Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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No wild bird-tied flu cases reported for 1 week
South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday that additional avian influenza cases tied to wild birds have been not reported in the country over the past seven days, signaling a possible letup in the transmission of the disease among local farms. Since October last year, the country has reported a total of 229 cases of malign H5N8 strain of bird flu from wild birds, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ministry said the number of cases from the wild remained
Social AffairsMarch 26, 2021
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Ruling party voices 'deep regret' over N. Korea's missile provocations
South Korea's ruling party on Friday expressed "deep regret" over North Korea's recent back-to-back launches of short-range missiles, calling on the country to come back to the negotiating table. "(We) express deep regret over the North Korean provocations that took place as the US Biden administration is reviewing its North Korea policy," Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, acting chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), said during a party meeting held in the southern port city of Busan.
PoliticsMarch 26, 2021
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Moon replaces eight vice minister-level officials
President Moon Jae-in on Friday replaced eight vice minister-level officials, including those at the science and unification ministries, Cheong Wa Dae announced. Yong Hong-taek, the science ministry's director of research and development policy, was promoted to first vice science minister, and Cho Kyeong-sik, Cheong Wa Dae's secretary for digital innovation, was named second vice science minister. Choi Young-joon, the unification ministry's director for unification policy, was promoted to vice
PoliticsMarch 26, 2021
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N. Korea holds general assembly of Olympic Committee
North Korea held a general assembly meeting of its Olympic Committee to discuss plans for this year, state media said Friday, amid uncertainty over the North's participation in the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics. The meeting was held through video links on Thursday to discuss "practical issues linked to actively organize public sport events," according to the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA said that Kim Il-guk, North Korea's Olympic chief and sports minister, and other participants
North KoreaMarch 26, 2021
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Saudi ambassador to become honorary Seoul citizen
Saudi Arabian Ambassador to South Korea Riyad Almubaraky will be awarded honorary citizenship of Seoul in recognition of his contributions to developing bilateral ties, the city government said Friday. Almubaraky has spent 10 of his more than 35 years in diplomatic service in Korea. His first overseas assignment was as secretary at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Seoul from 1990-95. Since 2016, he has served as Riyadh's ambassador to South Korea. Next month, he plans to complete his five-year ter
Foreign AffairsMarch 26, 2021
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Ultrafine dust density soars to 'very bad' level in greater Seoul
The greater Seoul area was blanketed by extraordinarily heavy concentrations of locally generated ultrafine particles on Friday, but its air quality will return to normal over the weekend due to rainfall, a state monitoring agency said. According to the state-run National Institute of Environmental Research, the hourly average density of ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 2.5, soared to 95 micrograms per cubic meter as of 10 a.m. The PM 2.5 level reached a
Social AffairsMarch 26, 2021
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Seoul court orders N. Korea, leader Kim to pay damages to family of Korean War abductee
A Seoul court has ordered North Korea and leader Kim Jong-un to compensate a family member of a South Korean who was abducted to the North during the 1950-53 Korean War. The plaintiff, identified by his surname Choi, filed a damages suit in December over the policeman father who was kidnapped by North Korean soldiers in Hapcheon, 350 kilometers south of Seoul, in September 1950. The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday ordered Kim and his regime to pay Choi 50 million won ($44,135). It
North KoreaMarch 26, 2021
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US condemns N. Korea's missile launch as 'destabilizing'
The United States on Thursday condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches as "destabilizing" actions violating multiple UN Security Council resolutions. "The United States condemns the DPRK's destabilizing ballistic missile launches. These launches violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions and threaten the region and the broader international community," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email. "Our commitment to the defense of the R
North KoreaMarch 26, 2021
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Army soldier tests positive for COVID-19
An Army soldier has tested positive for the new coronavirus while on vacation in the central city of Daejeon, the defense ministry said Friday. The soldier, based in Namyangju, northeast of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after coming into contact with a civilian who tested positive earlier, according to the ministry. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 647. Of them, 616 have been fully cured and 31 are undergoing tre
DefenseMarch 26, 2021
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NK leader inspects construction site without attending missile test-firing
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a construction site for riverside apartments in Pyongyang without attending a test-firing of newly developed ballistic missiles, according to state media Friday. Thursday's "field guidance" trip to the construction site appears to underscore Kim's emphasis on improving people's lives. On the same day, the North test-fired two new tactical guided missiles without Kim's attendance. Kim "explained the plan to form the area of modern terraced
