NK delegation returns home from visit to Russia's Far East

A North Korean delegation from the country's border city of Rason has returned home after a weeklong visit to Russia's Far East, state media reported Sunday. The Korean Central News Agency said the delegation led by the chief of the Rason Municipal People's Committee arrived back home on Saturday. The delegation had left for the trip on May 12. The one-sentence dispatch did not provide further details, but the delegation is believed to have discussed resuming passenger train servi

North KoreaMay 19, 2024

[Photo News] Seoul seeks 'best sleeper'

Seoulites continue their search for winners of quality rest. Following last weekend's zoning out contest, a best sleeper competition was held on Saturday afternoon at Yeouido Hangang Park. Starting at 2 p.m., participants napped for an hour and a half, during which their heart rates were measured every half hour. The winner was determined by the greatest difference between their baseline heart rate, measured before the nap, and their lowest heart rate during the nap. This contest was part o

Social AffairsMay 18, 2024

N. Korea slams US over redesignation as uncooperative country in counterterrorism efforts

North Korea denounced the United States on Saturday over its recent redesignation as a country not cooperating fully with US counterterrorism efforts, insisting that no area in which the two countries can cooperate exists. Kwon Jong-gun, director-general of the department of US affairs at the North's foreign ministry, issued the criticism after the United States kept the North on its list of countries not fully cooperating with its counterterrorism efforts earlier this week. "The DPRK

North KoreaMay 18, 2024

North Korea confirms missile launch, vows bolstered nuclear force

North Korea has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a "new autonomous navigation system," state media said Saturday, with leader Kim Jong-un vowing to boost the country's nuclear force. Kim oversaw the Friday test-launch into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on a mission to evaluate the "accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said. The launch was the latest in a st

North KoreaMay 18, 2024

Yoon vows to advance freedom, welfare to uphold spirit of 1980 pro-democracy uprising

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Saturday to advance the freedom and welfare of the people as a way to uphold the spirit of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Yoon made the remark during a ceremony marking the 44th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement in the city located 267 kilometers south of Seoul. The ceremony was attended by some 2,500 people, including lawmakers from the rival parties and families of the victims. "The entire people of Sout

PoliticsMay 18, 2024

US expert says N. Korea might ignore Trump if he returns to White House

WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may not be "eager" to engage with former US President Donald Trump if he wins the White House in the Nov. 5 election, a US expert has said, noting Pyongyang has already been "burnt" by Trump. Ralph Cossa, president emeritus at the Pacific Forum, made the forecast in a recent piece for The National Interest, an international affairs magazine, suspecting Pyongyang will be more interested in "what kind of damage a second Trump a

Foreign AffairsMay 18, 2024

HRNK report sheds light on human rights abuse of N. Korean nuclear scientists

WASHINGTON -- South Korean and US officials have stressed the need to address an "inextricable" link between North Korea's human rights and security issues, claiming Pyongyang's repressive political climate has led it to divert its scarce resources to its weapons programs without public pushback. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, a US-based nongovernmental institute, issued a report Friday to further substantiate the claim as it sheds light on how the reclusive r

North KoreaMay 18, 2024

N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology

  North Korea said Saturday it has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a new "autonomous" navigation system in a bid to advance its weapons capabilities. The North's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the weapons test on Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The report did not reveal further details such as how many missiles were fired. "The accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system were verified through the test fire," the rep

North KoreaMay 18, 2024

US Air Force blames power loss, weather for F-16 crash in S. Korea in May 2023

A US F-16 fighter jet crash incident in South Korea in May of last year occurred due to a partial power loss experienced by the aircraft and weather conditions at the time, a US Air Force unit stationed in the country said Friday. On May 6, 2023, the single-engine fighter jet assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing (FW) of the US 7th Air Force crashed into farmland near Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, shortly after take-off. The pilot ejected safely, with no serious injuries

DefenseMay 17, 2024

Ex-president Moon recalls in memoir NK leader voiced will not to use nukes

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had voiced frustration over global skepticism on his will for denuclearization, stressing he had no intention to use nuclear weapons, a memoir written by former President Moon Jae-in showed Friday. The details of exchanges between Moon and Kim during their first summit held in April 2018 were shared in the book, of which the title translates into "From the Periphery to the Center." It recounts significant diplomatic events, such as Moon's summit mee

