S. Korea, US begin preliminary training ahead of main summertime exercise

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday began a preliminary training in the runup to next week's annual summertime military exercise amid the North's warning it will take a toll on inter-Korean relations, sources said. The four-day crisis management staff training is aimed at checking the military's response to unexpected situations before a war breaks out. It will be followed by the main computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training scheduled for Aug. 16-26, according to the sources.

Foreign AffairsAug. 10, 2021

'Nothing has changed' about need for joint exercise on Korean Peninsula: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- Nothing has changed for the need to maintain the joint defense readiness of South Korea and the United States, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, emphasizing the importance of the allies' joint military exercises. John Kirby also reiterated any decision on the countries' joint military drills will be made jointly by the allies. "Nothing's changed about our need for readiness on the Korean Peninsula and our desire to work in lockstep with our ROK allies on a training regimen t

Foreign AffairsAug. 10, 2021

New virus cases over 1,500, further surge in store

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 1,500 on Tuesday, as the nationwide resurgence of COVID-19 cases continued amid the summer season. The country added 1,540 COVID-19 cases, including 1,476 local infections, raising the total caseload to 213,987, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was up 48 from 1,492 the previous day. The country added nine more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,134. Health aut

Social AffairsAug. 10, 2021

Countries welcome restoration of inter-Korean communication lines at ASEAN meetings

Countries have welcomed the restoration of inter-Korean communication lines in their joint statements adopted after a series of multilateral meetings led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last week, South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday.  Such phrases were included in all four chairman's statements from the ministerial meetings of South Korea-ASEAN, the East Asia Summit, ASEAN plus its three Northeast Asian dialogue partners -- South Korea, China and Japan -- and the

North KoreaAug. 9, 2021

More students to attend in-person classes in 2nd semester: ministry

The Ministry of Education announced Monday that in-person classes will be expanded in phases during the second semester. According to the ministry, kindergartners and first and second graders will be able to attend in-person classes regardless of which social distancing level the health authorities designate. At Level 3, three-quarters of elementary school students between grades three and six, two-thirds of middle school students and half of first- and second-year high school students can g

Social AffairsAug. 9, 2021

Activists received $20,000 from NK agents

Civic activists detained last week for allegedly receiving orders from Pyongyang to organize protests against the purchase of F-35A stealth fighters from the US had received at least $20,000 from North Korean agents for their operation, warrant applications by the authorities showed. The National Intelligence Service and the police searched the homes of four activists in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in May and found USB flash drives containing encrypted files of orders and reports they

North KoreaAug. 9, 2021

South Korea weighing all possibilities to help flood-hit North Korea: ministry

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Monday that it would explore all possible ways to help relief efforts in North Korea’s flood-hit eastern regions. “We will leave all the possibilities open, including cooperation through state and civilian channels and international organizations, and then come up with concrete cooperative measures,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told reporters. “Our basic stance is that humanitarian cooperation between the two Koreas

North KoreaAug. 9, 2021

Moderna slashes August deliveries to Korea by more than half: minister

South Korea will lengthen the period between the first and second doses of two messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines to six weeks, due to Moderna more than halving August shipments to Korea, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said Monday. Kwon said in an emergency breifing that Moderna will be sending less than half of the roughly 9 million doses of the vaccine that it had promised to ship this month.  “In a recent communication Moderna has apologized for the delay

Social AffairsAug. 9, 2021

Rep. Park Jin urges government to protest China’s interference

Rep. Park Jin, a four-term lawmaker vying to become the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, has urged the government to protest what he called China’s interference in South Korea’s security sovereignty. At a videoconference at the ASEAN Regional Forum, held Friday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed opposition to the Korea-US joint exercises and called for the easing of sanctions against North Korea. On Sunday Park wrote in his blog, “Wang Yi&rs

PoliticsAug. 9, 2021

Sarang Jeil Church defies restrictions

Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is again raising concerns about COVID-19 by forging ahead with face-to-face worship services and announcing a large-scale rally. Its leader, the Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoon, was indicted on charges of violating a ban on rallies in connection with a similar event last year. Since the implementation of tough restrictions in the Greater Seoul area July 12, the church has conducted four face-to-face worship services. Under the current quarantine rules, only 19 people are all

Social AffairsAug. 9, 2021

Blinken says open to 'different options' in renewed call for NK dialogue: official

