[#WeFACE] Climate goals deepen but challenges linger

Fighting climate change is now a top domestic and international priority for many countries, as world leaders solidify their carbon-cutting commitments for a greener future. But experts say the goal may be harder to realize than thought. The climate summit in late April, joined by dozens of world leaders and hosted by US President Joe Biden seeking to restore American leadership on climate policy, marked a renewed global push to tackle the crisis after years of lukewarm response to the challeng

Foreign AffairsMay 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] New lead in death of student who drowned in Han River

New information continues to emerge regarding the night Sohn Jung-min disappeared near the Han River, further fanning public interest in the case. The medical student was found dead in the river the next day. According to police investigations so far, Sohn was with a friend at Han River Park until around 3:38 a.m. on April 25. Later, at around 4:27 a.m., the friend woke up alone and went home without knowing where Sohn had gone. Later, the police checked each of the 154 vehicles entering an

Social AffairsMay 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] 'Smart poles' to be installed at Han River parks amid safety concerns following college student's death

The Seoul city government said Wednesday it plans to install "smart poles" at riverside parks along the Han River to strengthen CCTV surveillance as safety concerns have grown in the wake of the death of a medical college student. Smart poles, also known as intelligent light poles, can perform their prime function of shining light along with other advanced functionality such as CCTV, public Wi-Fi and Internet of Things (IOT) sensors. Calls have risen in recent weeks for installing mo

Social AffairsMay 19, 2021

NK premier visits limestone mine in latest economic inspection trip

North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun visited a limestone mine and a collective farm north of Pyongyang, state media reported Wednesday, the latest in a series of on-site inspection trips to economic development sites across the country. The visit to the Sunchon Limestone Mine and the Phyongri Co-op Farm in Sunchon, about 50 km north of Pyongyang, is the third field inspection trip that Kim has made in less than a week as the country struggles to rebuild its economy amid international sanctions and

North KoreaMay 19, 2021

Court awards W172m to family of man wrongfully convicted of spying for N. Korea

A local court has awarded nearly 172 million won (US$152,000) to the family members of a fisherman who was kidnapped by North Korea in the 1960s and then released but was later wrongfully convicted of spying for Pyongyang, judiciary sources said Wednesday. The man was kidnapped while fishing in waters near the border island of Yeonpyeong in May 1968. After being released, he returned home in October that year but was arrested for crossing the inter-Korean Military Demarcation Line while fishing

Social AffairsMay 19, 2021

Moon thanks Buddhist community for solidarity in virus fight

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday expressed gratitude to the Buddhist community for its decision to call off an annual lotus lantern festival as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic as he issued a message marking the Buddha's Birthday holiday. "Last year's listing of Yeondeunghoe as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage marked a big joyous occasion. It's natural wanting to celebrate the feat, but the Buddhist community decided to cancel this year's lantern festival and hold an on

PoliticsMay 19, 2021

New COVID-19 cases rise above 600 as cluster infections continue

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 600 on Wednesday as health authorities remained alert over a potential hike amid continued cluster inflections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 654 more COVID-19 cases, including 637 local infections, raising the total caseload to 133,471, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's tally compares with 528 on Tuesday, 619 on Monday and 610 on Sunday. There were eight additional virus deaths, rai

Social AffairsMay 19, 2021

Landfill-turned-arboretum to open in Busan

BUSAN -- A landfill-turned-botanical garden will be temporarily opened to the public in the southeastern port city of Busan this week, the municipal government said Wednesday. Haeundae Arboretum built on a former landfill site in Seokdae-dong, northern Busan, will partially open Thursday as the first phase of its construction has been completed, the government said. The arboretum, which will eventually cover 628,275 square meters, far bigger than the 473,911-square-meter Busan Citizens Park, c

Social AffairsMay 19, 2021

US will build on Singapore agreement with N. Korea: Campbell

WASHINGTON -- The US administration of President Joe Biden will build on a 2018 summit agreement with North Korea, White House Asia czar Kurt Campbell said Tuesday, extending overtures to Pyongyang after completing a monthslong policy review on the North. "Our policy review took a careful look at everything that has been tried before. Our efforts will build on Singapore and other agreements made by previous administrations," Campbell, White House policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacifi

Foreign AffairsMay 19, 2021

Moon-Biden summit to produce 'tangible partnerships' on supply chains: Campbell

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will discuss ways to address COVID-19 vaccine shortages in the South and forge "tangible partnerships" on semiconductor supply chains, White House Asia policy chief Kurt Campbell said Tuesday. Moon is set to visit Washington for his first in-person talks with Biden set for Friday, where cooperation on coronavirus vaccines and semiconductor supplies are expected to be among the key agenda items, along with how

