S. Korea, US agree to end missile guidelines

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced a joint decision Friday with the United States to terminate guidelines that have long restricted Seoul's development of missiles. He was speaking right after the summit with President Joe Biden at the White House. "I am pleased to announce the termination of the missile guidelines," Moon told reporters, with Biden standing next to him. Moon described it as a "symbolic and substantive" measure demonstrating th

PoliticsMay 22, 2021

Biden says US will provide COVID-19 vaccines for all S. Korean troops

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- US President Joe Biden said Friday his country will provide full COVID-19 vaccinations for all 550,000 South Korean troops and enter a partnership with Seoul on global vaccine supply. Biden made the announcement at a joint press conference with President Moon Jae-in at the White House following their summit talks. "There are 550,000 Korean soldiers, sailors, airmen who work in close contact with the American forces in Korea," the US president said. "We'll pr

PoliticsMay 22, 2021

Moon, Biden agree on strong alliance in summit talks

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, agreed Friday on the importance of a stronger alliance between the nations, in their first-ever summit at the White House. Moon said he and Biden has confirmed a "joint commitment" to the strengthening of the alliance and peace on the Korean Peninsula. He was speaking at the outset of an expanded summit session following one-one-one talks and a follow-up meeting joined by a few key aides.

PoliticsMay 22, 2021

Biden goes maskless in meeting with Moon

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- In a noticeable shift since his last meeting with a foreign leader, US President Joe Biden did not wear a mask during his first face-to-face with President Moon Jae-in in Washington on Friday. Moon is only the second foreign leader to visit Biden at the White House since the US president took office in January. The first leader was Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last month. Whereas in meeting Suga on April 16, Biden wore a double mask as an extra precaution against

PoliticsMay 22, 2021

Moon meets Biden at medal-awarding ceremony for Korean War veteran

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a White House Medal of Honor ceremony Friday to honor a Korean War veteran. Moon was invited by President Joe Biden to the event held in advance of their first summit talks. Biden presented Ralph Puckett Jr., a 94-year-old retired Army colonel, with the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious military distinction, for his acts of "conspicuous gallantry" during the 1950-53 Korean War. Biden's decision to honor him in perso

PoliticsMay 22, 2021

S. Korea's health minister to meet with US health secretary

South Korea's health minister said Friday that he will hold talks with his US counterpart this week to discuss ways to cooperate on COVID-19 vaccines. Kwon Deok-cheol said his meeting with US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in Washington on Friday will be a good opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the two countries on health issues. Kwon made the comments to reporters ahead of his departure to Washington earlier in the day. The meeting comes on the sidelines of S

Foreign AffairsMay 21, 2021

New cases back under 600, virus curbs extended for 3 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 600 on Friday, as health authorities decided to extend the current distancing rules for another three weeks amid continued cluster inflections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 561 more COVID-19 cases, including 542 local infections, raising the total caseload to 134,678, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's daily caseload compares with 646 on Thursday, 654 on Wednesday and 528 on Tuesday. T

Social AffairsMay 21, 2021

Karaoke owner accused of murder ‘deeply sorry’

Karaoke owner Heo Min-woo, 34, was handed over to the prosecution to face murder and other charges Friday. He is accused of brutally killing and mutilating a male customer after a quarrel over payment. Heo is also accused of dismembering and deserting a dead body and violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Incheon Jungbu Police Station said Friday. The accused man stood in front of the Michuholl Police Station in Incheon on Friday and spoke to the press. “I am so

Social AffairsMay 21, 2021

Intercultural group launched for foreign, Korean residents of Yeongdeungpo-gu

Yeongdeungpo-gu, the district in Seoul with the highest number of foreign residents, has established an intercultural communication group comprising South Korean and foreign residents to actively discuss regional policies and enhance public-private cooperation. Based on data reported by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in November last year, Yeongdeungpo-gu had 55,524 foreign residents, who made up 14.1 percent of all residents in the district. The district government said it had sel

Social AffairsMay 21, 2021

Police patrolling Jeju Airport to fight COVID-19 as more tourists visit the island

Police on Jeju Island are reinforcing preventive measures against the coronavirus as the resort island attracts a growing number of tourists. Jeju police will patrol Jeju International Airport with tourist police May 24-31, and will regularly inspect the area to prevent people from violating social distancing rules or mask mandates. “The number of tourists visiting Jeju Island is surging to pre-COVID levels, nearly 70,000 people a day, and tension is rising as some people do not wear

