Foreign Ministry considers requesting probe into Pyongyang map mishap at P4G

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry is considering requesting an investigation by state auditors or police to find out why a controversial video screened at the P4G summit showed Pyongyang instead of Seoul, and whether it was an intentional act or purely accidental.  The ministry also said it will reprimand officials that were part of the P4G preparatory committee for not thoroughly checking the video content before it was released.  The decision came after the ministry opened an i

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2021

NK hackers attacked S Korean atomic energy think tank

An opposition lawmaker claimed on Friday that a hacking unit of the North Korean intelligence agency attacked the internal network of a South Korean state-funded atomic energy think tank which holds critical information on nuclear power plants and nuclear materials. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the People Power Party, who sits on the parliamentary intelligence committee, held a press conference Friday morning and disclosed information about the alleged cyberattacks on the Korea Atomic Energy Research I

North KoreaJune 18, 2021

16 ambassadors in Seoul join hands to fight climate change

    Sixteen ambassadors to South Korea have established the Group of Friends of the Green Climate Fund, with the aim of sharing ideas and experiences on scaling up climate action in global and regional contexts. The members comprise the ambassadors of Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, France, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Mongolia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden. The informal group is co-chaired by the ambassadors of France, Gabon an

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2021

Moon returns to face-to-face diplomacy

President Moon Jae-in returned home Friday morning after completing a weeklong trip to Europe, where he chatted and bumped elbows with other heads of state in a host of multilateral and bilateral meetings. “We are getting back to in-person diplomacy,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. “Even though the size of the delegation may remain reduced for some time, we will continue to seek more opportunities for multilateral or bilateral meetings.” Follo

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2021

Formula E to make Seoul debut next year

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship, an electric car racing series, is coming to Seoul for the first time in August next year for a global event the city believes will help revive its tourism sector, which has been struggling for months amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The final round of the 2021-22 season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will be held on the streets around Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul from Aug. 13-14 next year, according to the Seoul city government on Friday. The whole sch

Social AffairsJune 18, 2021

Ruling party pushes for heavy financial penalties for fake news

The Democratic Party will push to stamp out fake news by legislating a new law that obliges media to pay punitive damages for the spread of malicious disinformation and misinformation, officials said Friday. The new law the ruling party aims to pass through the National Assembly by the end of this month calls for the payment of compensation three to five times the calculated amount of damage caused by false information in news, they said. The imposition of extraordinary financial penalties was

PoliticsJune 18, 2021

New US special representative for N. Korea to visit Seoul this week: State Department

WASHINGTON -- The new US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, will travel to Seoul later this week for trilateral talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, the State Department said Thursday. During his trip from Saturday through Wednesday, Kim will join the three-way session with Noh Kyu-duk, Seoul's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Takehiro Funakoshi, Tokyo's director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs, it said. "S

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2021

Remains of another Korean War soldier identified

The remains of a soldier killed in the 1950-53 Korean War have been identified through DNA analysis, a decade after they were recovered from a former battle site, the defense ministry said Friday. The identification of the remains of Ssg. Ko Byung-soo was possible as his family members registered their DNA samples with the government last year, according to ministry. Ko's remains were excavated at Mount Baekseok in Yanggu, some 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in 2011. The mountain was one

Social AffairsJune 18, 2021

2 US service members test positive for COVID-19

Two American service members stationed in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Friday. One of them, based at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was found to have contracted COVID-19 on Tuesday after developing symptoms, according to US Forces Korea (USFK). The other service member at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 km north of the capital, was found to be infected the next day in a virus test required to return to the United Stat

Social AffairsJune 18, 2021

Kim says N. Korea should be ready for both dialogue, confrontation with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country should be ready for both dialogue and, more importantly, confrontation with the United States, while calling for efforts to stably control the situation on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported Friday. During a key Workers' Party meeting, Kim "made detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the newly emerged US administration toward our Republic and clarified appropriate strategic and tactical counteraction and the direction of activit

North KoreaJune 18, 2021

Fire at Coupang warehouse rages for over a day, 1 firefighter trapped

A fire at a Coupang Inc. distribution center continued to burn Friday, more than a day after it broke out, with one firefighter trapped inside, officials said. The fire began in the basement of the e-commerce giant's four-story building in Icheon, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul, around 5:20 a.m. Thursday. Authorities said it appeared to have been caused by a spark from a power outlet. A 52-year-old firefighter who entered the basement Thursday morning to look for people left behind has yet

