N. Korean leader calls for stepped-up war preparations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for stepped-up efforts to prepare for war, saying the United States is engaged in "unprecedented" acts of confrontation against the country, state media reported Thursday. In the second-day session of the plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on Wednesday, Kim also presented a goal of strengthening cooperation with "anti-imperialist" countries, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "He set forth the militant t

North KoreaDec. 28, 2023

Trump may bring about 'bolder' N. Korea policy shift if reelected: US expert

Former US President Donald Trump could make a "bolder" shift in North Korea policy if reelected, an American expert said Wednesday, raising the prospects of him eyeing another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Andrew Yeo, the SK-Korea Foundation chair at the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies, also warned of a potential policy "clash" between South Korea and the United States should Trump handle the

Foreign AffairsDec. 28, 2023

Election watchdog to introduce manual ballot counting for April elections

The National Election Commission said Wednesday it will introduce a manual ballot counting system for general elections in April in an effort to ensure transparency and prevent potential election rigging. Currently, machines are used to sort out and count votes. Under the envisioned new system, however, ballots will first be sorted out by machines, and election staff will manually check all of them before putting them into the counting machines. "It is meant to boost transparency and credib

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

Israeli Embassy in Seoul removes footage depicting hypothetical Hamas attack on S. Korea

The Israeli Embassy in South Korea on Wednesday deleted a self-produced controversial video featuring an imaginary case of Seoul being attacked by the Hamas group, after the South Korean government expressed concern over the matter. On its social media channels, the embassy on Tuesday uploaded the video featuring a potential terror attack in Seoul on a Christmas day. In the footage, a young mother looks at her cellphone as it suddenly issues an air raid warning while she is watching her daughter

Foreign AffairsDec. 27, 2023

N. Korean officials show up for year-end party meeting in luxury sedans

Key North Korean officials arrived for a year-end meeting of the ruling Worker's Party in luxury vehicles, state media footage showed Wednesday, despite international sanctions banning the supply of luxury goods to the North. Footage from the North's Korean Central Television showed Premier Kim Tok-hun; Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizations affairs at the ruling Workers' Party; and Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, using M

North KoreaDec. 27, 2023

Leader behind Gyeongbokgung graffiti attack also targeted subways: police

A person who paid two teenagers to vandalize the walls of Gyeongbokgung had also ordered another teen to graffiti subway stations in Daegu, a police investigation found Wednesday. The individual identified as "team leader Lee," thought to have paid a 17-year-old male surnamed Im and 16-year-old female to graffiti the palace walls with the web addresses to illegal video streaming platforms, is also believed to have contacted another teen in Daegu on Dec. 18 for a similar request. Lee to

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

2028 Suneung will 'aim to ensure fairness'

South Korea's Education Ministry confirmed changes for the college entrance exam starting in the year 2028 on Wednesday, largely by consolidating the test topics, aiming to "ensure fairness and stability" in the country's highly competitive education system. Currently, the standard score for each test taker of the same subject might differ among those who got the same raw score, depending on their choices of elective topics for the subject, prompting questions about the test&

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

Ticket scalping expands beyond music to anything that can be bought

South Korea is being plagued by illegal ticket sales ranging from music and other forms of performing arts to reservations for hotels, restaurants and popular services all throughout the country. An online post on Joonggonara, a website for secondhand sales, offered a reservation for a meal for two at a high-end sushi restaurant in Gangnam's Cheongdam-dong, an affluent region in southern Seoul, for 540,000 won ($410) -- 100,000 won more than the original price. A separate post on the simila

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

City of Seoul to extend late-night public transit for New Year's Eve

Subways and buses running in central Seoul will extend late-night operating hours for those enjoying New Year's Eve celebrations, with the bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak Pavilion and Sejongdaero expected to take place from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m the next day. Normally, on public holidays subways are scheduled to arrive at their final station by midnight. However, on Sunday, subway trains will operate until 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. A total of 173 subway trains will run on Line Nos. 1 to

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

8 trains to be added to Seoul Metro Line No. 9 by early 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will add eight six-carriage trains on Line No. 9 of the Seoul Metro, increasing the number of trains in operation from the current 45 to 53 by early 2024. Out of the eight that are planned to be added, five will begin operating from this weekend on Dec. 30. With the newly added trains, the city government plans to reduce train arrival intervals and extreme overcrowding during rush hour. By the year-end, train arrival intervals are exp

