North Korea's official newspaper on Sunday called for "maximum vigilance" against the coronavirus amid the global spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and pandemic fatigue. "All workers and party members must bear deep in mind that the prolonged emergency system against the virus means prolonged maximum vigilance and strong discipline, and must strictly abide by the emergency measures," the Rodong Simun said. The paper also urged officials to tighten control over a

North Korea June 27, 2021

A researcher from a Seoul-based private think tank has been indicted on espionage charges after allegedly contacting a North Korean agent and spying for the North, prosecutors said Sunday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it has referred Lee Jeong-hun, a research fellow of the April 27 Era Research Institute, to court for trial on charges of meeting and communicating with a North Korean agent who infiltrated South Korea, in violation of the National Security Law. The 57-year-

Social Affairs June 27, 2021

South Korea's daily new virus cases stayed in the 600s for the fifth straight day Sunday as health authorities brace for revamped social distancing rules while pushing to accelerate vaccinations. The country reported 614 more COVID-19 cases, including 570 local infections, raising the total caseload to 155,071, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest figure was down 54 from the previous day but still worrisome as daily virus cases on Sundays had been below 600 i

Social Affairs June 27, 2021

For the better part of June, Toronto Blue Jay's starter Ryu Hyun-jin has been trying to regain the command of his changeup, long his bread-and-butter pitch. He has even had in-between-starts bullpen sessions, something the veteran left-hander rarely does. And that extra work seems to be paying dividends. Ryu picked up his seventh win of the season against the Baltimore Orioles at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday (local time). Ryu gave up four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings i

Baseball June 27, 2021

A state-run Korean language education foundation said Sunday it plans to adopt a new Korean language proficiency test next year to help foreign learners assess their Korean skills. The Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA), developed by the King Sejong Institute Foundation, aims to evaluate overall language skills of test takers, including reading, listening, speaking and writing. Korean learners of different levels, ranging from beginner to intermediate, will be able to test their language

Social Affairs June 27, 2021

Backed by an offensive explosion from his teammates, Toronto Blue Jays' starter Ryu Hyun-jin defeated the Baltimore Orioles for the second straight outing. Ryu gave up four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 12-4 victory at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday (local time). Ryu improved to 7-4 for the year, while his ERA rose slightly from 3.25 to 3.41. Ryu struck out three and walked two. In his previous start, Ryu limited the same Orioles to a run over seven innings in Balti

Baseball June 27, 2021

Stuck at one win for the 2021 season for over two months, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals has taken a no-decision in yet another brief outing. Kim gave up four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday (local time). The game was tied at 4-4 when Kim was pulled with one out in the fifth, and the Pirates won 5-4. Kim remained at 1-5 for the year, while his ERA went up from 3.60 to 3.98. His only win of the season came on

Baseball June 26, 2021

Eleven American soldiers and two dependents in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea has said. Nine service members and a family member of a soldier stationed at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, were confirmed to have been infected earlier this week after coming into direct contact with people who tested positive recently, USFK said Friday. A dependent of another service member from Camp Humphreys and two service members at Camp C

Social Affairs June 26, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed over 600 for the fourth straight day Saturday due to outbreaks of cluster infections nationwide as the authorities prepare to announce a new set of eased social distancing rules. The country reported 668 new cases, including 611 local infections, raising the accumulated caseload to 154,457, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The country added three COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 2,012. The fatality rate came to 1.

Social Affairs June 26, 2021

Universities and colleges in South Korea are planning to gradually expand in-person classes in the fall semester in line with the nation's rising rate of vaccinations against COVID-19, officials said Saturday. The Ministry of Education recommended earlier this week that the proportion of in-person lectures be gradually increased at universities and colleges nationwide after late September, when about 70 percent of the country's 52 million population are vaccinated with at least one vaccine dos

Social Affairs June 26, 2021

With South Korea's presidential election less than nine months away, the race promises to be a tight battle between the ruling and opposition blocs. The curtain is about to rise first on the primaries of the ruling Democratic Party. It is getting off to a rough start, as demonstrated by in-house disputes over when to choose its flag bearer. A boisterous attempt, albeit foiled at last, by dozens of lawmakers apparently against the front-runner Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung to postpone the event

Politics June 26, 2021

South Korean refiners are jacking up investment in the burgeoning hydrogen market to secure their place in a world shifting away from fossil fuels and to get ahead of the next big change in the energy industry. Hydrogen, which burns clean when mixed with oxygen in a fuel cell, can be used for various industrial purposes, vehicles and ships, but it has been mostly used in oil refining and production of fertilizers. Large-scale usage of hydrogen requires not only manufacturing factories but als

Industry June 26, 2021

The United States should consider engaging with North Korea multilaterally should its bilateral efforts continue to go ignored by the recalcitrant North, former US envoys to denuclearization talks with the North said Friday. They also argued a multilateral process must at least involve China, which they said has far more leverage over the North than the United States. "The fact is we don't have a dialogue (with North Korea)," said Joseph DeTrani, former special envoy for six-nation

North Korea June 26, 2021

The top diplomats of South Korea and Indonesia agreed Friday to closely cooperate to smoothly proceed with joint fighter jet development and other mutually beneficial projects, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Indonesian counterpart, Retno L.P. Marsudi, held talks to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional and global issues. Indonesia was the last leg of his five-day trip to Southeast Asia that also included visits to Vietnam and Singapore. "The minis

Foreign Affairs June 25, 2021

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expressed "deep regret" Friday over the International Olympic Committee's response to its letter protesting Japan's inclusion of South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on a Tokyo Olympics map. According to the ministry, the IOC sent a reply to its June 10 letter on Tuesday, saying it had inquired with the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee regarding the appearance of Dokdo on a map of the Olympic torch relay route and was told that it w

Foreign Affairs June 25, 2021