South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Saturday urged South Koreans to refrain from visiting public facilities – such as restaurants, bars, indoor gyms and religious gatherings – in the next two weeks to curb the spread of COVID-19. “Stronger self-isolation is unavoidable to contain the virus and to restore peaceful everyday life to our children,” Chung said in a statement, noting the government will force noncompliant facility operators to close down their shops

Social Affairs March 21, 2020

A US public health expert has refuted North Korea’s repeated claims of zero COVID-19 infections, saying that Pyongyang could potentially be dealing with domestic transmission. “It’s really not very conceivable that they aren’t having transmission in North Korea,” epidemiologist Jonathan Mayer from the University of Washington told Voice of America on Thursday. The North could not have blocked the transmission, especially if the virus was circulating in China, he ad

North Korea March 21, 2020

North Korea fired what appeared to be two ballistic short-range missiles into the East Sea on Saturday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have overseen the third weapons test this month after previous rounds on March 2 and 9. The missiles flew approximately 410 kilometers and reached a peak altitude of 50 kilometers from Sonchon, along the North’s western coast. The North is suspected of firing variants of the US surfac

North Korea March 21, 2020

North Koreans born in 2020 can expect to live about 71 years on average, whereas their South Korean neighbors have an average life expectancy of about 82 years, the Central Intelligence Agency said in its latest World Factbook. Boys and girls in the North have life expectancies of 67 and 75 years, respectively, as opposed to 79 and 85 in the South, the CIA said. The median ages for the North and South stand at 34 and 43, respectively. North Koreans over the age of 65 make up only 9 percent of

North Korea March 19, 2020

A majority of South Koreans approve of their government’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 8,000 people and killed 84 here. According to the latest survey, released Tuesday by local polling firm Realmeter, 58.4 percent of respondents were happy with the government’s response to the pandemic, while 39.9 percent disagreed. The approval rate showed a 3 percentage point rise since the same survey came out six weeks ago, though the increase fell with

Social Affairs March 18, 2020

A hospital chief who is part of South Korea’s central coronavirus response team was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday, forcing a number of officials into self-isolation, including Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip. Lee Yeong-sang, president of the Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, tested positive for COVID-19, the hospital said. He is one of the country’s key medical chiefs in charge of overseeing response to COVID-19. His hospital, which identified its first infection on March 5, has si

Social Affairs March 18, 2020

The US State Department on Monday reiterated its earlier stance opposing a South Korean proposal to separately discuss labor costs for United States Forces Korea. Korean workers at the US military here were notified that they would be put on unpaid leave amid stalled talks on sharing costs for 28,500 US troops. “A separate negotiation based solely on labor cost sharing would greatly detract from expeditiously concluding a mutually acceptable and comprehensive Special Measures Agreement,&r

Defense March 17, 2020

Seoul, along with other local municipalities, is offering a helping hand to pharmacies struggling with increased workloads as they scramble to hand out government-rationed protective masks. Since Monday a week ago, when nationwide rationing began, pharmacists have juggled the rationing responsibilities and their full-time job of dispensing prescriptions and counseling patients. The rationing system involves a long line of work: Pharmacies have to check customers’ identification, answer

Social Affairs March 16, 2020

South Korea and the US will resume talks Tuesday in Los Angeles to discuss the upkeep of 28,500 American troops in Korea and 9,000 Koreans working alongside at the US military here, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday. Jeong Eun-bo, Korea’s chief negotiator, is expected to push for a partial agreement to address the salaries of those workers in his two-day talks with James DeHart, the top US negotiator. The Korean workers were notified that they would be put on unpaid leave startin

Defense March 15, 2020

Two members of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday called on Washington to find a way to avoid putting South Korean civilians, employed by the US military in Korea, on unpaid leave. On Feb. 28, the US military said it had started notifying nearly 9,000 Korean employees that they could be put on unpaid leave starting April 1, because of Seoul and Washington’s failure to reach consensus on a new Special Measures Agreement over the upkeep of 28,500 US troops here. In a letter sent

Defense March 12, 2020

The Community Chest of Korea, a local charity, refused donations of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in light of the mounting controversies surrounding the religious sect, the charity said. In an answer to an inquiry from a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the charity said that Shincheonji wired a total of 12 billion won ($10.1 million) Thursday to the group’s two donation accounts, without any consultation with the group beforehand. Upon transfer, Shincheonji released

Social Affairs March 11, 2020

The US military asked the South Korean military to postpone their joint drills in the US because of the novel coronavirus that has killed 32 people and sickened nearly 1,000 there. Korea has reported 60 deaths with about 8,000 infections. Korea’s Army had planned to send 50 officers including intelligence analysts to the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California later this month to observe US military training. The Army, which plans to push ahead with similar drills in May and Oct

Defense March 11, 2020

Dozens of diplomats posted in Pyongyang, North Korea shuttered offices and left the country Monday, following weeks of the country’s tight quarantine restrictions on diplomatic missions to contain the novel coronavirus. The North, which has not reported a single infection, is enforcing strong quarantine measures, closing borders with China, where the epidemic started, and confining foreign nationals, including diplomats, to their own premises. Pyongyang lifted the monthlong quarantine on

North Korea March 10, 2020

North Korea fired multiple short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Monday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Three of them flew approximately 200 kilometers and reached a peak altitude of 50 kilometers, from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province along the North’s eastern coast. “The launches were part of the North’s annual joint strike drills on Feb. 28 and March 2,” the South’s JCS said, noting the three projectiles could be super-large rock

North Korea March 9, 2020

From mask factories to hospitals, South Korea’s 600,000-strong military is making its presence felt on every battle front of the country’s war against the coronavirus. Soldiers, officers, and military doctors and nurses have joined the government’s efforts to suppress COVID-19, which has sickened over 7,000 people and killed 50 here, upending everyday life and dealing a blow to the local economy. “Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province are the front lines. The situation is

Defense March 8, 2020