Foreign AffairsMay 19, 2021

USFK nominee calls joint US-S. Korea field exercises extremely important

WASHINGTON -- Joint field exercises between South Korean and US troops are extremely important to maintain their readiness, the nominee for commander of US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday, adding he will work for the resumption of field exercises if confirmed. Gen. Paul LaCamera insisted in-person training gives the combined forces an opportunity to work with each other and thus build their trust. "They are extremely important to build readiness, but they are also extremely important to

DefenseMay 19, 2021

International pharma companies eye Korea as vaccine production hub: PM

New Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday hinted that more multinational vaccine makers could be seeking a production base in Korea. “Korea is one of the few countries in the world that, as you know, can produce vaccines when combined with various technologies of the US,” he told reporters in his first press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. “Many multinational pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen and Moderna, want to form vaccine partnerships wi

Social AffairsMay 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korea has no cases of COVID-19 vaccine-induced blood clot: KDCA

Korea has yet to confirm a case of rare blood clots in people who received AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in Tuesday’s press briefing. Park Young-joon, the agency’s head of case management team, said in response to The Korea Herald’s question that none of the post-vaccine clotting cases identified so far were accompanied by low platelet levels. The specific kind of blood clots -- termed thrombosis with thrombocytope

Social AffairsMay 18, 2021

Moon heading to Washington for summit with Biden

President Moon Jae-in is heading to Washington on Wednesday ahead of his first summit with President Joe Biden on Friday, marking his first overseas trip since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be his fifth visit to the US as president. The overall itinerary and the size of the delegation have been reduced due to heightened quarantine measures, but his five-day US trip still has a packed agenda. According to Cheong Wa Dae, Moon plans to kick off his official schedule Thursday b

PoliticsMay 18, 2021

NK accuses Western countries of spreading falsehoods to meddle in internal affairs of other countries

North Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday accused Western countries of spreading false information "under the signboard of freedom of speech" in an attempt to meddle in the internal affairs of other states. The ministry made the criticism in an article posted on its website, saying that "some specific states" are interfering with the internal affairs of other sovereign countries after spreading false information while posing as "guardians of freedom." Such false i

North KoreaMay 18, 2021

S. Korea to join US, Japan for Red Flag Alaska air drills next month

South Korea will take part in an annual US-led multinational air force exercise for the first time in three years next month, joining Japan and other countries in the maneuvers designed to improve interoperability, the Air Force said Tuesday. The Air Force plans to send F-15K fighter jets, cargo planes and dozens of troops to the Red Flag-Alaska 21-2 exercise set to take place in Alaska from June 10-25 involving around 1,500 service members and 100 aircraft. Earlier, the US Seventh Air Force s

DefenseMay 18, 2021

S. Korea, US can cooperate on building 'trusted' supply chains to reduce Chinese dependence: report

Developing trusted supply chains is one area that South Korea and the United States can work together to reduce economic dependence on China, a joint report by Korean and American experts showed Tuesday. A total of 27 experts, including former high-level government officials in Seoul and Washington, made the case in the report, noting how the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the vulnerability of the global supply chains heavily dependent on Beijing amid the virus-driven border controls across the wo

Foreign AffairsMay 18, 2021

[News Focus] Korea lags behind in employment for people aged 25-54

SEJONG -- The pandemic dealt a severe blow to South Koreans in the core-working age group – those aged between 25-54 - in terms of employment, a global comparison data showed. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea’s employment rate for the “prime” working age population stayed at 74.9 percent last year. The nation ranked 29th out of 36 members in the Paris-based organization’s comparison of employment for the corresponding

Social AffairsMay 18, 2021

Activists demand removal of ex-President Chun's monument in Incheon

A group of civic activists on Tuesday called for the removal of a stone monument related to former President Chun Doo-hwan in Incheon, west of Seoul, condemning him as the mastermind of a bloody massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980. Marking the 41st anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, the activists demanded that the stone monument erected by Chun in 1984 in memory of the 1950 Incheon landing operation during the Korean War b

Social AffairsMay 18, 2021

Military brings construction materials, daily necessaries onto THAAD base

Construction materials and daily necessaries were brought onto the US THAAD missile defense base in South Korea on Tuesday to improve living conditions for service members, the defense ministry said. Earlier in the day, the military moved construction equipment and materials, as well as daily necessaries for service members, such as water onto the US Forces Korea (USFK) base in the central town of Seongju, which hosts the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Residents opposed to

DefenseMay 18, 2021