Today   Politics

Political parties show mixed reactions to investigative power reforms

Rival parties on Friday showed mixed reactions to the government's decision to enhance the police's authority to investigate independently of the prosecution.The government announced Thursday that it will empower police to initiate and close cases without approval from the prosecution as part of long-delayed reforms of the division of investigative powers. The ruling Democratic Party stressed the need to swiftly start the parliamentary process to revise related laws to accelerate the government'

Today   Social affairs

[Weather] Heat wave advisories go into effect Friday

As Friday will be the hottest day of summer this year, the weather agency advised residents in Korea to be prepared for the scorching sun. Daytime highs are expected to surpass 33 degrees Celsius in some regions of the country. The Korea Meteorological Administration had issued heat wave advisories for some parts of Gangwon Province and Gyeongsang Province as of 4 a.m. (Yonhap)The temperature in Seoul will rise to 31 C in the daytime, while highs are expected to range from 27 C to 33 C across th

Today   North Korea

Pompeo to meet with N. Koreans at earliest possible date: State Department

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with North Korean officials at the "earliest possible date" to follow up on last week's nuclear deal between the countries' leaders, the State Department said Thursday.Pompeo is expected to travel to North Korea within days to flesh out the agreement signed by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their summit in Singapore."Secretary Pompeo will be meeting with them and talking with them at the earliest possible

Today   North Korea

Koreas holding Red Cross talks to discuss family reunion, humanitarian issues

MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea -- The two Koreas are holding Red Cross talks on Friday to discuss organizing a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War and other humanitarian issues.The talks started at around 10 a.m. at a hotel on Mount Kumgang on the North's scenic east coast, according to the unification ministry. South Korea's four-member delegation is led by Park Kyung-seo, head of the Korean Red Cross. The North sent a three-member delegation headed by Pak Yong-il, vice chairman

Today   North Korea

Trump: N. Korea has blown up 4 test sites

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday that North Korea has already destroyed four of its big test sites on the road to "total denuclearization."Trump was speaking at a Cabinet meeting following his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last week.The two leaders agreed then that Kim would commit to "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, while Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the regime."They've stopped the sending of miss

Jun 21, 2018   North Korea

Moon vows to enhance trilateral economic cooperation with North Korea and Russia

South Korean president expresses hope for linking Trans-Siberian Railway to Busan at his speech before the Russian parliament.

Jun 21, 2018   North Korea

Easy as A, B, Xi: China gives economic lessons to North Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping has coached his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un on high-stakes diplomacy. Now he seems poised to give the young autocrat another lesson: how to reform a state-controlled economy while keeping an iron grip on power.   Beijing has long pushed for Pyongyang to adopt similar measures to those that fuelled China's dizzying ascent from a communist backwater to one of the world's largest trading powers.   But while the highly secretive, nuclear-armed North has been qui

Jun 21, 2018   North Korea

North Korean airline plans new route to China's Xian

North Korea's national airline Air Koryo plans to open a new route linking Pyongyang and Xian in China, a staff member said Thursday, in the latest sign of the nuclear-armed state's possible emergence from isolation.   An Air Koryo representative told AFP "there is a plan" for flights to the central Chinese city, a major tourist destination famous for its ancient Terracotta Warriors.   But the staffer said he "did not know" whether the route would begin in July, as reported by the Xian Evening N

Jun 21, 2018   Social affairs

[Graphic News] Abuse cases against seniors on the rise

　The number of seniors being abused has increased in recent years, with most perpetrators being their own family members, a government report showed.　According to the annual report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 4,622 cases of abuse carried out against seniors in 2017, up 8 percent from a year earlier. The findings showed that most of the assaults were committed at home.　The number has steadily increased from 3,502 in 2013, 3,532 in 2014, 3,818 in 2015 to 4,280 in 2016, the mi

Jun 21, 2018   Social affairs

Seoul court again denies arrest warrant for wife of Korean Air chief

A Seoul court once again turned down a request for a warrant to arrest Lee Myung-hee, the wife of the Korean Air Lines chairman who has been accused of abusing her employees as well as unlawfully hiring domestic helpers from the Philippines.　“It is difficult to determine whether it is necessary to place Lee Myung-hee in custody,” the Seoul Central District Court said, rejecting the arrest warrant which was filed on Monday by prosecutors. 　Authorities suspect that Lee, 69, along with her daughter

Jun 21, 2018   Social affairs

[Photo News] Greeting summer

The summer solstice fell on Thursday, marking the start of haji, one of 24 divisions of the year on the lunar calendar.The sun reaches its highest altitude in the Northern Hemisphere on this day, resulting in the longest period of daylight of the year. High temperatures were felt around the country Thursday, topping 30 degrees Celsius in some inland regions including Daegu, Andong in North Gyeongsang Province and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province.  A heat haze over the streets of Yeouido in Seoul A

Today   North Korea

S. Korean detainees unlikely to be dealt at Red Cross talks

The release of six South Korean detainees in North Korea is unlikely to be discussed at Friday’s inter-Korean Red Cross talks, as the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War is set to be at the top of the agenda. Friday’s talks are expected to address a clause inked in the agreement reached at the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27, when both vowed “to swiftly resolve the humanitarian issues that resulted from the div

Jun 21, 2018   Defense

South Korea, US defense chiefs to discuss details of joint drills next week

　South Korean and US defense chiefs will hold talks in Seoul next week to discuss the future of the allies’ joint military drills following the suspension of the scheduled Freedom Guardian exercise, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. 　The meeting between Defense Minister Song Yong-moo and his US counterpart Jim Mattis will take place Thursday during the Pentagon chief’s one-day trip to South Korea, according the ministry. 　Scheduled to visit China ahead of his visit to Seoul, Mattis will meet w

Today   Social affairs

Man caught again for disorderly behavior after drinking

Gwangju Dongu Police Station said Thursday that it has requested an arrest warrant for a 52-year-old surnamed Hwang on the charge of obstruction of business at a restaurant.Hwang was allegedly drunk and flew into a rage for an hour, bending spoons and kicking tables, at a restaurant in Daein-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. (123RF)While the restaurant owner was filing a report to police, the suspect reportedly assaulted a customer by throwing a soju bottle at the person. It ap