Hotlines restored between two Koreas

South and North Korea have reopened direct communication lines as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, with President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreeing to restore mutual trust and improve the soured inter-Korean relationship. “The two leaders shared an understanding to recover mutual trust and again push their relationship forward,” said Park Soo-hyun, Moon’s senior secretary for public communication. According to Cheong Wa Dae sources, the leaders started exchanging p

North KoreaJuly 27, 2021

Key takeaways from COVID-hit warship

The military has recently seen its biggest coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, which forced its anti-piracy warship to come home last week. The 301-strong Cheonghae Unit, which left the country unvaccinated for Africa in February, cut short its mission because more than two-thirds of its crew were infected. But the military, which sent an aircraft to airlift the crew and a contingent to bring the 4,400-ton destroyer left behind back home, told the parliamentary defense committee tha

DefenseJuly 27, 2021

Nearly 90% of troops over 30 receive 2nd COVID-19 vaccine shots

Nearly 90 percent of service members aged 30 and older have received the second doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, the defense ministry said Tuesday. As of Monday, 104,861 troops, or 89.7 percent of troops of the age group who had their first shots, have received the second doses, according to the ministry. The military provided AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for their first shots in April and May but the second doses were given with Pfizer's after health authorities decided earlier this m

DefenseJuly 27, 2021

Variant cases top 6,000, delta variant infections piling up amid 4th wave of pandemic

South Korea has confirmed 1,412 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 1,242 cases of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Tuesday. The caseload of such infections reached 6,016 here, with the number of delta cases first reported in India tallied at 2,983, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Of the newly confirmed variant cases over the cited period, there were 1,233 local inf

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2021

N. Korea says restoration of cross-border hotline will play positive role in improving relations

North Korea said Tuesday that the restoration of communication lines with South Korea will play a positive role in improving relations between the two sides after the severed lines returned to operation after a 13-month suspension. "Now, the whole Korean nation desires to see the North-South relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible," the official Korean Central News Agency said, confirming that all inter-Korean communication liaison lines were restored as o

North KoreaJuly 27, 2021

Vice FM attends in-person preparatory meeting for COP26 climate summit

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon attended a high-level meeting on climate change in London this week to discuss efforts to advance carbon emission goals ahead of an upcoming multilateral summit, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The two-day ministerial talks for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that ended Monday (local time) focused on how to implement the goals pledged by countries in the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change and encourage those w

PoliticsJuly 27, 2021

Anti-corruption agency summons Seoul education chief in power abuse probe

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Tuesday summoned Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon for an ongoing probe over alleged power abuse in pushing for unfair employment. Cho is accused of abusing his authority by pressing for a 2018 special employment process for five teachers who were fired after being convicted of violating the Public Official Election Act. He has denied the allegations since the CIO launched the probed into his case in April. “Re

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2021

Chronology of major events leading to restoration of inter-Korean communication lines

The following is a chronology of major events leading to the restoration of communication lines between South and North Korea on Tuesday, 13 months after the North unilaterally severed them in protest of anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by activists. 2020 June 4 -- North Korea threatens to scrap a military tension reduction deal with South Korea and shut down major exchange projects in anger over Seoul's supposed failure to stop activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda le

North KoreaJuly 27, 2021

Sewol disaster memorial hall to be dismantled for construction at Gwanghwamun Square

Bereaved family members of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster agreed Tuesday to dismantle a memorial hall at Gwanghwamun Square while construction on the plaza is under way. The Seoul metropolitan government informed the families early this month that it would take down the structure Monday as part of construction work for the restructuring of Gwanghwamun Square. The families agreed at the time to move the makeshift hall, which was built in April 2019, and asked that a consultative body be set up t

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2021

Korea’s vaccine plans face more uncertainties over Moderna supply disruption

South Korea’s already slow vaccination rollout may face a further delay with Moderna, from which Seoul purchased 40 million COVID-19 vaccines -- experiencing production issues. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Tuesday, “Moderna has informed us that it is inevitable to adjust the supply schedule due to production setbacks.” He added, “We are currently discussing with Moderna over the specific and definitive volume and date for vaccines in the July and August period.&

