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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Russian FM Lavrov to visit Seoul next week for talks on bilateral ties, peninsula issues
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Seoul next week for talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on bilateral ties, Korean Peninsula issues and other matters, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Lavrov will arrive here on Tuesday for a three-day visit. His talks with Chung are set to take place on Thursday after the ministers attend a ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the two countries. The anniversary
Foreign AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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N. Korea’s anger to US may actually be an overture
After giving the Biden administration the silent treatment for two months, North Korea this week marshalled two powerful women to warn Washington over combined military exercises with South Korea and the diplomatic consequences of its “hostile” policies toward Pyongyang. The frustration and belligerence, however, may actually be an overture. North Korea’s first comments toward the new US government, while filled with angry rhetoric, can be seen as the start of a diplomatic
North KoreaMarch 18, 2021
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North Korea says will ignore US while 'hostile policy' in place
North Korea accused the new US administration of adopting "lunatic theory" Thursday, ruling out any engagement with Washington unless it changed course, as President Joe Biden's top envoys held talks in Seoul. The comments from Pyongyang's first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui came with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin in South Korea on the second leg of an Asian tour to bolster a united front against the nuclear-armed North and an increasingly a
North KoreaMarch 18, 2021
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Moon vows efforts to improve Japan ties in talks with Biden aides
President Moon Jae-in made clear South Korea's resolve to improve strained ties with Japan in a bid to bolster trilateral security cooperation involving the United States, speaking directly to two top officials in the administration of President Joe Biden on Thursday. During a meeting here with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Moon said that the Seoul-Tokyo relationship is very important for regional peace, stability and prosperity and constitutes a "
Foreign AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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Korea, US sign deal on troop costs after marathon talks
South Korea and the US on Thursday signed an agreement that settled a protracted dispute over sharing the burden of supporting 28,500 US troops here, on the last day of the first in-person talks of their foreign and defense ministers in Seoul. The US state and defense secretaries flew here a day earlier. Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul’s chief negotiator for the cost-sharing talks, and Rob Rapson, acting US ambassador to Korea, initialed the agreement as the two allies’ top envoys and defense
DefenseMarch 18, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Expat community displeased with mandatory COVID-19 testing for foreign workers
Local expat communities are expressing anger and disappointment over the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province government mandates for all foreign workers to submit themselves to be tested for COVID-19. The Seoul city government said Tuesday that all foreign workers will be required to take COVID-19 tests by the end of this month. The measure follows Gyeonggi Province’s order made days earlier to have all foreigners in the province undergo COVID-19 testing by March 22. The measures drew mixed res
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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[News Focus] 1 in 3 N. Korean refugees wants to be self-employed
SEJONG -- Unlike most people born in South Korea, defectors from North Korea expressed a strong preference for self-employment in a 2019 survey. According to Statistics Korea and the Korea Hana Foundation, 33.6 percent of the North Korean defectors said they would like to run their own businesses in the South. The annual poll was conducted by the foundation, and the results are the most recent available. Those who expressed hope of becoming self-employed made up the largest portion of r
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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Korea, US set NK nuclear, missile issue as priority for alliance
South Korea and the US on Thursday stressed that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a “priority” for the alliance, while Washington renewed pressure on Beijing to use its influence to convince Pyongyang to denuclearize. The two allies issued a joint statement detailing the pledge, after the “two-plus-two” talks at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul earlier in the day, which involved South Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and De
Foreign AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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South Korean health officials blasted for vaccine communication failure
Korean health authorities are being criticized for failing to promptly relay a case of blood clots in a woman who had received AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, as a second report of blood clots in a vaccine recipient emerged Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency waited at least five days before making the disclosure Wednesday. The agency’s Commissioner Jung Eun-kyeong told lawmakers on Wednesday morning that medical examiners found clots in the organs of
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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‘Ridiculous’: Experts slam Seoul’s testing mandate for all foreign workers
Medical experts are baffled by the Seoul city government’s decision to mandate coronavirus tests for all foreign workers in the city, saying it is discriminatory, scientifically unjustifiable and may even violate human rights. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an administrative order on Tuesday requiring all foreign workers in the city to undergo diagnostic tests March 17-31 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Fines of up to 2 million won ($1,778) will be imposed if they f
