South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the first time in two days Saturday, while authorities are set to extend the tough restrictions to battle the fast surge of the virus driven by the more transmissible delta variant. The country added 1,880 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,814 local infections, raising the total caseload to 234,739, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload was down from 2,152 on Thursday and 2,052 on Fr

Social Affairs Aug. 21, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for the second straight day Friday amid little signs of letup, triggering the extension of the toughest level of virus restrictions for two more weeks. The country added 2,052 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,001 local infections, raising the total caseload to 232,859, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload reached 2,152 the previous day, the second-largest number recorded since th

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2021

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States will hold talks next week to discuss efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday. Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, will arrive in Seoul on Saturday for a four-day visit and will hold talks with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, on Monday, the ministry said in a release. It will mark his second trip to South Korea since taking office as the US nuclear envoy under the

Defense Aug. 20, 2021

South Korean stocks retreated more than 1 percent Friday as concerns about the possibility of the US Fed's earlier-than-expected tapering pulled down the stock prices. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dipped 37.32 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 3,060.51 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 660 million shares worth some 16.1 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 829 to 70. Foreigners sold a

Market Aug. 20, 2021

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), the world's largest shipbuilding group, said Friday that it has completed the process to acquire South Korea's top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. HHIH formed a consortium with KDB Investment Co., a private equity firm wholly owned by the state-run Korea Development Bank, to buy Doosan Infracore from cash-strapped Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. for 850 billion won ($720 million) late last year. In July, HHIH establ

Industry Aug. 20, 2021

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has met with Nigeria's top diplomat during a visit to the African nation and agreed to work together to move forward economic and other ties between the two countries forward, the foreign ministry said Friday. In Thursday's meeting with Foreign Minister Zubairu Dada, Choi said that the relations between the two countries have steadily developed based on decadeslong economic cooperation and offered to further strengthen the ties to that end, the ministry

Diplomatic Circuit Aug. 20, 2021

Former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon announced Friday he will run in the presidential election slated for March as an independent. "I will run in next year's presidential election," Kim said during a press conference in his hometown of Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province. He added he would win the race outside of the political establishment, explaining the ruling and main opposition parties are only interested in maintaining their vested rights rather than improving the livelihoods

Politics Aug. 20, 2021

For the past two decades, South Korean-born taekwondo coach Choi Young-seok has made efforts to help Thailand make its presence felt in the international sporting world and finally accomplished the goal at the Tokyo Olympics. His longtime student Panipak Wongpattanakit won the women's 49-kilogram title at the Summer Games that closed Aug. 8. It was the Southeast Asian country's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal and the only gold won in Tokyo. Thailand previously had two Olympic silvers and th

More Sports Aug. 20, 2021

The arms procurement agency said Friday it will set up an anti-hacking agency next year to help protect defense firms in the wake of a recent series of hacking attempts targeting them. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the envisioned organization, tentatively named Defense Industry Technology Management Institute, will focus on how to better protect defense technologies and prevent cyber attacks. The government also plans to set up an interministerial task force involv

Defense Aug. 20, 2021

K-pop sensation BTS' planned world tour, which has been put off for more than a year due to the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, has been officially canceled, its agency here said Friday. "Our company has worked hard to resume preparations for the BTS Map of the Soul Tour, knowing that all fans have been waiting eagerly and long for the tour," Big Hit Music said in a statement released via its fan community Weverse. "Due to changing circumstances beyond our control, it has become d

K-pop Aug. 20, 2021

South Korean stocks turned to losses late Friday morning as concerns about the possibility of US Fed's earlier-than-expected tapering pulled down stock prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 20.52 points, or 0.66 percent, to 3,077.31 points as of 11:20 a.m. Stocks opened with mild gains after the Kospi retreated nearly 2 percent Thursday, marking the biggest daily loss since Feb. 26 and the lowest closing price since early April. But stocks fell back below t

Market Aug. 20, 2021

An additional seven video conference facilities for separated family reunions will be completed by the end of this month, the unification ministry said Friday. Earlier, a civilian-government committee on inter-Korean exchanges approved the decision to establish the additional video reunions centers outside Seoul, in addition to the existing 13. "We believe it is very important to build the conference centers in advance so the reunions can resume immediately when inter-Korean relations are

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2021

Inching toward a return to the big leagues, St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean starter Kim Kwang-hyun allowed two runs in two innings of his minor league rehab outing. Pitching for Triple-A Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park in Memphis on Thursday (local time), Kim served up two solo home runs in the top of the first inning against the Nashville Sounds. Leadoff man Matt Lipka went deep on Kim's fifth pitch of the game. Two batters later, Daniel Vogelbach homered to right field to put the Sounds

Baseball Aug. 20, 2021

Five service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,580, the defense ministry said Friday. An Army officer in Incheon, west of Seoul, and two soldiers, respectively based in Seoul and Yangju, just north of the capital, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a vacation, while another officer in the eastern county of Hongcheon was found to have been infected after developing symptoms, according to the

Defense Aug. 20, 2021

An airplane of the same jet type as that of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted flying to the eastern part of the country, an aviation tracker said. According to Flightradar24, a flight tracking website, North Korean carrier Air Koryo's AN-148 jet departed from Pyongyang at 9:08 a.m. Thursday and flew towards the eastern coastal town of Wonsan. The Antonov AN-148 jet is the type of aircraft used as Kim's personal jet but the latest jet appears to hold a different registration number fr

North Korea Aug. 20, 2021