N. Korea opens western sea route to receive medical supplies: UNICEF

North Korea has opened a key sea route on the western coast to receive humanitarian aid deliveries following its closure attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, a United Nations agency official said Friday. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has begun shipping medical supplies from the Chinese port of Dalian to North Korea's Nampo and plans to deliver more items, according to its Seoul office.  "A limited shipment of health and nutrition supplies has been delivered through th

North KoreaOct. 15, 2021

US allies vow cooperation on cybercrime

The US allies -- about 30 countries including South Korea, Japan, the UK and Canada -- vowed to bolster cooperation to combat the growing threat of ransomware and other cybercrimes, at an online session hosted by the White House National Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The two-day meeting, which ended Thursday, took place as the US seeks to broaden oversight of the cryptocurrency market after ransomware attacks recently destabilized its food and energy supplies.

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2021

Police investigating cyberattack against dating app for wealthy users

The South Korean police are probing into a suspected hacking attack against a matchmaking app that led to a personal data leak. The police on Friday said the investigation has been underway since late September, after the GoldSpoon app, which has 130,000 users, found evidence of unauthorized access to its internal network.  The GoldSpoon, a dating app designed for wealthy and high-income individuals, on Tuesday informed users that the company had suffered cyberattacks, which could be rans

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2021

US says awaiting N. Korea’s return to diplomacy

The US State Department said Thursday that the US is waiting to see if North Korea would respond to its offer to resume nuclear talks. “We do stand prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions. We have made, in fact, specific proposals to the DPRK, and we will await a response,” spokesperson Ned Price said referring to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Price, who did not elaborate on the specific proposals, said the status qu

North KoreaOct. 15, 2021

Assembly speaker returns after ‘sales diplomacy’ in Italy, Egypt

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug returned home Friday after attending the seventh G-20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit in Rome following an official visit to Egypt. During the 11-day trip, he focused on “sales diplomacy” to expand summit talks at the parliamentary level and allow South Korean companies to enter the regions, his office said. Park met all 18 representatives of 16 countries who attended the two-day speakers’ meeting in Rome, which ran Oct. 7-8,

PoliticsOct. 15, 2021

USFK reports 31 additional COVID-19 cases

Thirty-one people affiliated with the US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military's latest infection tally showed Friday. Among the new cases counted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 were 19 American troops, including those working at Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base, both in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. "All individuals are currently in isolation at a facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases," the US military said in a statement.

DefenseOct. 15, 2021

Ransomware suspects nabbed in intl. probe involving S. Korea

Key members of an international criminal organization suspected of carrying out massive ransomware attacks on South Korean companies and universities in 2019 have been arrested in a joint investigation by South Korea and a few other countries, police here said Friday. The joint investigation, which also involved Ukraine's police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States and Interpol, busted four members of the unnamed criminal organization, including its money laundering chief,

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2021

S. Korea considering 'diverse' ways with US for N. Korea dialogue: ministry

South Korea is closely cooperating with the United States on "diverse" measures to restart talks with North Korea, the unification ministry said Friday, after the US said it had made overtures to Pyongyang. "Through close communication, South Korea and the United States have pursued a completely coordinated North Korea policy," Cha Duck-chul, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, said in a regular press briefing. "Diverse measures to engage with the North are being closel

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2021

1,000 food delivery workers to join one-day general strike next week

About 1,000 food delivery workers will walk off the job next week as part of a general strike called by one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, union officials said Friday. Delivery workers of South Korea's leading food delivery services, Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo, designated Wednesday next week as "No-delivery Day" and will take part in the general walkout called by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), official said. They plan to call for the

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2021

President Moon Jae-in gets Pfizer booster shot

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook received COVID-19 booster shots Friday, 168 days after receiving their second vaccinations. Moon received the AstraZeneca vaccine March 23 and April 30, and his booster shot was from Pfizer. Starting Tuesday, the government began additional vaccinations for workers at COVID-19 treatment hospitals, who were vaccinated six months ago. They will get boosters from Pfizer through Oct. 30. Alongside medical workers, older adults and those who lea

