North Korea has sent detailed information to South Korea on fishing boats operating illegally in the Yellow Sea via inter-Korean military hotlines restored last week, government sources said Monday. Last week, the two sides reopened all cross-border communication lines, including military hotlines, 13 months after Pyongyang cut them off in protest over anti-regime propaganda leaflets flying in from the South. "The North has sent a fax message at 9 a.m. every day, which carries details abo

North Korea Aug. 2, 2021

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, held phone talks with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, on Monday to discuss cooperation to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry said. The talks came after last week's restoration of inter-Korean communication lines raised hopes for the resumption of nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang, though Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned Sunday the planned summertime military drills betw

Foreign Affairs Aug. 2, 2021

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the number of people in South Korea who are either fully or partly vaccinated would soon top 20 million. He was emphasizing that the nation's vaccination campaign is on track despite the unrelenting spread of COVID-19. "By tomorrow, a total of more than 20 million people will have received at least one dose of vaccine," he said during a weekly meeting with senior Cheong Wa Dae secretaries. There is no problem in the government's scheme to give

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

YOKOHAMA, Japan, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- For the first four innings against Israel in the second-round game of the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament Monday, South Korea was experiencing much the same problem that had ailed the team in their three previous games. Granted, South Korea had won two of those games, but at some point, its inability to cash in on one scoring opportunity after another could come back to bite. Would that happen in this game? South Korea took a 3-0 lead early but then Israel

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

South Korean stocks rebounded Monday, helped by strong economic data that fueled optimism for a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.72 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 3,223.04 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 554 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won ($8.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 501 to 329. Foreigners sold a net 148 billion won, while inst

Market Aug. 2, 2021

South Korea and Singapore held defense strategy talks in Seoul on Monday and agreed to expand their defense exchanges and cooperation, the defense ministry said. During the meeting, Deputy Defense Minister Kim Man-ki and his Singaporean counterpart Teo Eng Dih agreed to boost exchanges in the fields of defense technology, humanitarian activities and cyber security, according to the ministry. Monday's meeting marked the first time in eight years for the strategy talks between the two countries

Foreign Affairs Aug. 2, 2021

Public support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has bounced back after declining for six consecutive weeks, a poll showed Monday. The Realmeter survey results came as Yoon Seok-youl, a former top prosecutor who is the front-runner in various polls on presidential hopefuls, joined the conservative party Friday. His decision ended months of uncertainty over whether and when he would become a member of the PPP with hopes of winning the presidential election slated for March next y

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

Around 560 billion won ($485.8 million) was slashed from this year's defense budget to fund an extra budget in the wake of the pandemic, but the measure will not affect the country's major arms procurement plans, the defense ministry said Monday. Last month, the National Assembly passed a 34.9 trillion-won extra budget bill aimed at propping up the economy battered by the pandemic and to support smaller businesses. For the measure, 562.9 billion won earmarked for 22 defense projects has been s

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

A controversial media reform bill being pushed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) is running into fierce resistance from the opposition bloc, putting the rival parties on a possible collision course at the National Assembly. Having unilaterally passed the bill through a subcommittee of the parliamentary Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee last week, the DP aims to advance it through the National Assembly in the upcoming provisional parliamentary session later this month. The bill aims to re

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

TOKYO -- Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea won the bronze medal in the women's doubles badminton event at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, thanks to a victory over their compatriots, Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan. Kim and Kong won the match 2-0 (21-10, 21-17) at Musashino Forest Plaza in Tokyo. The all-Korean bronze medal match was set up after both pairs lost in the semifinals Saturday. This is South Korea's only medal from badminton in Tokyo and also the country's second straight b

Olympic Games Aug. 2, 2021

Four South Koreans who were kidnapped in waters off West Africa about two months ago have been freed, following the release of another Korean national in a separate abduction in the same region, the foreign ministry said Monday. The four were released at 10 p.m. Sunday (Korea time) after being abducted by an apparent group of pirates while aboard a fishing boat near the Gulf of Guinea on June 1. They all remain in good shape, the ministry said. "They are under protection at a safe place t

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a leading opposition presidential contender, is moving toward strengthening connections and support within the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) after becoming a member last week. Yoon, who resigned in March as prosecutor general over an extended feud with the ruling bloc over prosecution reform, signed up with the PPP on Friday after having campaigned as an independent for about a month. The PPP leadership and key members courted Yoon to join the pa

Politics Aug. 2, 2021

The number of households with children under 18 years old fell below 5 million for the first time in 2019 amid a chronically low birthrate, data showed Monday. The number of households with children under 18 came to 4.87 million in 2019, down from 5.04 million the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Such households made up 23.3 percent of the total 20.9 million households in 2019, down 1.3 percentage points from 2018, the data showed. As of Nov. 1, 2019, the num

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2021

South Korea has recouped 69.7 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial firms since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Monday. The country retrieved 327.9 billion won ($284.3 million) in the second quarter out of the 168.7 trillion won in state funds spent to save firms from bankruptcy, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The recovery rate was up from 69.5 percent recorded at the end of March, it added. The government

Economy Aug. 2, 2021

South Korea will deal with the issue of joint military drills with the United States in a "wise and "flexible" manner so as to not heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the unification ministry said Monday after North Korea warned against such exercises. On Sunday night, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned that annual summertime military drills between South Korea and the US will cloud inter-Korean relations and that Pyongyang will closely watch

Politics Aug. 2, 2021