Top Seoul, Washington, Tokyo envoys affirm cooperation on NK’s denuclearization

South Korea, the US and Japan will further bolster cooperation to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenals, the three countries’ foreign ministers concluded at a meeting on Wednesday. 　 South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday (US time) in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. 　 During their session, the three discussed the recent situation o

North KoreaSept. 23, 2021

Opposition proposes bill for special probe into corruption allegations against Gyeonggi Gov. Lee

Two allied opposition parties on Thursday proposed a bill for a special counsel probe into growing corruption allegations against Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the front-running presidential contender for the ruling party. The main opposition People Power Party and the conservative minor People's Party together said they submitted the bill to the legislature earlier in the day, along with a letter officially requesting a parliamentary investigation into the allegations. The bill, propose

PoliticsSept. 23, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae still pins hopes on Beijing Olympics for inter-Korean summit

An inter-Korean summit on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February is still a possibility, President Moon Jae-in’s senior secretary for communications, Park Soo-hyun, said Thursday. “We are making efforts for peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, with all possibilities remaining on the table,” Park said during a radio interview with MBC when asked about the possibility of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attending the Beijing Games. South Korea

North KoreaSept. 23, 2021

S. Korea vows to join global efforts to improve situation in war-torn Afghanistan

South Korea will join international efforts to help Afghanistan overcome the humanitarian crisis and other hardships in the wake of the Taliban takeover, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Ham Sang-wook, deputy foreign minister for multilateral affairs, made the remark during a virtual ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 nations (G-20) held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. In the meeting, Ham voiced concerns over the current situation in Kabul and called for concer

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

2.6 magnitude quake hits S. Korea's southeastern region: KMA

A 2.6 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's southeastern region Thursday afternoon, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred about 14 kilometers south of Changnyeong, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 12:02 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). It was the sixth strongest quake to hit the Korean Peninsula to date this year. The epicenter was at 35.42 degrees north latitude and 128.49 east longitude at a depth of 16 km. The quake's tremor was reco

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

Moon desires stronger combined defense capabilities with US

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday expressed his wish for his country and the United States to further enhance their combined defense capabilities to ensure permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. Moon made the remarks during his meeting with Adm. John C. Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, where the two earlier attended a ceremony to transfer the remains of Korean and American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. Moon

PoliticsSept. 23, 2021

Pregnant women, teens to be inoculated in Q4

Pregnant women and children aged 12 to 17 will get COVID-19 vaccines in the fourth quarter of this year, officials said Thursday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would announce new immunization plans on Monday afternoon for those who have until now been left out of the vaccination drive. The plan will include inoculating pregnant women, children and adolescents. Details on booster shots will also be unveiled. In August, a vaccination committee recommended that

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

Tighter regulations on digital sex crime take effect

Police will be able to conduct undercover investigations in digital sex crime cases, and online grooming of minors will be punishable by law from Friday, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Thursday. Online grooming, which was difficult to punish due to a lack of legal grounds, will now face a fine of up to 30 million won ($25,400) or three years in jail, according to the revised Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses. Before the revision, only the act of

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

Govt. devises measures to boost COVID-19 vaccination among migrant workers

The government has come up with a set of special measures to boost the COVID-19 vaccination rate among migrant workers here as fears of a possible crackdown on unregistered immigrants are holding back their vaccination turnout, officials said Thursday. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Justice and other related government agencies discussed the measures in an interagency pandemic response meeting held a day earlier in a bid to help ease the hesitation many migrant workers

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

Moon fails on promise to halve no. of workplace deaths

President Moon Jae-in’s promise to halve the annual number of fatal industrial accidents by the end of his term seems unlikely to materialize. According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of industrial accident deaths in the first six months of this year reached 474, meaning 2.6 deaths per day. That is four more than the figure for the same period a year earlier. If workplace deaths continue at their current pace through the remainder of this year, the yearly

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

Defense ministry withholds comment on N.Korea's discounting of S. Korean-made SLBM as 'clumsy product'