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken showed a willingness to consider different "options" and "possibilities" with North Korea in a renewed call for its return to dialogue during a regional forum last week, a Washington official said Monday. Kin W. Moy, a senior official for the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, made the remarks during a telephone press conference on Blinken's attendance at a series of forums led by the Association of Southeast Asi

Foreign AffairsAug. 9, 2021

S. Korea, US to hold preliminary training this week ahead of main exercise

South Korea and the United States will conduct a preliminary training this week in the run-up to next week's main summertime military exercise that North Korea has warned against staging, sources said Monday. The four-day crisis management staff training will begin Tuesday, followed by the computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training scheduled for Aug. 16-26, according to the sources. "The training is aimed at checking the response to unexpected crisis situations to return to peaceti

DefenseAug. 9, 2021

S. Korea to explore all possibilities of helping NK with recovery from flood damage: unification ministry

South Korea will try to help North Korea with recovery efforts in a flood-hit eastern province while leaving all possibilities open as to how to provide assistance, the unification ministry said Monday. The remark came a day after North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong-un ordered full state support for recovery efforts in South Hamgyong Province, hit hard by recent heavy downpours, and that the country held an emergency meeting of the provincial military commission to discuss re

North KoreaAug. 9, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee in virtual tie with ex-Prosecutor General Yoon in presidential hopefuls' poll

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the front-running opposition presidential contender, saw his approval rating lose ground to become on par with that of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, a poll on prospective presidential hopefuls showed Monday. According to the survey conducted on 1,004 voters nationwide by the Korea Society Opinion Institute on Friday and Saturday, Yoon from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) garnered 28.3 percent of support, down 4 percentage points from a

PoliticsAug. 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Half of S. Koreans opposed to delaying allied military drills with US: Realmeter

Slightly more than half of all South Koreans do not support the idea of postponing the regular joint summertime military drills between Seoul and Washington, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 500 people aged 18 and older nationwide conducted by Realmeter last Friday, 50.4 percent of the respondents said they do not agree with calls for delaying the allied military drills. Meanwhile, 45.3 percent said they do. Talk of delaying or scaling down the annual joint military exercise set to take pl

DefenseAug. 9, 2021

Heavy rains from tropical storm Lupit flood homes, roads on east coast

Heavy rains brought by tropical storm Lupit led to flooding in parts of Gangwon Province along the east coast and in the southeastern port city of Busan, authorities said Monday. The eastern coastal city of Sokcho, 213 kilometers northeast of Seoul, received 67.5 millimeters of rain per hour on Sunday afternoon, according to the Gangwon provincial government. Flooding was reported at 26 houses, seven shops and one road, with the city government planning to carry out on-site inspections Monday

Social AffairsAug. 9, 2021

New infections under 1,500 on fewer tests; cases piling up outside of Seoul

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to below 1,500 on Monday on fewer tests over the weekend as the country has extended its highest virus rules for another two weeks due to relentless spread of the virus. The country added 1,492 COVID-19 cases, including 1,455 local infections, raising the total caseload to 212,448, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was down 237 from 1,729 the previous day, falling below the 1,700s for the

Social AffairsAug. 9, 2021

Ex-President Chun leaves for Gwangju to attend libel trial after two no-shows

Former President Chun Doo-hwan left for the southwestern city of Gwangju on Monday to attend an appellate court hearing on a defamation case after having failed to show up twice. The 90-year-old Chun, who served as president from 1980 to 1988, departed from his home in western Seoul at 8:25 a.m. to attend his hearing at the Gwangju District Court's appellate division in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers to the south, in the afternoon. He came out of his house in a gray suit, accompanied by his wif

PoliticsAug. 9, 2021

Improper excavation procedures blamed for deadly Gwangju building collapse

A five-story building in the southwestern city of Gwangju collapsed during a demolition process due to improper excavation procedures that added excessive weight near the bottom, the transport ministry said Monday. The building collapsed on June 9 and fell onto a bus that was stopped at a bus stop near the construction site, leaving nine people dead and eight others seriously injured. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the demolition team didn't abide by the excavation wor

Social AffairsAug. 9, 2021

Military reports 4 new COVID-19 cases

The South Korean military reported four additional COVID-19 cases, the defense ministry said Sunday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,533. Two new conscripts at an Army boot camp in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, tested positive, in addition to two Army officers based in Busan and North Chungcheong Province's Okcheon County, respectively. The two conscripts showed symptoms of COVID-19 after coming in contact with a person with COVID-19 in the same Army unit. A total of

DefenseAug. 8, 2021