Fixtures for South Korea‘s World Cup qualifying matches at home have been set. 　 　The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Wednesday that South Korea, as the host of the remainder of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will face Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and Lebanon in Group H action in June. 　 　All matches will be played at Goyang Stadium in the city of Goyang, just northwest of Seoul. 　 　South Korea will play Turkmenistan at 8 p.m. on June 5, followed by

World News May 19, 2021

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in the United States on Wednesday for summit talks with President Joe Biden on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, North Korea, alliance issues and bilateral economic partnerships. He is scheduled to hold the session at the White House on Friday afternoon (local time). It will mark their first face-to-face meeting. The two plan to announce the results of their talks in an ensuing joint press conference. The summit is expected to set the

Politics May 19, 2021

The Seoul city government said Wednesday it plans to install "smart poles" at riverside parks along the Han River to strengthen CCTV surveillance as safety concerns have grown in the wake of the death of a medical college student. Smart poles, also known as intelligent light poles, can perform their prime function of shining light along with other advanced functionality such as CCTV, public Wi-Fi and Internet of Things (IOT) sensors. Calls have risen in recent weeks for installing mo

Social Affairs May 19, 2021

A month after getting knocked around against the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays' ace Ryu Hyun-jin got his revenge with a gem against one of the best offenses in baseball. Ryu threw seven shutout innings to help the Jays to an 8-0 victory at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on Tuesday (local time). Ryu improved to 4-2 for the season and lowered his ERA from 2.95 to 2.51. Ryu allowed only four hits and struck out seven to match his season high. This was Ryu's second start against the Red Sox

Baseball May 19, 2021

North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun visited a limestone mine and a collective farm north of Pyongyang, state media reported Wednesday, the latest in a series of on-site inspection trips to economic development sites across the country. The visit to the Sunchon Limestone Mine and the Phyongri Co-op Farm in Sunchon, about 50 km north of Pyongyang, is the third field inspection trip that Kim has made in less than a week as the country struggles to rebuild its economy amid international sanctions and

North Korea May 19, 2021

A local court has awarded nearly 172 million won (US$152,000) to the family members of a fisherman who was kidnapped by North Korea in the 1960s and then released but was later wrongfully convicted of spying for Pyongyang, judiciary sources said Wednesday. The man was kidnapped while fishing in waters near the border island of Yeonpyeong in May 1968. After being released, he returned home in October that year but was arrested for crossing the inter-Korean Military Demarcation Line while fishing

Social Affairs May 19, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday expressed gratitude to the Buddhist community for its decision to call off an annual lotus lantern festival as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic as he issued a message marking the Buddha's Birthday holiday. "Last year's listing of Yeondeunghoe as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage marked a big joyous occasion. It's natural wanting to celebrate the feat, but the Buddhist community decided to cancel this year's lantern festival and hold an on

Politics May 19, 2021

BUSAN -- A landfill-turned-botanical garden will be temporarily opened to the public in the southeastern port city of Busan this week, the municipal government said Wednesday. Haeundae Arboretum built on a former landfill site in Seokdae-dong, northern Busan, will partially open Thursday as the first phase of its construction has been completed, the government said. The arboretum, which will eventually cover 628,275 square meters, far bigger than the 473,911-square-meter Busan Citizens Park, c

Social Affairs May 19, 2021

WASHINGTON -- The US administration of President Joe Biden will build on a 2018 summit agreement with North Korea, White House Asia czar Kurt Campbell said Tuesday, extending overtures to Pyongyang after completing a monthslong policy review on the North. "Our policy review took a careful look at everything that has been tried before. Our efforts will build on Singapore and other agreements made by previous administrations," Campbell, White House policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacifi

Foreign Affairs May 19, 2021

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will discuss ways to address COVID-19 vaccine shortages in the South and forge "tangible partnerships" on semiconductor supply chains, White House Asia policy chief Kurt Campbell said Tuesday. Moon is set to visit Washington for his first in-person talks with Biden set for Friday, where cooperation on coronavirus vaccines and semiconductor supplies are expected to be among the key agenda items, along with how

Foreign Affairs May 19, 2021

North Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday accused Western countries of spreading false information "under the signboard of freedom of speech" in an attempt to meddle in the internal affairs of other states. The ministry made the criticism in an article posted on its website, saying that "some specific states" are interfering with the internal affairs of other sovereign countries after spreading false information while posing as "guardians of freedom." Such false i

North Korea May 18, 2021

South Korea will take part in an annual US-led multinational air force exercise for the first time in three years next month, joining Japan and other countries in the maneuvers designed to improve interoperability, the Air Force said Tuesday. The Air Force plans to send F-15K fighter jets, cargo planes and dozens of troops to the Red Flag-Alaska 21-2 exercise set to take place in Alaska from June 10-25 involving around 1,500 service members and 100 aircraft. Earlier, the US Seventh Air Force s

Defense May 18, 2021

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday, rebounding from a decline the previous session, on bargain hunting for tech and semiconductor shares. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 38.53 points, or 1.23 percent, to 3,173.05. Trading volume was moderate at 774.38 million shares worth some 13.71 trillion won ($12.07 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 571 to 279. Foreigners sold a net 347.2 billion won, and retail in

Market May 18, 2021

Developing trusted supply chains is one area that South Korea and the United States can work together to reduce economic dependence on China, a joint report by Korean and American experts showed Tuesday. A total of 27 experts, including former high-level government officials in Seoul and Washington, made the case in the report, noting how the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the vulnerability of the global supply chains heavily dependent on Beijing amid the virus-driven border controls across the wo

Foreign Affairs May 18, 2021

A group of civic activists on Tuesday called for the removal of a stone monument related to former President Chun Doo-hwan in Incheon, west of Seoul, condemning him as the mastermind of a bloody massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980. Marking the 41st anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, the activists demanded that the stone monument erected by Chun in 1984 in memory of the 1950 Incheon landing operation during the Korean War b

Social Affairs May 18, 2021