The defense ministry on Thursday declined comment on North Korea's branding of South Korea's new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) as a "clumsy product," only saying that the country has been steadily strengthening defense capabilities. On Monday, Jang Chang-ha, the chief of the North's Academy of National Defense, said in a statement South Korea's newly unveiled SLBM looked like a "poor weapon without all its shape," questioning its underwater capabilities. Asked f

DefenseSept. 23, 2021

S. Korea, US to hold regular defense talks next week

South Korea and the United States will hold biannual defense talks in Seoul next week to discuss regional security situations and pending alliance issues, the defense ministry said Thursday. During the 20th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD), which will kick off Monday for a two-day run, the two sides will discuss "major pending security issues," such as the assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the policy coordination on North Korea, according to th

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 23, 2021

Moon to bring 68 sets of Korean War remains home from US

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has received the remains of 68 Korean soldiers, killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, from the United States in a ceremony in Honolulu. South Korea also handed over five sets of American service members' remains to the US during the joint repatriation ceremony held at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) hosted the event, along with the South Korean defense ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification, and Moon &quo

PoliticsSept. 23, 2021

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan to hold talks in New York amid frayed ties

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan plan to hold talks in New York this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in what would be only their second one-on-one meeting amid strained relations between the two countries. The talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, are expected to take place Thursday (New York time), a day after the two held trilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, officials said. It will ma

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 23, 2021

New cases over 1,700 for 2nd day; post-holiday resurgence in store

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed above 1,700 for the third day in a row Thursday due to fewer tests during the three-day Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, but concerns run high over a potential resurgence across the country down the road. The country reported 1,716 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,698 local infections, raising the total caseload to 292,699, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  The latest caseload was slightly d

Social AffairsSept. 23, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of medical tourists to Korea dips 76.5% in 2020 amid pandemic

　The number of medical tourists to South Korea tumbled nearly 77 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Roughly 117,100 foreign patients visited South Korea last year, down a whopping 76.5 percent from some 497,500 a year earlier, according to data from the local medical community. 　The data is based on statistics gathered by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. 　Seoul Asan Medical Center, one of South Korea‘s five major hospita

NationalSept. 23, 2021

Air Force to launch committee to enhance space defense capabilities

The Air Force has formed a space committee jointly with civilian experts to chart a path for South Korea to expand its presence in space and strengthen defense capabilities against emerging threats, officials said Thursday. An inauguration ceremony for the 43-member "Air Force Space Power Development Committee" was set to be held at the Air Force headquarters in the central city of Gyeryong, officials said. Co-headed by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho and the Korea Aerospace R

DefenseSept. 23, 2021

Top diplomats of S. Korea, US, Japan hold talks on N. Korea, other regional issues

The top diplomats of South Korea, Japan and the United States met in New York to discuss North Korea and other issues. The meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday (local time). "The secretary and ministers of the three countries will discuss the Korean Peninsula issue and other regional and global matters," a Seou

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 23, 2021

Moon awards medals to Korean immigrants in Hawaii for fight against Japan's colonization

South Korean President Moon Jae-in awarded posthumous medals of honor to two Korean immigrants in Hawaii Wednesday, with their descendants in attendance at the ceremony. It marked the first time that a South Korean president held a medal-awarding ceremony abroad for those recognized for independence activities during Japan's colonial rule of Korea from 1910-45, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon bestowed the Order of Merit for National Foundation on the two late figures -- Kim No-di and Ahn Jung-song -- f

PoliticsSept. 23, 2021

Moon in Hawaii for alliance event after UN summit diplomacy

South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, Tuesday following a two-night stay in New York, during which he attended an annual session of the UN General Assembly. Moon is scheduled to join an alliance ceremony here Wednesday to transfer the remains of Korean and American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. It would be the first time for a South Korean president to attend such a remains repatriation ceremony held abroad, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon will also award

Foreign AffairsSept. 22, 2021