Most Popular
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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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[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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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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103 autumn foliage paths in Seoul
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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NK paper urges tight antivirus efforts without expecting outside help
North Korea's official newspaper said Thursday the country should intensify antivirus efforts on its own without any outside help that could increase the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in the country. North Korea has recently intensified calls for tightened preventive measures against the coronavirus after leader Kim Jong-un held a politburo meeting of the Workers' Party and stressed the need to "keep a high alert, build a tight blocking wall and further intensify the anti-epidemic work.&q
North KoreaNov. 19, 2020
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S. Korea bans imports of Swedish poultry following AI outbreak
South Korea's agriculture ministry said Wednesday it has banned poultry imports from Sweden following an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza in the European country. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it began the ban on live Swedish chicks and eggs after H5N8 was detected in Sweden. The ministry recommended that locals refrain from visiting livestock farms and bringing animals from the affected region. Highly pathogenic AI is very contagious
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Justice minister orders inspection of top prosecutor
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Wednesday ordered an inspection into Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, escalating monthslong tensions between the two. Two junior prosecutors from the Justice Ministry’s internal inspection team reportedly visited the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday and requested a face-to-face meeting with the top prosecutor, only to be rejected. They were trying to schedule a questioning session over allegations against Yoon involving his family and a meeti
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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[News Focus] IVF restrictions called into question
A Japanese television personality in South Korea, who became a single mother by choice with the help of donor sperm, shed light on the country’s severe access restrictions to assisted reproductive technologies. Sayuri Fujita gave birth to a son Nov. 4 after using donor sperm for in vitro fertilization treatment in Japan, after her doctor said spontaneous pregnancy was becoming less and less likely because of her age. Although she was near the end of her fertility, she wasn’t will
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Yoo reaffirms presidential bid
Former four-term conservative lawmaker Yoo Seong-min reaffirmed Wednesday his intention to run for president again in 2022, dismissing speculation that he might run for Seoul mayor. Yoo ran in the 2017 presidential election on the ticket of a now-disbanded center-right party. Yoo said he had never considered entering the mayoral race, which will take place in April next year. The main opposition People Power Party, to which he belongs, didn’t ask him to run for mayor, he said during
PoliticsNov. 18, 2020
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Opposition split over new airport, as ruling party rushes to alternative
The decision to review plans for a new airport in the country’s southeast is sending ripples through the political arena, with the ruling bloc pushing for a quick conclusion while the opposition appears divided. On Tuesday, the government effectively scrapped plans for expanding Gimhae International Airport in Busan, reigniting hopes for an airport on Gadeokdo, a small island also within Busan, connected by bridge to the mainland. On Wednesday, ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker
PoliticsNov. 18, 2020
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About 132,000 coronavirus-affected workers paid family care leave allowance
About 132,000 local workers have benefited from the government's paid family care leave program introduced in March this year to financially support working parents who are forced to take care of their children when day care centers, kindergartens and elementary schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday. The ministry said a total of 131,772 workers were paid 47.4 billion won ($42.9 million) in family care leave allowances from March
PoliticsNov. 18, 2020
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S. Korea readies more testing centers for the upcoming Suneung
South Korea is readying 60 percent more testing rooms and 30 percent more personnel for the Dec. 3 nationwide college entrance exam, as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic looms, the Education Ministry announced Wednesday. “We now have upped our test administration system to accommodate up to 120 test-takers infected with COVID-19 and up to 3,800 potential patients under quarantine,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said, before presiding over a meeting with local education chi
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Minister discusses NK’s denuclearization with former US Defense Secretary Perry
Unification Minister Lee In-young held a videoconference with former US Defense Secretary William Perry on Wednesday to discuss ways to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea under the future administration of US President-elect Joe Biden. Jeong Se-hyun, a former unification minister and current executive vice chairperson of the presidential National Unification Advisory Council, also attended the hourlong session. During the three-way meeting, Perry said using a “diplomatic so
North KoreaNov. 18, 2020
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S. Korean, US defense chiefs reaffirm ‘exemplary alliance’
Defense Minister Suh Wook and US acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to an “exemplary alliance” during their first phone call, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. Miller ascended to the role after President Donald Trump fired Secretary Mark Esper a week earlier. The two defense chiefs confirmed their ironclad mutual defense commitments against North Korea and vowed close cooperation on a range of issues pendi
