1 in 2 N. Koreans underfed, worst in Asia-Pacific: UN report

Nearly five out of ten North Koreans were undernourished from 2017 to 2019, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, the UN said in an inter-agency report. East Timor and Afghanistan followed. In the same period, seven out of ten North Korean children aged two or below did not have minimum acceptable diet. In the report released Wednesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Program, World Health Organization and UNICEF, seven out of ten infants younger than six months old i

North KoreaJan. 22, 2021

Peace deal Moon wants Biden to inherit flawed: experts

North Korean experts said Thursday it would be a mistake for US President Joe Biden to build on the 2018 Singapore agreement to address North Korea’s denuclearization. President Moon Jae-in has suggested Washington start re-engaging with Pyongyang based on the deal. “What the administration should strive for instead is a comprehensive, well-crafted agreement such as the arms control agreements we had with the Soviet Union,” Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow for Northe

North KoreaJan. 22, 2021

Court refuses to cancel seizure of annex to ex-President Chun's house

A Seoul court on Friday rejected a request to cancel the seizure of a building owned by former President Chun Doo-hwan's family in western Seoul. The Seoul Administrative Court issued the ruling in response to an October 2018 lawsuit filed by one of Chun's daughters-in-law, surnamed Lee, who claimed the seizure of the annex inside the former president's residential compound was unjustified because it is under her name. The entire residence was put up for auction in 2018 at the request of the p

PoliticsJan. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Rocker Jeon In-kwon faces police investigation over neighbor dispute

Korean rock icon Jeon In-kwon is facing a police investigation over a dispute with his neighbor, multiple media reported Friday. Seoul’s Jongno Police Station called in the legendary rocker on Wednesday over property damage allegations, according to reports. Jeon allegedly threw a roof tile at his neighbor’s front door in September. The rocker had gotten into a dispute with his neighbor, claiming that the neighbor re-constructed their house to raise the height of the roof by one

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

S. Korea remains alert over possible uptick ahead of Lunar New Year, reports under 400 new cases

Authorities warned against coronavirus complacency as potential risk factors still remain at large even though South Korea has been reporting fewer cases in recent days due to tougher virus curbs. Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho said in a press briefing Friday that the government is cautious about easing social distancing rules as conditions still remain for the virus to gain force under the nation’s third COVID-19 wave. “Although (the number of new cases) has stayed in the 30

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

Seoul should refrain from 'prioritizing' US-NK summit with Biden: US expert

South Korea should refrain from "prioritizing" a summit between US President Joe Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when it starts working with the new administration on the stalled nuclear issue, a US expert said Friday. Michael Green, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made the remark during a virtual forum on the Korea-US alliance, stressing that Biden's team is less likely to respond to such a call, given that it is already l

North KoreaJan. 22, 2021

Ex-therapist of local triathlon team sentenced to 8 yrs in prison in abuse case

A former physical therapist of a municipal triathlon team was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for sexually and physically abusing an athlete who took her own life last year. The Daegu District Court handed down an eight-year prison term and a fine of 10 million won ($9,090) to Ahn Joo-hyeon, a former therapist of the Gyeongju city government's triathlon team, on charges of fraud, sexual and physical assault, and violation of the Medical Service Act. The court also banned Ahn from

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

Unification ministry announces guidelines on leafleting ban to clarify 'scope of application'

The unification ministry on Friday unveiled guidelines on a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea in an effort to ensure better interpretation of the law. The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, which passed the National Assembly and the Cabinet last month, has raised concerns among critics that it could hurt freedom of expression and undercut efforts to send outside information into the reclusive North. Concerns were also raised th

PoliticsJan. 22, 2021

Religious facilities biggest source of infection clusters: KDCA

Religious facilities were the biggest source of COVID-19 group infections in South Korea for the past year, with one in three confirmed patients being in their 40s and 50s, according to health authorities’ analysis.  According to the analysis by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on COVID-19 cases from Jan. 20 last year to Jan. 19 this year, 45.4 percent of all coronavirus cases in Korea were classified as “mass infections.” A mass infection is a group of

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

AI chatbot mired in legal dispute over data collection

Artificial intelligence-based chatbot Lee Luda, which ended this month in ethical and data collection controversy, faces lawsuits on charges of violating personal information. On Friday, around 400 people filed a class action suit against the creator of the chatbot, Seoul-based startup Scatter Lab, claiming their personal information was leaked in the process of developing and providing the service. Launched on Dec. 23, Lee Luda, an AI chatbot service designed to imitate a 20-year-old colleg