PoliticsOct. 15, 2021

S. Korean, US diplomats discuss follow-up measures on summit agreement

South Korea and the United States held working-level diplomatic talks in Hawaii to review progress in the implementation of their latest summit agreement, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. Ko Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Mark Lambert, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Japan and South Korea, attended the third Bilateral Policy Dialogue (BPD) held on Thursday (local time), the ministry said. The two sides discussed pending diplomatic and s

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2021

Military reports 9 additional COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported nine additional COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,960, the defense ministry said. Six Army soldiers, including five trainees at boot camps, and a Navy member tested positive for the virus, according to military data. A civilian employee of the defense ministry in Seoul was also found to have contracted the virus. Since last week, three COVID-19 cases, including the latest, have been reported from the ministry compound.

DefenseOct. 15, 2021

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, US, Japan to meet in Washington over NK diplomacy

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet trilaterally in Washington next week to discuss joint efforts to bring North Korea back to dialogue, the foreign ministry said Friday. The planned talks among Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk, and his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, come as Seoul is stepping up diplomacy to salvage its peace drive following a recent series of North Korean missile launches, including a hyperso

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2021

Social distancing rules to be extended for two weeks: PM

The current social distancing rules will be extended for another two weeks, with some easing of the restrictions, officials said Friday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, “We would like to take a step closer to daily recovery while reducing the risk of infection by easing quarantine rules centered on those who have been vaccinated.” Starting next week, up to eight people will be able to gather in the Greater Seoul area at any time, as long as four in the group are fully vac

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2021

NK defector sentenced to prison for breaking into police station for online streaming

A North Korean defector has been sentenced to six months in prison for breaking into a police station in Seoul and pouring flour over an officer as part of streaming online, judicial sources said Friday. The 24-year-old, whose identity was withheld, climbed over a wire fence into Gwanak Police Station in southern Seoul in June, charged toward the officer on duty and dumped flour over him, saying he would test police capability to respond to an infiltration. The defector was also charged with d

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2021

New virus cases slow down, eased distancing rules to be applied for 2 weeks

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases stayed in the 1,000s for the seventh straight day Friday as the government announced eased social distancing rules ahead of a gradual return to normal life. The country added 1,684 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,670 local infections, raising the total caseload to 339,361, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily number of COVID-19 cases has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7. The country added eight more

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2021

President Moon, first lady receive COVID-19 booster shots

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook on Friday both received a COVID-19 booster shot, in line with a guidance from health authorities, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) began administering booster shots earlier this week for people aged 60 and older as well as medical workers, as part of the nation's strategy to ensure maximum protection for the public. Moon and Kim qualified for a third shot of COVID-19 vaccine u

PoliticsOct. 15, 2021

US awaits N. Korean response to US proposals for dialogue: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to be prepared to meet with North Korea without preconditions as it awaits the North's response to its "specific proposals," a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price also stressed that the US remains actively engaged in diplomacy with its allies to discuss ways to enhance their collective security. "We do stand prepared to meet with the DPRK without preconditions. We have made, in fact, specific proposals to the DPRK and

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2021

US needs to reassure allies against N. Korean threats: US expert

WASHINGTON -- The United States must reassure its allies of American commitment to help defend them against possible North Korean attacks to prevent key strategic alliances from falling apart, a former US ambassador to NATO said Thursday. Ivo Daalder, currently serving as president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent global affairs think tank, also argued US failure to do so may encourage its allies to consider having nuclear capabilities themselves. "So one of the th

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2021

Govt. to raise gathering size limit to 8 under new distancing rules: PM

The government decided Friday to raise the private gathering size limit to eight people for the capital area and 10 for elsewhere before the country shifts to a "living with COVID-19" scheme next month, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said. Under the renewed plan that will go into effect Monday, the greater Seoul area will remain under the toughest social distancing of Level 4, while the rest of the country will be under Level 3, Kim said during an interagency meeting on the government's

PoliticsOct. 15, 2021