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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Former US nuke negotiator urges Seoul, Washington to refrain from large-scale military exercises
A former US nuclear negotiator on Friday called on South Korea and the United States to refrain from large-scale combined exercises and urged North Korea to avoid nuclear tests to achieve progress in denuclearization talks. Robert Gallucci, known for his role in negotiating a landmark 1994 nuclear agreement with Pyongyang, made the remarks in an online forum hosted by the unification ministry. "The North will have to avoid extended range ballistic missile tests or engine tests or any nucl
North KoreaMarch 12, 2021
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Small businesses air grievances over extended COVID-19 restrictions
Small business owners in the capital area expressed frustration Friday after the government extended coronavirus restrictions for another two weeks, saying they could hardly remember a time when business was worse. In cities ranging from Incheon and Osan to Uijeongbu, all located in the greater Seoul area, restaurants, coffee shops and a wide array of business establishments have been subject to curfews and bans on gatherings of more than four people, among other measures aimed at stopping the
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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S. Korea to expedite vaccinations under plan to inoculate 12m people by H1: PM
South Korea will speed up and expand the scope of its public coronavirus vaccination program next month under a plan to complete inoculations of 12 million people by the first half of 2021, the prime minister said Friday. "By the first half of the year, the government will work to complete the preliminary vaccine administrations of 12 million nationals," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during an interagency meeting on the country's public vaccine campaign that began last month. Th
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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Ex-prosecutor Yoon surges to tie with Gov. Lee atop monthly opinion poll
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl were tied atop the list of potential candidates for next year's presidential election, a new poll showed Friday. Yoon has soared in opinion surveys since he resigned on March 4 in protest of the ruling Democratic Party (DP)'s push to create a new investigative body that reduces the prosecution's power. Gallup Korea, a pollster, said both Gov. Lee and Yoon garnered 24 percent of support in its latest survey conduc
PoliticsMarch 12, 2021
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New graft investigation body not yet ready to take on any case, says chief
Kim Jin-wook, the head of a new powerful state investigative agency, said Friday the agency will not take on a travel ban case involving a former vice justice minister as its first case, citing "realistic conditions." "After serious consideration, we have decided to refer the case back to the prosecution," he wrote on the official Facebook page of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), ending days of speculation that the case could be the agen
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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Social distancing rules extended for 2 more weeks as new COVID-19 cases reach 3-week high
South Korea will extend its social distancing rules in place for two more weeks, as the country reported the highest daily addition of COVID-19 cases in three weeks. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a meeting Friday that the government will continue to impose Level 2 social distancing rules in Greater Seoul, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, until March 28. Level 1.5 rules will be maintained throughout the rest of the country, while the ban on private gatherings of five or more
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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Police arrest four on drug trafficking charges
Police said Friday they have arrested four people on charges of smuggling and distributing illegal drugs from Southeast Asia. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has recently busted a drug trafficking operation that brought in 6.3 kilograms of methamphetamine from March to November last year, according to officials. The narcotics have an estimated street value of 21 billion won ($18.6 million) and are enough to be used by 210,000 people, the agency said. The authorities seized 4.3 kg of thei
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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3 service members test positive for COVID-19
Two military officers and a draftee tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of confirmed cases at barracks across the country, the defense ministry said Friday. One Army officer stationed in the central city of Sejong was confirmed to have been infected in a test required to exit quarantine. He has been in isolation after coming into contact with a colleague who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The Sejong unit has reported nine COVID-19 cases until no
DefenseMarch 12, 2021
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea's Christian community expresses concern about situation in Myanmar
South Korea's Christian community has expressed concerns about political instability in Myanmar in connection with the recent coup and vowed for solidarity with the pro-democracy movement there. "The Catholic Church in Korea expresses her deepest concern about the outbreak of violence and the subsequent bloodshed in our neighboring country, Myanmar," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea said in a statement released Thursday. It said South Korea has gone through similar military
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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No plan to deploy new anti-missile assets in S. Korea: USFK
