South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 1,800 on Saturday, though the country kept tight vigilance with the extension of stringent social distancing measures ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,804 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,776 local infections, raising the total caseload to 258,913, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is up from 1,709 reported Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for the la

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2021

South Korea's top nuclear envoy returned home Thursday after meeting with his US counterpart and other officials in Washington to discuss efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea.  Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for the Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, said he had "in-depth" talks with the US side and that the visit was a "fairly productive" one.    "We confirmed the US stance that it remains committed to resolving the North Kore

North Korea Sept. 2, 2021

The families of four forced labor victims have withdrawn a request to seize what was believed to be assets of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in South Korea, legal sources said Thursday. The families recently filed the withdrawal request with the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court, just south of Seoul, through the law firms representing them, the sources said, after finding that the assets did not directly belong to the company. Last month, the families asked the court to seize bond

Social Affairs Sept. 2, 2021

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo on Thursday ordered an investigation into allegations that a prosecutor asked the main opposition People Power Party to file a complaint against three ruling bloc figures when Kim's predecessor Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. In a text message to reporters, the Supreme Prosecutors Office said Kim instructed its inspection department to look into the allegations. Earlier Thursday, online news outlet Newsverse rep

Politics Sept. 2, 2021

South Korea strongly denounces the recent drone attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on an airport in Saudi Arabia and urges the militants to take part in UN-led peace talks, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "We strongly denounce the attack by Yemen's Houthi rebel forces on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary. "We reaffirm our support for international efforts toward peace and ending the civil war in Yemen, and u

Foreign Affairs Sept. 2, 2021

South Korean stocks ended a four-session winning streak Thursday as investors sought to lock in recent gains amid concerns of inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 31.17 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 3,175.85 points. Trading volume was moderate at 731.76 million shares worth some 13.99 trillion won ($11.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 472 to 371. Foreigners offloaded a net 380.8 billion won

Market Sept. 2, 2021

South Korea has been developing a massive ballistic missile as powerful as a tactical nuclear weapon, sources said Thursday, after the full lifting of US-imposed restrictions on missile development. The surface-to-surface missile, which can carry a warhead of up to 3 tons with a flight range of 350-400 kilometers, is in the last stage of development and the timing of its deployment will be determined after several test-firings, according to the sources. Unveiling its defense blueprint for 2022

Defense Sept. 2, 2021

US Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has said that the latest joint exercise between South Korea and the United States served as a chance to display readiness and strengthen the bilateral alliance, but the two sides need to and can "achieve more." The commander, who also leads the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command, made the comments in a message sent to the Korea-US Alliance Foundation after wrapping up the joint summertime exercise.

Defense Sept. 2, 2021

The reigning South Korean men's volleyball MVP Jung Ji-seok is under police investigation for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Jung, a star outside hitter for the Korean Air Jumbos in the V-League, was recently questioned by police on charges of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and installing a hidden camera in the home the two share. The sources said the girlfriend recently reported Jung's alleged assault to police. A woman who claimed to be

More Sports Sept. 2, 2021

The government plans to expand its regulatory sandbox program to include testing of innovations in the areas of mobility and biohealth, and present innovative deregulation road maps for the autonomous shipping and bio industries, officials said Thursday. The government announced the plan to newly add the two areas into the regulatory sandbox program in an inter-agency state affairs review and coordination meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. The regulatory sandbox program, first int

Politics Sept. 2, 2021

A local court has ordered the Japanese government to disclose its assets in South Korea by next March to pay compensation to Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, judicial sources said Thursday. The Seoul Central District Court issued the order for Tokyo to submit a full list of its assets in South Korea as part of efforts to secure reparations for 12 "comfort women" who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II, setting the deadline at 10 a.m

Diplomatic Circuit Sept. 2, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 2,000 on ThursUS, as the country is planning to unveil revised distancing guidelines later this week that may potentially include allowing family gatherings during the Chuseok holiday. The country added 1,961 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,927 local infections, raising the total caseload to 255,401, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number marked a slight drop from the 2,025 tallied WednesUS. Dai

Social Affairs Sept. 2, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as investors attempted to lock in recent gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.6 points, or 0.21 percent, to trade at 3,200.42 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a lackluster start amid sell-offs in banking, bio and auto large caps after the index rose for four straight sessions. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics edged down 0.13 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix slipped 0.46 percent. P

Market Sept. 2, 2021

South Korea's unionized health workers called off their planned strike on Thursday, hours before the unionized workers were set to go on a nationwide strike. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) said it reached an agreement with the government in their last-ditch talks held the day before. The decision to call off the planned strike came after midnight as union members took time to discuss the tentative agreement with the government. The sides were said to have agreed on the need

Social Affairs Sept. 2, 2021

South Korea's consumer prices rose more than 2 percent for the fifth straight month in August due to high prices of farm and oil products, data showed Thursday, indicating a continued build-up of inflationary pressure amid an economic recovery. The consumer prices rose 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the same growth as the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation rose 0.6 percent last month, accelerating fr

Economy Sept. 2, 2021