North KoreaMay 17, 2024

Yoon orders scrapping of preliminary feasibility studies for R&D projects

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government Friday to scrap all preliminary feasibility studies for research and development projects to speed up their implementation and support economic growth. Yoon made the remark during a national financial strategy meeting held to discuss fiscal policy issues ahead of the government's formulation of next year's budget. "I ask you to abolish preliminary feasibility studies and sharply increase the scale of investment in order to nurture

PoliticsMay 17, 2024

Minor opposition leader Cho Kuk calls for cut back in Yoon’s term

Cho Kuk, leader of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party on Friday called for a constitutional reform through the incoming parliament, including the adoption of a two-term, four-year US-style presidential term limit, instead of the current single-term, five-year system. Cho remarks are in line with the main opposition Democratic Party’s earlier proposal to adopt the US-style system, but observers said it was an attempt to cut back President Yoon Suk Yeol’s remaining three years

PoliticsMay 17, 2024

Teens banned from entering, working at 'hold 'em' pubs, cafes

The South Korean government announced that a recent revision of the Youth Protection Act related to poker-themed businesses, which stipulates that teenagers shall be banned from entering or working at such establishments, will take effect Friday, "Hold 'em pubs" and "hold 'em cafes" refer to establishments that allow users to engage in games categorized by the law as casino-type games, including the poker variant Texas hold 'em, which gave such enterprises thei

Social AffairsMay 17, 2024

Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors

A woman in her 20s has fallen to her death from an acquaintance's home, Incheon police said Friday, after displaying what officials have described to be abnormal behavior. The Incheon Namdong Police Station received a report at around 7 p.m. Thursday about a young woman hanging from a balcony of the 12th-floor unit of a residential building in Namdong-gu, Incheon. Officers dispatched to the scene were installing an air mattress below her when she fell. An investigation found that the unit f

Social AffairsMay 17, 2024

Democratic Party split over Assembly speaker candidate

A rift opened up Friday between supporters of the new National Assembly speaker candidate and Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Woo Won-shik and those close to main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung. The “pro-Lee” faction of the opposition party took issue with a party vote held the previous day, in which Woo was elected the sole candidate for the next Assembly speaker. In the process, Woo, who is known to have relatively moderate political views, defeated Rep. Choo Mi-ae, a six-term lawm

PoliticsMay 17, 2024

What's next for the government's push in quota hike?

The Seoul High Court's critical ruling Thursday dismissing doctors groups' request for an injunction to halt the nationwide medical school expansion, has cleared the path for the first increase in medical student admissions in 27 years. With the hurdle removed, the government vowed Friday to expedite the remaining procedures for the 2025 school year college admissions, such as reflecting the changes in each university's college admissions and gaining approval for the plans by the

Social AffairsMay 17, 2024

Police raid trot star's house over suspected hit-and-run cover-up

Police raided popular trot singer Kim Ho-joong's house in Seoul on Thursday night over allegations regarding a hit-and-run accident, officials said. According to Seoul Gangnam Police Station, investigators searched Kim's house and the home and office of Lee Kwang-deuk, the head of Kim's agency, Think Entertainment, to figure out the whereabouts of Kim and his manager following the incident. Kim is suspected of hitting a taxi on the opposite side of the road and fleeing the scene w

Social AffairsMay 17, 2024

Human rights commission urges Korea to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights

South Korea’s human rights commission on Friday called for Koreans and the government to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBTQ rights. Song Doo-hwan, chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, issued a statement Friday to mark the 2024 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia. Celebrated annually on May 17, the day marks the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declass

Social AffairsMay 17, 2024

N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Friday, the South Korean military said, a day after South Korea and the United States staged combined aerial drills involving advanced stealth jets. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected what are presumed to be short-range missiles fired off the eastern coastal city of Wonsan at 3:10 p.m. toward the East Sea. "The North Korean missiles flew about 300 kilometers and landed in the East Sea," the JCS said

North KoreaMay 17, 2024

E-sports reporter sustains eye injury due to fire effects at gaming event

Sports and e-sports reporter Gwak Min-seon is reportedly suffering from impaired vision after being exposed to on-stage pyrotechnics at a gaming event on Sunday, officials from Gwak's agency said Friday. According to an official announcement from Gwak’s agency, Starit Entertainment, Gwak sustained physical damage to her face due to sparks set off during the celebration of the champion team of the 2024 Battleground Mobile Pro Series at an e-sports stadium in Daejeon on Sunday. She wa

Social AffairsMay 17, 2024