The US Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday its commander's recent remark on a plan to build new missile defense capabilities on the Korean Peninsula does not involve the introduction of new equipment or units. Gen. Robert Abrams said Wednesday that the United States will deploy two "specific" anti-ballistic missile capabilities in South Korea this year in addition to one that is already in place. His remarks raised speculation that the US might be considering bringing in an additional Ter
DefenseMarch 12, 2021
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NK's official paper calls for tighter antivirus efforts in time for spring season
North Korea's official paper urged the people not to let their guard down against the new coronavirus, saying laxity is the "greatest enemy" in their ongoing efforts to ward off the highly contagious disease. North Korea has claimed to be coronavirus-free but has taken relatively swift and tough measures against the global pandemic, such as imposing strict border controls since early last year. "Arrogance, carelessness, laxity and negligence are the greatest enemies in our emerg
North KoreaMarch 12, 2021
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US soldier at Camp Humphreys tests positive for COVID-19
An American service member stationed at a US military base in South Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday. The soldier at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Tuesday in a virus test conducted prior to a permanent change of station travel to the United States, according to the USFK. The soldier last visited the base Tuesday and Osan Air Base, also in Pyeongtaek, on Sunday, an
DefenseMarch 12, 2021
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New virus cases reach 3-week high; virus curbs to be extended
South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained above 400 for the fourth consecutive day Friday, hitting a three-week high and prompting authorities to extend the current social distancing measures for two weeks. The country reported 488 more COVID-19 cases, including 467 local infections, raising the total caseload to 94,686, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added 10 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the total to 1,662. The daily caseload has staye
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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Coordinated approach toward China an element of Blinken's trip to Asia: spokesman
WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss ways to jointly deal with China when he visits South Korea and Japan next week, the State Department spokesman said Thursday, calling it one of objectives of Blinken's upcoming trip. Ned Price said the secretary's trip will demonstrate the importance the US places on its alliances, as well as its efforts to reinvigorate them. "Of course, a coordinated approach to China is one of the elements that will be on the agenda in both
Foreign AffairsMarch 12, 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, as sporadic COVID-19 cluster infections continue to pop up across the country. "The government will extend the current distancing levels, which end March 14, for another two weeks," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. The greater Seoul area, home to around half of the nation's 52-million population, will remain under
Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021
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Medical workers share what to expect after COVID-19 vaccination
South Korean health care professionals, who are being offered the country’s first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, on Thursday gave those further down the priority list a heads up on what to expect when they finally get vaccinated. Onetime director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Jung Ki-suck said in a phone call with The Korea Herald Thursday morning that his reaction to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been mild so far, though “more feisty” than
Social AffairsMarch 11, 2021
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UN official urges Seoul to address NK rights violations
The United Nations investigator of human rights violations in North Korea on Wednesday called on South Korea to address the North’s rights violations in nuclear talks and to seek economic and humanitarian exchanges in a human rights-based framework. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the special rapporteur on North Korea human rights, urged the South Korean government to take action in a report to the UN Human Rights Council. “We are not hesitant to follow up on those recommendations,” a
North KoreaMarch 11, 2021
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FM sends solace message to Japanese counterpart over 10th anniv. of East Japan quake
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has sent a "message of solace" to his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the massive earthquake on Japan's east coast, his ministry said Thursday. Chung delivered the message Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to mend ties with Tokyo, strained over colonial-era history and trade, amid Washington's calls for stronger trilateral cooperation with its Asian allies to confront shared challenges. "On the occasion
Foreign AffairsMarch 11, 2021
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9 USFK-affiliated people test positive for COVID-19
Eight American service members and a contractor for the US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, the US military said Thursday. Four of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights, while the others arrived here on commercial flights, according to the USFK. They have been transferred to isolation facilities for confirmed patients, and the US military has completed disinfection
Social AffairsMarch 11, 2021
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S. Korea newly confirms 75 cases of emerging COVID-19 variants
South Korea has detected a total of 75 cases of "emerging" variants of the novel coronavirus since December, health authorities said Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said these variants are different from the three most-known mutations from Britain, South Africa and Brazil that are known to be more transmissible. There is no indication yet whether these new strains are more deadly than current circulating variants of the virus, the KDCA said. Of the t
Social AffairsMarch 11, 2021