kabul on a military t

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

S. Korea's top nuclear envoy to visit US for talks on N. Korea

South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, will visit the United States next week for talks with his US counterpart, Sung Kim, about efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday. Noh's four-day trip to Washington, D.C., starting Sunday, comes only about a week after Kim's visit to Seoul early this week, during which the two discussed humanitarian aid to the North amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's protest against military exercises between the South a

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021

Afghan evacuees in S. Korea arrive at temporary shelter in Jincheon

JINCHEON -- Hundreds of Afghan civilians who evacuated to South Korea seeking refuge from the Taliban in their homeland arrived at their temporary shelter in the country's central region Friday, where they are expected to stay for about eight weeks. The group of 377 Afghans, including 180 children and infants, which landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Thursday via a KC-330 military tanker transport aircraft, was admitted to the Leadership Campus of the National Human Reso

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2021