Assembly Speaker Park to embark on visits to Italy, Egypt

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug will travel to Italy and Egypt to attend a Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of parliamentary speakers in Rome and hold other bilateral meetings, his office said Tuesday. Park will depart for Italy later Tuesday to attend the seventh G-20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit to be held from Thursday-Friday in Rome and the Pre-meeting of the General Assembly of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Pre-COP26) on Friday. This year's G-20 par

PoliticsOct. 5, 2021

N. Korea continues to develop nuclear, missile programs despite sanctions: report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs despite worsening economic conditions exacerbated by UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, a UN report showed Monday. The report by a panel of experts on North Korean sanctions also said the North continues to evade sanctions by ever sophisticating means. "During the reporting period, despite the country's focus on its worsening economic travails, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continued t

North KoreaOct. 5, 2021

US urges full implementation of UNSC sanctions on N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- A spokesman for the US State Department on Monday stressed the need to fully implement UN Security Council sanctions on N. Korea while also urging the North to comply with UN resolutions that prohibit the North from testing or developing weapons of mass destruction. Ned Price made the remark after North Korea criticized the UN Security Council (UNSC) for convening an emergency meeting last week to discuss its recent missile launches. "We remain concerned by the DPRK's repeat

Foreign AffairsOct. 5, 2021

Blinken underscores importance of cooperation between NATO, S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday highlighted the importance of cooperation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and key US allies such as South Korea in dealing with regional and global issues. The call for unity among US allies comes amid growing competition between the US and China. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the centrality of the Transatlantic bond and Alliance un

Foreign AffairsOct. 5, 2021

Unification minister says restoration of cross-border hotlines is a 'restart'

BERLIN - Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday that South and North Korea's restoration of cross-border hotlines marks a "restart" in efforts to improve ties. Lee spoke to Yonhap News Agency during a visit to Berlin to mark the 31st anniversary of German reunification. Earlier Monday, the two Koreas restored their communication lines 55 days after they were cut off by the North in protest of annual military exercises between South Korea and the United States. Lee had previou

North KoreaOct. 4, 2021

Bali to reopen direct flights from China, Japan, South Korea

Indonesia’s tourist spot Bali will start allowing direct arrivals from China, Japan and South Korea as a receding Covid-19 outbreak lets the country ease restrictions further. Foreign visitors from New Zealand, Qatar and United Arab Emirates can also enter the country through the island’s Ngurah Rai International Airport starting from Oct. 14, said Luhut Panjaitan, coordinating minister for investment and maritime affairs who’s overseeing the pandemic response. Only Jakarta an

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

[Us and Them] Islamophobia emerges in Korea

Muneer Ahmad, 47, who has run Islamic Book Center in Yongsan, Seoul, has rarely experienced hatred or discrimination because of his religion or religious clothing in his 20 years in South Korea. Most of the time he encounters reasonable Koreans. Even when he walks in religious clothing with his wife, who wears a hijab headscarf, most people “just feel strange,” but do not “feel offended.” “When I talk about my culture or religion, first of all, Koreans are not to

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

[News Focus] Korea to rank bottom in youth population in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea is likely to become the country whose portion of the youth population is the lowest among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the coming months. There is also a possibility that Korea will rank the world’s bottom in the portion of youth population, unofficially. According to the Paris-based organization, Korea recorded 12.2 percent in the percentage of youth population -- or those aged between 0-14 -- of the entire population 

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

Gov. Lee vows to grow Seoul into global economic capital

Encouraged by his continued victory in the ruling bloc’s presidential primary race, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is looking to solidify his position by targeting voters in Seoul with a promise to make it a global city on par with cities like New York and London. The leading presidential candidate for the ruling bloc said in a press conference Monday that he will turn Seoul into a global economic capital and a global center of business and finance. He envisions putting Yeouido, in

PoliticsOct. 4, 2021

KOICA’s clean water project in Ethiopia gains international attention

The Korea International Cooperation Agency’s project on improving water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is gaining global attention, after it was featured in renowned international journals. The government agency dedicated to providing grant aid programs said Monday that its official development assistance project has been introduced in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in June and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in July. For si

