WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday highlighted the importance of cooperation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and key US allies such as South Korea in dealing with regional and global issues. The call for unity among US allies comes amid growing competition between the US and China. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the centrality of the Transatlantic bond and Alliance un

Foreign Affairs Oct. 5, 2021

BERLIN - Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday that South and North Korea's restoration of cross-border hotlines marks a "restart" in efforts to improve ties. Lee spoke to Yonhap News Agency during a visit to Berlin to mark the 31st anniversary of German reunification. Earlier Monday, the two Koreas restored their communication lines 55 days after they were cut off by the North in protest of annual military exercises between South Korea and the United States. Lee had previou

North Korea Oct. 4, 2021

INCHEON -- A triple-vehicle crash in South Korea's western port city of Incheon has killed a Libyan national and injured six others, police said Monday. The accident happened at 1:41 a.m. when a Chevrolet Camaro collided with the rear end of the Avante compact ahead on a four-lane road near a beach in Incheon, said Kim Hyun-ki, a police officer handling the case. The Chevrolet Camaro crossed the center line after the first impact and collided with a Kia Morning minicar coming from an opposite

Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2021

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Monday it has decided to fine 22 companies a combined 10.4 billion won ($8.8 million) for colluding to fix prices over projects to set up firefighting equipment. Johnson Controls Korea and 22 firms colluded to fix their quotations between 2011 and 2017 for 304 rounds of bidding by 13 builders to select operators in charge of installing firefighting equipment, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). Setting up firefighting-related devices and

Industry Oct. 4, 2021

PARIS -- A pop-up store for Netflix's original Korean series "Squid Game" opened up in France over the weekend, attracting fans in Europe. The pop-up store, set up at a cafe in Paris' 2nd arrondissement, ran from Saturday to Sunday and allowed visitors to take photos with the staff dressed up as red-suit guards as in the show. The store also showcased a childhood game featured in the series known as "dalgona bbobgi." Visitors at the pop-up store took on the challenge, in wh

Television Oct. 4, 2021

South Korean battery maker SK Innovation Co. said Monday that it plans to double the number of researchers to develop electric vehicles (EV) batteries from the current level by 2023. SK Innovation CEO and President Kim Jun made the announcement at a global forum in San Francisco on Saturday (US time). The forum is meant to recruit battery researchers and beef up SK Innovation's network with the US universities and research institutes. SK Innovation did not elaborate on the current level of its

Industry Oct. 4, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below the 2,000s on Monday as fewer people took virus tests over the weekend amid fears over the wide spread of the virus. The country added 1,673 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,653 local infections, raising the total caseload to 319,777, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Health authorities remained on alert over another surge in new cases as two back-to-back extended weekends are likely to prompt more people t

Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2021

For the six South Korean players who saw regular season action in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2021, it was mostly a disappointing campaign, with a couple of them hoping for a chance to change the narrative in the postseason. Toronto Blue Jays' starter Ryu Hyun-jin, the longest-tenured member of the contingent, won his final start of the season in Toronto on Sunday (local time). His five innings of two-run ball helped the Blue Jays get past the Baltimore Orioles 12-4 at Rogers Centre. Ryu fi

Baseball Oct. 4, 2021

Backed by an explosive offense, Toronto Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin has matched his career high in wins in a must-win regular season finale, though it wasn't enough to get the club into the postseason. Ryu held the Baltimore Orioles to two runs over five innings in a 12-4 victory at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sunday (local time). Ryu, who gave up six hits and struck out seven, finished the season at 14-10 with a 4.37 ERA. He has now won 14 games in a season for the fourth time in his career, tho

Baseball Oct. 4, 2021

North Korea blasted the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Sunday for convening a meeting on its recent missile launches, calling it "a manifestation of double-dealing standard." Jo Chol-su, director of the international organization department at the North's foreign ministry, made the remark in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), stressing that the missile tests were for "self-defense" purposes. The statement came after the Security Council convened a

North Korea Oct. 3, 2021

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung scored a landslide victory in the ruling Democratic Party (DP)'s presidential primary in the southeast region Saturday, further consolidating his lead in the race to pick the party's flag bearer for the 2022 election. Lee won 55.3 percent of all 35,832 ballots cast by registered party members in the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Province region, the eighth round of the party's 11-leg primary race, the party announced. Lee Nak-yon, formerly a prime minister a

Politics Oct. 3, 2021

Forty-six soldiers at an Army unit located just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for COVID-19, the defense ministry said Saturday. Of the cases, 41, or 89 percent, were vaccine breakthrough infections. The report of the cluster infections in the border county of Yeoncheon came a day after one noncommissioned officer there tested positive upon returning from a vacation, according to the ministry. Subsequent tests on 184 other members of the unit confirmed 45 additional cas

Defense Oct. 3, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 2,000s for the eighth straight day Sunday, with health authorities remaining on alert over the spread of the virus after an extended weekend. The country added 2,086 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,058 local infections, raising the total caseload to 318,105, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Sunday's tally was down from 2,248 on Saturday and 2,486 on Friday. The decline was largely attributable to less

Social Affairs Oct. 3, 2021

A civic group advocating for national reunification called Saturday for the lifting of South Korea's standalone sanctions against North Korea and the resumption of a now-shuttered joint industrial complex to pave the way for a thaw in cross-border ties. The South Korean Committee for Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration made the call, as Seoul is struggling to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to advance its stalled peace agenda despite the regime's recent missile tests. The committee

North Korea Oct. 2, 2021

The number of daily passengers at Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, dropped below 10,000 last month, data showed Saturday, apparently due to fewer-than-usual travelers during the Chuseok holiday, the Korean autumn harvest celebration. A daily average of 9,583 passengers used the Incheon airport last month, the airport said, compared with the daily average of 10,927 passengers in August -- the first time the number had surpassed the 10,000 mark since March last year. Th

Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2021