Social AffairsJune 18, 2021

New virus cases in 500s for 3rd day amid vaccination push

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained in the 500s for the third consecutive day Friday as health authorities are set to finalize revamped social distancing rules set to be in place from next month amid an accelerating vaccination campaign. The country reported 507 more virus cases, including 484 local infections, raising the total caseload to 150,238, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is slightly down from 545 cases Wednesday and 540 on Thursd

Social AffairsJune 18, 2021

Moon expresses hope for closer S. Korea-Spain exchange at bilateral tourism biz roundtable

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed hope for South Korean and Spain to form closer and more active ties in the tourism sector going forward, with the countries having decided to extend a bilateral travel exchange campaign that was canceled due to the pandemic. Moon, travelled to Spain for a three-day state visit, attended a South Korea-Spain tourism industry roundtable event held at the mountain-side monastery of Montserrat in Catalonia, north of Barcelona. At the event, the two govern

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2021

Moon wraps up Europe visit highlighted by G-7 summit, upgraded ties with Austria, Spain

South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed back to Seoul on Thursday after a weeklong trip to Europe, during which he focused on making clear Seoul's commitment to playing a bigger role in global issues and improving strategic ties with Austria and Spain. He joined a Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, Britain, last weekend as a guest. Moon received an invitation to take part in last year's G-7 summit, scheduled to be hosted by the U.S., as well but it was called off due to the pandemic. Cheong

PoliticsJune 17, 2021

Investigation into ex-top prosecutor still at early stage: CIO chief

A state corruption probe agency has not fully started an investigation into Yoon Seok-youl, a former prosecutor general and a leading presidential hopeful, over abuse of power allegations, the agency's chief said Thursday. Kim Jin-wook, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said at a press conference that while the CIO has started working on the case, it has yet to launch a full-fledged investigation because of various circumstances. Over concerns th

Social AffairsJune 17, 2021

US envoy for North Korea to visit Seoul for three-way talks with Japan

Sung Kim, the newly appointed US special envoy for North Korea, is set to visit South Korea on Saturday for a three-way meeting with his counterparts in Seoul and Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.  Kim’s five-day visit, which lasts till Wednesday, marks his first trip to South Korea since being appointed Biden’s point man on North Korea last month.  The US envoy is set to hold a bilateral meeting on Monday with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, to discu

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2021

Summer vaccinations to proceed in order of age from 50-somethings to younger: KDCA

The next phase of South Korea’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign will not begin in earnest until late July, when 50-somethings finally become eligible, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday. Those younger than 50 will get their chance in August. July will mainly focus on delivering first doses to 60- to 74-year-olds and essential workers whose June appointments got canceled or delayed due to a supply shortage. There are some 170,000 such people who are a

Social AffairsJune 17, 2021

Korean Navy officer decorated by Chile

The Chilean Embassy in Seoul decorated Lim Ho, a Korean a lieutenant colonel who served as the defense and naval attache of Korea in Chile between 2016 and 2019, on Thursday. “It is the third time in history that a Korean defense attache has received this honor in more than 80 years of history of this medal,” the Chilean Embassy in Seoul told The Korea Herald. Hosting a ceremony, Ambassador Gloria Cid decorated Lt. Col. Lim Ho with the “Order of Naval Merit” in the &ld

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2021

18th-century Spain map links Dokdo to Korea: Moon

MADRID/SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that he believes an 18th-century map he was shown by Spain’s Senate library demonstrates Dokdo has always been a part of Korea, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon, who flew to Spain after a summit in Austria, is wrapping up his three-day state visit Thursday. He began his Europe trip last week with the G-7 summit in England. The map, which was produced in 1737 and is believed to be the oldest one drawn by a European, shows the Dokdo islets as p

PoliticsJune 17, 2021

FM Chung to visit Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia next week

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia next week for talks with his counterparts over public health, economic recovery from COVID-19 and other regional issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday. It will mark Chung's first trip to Southeast Asia since his inauguration in February. The trip, set to begin Monday, comes amid Seoul's efforts to cement its New Southern Policy aimed at deepening cooperation with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2021