North KoreaMarch 26, 2021
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New virus cases nearing 500, another uptick looming amid extended curbs
South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 400 for the third straight day Friday, prompting health authorities to extend current distancing rules by another two weeks amid looming concerns over a spike in new infections. Health authorities are concerned about another uptick during spring time, with untraceable cases rising sharply. The country reported 494 more COVID-19 cases, including 471 local infections, raising the total caseload to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Cont
Social AffairsMarch 26, 2021
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S. Korea to extend current social distancing measures for 2 weeks: PM
South Korea will extend its current social distancing measures for another two weeks, the prime minister said Friday, amid no clear signs of a letup in new COVID-19 cases and fears of a mass infection resurgence. "The government will extend the current distancing levels and the gathering ban on five or more for another two weeks starting next week," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. The greater Seoul area, home to around half of
Social AffairsMarch 26, 2021
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Biden says US will act accordingly if N. Korea escalates, but diplomacy still possible
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the United States will respond appropriately should North Korea continue to escalate tension, but that it is also prepared for diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime. Biden noted the launch of the missiles on Thursday (Seoul time) was in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. "Let me say that, number one, UN resolution 1718 was violated by those particular missiles that were tested," Biden said in his first formal press conference s
North KoreaMarch 26, 2021
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N. Korea says it test-fired new tactical guided missiles
North Korea said Friday it test-fired new tactical guided missiles a day earlier, confirming the launch of ballistic missiles for the first time in about a year. On Thursday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, raising concerns that the missiles banned under the UN Security Council resolutions could sharply escalate tensions. The latest launch came as the Joe Biden administration prepares to announce a new policy
North KoreaMarch 26, 2021
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[#WeFACE] Zero-waste far from reality for grocery shopping in S. Korea
The zero-waste movement has been growing globally with increasing public interest toward a sustainable lifestyle with less reliance on extra packaging. Yet South Korea remains largely unprepared to accommodate the eco-friendly mindset at least in terms of shopping for groceries, as most supermarkets, retailers and stores are yet to step away from single-use plastic bags and packaging for their fresh produce and protein options. When The Korea Herald visited grocery stores of varying sizes in S
Social AffairsMarch 26, 2021
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S. Korea’s homegrown rocket on track for October launch
South Korea’s plan to launch its first homegrown rocket later this year is on a roll after researchers successfully conducted the final combustion test for its main first-stage engines, the science ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the Korea Aerospace Research Institute successfully ran the third and final test for the four 75-ton liquid engines of the 200-ton rocket, named Nuri, at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, 473 kilometers south of Seoul. Local researc
Social AffairsMarch 25, 2021
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S. Korean nuclear envoy discusses NK missile launches with US official
South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy discussed North Korea’s latest missile launches with a senior US official and plans to do the same with his Japanese counterpart, a foreign ministry official said Thursday. Noh Kyu-duk, the chief nuclear negotiator, spoke by phone with Sung Kim, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, earlier in the day, the official said, hours after the North fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles into the East S
North KoreaMarch 25, 2021
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Korea surpasses 100,000 coronavirus cases
South Korea’s COVID-19 cases on Thursday passed the 100,000 mark, about 14 months since its first case was identified, as the country continues to grapple with the third wave. The total number of confirmed cases reached 100,276, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency statistics showed Thursday, up 430 from a day earlier. According to the World Health Organization, the figure puts Korea at 86th in terms of number of cases, next to China. In the last seven days the number of c
Social AffairsMarch 25, 2021
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NK to step up pressure until US responds
The latest missile launches by North Korea are part of the regime’s accelerating cycle of provocations against the US as it seeks sanctions relief, experts said. The North fired what appeared to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday morning, a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. It was the North’s second missile test since US President Joe Biden took office in January. On Sunday it fired two short-range cruise missiles into the West Sea. “We belie
North KoreaMarch 25, 2021
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Russian FM calls to maintain peace on the peninsula, abandon arms race
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday stressed efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and called for related countries to renounce the arms race amid a ramping up of tensions in the region, following Pyongyang’s launch of what appeared to be ballistic missiles. Lavrov’s remark came after his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, just hours after North Korea had fired two short-range
Foreign AffairsMarch 25, 2021