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

S. Korea to prepare 250 COVID-19 vaccination centers to start inoculations next month

South Korea is preparing 250 vaccination centers across the country as it looks to kick off a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program next month. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Friday that the government was moving ahead of schedule with its preparations to start the program after it became possible that the first batch of purchased vaccines will come before the Lunar New Year holiday, as opposed to originally expected timeframe of late next month. The government is planning to i

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

Amb. Kang reaffirms S. Korea's 'firm' will to improve ties with Japan

New South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kang Chang-il said Friday that Seoul has a "firm" will to normalize relations with Tokyo, as he departed for the country amid a protracted row over wartime history and trade. "The Moon government has a firm will to normalize relations between South Korea and Japan, and the president also expressed the will during a New Year's press conference," he told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "I plan to relay this

PoliticsJan. 22, 2021

Ex-ruling party official gets jail term for taking bribes from financial scam suspect

A former official of the ruling Democratic Party was sentenced to two years in prison by a local court on Friday for taking bribes from a key suspect in a massive financial fraud case. The Seoul Southern District Court also ordered Lee Sang-ho, who formerly headed a Busan chapter of the Democratic Party, to forfeit 30 million won ($27,230) after convicting him of receiving about 86 million won in political and other funds from Kim Bong-hyun, a prime suspect in the financial fraud case involving

PoliticsJan. 22, 2021

S. Korea investigating new suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday it is investigating a new suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to a poultry farm, with the total caseload here approaching nearly 70. The latest suspected case of the malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from an egg farm in Icheon, just south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country has confirmed 68 cases of contagious bird flu since late November, when it reported the first such

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

N. Korea ranks worst in undernourishment in Asia-Pacific region

North Korea was ranked the worst in terms of prevalence of undernourishment among its population in the Asia-Pacific region, a report showed Friday. According to the report jointly compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and other global agencies, more than 45 percent of the North's population was suffering from undernourishment from 2017-2019. The proportion was the highest among Asia-Pacific countries surveyed. It was much higher than the corresponding fig

North KoreaJan. 22, 2021

[Graphic News] Kimchi most popular Korean dish for foreigners: survey

　Global consumers picked kimchi as their most preferred Korean dish, a poll showed, amid the growing popularity of traditional Korean food, known as hansik, in line with the boom of the country‘s pop culture around the world. 　Nearly 34 percent of respondents said they preferred eating kimchi, trailed by bibimbap with 27.8 percent and Korean-style fried chicken at 27 percent, according to the poll released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　The survey was based

NationalJan. 22, 2021

Navy's sea salvage unit conducts annual wintertime training

The Navy's Sea Salvage and Rescue Unit has kicked off its annual wintertime training as part of efforts to maintain full operational readiness, the military said Friday. Around 50 members of the special unit launched the three-day training at the southern port of Jinhae on Wednesday, which includes drills to hone skills for underwater search operations and rubber boat pedaling, according to the Navy. "With antivirus measures in place, we conducted the training to cultivate our service mem

DefenseJan. 22, 2021

New virus cases under 400 again; alert in place against potential upticks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 400 Friday on the back of tougher virus curbs, but health authorities warned against complacency as they try to further slow down new infections. The country added 346 more COVID-19 cases, including 314 domestically transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 74,262, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Friday's daily caseload was sharply down from 401 cases reported the previous day. The third

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

Consistency key to denuclearizing N. Korea: US experts

Having a consistent policy on North Korea may be the key to denuclearizing the North, US experts said Thursday. They argued the North may have had little or no incentive to actually give up its nuclear weapons since it had been rewarded without doing so. "I think it's because there has been an inconsistent foreign policy, not only from the United States but a lot of countries, and we have in the past rewarded people like Kim Jong-il, they took our support and made promises, and then after

North KoreaJan. 22, 2021

10 USFK-affiliated people test positive for COVID-19

Ten people affiliated with US Forces Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Thursday. A US Department of Defense official working at US Army Garrison Yongsan tested positive Wednesday after developing symptoms. She last visited the base on Monday, according to USFK. The spouse of another DoD official in Yongsan who tested positive earlier and a service member stationed at Kunsan Air Base were also confirmed to have contracted the virus the same day. &ldquo

DefenseJan. 21, 2021