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

[Newsmaker] Estranged Lee Jun-seok to launch new party

The estranged ex-leader of the ruling party, Lee Jun-seok, said Wednesday he would launch a new political party of his own, as the new interim party leader made no moves to convince him to stay. "I have decided to leave the People Power Party, leaving all my political assets tied to it behind," the 38-year-old politician announced in a press conference held in the afternoon at a restaurant in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul. Lee spent his childhood in Nowon-gu and sought to represent the

PoliticsDec. 27, 2023

Seoul to defer workplace safety enforcement by 2 years

The conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday agreed to defer by two years the enforcement of the controversial Serious Disasters Punishments Act, which can hold executives criminally liable for deadly workplace disasters. The announcement, made at a meeting with Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik and People Power Party lawmakers, is expected to extend the grace period of the rule to 2026 for small enterprises, as the law was initially poised to come into

PoliticsDec. 27, 2023

Gender gap at work improving, albeit slowly

The gender gap at South Korean workplaces has shown signs of narrowing over the past decade, signaling that the country might be breaking away from the long-standing division of labor between the sexes and outdated stereotypes toward women who work. The gender gap in the employment rate has narrowed slightly from 22.5 percentage points in 2012 to 18.6 percentage points last year, according to the 2023 Women’s Participation in Economic Activities White Paper, jointly published by the Minist

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

S. Korea slaps sanctions on NK foreign intelligence chief

The South Korean government on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the head of North Korea's primary intelligence agency responsible for overseas operations, along with seven other North Koreans. The announcement on unilateral economic sanctions was in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Dec. 18, contravening multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry. A total of eight designated North Korea

North KoreaDec. 27, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Easing burden on subcontractors, protecting consumer interests

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of, and Protecting National High-tech Strategic Industries Proposed by Rep. Yang Hyang-ja (Hope of Korea) ● In response to demands to diversify and strengthen government support for specialized complexes and high-tech technologies, this amendment allows the state to directly create industrial infrastructure of specialized complexes, expands support for the creation and operation of specialized

PoliticsDec. 27, 2023

Actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead

South Korean police confirmed that Lee Sun-kyun had been found dead Wednesday morning at Waryong Park in northern Jongno-gu in Seoul. He had been under investigation for alleged drug use. Police confirmed his identity after earlier reports said the body of a man suspected to be the well-known actor had been found at the park. Lee was found unconscious inside of his car at around 10:30 a.m., having inhaled smoke from charcoal briquette. Emergency workers said he was already dead at the time of

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2023

N. Korea convenes year-end party meeting with leader Kim in attendance

North Korea has convened a key year-end meeting of the ruling Workers' Party with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss next year's policy direction, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday. Kim presided over the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea the previous day to review state policies for this year and discuss those for 2024, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Kim defined 2023 as a "year of gre

North KoreaDec. 27, 2023

Cambodia pitches new 'Pentagonal Strategy' to S. Korean investors

The Cambodian ambassador to South Korea pitched the country's new Pentagonal Strategy, aimed at transforming it into a high-income country for South Korean investors, underscoring the improved investment landscape. "Cambodia’s new investment law, sub-degree and its launch of Pentagonal Strategy Phase 1 provide a conducive investment environment and create more opportunities for businessmen and investors," Ambassador Chring Botumrangsay said at the 2nd Cambodia-Korea Business

Foreign AffairsDec. 26, 2023

S. Korea says is in talks with Poland on arms deals amid worries about possible cancellation

South Korea is in talks with Poland to ensure the multiple arms contracts signed between Korean companies and the Polish government will be carried out as agreed despite the change of the leadership in Warsaw, a Seoul official said Tuesday. Concerns are growing as the new Polish government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, signaled a revision to some of the arms contracts inked under the preceding government, citing overspending of the budget. South Korean defense firms have clinched about $13

Foreign AffairsDec. 26, 2023

S. Korea to push for DNA tests on descendants of separated families

The unification ministry said Tuesday it will push to conduct DNA tests on descendants of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War in a bid to use their gene information for potential family reunions with their relatives in North Korea. The move comes as more aging separated family members in South Korea have died without having a chance to meet with their long-lost relatives in North Korea amid strained inter-Korean ties. A plan to conduct DNA tests on children and grandchildren of separate

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023