The number of South Koreans suffering from constipation has been on a steady rise in recent years with sexagenarians and older people taking up some 40 percent of the total, data showed Thursday.Constipation sufferers in the country numbered 655,000 people in 2016, up from 616,000 the previous year and 595,000 two years earlier, according to the data by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. (Yonhap)Those in their 60s and older people accounted for 39 percent of the total, followed by

Social Affairs May 11, 2017

The number of eligible voters will peak in the 2032 presidential election, after which the electorate will shrink and become much older as the low birthrate begins to take its toll, population statistics indicated Thursday.Assuming that the presidential race is held every five years with the voting age set at 19, the number of eligible voters in 2032, three elections from now, will hit its peak at 45,198,147 people, according to Statistics Korea. This is 6.4 percent more than the 42,479,710 in T

Social Affairs May 11, 2017

South Korea on Wednesday ordered its overseas missions to stay vigilant against security conditions surrounding the nation amid a change of administration, the ministry said.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed its foreign missions of the start of President Moon Jae-in's term earlier in the day following Moon's victory in the presidential election on Tuesday. President Moon Jae-in takes the oath of office during an inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2017

North Korea has unveiled what it claims are satellite images of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system recently deployed in South Korea, a move aimed at flaunting the country's capability to gather intelligence against Seoul.The North's state-run Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station aired two pictures showing what were described as THAAD components installed at a golf course at the southern South Korean county of Seongju during a TV talk show aired on Monday. North Korea's Korean Centr

North Korea May 10, 2017

New President Moon Jae-in promised cooperative relations with opposition parties Wednesday during mend-fencing meetings after a bitter campaign which exposed the nation's deep political divides. Moon, a former chief of the liberal Democratic Party, visited the leaders of all four opposition parties shortly after his term formally began. He was elected with 41.1 percent of the vote Tuesday. He faces an opposition-controlled parliament, whose cooperation would hold key to implementation of his pol

Politics May 10, 2017

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to new President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday expressing hopes to deepen ties and resolve differences amid diplomatic rifts over a US missile defense system deployed in South Korea. China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that he has always valued the relations between China and South Korea.(Yonhap)The two countries have deepened their ties since they established diplomatic ties 25 years ago and the strong relation

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2017

The Chinese foreign ministry has offered to help South Korea deal with the aftermath of a deadly car accident in China which killed 10 Korean kindergarteners and two other Chinese people, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.The school bus carrying 11 kindergarteners and a Chinese driver caught fire in a car accident inside the Taojiakuang Tunnel in Weihai, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, at around 9 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday.The parents of the students are currently t

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2017

South Korea said Wednesday that North Korea should refrain from committing a "foolish" act by pushing ahead with another nuclear test as the South's new president has warned of the North's provocation.North Korea's top envoy to Britain Choe Il said in his interview with Sky News that North Korea will go ahead with its sixth nuclear test at the time and place of its leader's choosing. (Yonhap)His remark was not new as it was a repeat of similar warnings that other ranking North Korean officials p

North Korea May 10, 2017

A pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan reported Wednesday that liberal politician Moon Jae-in was elected as South Korea's new president in the first coverage of the news by North Korea-related media.The Chosun Sinbo said that Moon's presidency ended the nine-year conservative rule by predecessors Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, who was ousted in March over corruption charges.Moon Jae-in, the newly-elected South Korean president (Yonhap)The Chosun Sinbo is not North Korea's state media, bu

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2017

South Korea is pushing for an international nonproliferation panel's adoption of a statement calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programs, a government source said Wednesday.South Korea and France are currently reviewing the draft statement and seek to submit it to the preparatory committee meeting for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons underway in Vienna, the source said on condition of anonymity.(Yo

North Korea May 10, 2017

North Korea said Wednesday that the country viewed international cooperation in human rights issues as important, as a UN investigator on the rights of those with disabilities wrapped up a rare visit to the North.Catalina Devandas Aguilar, the UN special rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, visited North Korea from last Wednesday to Monday. Her visit marked the first-ever visit to the North by an independent UN expert named by the UN Human Rights Council. Catalina Devandas Agui

North Korea May 10, 2017

A majority of mothers receiving a state subsidy for child rearing are dissatisfied with the system, including the amount and method of payment, a report released Wednesday showed.The Korea Institute of Child Care and Education carried out a survey from July 20 to Aug. 30 last year on 1,302 women with children aged up to 5. Results included in the report showed that 66.9 percent of them had received government allowances for raising children at home. Asked to grade the subsidy system between 1 (v

Social Affairs May 10, 2017

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump looks forward to meeting with South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in and discussing shared interests of the two countries, the White House said Tuesday."The president looks forward to meeting with him and talking about our shared interests. So I'll wait for that conversation and I'm sure we'll have a readout for you," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at a press briefing, hinting at the possibility of the two leaders speaking by phone soon. (Yo

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2017

BEIJING -- China said Tuesday that it has invited North Korean officials to a forum on its regional economic development plan to be held in Beijing next week.China will host the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Sunday and Monday as it seeks to promote its initiative for building an economic belt linking Asia and Europe and even Africa through land and maritime silk roads. (Yonhap)China's foreign ministry said that the conference is open to any country that would be on the sam

North Korea May 9, 2017

Israeli Ehud Ratzabi spent the last decade dedicating himself to making his country a better place for the disabled. But the volunteering helped him more than he helped the handicapped, and enriched his life like no other, the president of the Israel Foundation for Handicapped Children said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Monday.Visiting Korea for the first time to attend the opening of the art exhibition, "Honorary Ambassadors from Israel," organized by ILAN and the Embassy of Is

Foreign Affairs May 9, 2017