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2021

Labor group says 3 members' COVID-19 infections irrelevant to July 3 rally

Three members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in a massive outdoor rally in downtown Seoul on July 3, had actually contracted the virus from a restaurant, the militant labor group said Tuesday. Yang Kyung-soo, head of the KCTU, called a news conference to announce that the COVID-19 infections of the three KCTU members were confirmed to have occurred at a restaurant on July 7 and there have been no additional confirmed case

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2021

Inter-Korean military hotlines in normal operation after 13-month suspension: defense ministry

Inter-Korean military hotlines are back to normal operation after a 13-month suspension, the defense ministry confirmed Tuesday, saying the two Koreas will resume regular daily calls via the communication lines. Earlier in the day, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that the two sides agreed to reopen all direct communication lines at 10 a.m. as part of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. "South and North Korean militar

North KoreaJuly 27, 2021

Park Young-sun campaign officials face probe for hiring minor to express support

Prosecutors will investigate officials from the unsuccessful Seoul mayoral campaign of Park Young-sun for allegedly violating election rules by recruiting an underage high school student to voice support for the candidate. The Seoul Yangcheon Police Station said Tuesday that it has handed over the case to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office recommending to indict 17-year-old student surnamed Kang and two officials from Park’s campaign office who were working for her Seou

PoliticsJuly 27, 2021

Koreas reopen severed cross-border hotline: Cheong Wa Dae

The two Koreas reopened direct cross-border communications Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae announced, 13 months after Pyongyang unilaterally severed them in protest of anti-Pyongyang propaganda activities in the South. Park Soo-hyun, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication, announced that Seoul and Pyongyang decided to resume communications via their direct hotline starting at 10 a.m. In June last year, North Korea cut off all communication lines with South Korea in protest over Seoul's

PoliticsJuly 27, 2021

USFK reports 12 coronavirus cases

Twelve people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including five service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Tuesday. Two service members at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, and three service members at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of the capital, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after developing symptoms, according to USFK. Four family members of a Department of Defense (DoD) employee and another DoD civ

DefenseJuly 27, 2021

New virus cases in 1,300s for 2nd day; virus fight dogged by delta variant, vacationers

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,300s for the second straight day Tuesday as health authorities strive to stem infections outside the greater Seoul area and the spread of the delta variant with toughened distancing measures. The country added 1,365 COVID-19 cases, including 1,276 local infections, raising the total caseload to 191,531, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload was up 47 from the previous day. The country

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2021

NK leader pays respects to fallen soldiers to mark anniversary of Korean War armistice

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a cemetery to pay respects to the soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War to commemorate the armistice that ended the fighting in the war, a state broadcaster reported Tuesday. The Korean War ended in the armistice signed July 27, 1953, leaving South and North Korea technically in a state of war. The North called the war the Fatherland Liberation War and designated the armistice signing date as Victory Day. Kim visited the Fatherland Liberation War

North KoreaJuly 27, 2021

Int'l forum of history teachers seeks ways to preserve legacy of Korean War veterans

WASHINGTON -- An international forum of history teachers from the United States and 21 other countries got under way on Monday to discuss ways to teach the true and accurate account of the Korean War to their students. The 2021 World Congress of Korean War Veterans and History Teachers began at a Washington hotel with some 60 history teachers from the United States taking part in in-person meetings. The annual event is hosted by the Korean War Legacy Foundation (KWLF) and sponsored by South Kor

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2021

[Diplomatic Circuit] Croatia Exhibition showcased at National Library of Korea

The Croatian Embassy in Seoul and National Library of Korea jointly organized the exhibition “Croatian literature and cultural heritage from the Middle Ages to Modern Times.” The exhibition was held June 28 through Sunday, and presented thousands of years of printed literature in the Croatian language introducing portraits of the main Croatian writers and mutually translated books between the Croatian and Korean languages. According to the Embassy of Croatia in Seoul, Croatia u

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 26, 2021

[Diplomatic Circuit] S. Korea has tremendous opportunities for future and green economy in Chile: vice trade minister

Korea has tremendous opportunities for the future and green economy in Chile, where many opportunities lie for Korean investors, Rodrigo Yanez, vice trade minister of Chile, said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday. Yanez said that Chile’s rich renewable energy and raw materials such as lithium, as well as the national strategy of nurturing the green hydrogen industry, makes the country a good partner for Korea, and the two countries can leap forward in modernizing bilatera

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 26, 2021