Social AffairsMay 21, 2021

Moon-Biden joint statement may acknowledge Panmunjeom Declaration

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- A joint statement by Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden after their summit talks at the White House on Friday is likely to acknowledge commitments made by the two Koreas under the Panmunjeom Declaration, according to a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official on Thursday. “The Panmunjeom Declaration, along with other commitments made between the two Koreas, will be included in the joint statement,” the official told pool reporters in Washington on condition of anonymi

North KoreaMay 21, 2021

S. Korea confirms 1st 'breakthrough' COVID-19 case

South Korea on Friday confirmed the first case of so-called breakthrough COVID-19 infection, in which a person tests positive for the novel coronavirus even after being fully vaccinated. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the person in his or her 20s, whose identity has been withheld, contracted COVID-19 more than 14 days after receiving two doses of a vaccine. A "breakthrough case" is when a person tests positive for COVID-19 between their first and second d

Social AffairsMay 21, 2021

Moon-Biden summit to cover topic of abolishing missile guideline: official

WASHINGTON/SEOUL  -- The upcoming summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Joe Biden in Washington is expected to cover the topic of abolishing the guideline on Seoul's missile use, officials said Thursday. A senior Cheong Wa Dae official accompanying Moon on his US trip told pool reporters that Seoul's diplomatic and security officials have had the "will and idea of resolving the issue of abolishing the missile guideline" before the end of the pre

PoliticsMay 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] Approval ratings for both ruling party, Moon rebound: poll

Both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and President Moon Jae-in saw their approval ratings rebound this week, an opinion poll showed Friday. According to the poll by Gallup Korea, conducted from Tuesday-Thursday on 1,001 people age 18 or over, the approval rating for the DP stood at 32 percent, up 4 percentage points from a week earlier. The main opposition People Power Party, meanwhile, saw its approval rating edge down by 1 percentage point to 26 percent, while 30 percent of the total respon

PoliticsMay 21, 2021

Foreign minister still hopeful on North Korea

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong continued to be hopeful on North Korea, but failed to give details or reasons when pressed on the issue in a US media interview on Thursday, a day ahead of a summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden in Washington DC. “North Korea has a very unique system of governance. There is only one person who can make final decisions, which is their supreme leader Kim Jong-un. So we thought a top-down approach would be more effective. We tried it

North KoreaMay 21, 2021

Man booked for animal abuse

A man in his 80s was booked on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act, police said. According to the Pohang Nambu Police Station, the man was arrested on two counts of animal cruelty. The man is accused of throwing two cat carcasses on his neighbor’s rooftop on May 12. Police said he said he did this because he felt “unhappy” about his neighbor feeding stray cats. The victim submitted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for “a thorough investigat

Social AffairsMay 21, 2021

Expert says it's time S. Korea makes strategic choice between US, China

South Korea should make a strategic decision in the face of intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, an American expert said Friday, warning that Seoul has been increasingly isolated from the region's multilateral diplomacy due to its "ambivalent" stance. Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, made the point in a presentation for a seminar on the South Korea-US alliance, saying that such isolation will ultimately leave South Kor

Foreign AffairsMay 21, 2021

Unification minister hopes for S. Korea-US summit to create new momentum for dialogue with N. Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Friday expressed hope that this week's summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden will provide new momentum for dialogue with North Korea. Moon and Biden are set to hold their first face-to-face summit talks in Washington on Friday (US time), with North Korea expected to be one of the key agenda items, along with cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine and semiconductor supplies. The summit comes after the US completed its monthslong review of

North KoreaMay 21, 2021

9 service members test positive for COVID-19

Four Army officers and five soldiers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of infections at barracks, the defense ministry said Friday. Of them, four soldiers were from the same unit in Hongcheon, about 100 kilometers east of Seoul, which reported nine COVID-19 cases earlier, according to the ministry. Three officers from another unit in the country also tested positive, prompting the military and health authorities to conduct contact tracing. The remaining officer a

DefenseMay 21, 2021

S. Korea to conduct chopper landing drills for better disaster responses

The Navy, the Coast Guard and police were to stage joint helicopter landing drills on an amphibious assault ship Friday in an effort to enhance their disaster relief capabilities, officials said. The training will take place in waters near the southern island of Geoje, involving the 14,500-ton Dokdo ship and two helicopters from the Coast Guard and the police, according to the Navy. The event is in part to help the chopper pilots earn qualifications for deck landing necessary to operate on la

DefenseMay 21, 2021