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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Cherry blossom season begins on Jeju Island, in southern region
JEJU/CHANGWON -- Cherry blossoms on the southern resort island of Jeju have just bloomed this year, about a week faster than in the previous years, the local weather agency said Thursday. The Jeju Provincial Meteorological Administration said hotter than normal temperatures on the island this month appear to have advanced the blooming of cherry blossoms by up to eight days. Jeju's average temperature in March is 11.5 C, two degrees higher than last year and three degrees higher than normal, th
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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Number of marriages hits new low in 2020
SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans getting married fell at a double-digit rate to an all-time low in 2020 amid young people's changing attitude toward marriage and the negative impact of the coronarvirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday The number of couples tying the knot in Asia's fourth-largest economy reached 214,000 last year, down 10.7 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The figure is the lowest since 1970, when the statistical agenc
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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Pentagon chief says wartime operational control transition will take more time
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Thursday that the envisioned transition of the wartime operational control (OPCON) will take more time, though the two sides will continue to work toward the goal. The two sides are pushing for the conditions-based OPCON transition of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul. Though it is not time-based, Seoul hopes to take it back within the term of the current Moon Jae-in administration that ends in May 2022. "While meeti
Foreign AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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[Newsmaker] DP apologizes again to victim of alleged sexual harassment by ex-Seoul mayor
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday once again apologized to the victim of alleged sexual harassment by late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, pledging its full support to help her return to normal life. "On behalf of the DP, I once again give my sincere apology to the victim," floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, who is acting as the party chairman, said during a party meeting. "(The DP) will take full responsibility in helping the victim return normally to her everyday
PoliticsMarch 18, 2021
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Military closely following activities at NK missile facilities: defense ministry
The military is closely monitoring movements at North Korea's missile facilities but no unusual signs have been detected as of now, the defense ministry said Thursday. On Tuesday, Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said Pyongyang may resume its long-range missile testing to check the capability of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) unveiled at an October military parade. "There is no unusual movement detected as
DefenseMarch 18, 2021
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S. Korea finds 123 new marine species since 2017
South Korea's oceans ministry said Thursday it has identified 123 new underwater species during a four-year investigation project aimed at building a detailed database of marine resources. The number covers 54 species that were discovered for the first time in the world, along with 69 that were previously reported in other countries, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. South Korea carried out investigations into its waters from 2017 to 2020 to build the database of marine creatu
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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3 Army officers test positive for virus
Three Army officers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. An officer in Hwaseong, 43 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive after developing symptoms, and another officer at the same base was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 following contact with the first officer, according to the ministry. In the eastern coastal city of Sokcho, an officer tested positive after a family member was confirmed to be infected. The latest cases raised the tota
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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New infections in 400s for 2nd day, upturn in virus curve worrisome
South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 400s for a second straight day Thursday as cluster infections and untraceable cases continued to rise, raising concerns that the country may be on the verge of another resurgence in virus cases. The country reported 445 more COVID-19 cases, including 427 local infections, raising the total caseload to 97,294, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload was slightly down from 469 on Wednesday. Due to
Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021
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N. Korea says will ignore contact from US unless Washington withdraws hostile policies
North Korea said Thursday that it will continue to ignore any contact from the United States unless Washington withdraws its hostile policies toward Pyongyang. North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui also confirmed in a statement that the US reached out to Pyongyang even the day before its combined exercises with South Korea from a "third country." The statement came as the top US diplomat and the defense chief are in Seoul for talks with their South Korean counterparts
North KoreaMarch 18, 2021
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S. Korea, US set to wrap up springtime combined exercise amid COVID-19, NK protest
South Korea and the United States were set Thursday to wrap up their nine-day springtime combined military exercise staged in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus pandemic and peace efforts with North Korea, officials said. The computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training (CCPT), which began on March 8, involved a "minimum level" of troops compared with previous ones, and no outdoor drills took place, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). "We are to wrap up t
DefenseMarch 18, 2021