Military lifts vacation ban for troops as govt. eases distancing rules

The military on Monday lifted a vacation ban for enlisted service members that has been in place for over two months in accordance with the government's easing of social distancing guidelines against the new coronavirus. Since late November, the military restricted rank-and-file troops from vacations and off-base activities under Level 2.5 social distancing rules, the second highest in its five-tier alert system, following a surge in COVID-19 cases across the nation. Starting Monday, the guida

DefenseFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea wraps up delivery of 2m masks to Korean War veterans in 22 countries

South Korea provided an additional 2 million face masks to international veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War recently in an expression of gratitude for their sacrifice, the veterans affairs ministry has said. Under the second such project, a total of 1 million masks were sent to the veterans in the United States, and the remainder to 21 other participating nations, including Canada, Britain, Columbia and South Africa, according to the ministry. Their shipments began in mid-December and were com

Foreign AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

N. Korea holds cyber conference on water management to ward off flooding

North Korea held a video conference to discuss better methods of flood control and water management in an effort to prevent the recurrence of heavy damage to the country's farming areas wrought by heavy rains last summer, state media reported Monday. The conference on Sunday was joined by North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun, Defense Minister Kim Jong-gwan and O Su-yong, who was recently elected director of the ruling party's Department of Economic Affairs, according to the Rodong Sinmun and the Ko

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea closely monitoring NK moves ahead of late leader's birthday: JCS

South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea's military moves ahead of the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday. Tuesday marks the birthday of the late leader, who is the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. The day, called the Day of the Shining Star, is one of the North's biggest national holidays, and Pyongyang has held commemorative events. "We are closely monitoring related movements, and there are no unusual things to be noted for furthe

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2021

Defense ministry says details of S. Korea-US combined exercise yet to be finalized

South Korea and the United States have yet to work out the schedule and other details of a planned joint springtime exercise, the defense ministry said Monday. The computer-simulated command post training is likely to kick off in mid-March, according to sources, but the ministry declined to confirm when it's going to happen, saying that discussions are still under way to finalize the plan. "South Korea and the US are closely coordinating how to stage the exercise in consideration of the C

DefenseFeb. 15, 2021

DP switches emergency handout strategy to prioritize targeted virus relief

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) has switched its strategy in giving out the nation's fourth round of emergency coronavirus relief handouts, opting to first prioritize a selective program as opposed to seeking both selective and universal stimulus packages in the same time window. On Sunday, DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon announced that the party and the government will engage in full-fledged talks on the country's new round of emergency relief handouts under a plan to submit an extra budget draf

PoliticsFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea to temporarily ease bird flu-related culling rules

South Korea said Monday it plans to temporarily ease precautionary measures against bird flu as the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza has slowed. The country plans to destroy the same kind of poultry within a 1-kilometer radius of infected farms for the next two weeks, when bird flu cases are reported, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country has so far culled 26 million poultry under its policy of destroying all birds within a 3-km radius of infe

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

UNC considering resuming tours to Panmunjom amid eased social distancing scheme

The United Nations Command (UNC) said Monday that it has been exploring ways to resume tours to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, as South Korea eased antivirus social distancing rules. Tours to Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area (JSA), were suspended in December amid the COVID-19 pandemic, just a month after the program resumed following a yearlong suspension over concerns about African swine fever. "With the ROK government relaxing social distancing measures to Level 2.0,

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2021

New infections in 300s for 3rd day; distancing rules eased for small businesses

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 300s for the third consecutive day Monday on fewer tests during the Lunar New Year holiday, with social distancing measures eased to help small businesses whose operations have been in limbo over tougher regulations. The country reported 344 more COVID-19 cases, including 323 local infections, raising the total caseload to 83,869, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added five more deaths, raising the

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea to spend W4.3tr on defense R&D this year

South Korea will invest 4.3 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in research and development in the defense sector this year to secure cutting-edge technologies and boost the industry's competitiveness, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The amount is up 10 percent from 3.9 trillion won earmarked last year and includes 631.8 billion won for the research and development of core weapon technologies, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Under its 2021 plan, the agency said it

