Top diplomats of South Korea and Canada held talks Thursday to discuss ways to expand cooperation in regional security, the economy, technology and other areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly, adopted an "action plan" to further develop the comprehensive partnership in broad areas encompassing security, the economy, supply chains, technology, health and climate change. Cho and Joly vowed to

Foreign Affairs July 18, 2024

Local training hospitals have completed processing the resignations of nearly 7,700 trainee doctors who have left their posts over the past five months to protest the medical school quota hike, the health ministry said Thursday. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 56.5 percent of the 14,531 trainee doctors expressed their intention to leave since they left their hospitals in late February. As 7,707 candidates have applied for the training program starting in Septemb

Social Affairs July 18, 2024

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday he is not concerned about the impact Donald Trump's potential reelection as US president could have on South Korea-US relations, given the American people's strong support for the alliance. Han made the remark during a meeting with reporters at the government complex in the central city of Sejong amid speculation the Republican presidential nominee could threaten to reduce the US troop presence in Korea or raise trade barriers against the Asian

Politics July 18, 2024

North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be travelling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul. It advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. North Korea is estimated to have launched more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent

North Korea July 18, 2024

Seoul shares retreated Thursday led by tech stocks over concerns that the United States may tighten chip sales to China. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 18.67 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,824.35. Trade volume was slightly heavy at 632.9 million shares worth 15.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 602 to 275. Foreign investors dumped local shares worth 381 billion won, while retail in

Market July 18, 2024

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said Thursday that the country's recent winning of a nuclear power project in the Czech Republic will pave the way for its active advance into the broader European nuclear energy market. On Wednesday, the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was selected as a preferred bidder to build two reactors at the Dukovany power plant by beating France's EDF. "We were able to secure a bridgehead to export nuclear reactors to Europe, which is

Economy July 18, 2024

A prominent North Korean defector was named as the new head of the presidential advisory council on unification, the presidential office said Thursday. President Yoon Suk Yeol has tapped Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain, as the secretary general for the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said during a press briefing. Tae is the first North Korean defector to serve in the deputy ministerial post since the council was established in 1

Politics July 18, 2024

North Korea appears to have started discharging water from the upstream of a dam near the inter-Korean border in the early hours of Thursday without giving prior notice to South Korea, the environment ministry said. Satellite imagery taken at 3 a.m. showed the downstream of the North's Hwanggang Dam on the Imjin River had broadened in width, a change not visible from photos taken at 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the environment ministry. However, the amount of water released is not presum

North Korea July 18, 2024

K-pop albums have accounted for six of the 10 most-sold CD albums in the United States in the first half of this year The six albums were from boy groups Tomorrow X Together, Ateez, Stray Kids, Enhypen, and Seventeen, plus girl group TWICE, according to the 2024 Midyear Music Report released Tuesday by Luminate, an American music and entertainment industry data research firm. Tomorrow X Together's sixth EP, "minisode 3: Tomorrow," was the second most-sold CD album, with 190,000 un

K-pop July 18, 2024

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday as most blue chips retreated following weak overnight trading on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.17 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,863.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street underwent stagnant trading over concerns of potentially worsening trade tensions between the United States and China, with chip shares taking heavy beatings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite dropped 1.3 percent and 2.6 percent, r

Market July 18, 2024

Heavy downpours pelted the broader Seoul area and adjacent regions on Thursday, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents due to safety concerns and the cancellation of dozens of flights. Northern areas of Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul were among the hardest hit, including Paju near the inter-Korean border, which received hourly precipitation of 75.1 millimeters at one point early Thursday morning. The accumulated rain in the Paju areas from midnight to 6 a.m. reached as much as 1

Social Affairs July 18, 2024

A Korean American congresswoman on Wednesday highlighted Republicans' "high expectations" for former President Donald Trump's victory in the November general election as she touched on the atmosphere of an ongoing GOP national convention in Wisconsin. In a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency, Rep. Michelle Park Steel (R-CA) noted a palpable sense of unity among party members at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump was formally nominated as the GOP

Foreign Affairs July 18, 2024

A renowned Korean American foreign policy expert was arrested this week on allegations of acting as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government, the US attorney's office in New York said Wednesday. Sue Mi Terry, who formerly worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council and US think tanks, was arrested in New York on Tuesday, the office in the Southern District of New York said in a release, as she was accused of offenses under the Foreign Agents Regi

Politics July 18, 2024

Defending champions Pohang Steelers advanced to the last four at the top national football tournament Wednesday. Pohang defeated FC Seoul 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the Korea Cup at Pohang Steel Yard in the southeastern city of Pohang, moving closer to a record sixth Korea Cup title. Two other clubs with five titles apiece, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, were both eliminated earlier in this year's tournament. Jeong Jae-hee netted two goals, while Oberdan, Lee Ho-jae

Soccer July 17, 2024

GN Food, the operator of Goobne Chicken, South Korea's leading roast chicken franchise, said Wednesday it has opened its first outlet in the Philippines as part of its expansion strategy. The first Goobne outlet in the Southeast Asian country is located in Bonifacio Global City, a central business district in Taguig, Metro Manila, the company said in a statement. GN Food has increased its overseas outlets to 40 in 11 countries, including Japan, China and the United States, since 2014, when

Market July 17, 2024