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

First booster shot appointments open up

Starting Tuesday, the first appointments for COVID-19 booster shots will open up as the nation continues to cope with the more contagious delta variant. “As the delta variant spreads and the number of breakthrough infections goes up while the vaccination effect is decreasing over time after the basic inoculation, the need for an additional jab is increasing,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said Monday. According to the Korea Disea

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

1 Libyan national killed in triple-vehicle crash in S. Korea

INCHEON -- A triple-vehicle crash in South Korea's western port city of Incheon has killed a Libyan national and injured six others, police said Monday. The accident happened at 1:41 a.m. when a Chevrolet Camaro collided with the rear end of the Avante compact ahead on a four-lane road near a beach in Incheon, said Kim Hyun-ki, a police officer handling the case. The Chevrolet Camaro crossed the center line after the first impact and collided with a Kia Morning minicar coming from an opposite

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

Inter-Korean hotlines restored after 55 days

Communication between South Korea and the North was restored Monday about two months after Pyongyang unilaterally cut off contact in August, raising cautious hopes of an inter-Korean rapprochement. 　 Liaison officials from both Koreas held two phone calls via a cross-border channel on Monday, one at 9 a.m. and one at 5 p.m., the Unification Ministry said, after previous calls from the South went unanswered. The two sides agreed to hold regular phone calls twice a day as they had in the past.&n

North KoreaOct. 4, 2021

Fewer tests send S. Korea's new infections below 2,000s

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below the 2,000s on Monday as fewer people took virus tests over the weekend amid fears over the wide spread of the virus. The country added 1,673 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,653 local infections, raising the total caseload to 319,777, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Health authorities remained on alert over another surge in new cases as two back-to-back extended weekends are likely to prompt more people t

Social AffairsOct. 4, 2021

Inter-Korean hotlines restored after 55 days

Communication channels between South Korea and the North were restored Monday about two months after the North unilaterally cut off the hotlines in August in protest over the joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.  The Unification Ministry confirmed that liaison officials from the two Koreas held a phone call via a cross-border channel at 9 a.m. on Monday -- a call that had gone unanswered previously. The two sides also had contact via a military hotline, according to the Defe

North KoreaOct. 4, 2021

N. Korea blasts UN Security Council for convening meeting on its missile launches

North Korea blasted the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Sunday for convening a meeting on its recent missile launches, calling it "a manifestation of double-dealing standard." Jo Chol-su, director of the international organization department at the North's foreign ministry, made the remark in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), stressing that the missile tests were for "self-defense" purposes. The statement came after the Security Council convened a

North KoreaOct. 3, 2021

[Photo News] 73rd Armed Forces Day Ceremony

Amid the rising tension between the two Koreas due to NK’s hypersonic missile test earlier this week, the Defense Ministry held the 73rd Armed Forces Day Ceremony on Friday in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Pohang was the location where the United Nations forces made their first landing operation during the Korean War.  The photo above shows President Moon Jae-in on board the Marado, a high-tech landing platform helicopter ship. In his speech, President Moon emphasized the signif

DefenseOct. 3, 2021

Moon says S. Korea should take pride in latest missiles

President Moon Jae-in said South Koreans should be proud of the latest missiles the country has recently revealed, Moon’s communications secretary said Saturday in a post on Facebook. The post quoted Moon during a closed-door meeting with his senior secretaries a day after the launch. On Sept. 15, South Korea test-fired its first submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a homegrown submarine, along with an air-to-surface missile and a cruise missile. The Sout

PoliticsOct. 3, 2021

S. Korea, US differ over NK sanctions

The US State Department said allies should continue enforcing UN sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, in response to the South Korean foreign minister’s suggestion to ease sanctions for nuclear talks amid North Korea’s latest weapons tests. “It is important for the international community to send a strong, unified message that the DPRK must halt provocations,” the State Department told Voice of America on Friday, referring to the North’s

North KoreaOct. 3, 2021

Petition asks NO:EL’s father to be stripped of lawmaker post over his son’s crime

Calls are growing for Rep. Chang Je-won of the main opposition People Power Party to step down from his lawmaker post after critics accuse him responsible for his son driving without a license and assaulting a police officer. An open petition to the Blue House asked Rep. Chang to be stripped of his lawmaker post as his son Chang Yong-jun, better known by his stage name NO:EL is under police investigation on charges of unlicensed driving and assaulting a police officer on Sept. 18 in Seoul. Acc

Social AffairsOct. 3, 2021