DefenseFeb. 15, 2021

Police raid religious group over breach of virus rules

DAEJEON -- Police on Monday raided the headquarters of a local Christian missionary group over suspected violations of antivirus protocols that led to a large outbreak of the coronavirus. Investigators have been seizing computer hard drives and documents from the International Mission headquarters in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the police. IM has been blamed for more than 400 cases of the coronavirus at its facilities, including at the IEM School in Daejeon. The city

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

Number of discouraged female workers hits new high in 2019

The number of discouraged female workers in South Korea hit an all-time high in January due to a tough employment situation amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Monday. The country had 359,000 discouraged female workers in January, up 65.5 percent, or 142,000, from a year earlier and setting a new record, according to the data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). Last month, the overall number of discouraged workers in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

Inter-Korean reunification activist Paek Ki-wan dies at 88

Paek Ki-wan, who devoted his life to the reunification of the two Koreas and labor and social issues, died in hospital Monday, hospital officials said. He was 88. According to Seoul National University Hospital and his aides, Paek had been in the hospital since January of last year with symptoms of pneumonia. Born in 1932 in what is now Unnyul in North Korea's South Hwanghae Province, he came to the South in 1946 after graduating from elementary school there. Suffering emotional distress du

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea confirms 2 additional cases of bird flu at egg farms

South Korea reported two additional cases of avian influenza at egg farms on Sunday, bringing the number of cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza from local poultry farms to 95. The two cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N8 strain were confirmed at two egg farms in Icheon, 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the government's avian influenza response headquarters. Quarantine authorities kept people from moving in and out of the poultry farms in the affec

NationalFeb. 14, 2021

Japan formally approves its first COVID-19 vaccine

Japan on Sunday formally approved its first COVID-19 vaccine and said it would start nationwide inoculations within days, but months behind the US and many other countries. Japan's health ministry said it had approved the vaccine co-developed and supplied by Pfizer Inc. The announcement comes after a government panel on Friday confirmed that final results of clinical testing done in Japan showed that the vaccine had an efficacy similar to what overseas tests showed. Many countries began vacc

InternationalFeb. 14, 2021

[News Focus] Korea 26th of 33 OECD members in foreign residents’ share of population

SEJONG -- The number of registered foreign residents in South Korea came to 1.27 million at the end of 2019, making up 2.4 percent of the population of 51.84 million. The nation saw its foreign population climb quickly, from 1.7 percent a decade earlier in 2009 when 870,600 of Korea’s 49.77 million people where non-citizens. But the figure for Korea is still behind of the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which compared 33 of its total 37 members for

Social AffairsFeb. 14, 2021

Ruling party, gov't start discussing extra budget for selective relief handouts

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) started discussing the extra budget with the government to selectively provide the fourth round of emergency handouts to people and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic by the end of next month, the party leader said Sunday. DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon made the remarks in a press conference, adding both sides will wrap up the discussion within February.  Earlier, DP floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said in another press conference that the pa

PoliticsFeb. 14, 2021

S. Korean service member on overseas mission tests positive for coronavirus

A non-commissioned officer on a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Sunday. The member of the Hanbit Unit in the African nation was confirmed to have contracted the virus upon return from off-installation duty, according to the ministry. It is the fourth COVID-19 case reported among troops dispatched abroad following three infections reported in Lebanon and Bahrain earlier this month. South Korea began sending troops to So

DefenseFeb. 14, 2021

Korea reports first COVID-19 fatality involving patient in 20s

A patient in his or her mid-20s died Friday, becoming the youngest in Korea and the first under 30 to die with COVID-19, health officials said over the weekend. The Busan patient, who had preexisting complications from a cerebrovascular disease, died just a day after being confirmed with COVID-19, according to the city office. Before symptoms appeared Thursday, the day of diagnosis, the patient had yielded negative results in PCR tests for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. In a

Social AffairsFeb. 14, 2021

Gyeonggi governor stays on top of presidential preference survey

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is firmly at the top of the recent presidential preference survey, widening the gap with two other high-profile figures, ruling Democratic Party Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a poll showed Sunday. In a survey conducted by broadcaster SBS on 1,002 people aged 18 or older nationwide for four days from Feb. 6 to 9, Gov. Lee, who belongs to the Democratic Party of Korea, ranked first with a 28.6 percent approval in potential

PoliticsFeb. 14, 2021