DefenseNov. 18, 2020
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Art foundation to give relief money to Seoul artists amid pandemic
A cultural foundation affiliated with the Seoul city government said Wednesday it plans to provide some 12 billion won ($10.8 million) in relief funds to artists to help them continue their work amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC) will receive applications for the relief funds from next Monday until Dec. 11. Funds will be provided to artists participating in either creative art or performances scheduled for next year in Seoul. The creative art cate
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Webinar to look into the Korean conflict and Nordic peace mediation
A webinar to analyze the situation on the Korean Peninsula and share Nordic experiences of peace mediation will be held on Tuesday, marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Hosted by embassies of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway in Seoul and Yonsei University's GSIS Program in International Cooperation on peace and security, experts and scholars will discuss how Nordic experiences can help solve the decades-long nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula. The event open
Diplomatic CircuitNov. 18, 2020
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[Newsmaker] ‘CIA took North Korea leader’s nephew’
The US Central Intelligence Agency took the family of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, after Kim Jong-nam was murdered in February 2017, although it is unclear where the family resides now, said a Korean American writer. The activist group that helped the bereaved family get out of Macao shortly after Kim Jong-nam was killed in Kuala Lumpur reportedly lost them to people who identified themselves as CIA officers at the Taipei airport. In an article in the New
North KoreaNov. 18, 2020
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S. Korea releases satellite images of air quality in East Asia
South Korea on Wednesday released satellite imagery showing the movement of fine dust from China to South Korea in the latest scientific evidence that China is partly to blame for poor air quality in the region. The Chollian-2B, a South Korean environmental satellite, observed high concentrations of fine dust from China moving to the Korean Peninsula on Oct. 20, according to its imagery released by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The move comes as South Korea and China work together to try to
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Seoul city to expand contact tracing team amid virus resurgence
The Seoul city government said Wednesday it will increase the number of contact tracing agents from 30 to 190 amid a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases. By increasing their number, the city government said it will identify people who came into close contact with a COVID-19 patient and place them under quarantine within 24 hours of a confirmed infection. The measure comes as Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of the capital, are set to raise their social
PoliticsNov. 18, 2020
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China's policy on NK denuclearization consistent regardless of US leadership change: Amb. Xing
China's commitment to peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will remain consistent regardless of the leadership change in the United States, Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming said Wednesday. Xing also said during a forum hosted by his embassy that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit South Korea first ahead of any other country once the coronavirus pandemic situation stabilizes. "That remains unchanged," he said. Asked about the prospects of Beijing's cooperation wit
North KoreaNov. 18, 2020
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1 in 3 S. Koreans picks COVID-19 outbreak as No. 1 social anxiety factor
One in three South Koreans picked the outbreak of a new disease as the biggest source of social anxiety this year, a survey showed Wednesday, underscoring people's jitters over the new coronavirus pandemic. The poll by Statistics Korea showed that 32.8 percent of those surveyed said they consider the outbreak of a new disease as the biggest threat to society, sharply up 29.9 percentage points from 2.9 percent tallied two years earlier. Regardless of sex, age, education and income levels, the e
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Appeals court upholds prison terms for producers of Mnet's 'Produce' series over vote-rigging
An appellate court on Wednesday maintained prison terms for two disgraced producers of the popular music channel Mnet for rigging the vote results of a popular audition program. The Seoul High Court sentenced Ahn Joon-young, the producer of the audition program "Produce," to two years in prison and forfeiture of 37 million ($30,000), and chief producer Kim Yong-beom to 20 months in prison, the same punishments ruled in May by the Seoul Central District Court. The two were convicted
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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Growing COVID-19 cases deepen worries over potential disruption to college entrance exam
A recent surge in coronavirus cases has increased anxiety about whether the national college entrance exam, the biggest academic event of the year, can be held safely in South Korea next month. Education authorities are on high alert ahead of the Dec. 3 event, having postponed the exam, originally slated for Nov. 19, in late March, when the country was hit by the first wave of the pandemic. They will launch a two-week special precautionary period starting Thursday, preparing for the test to be
Social AffairsNov. 18, 2020
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S. Korea to spend over W80tr to boost defense industry in 5 yrs: minister
Over 80 percent of South Korea's 100 trillion won ($90 billion) budget set aside for boosting defense capabilities over the next five years will be spent on buying locally made weapons and hardware, rather than imports, to help boost the local defense industry, Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday. Suh made the remark in a congratulatory message at a defense expo, DX Korea 2020, held in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, calling the industry a driving force for economic growth and a basis fo
DefenseNov. 18, 2020