South Korea has intelligence that North Korea has suffered losses among its troops dispatched to the war against Ukraine. According to the National Intelligence Service on Monday, North Korean troops have been killed and wounded after they were confirmed to have been deployed in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine. This is the first confirmation by the South Korean intelligence agency that there have been casualties among the North Korean contingent that entered the war alongside Russi

The leaders of South Korea and Malaysia forged a strategic partnership on Monday to bolster cooperation in trade, the defense industry, clean energy and critical materials as they eye the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year. This came as President Yoon Suk Yeol received Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the occasion of his official visit to South Korea. It was the first visit by a Malaysian leader in five years. During the talks, Yoon expressed anticipation that their "bil

Despite Dongduk Women’s University temporarily halting its plans to transition into a coeducational institution, the aftermath of student protests continues to fuel controversy as alleged employment discrimination and damage compensation claims take center stage. The dispute sparked an online backlash, with discriminatory posts targeting graduates of women’s universities appearing on anonymous forums like Blind, a workplace discussion app. Users claiming to work in human resources at

As the year draws to a close, many South Koreans have named exercise and dieting as their top year-end resolutions, according to survey results Monday. The survey, conducted by Karrot Market, South Korea’s largest community marketplace platform, between Nov. 12 and 17, asked users what they most want to achieve before the year ends. The result showed that 39.5 percent of respondents identified exercise, health and dieting as their main priorities. Popular goals included walking for two hou

A massive flag depicting a human eye was unveiled near the venue of an international negotiation forum on plastics, which opened in Busan on Monday. Created and hoisted by the international non-profit organization Greenpeace, the "#WeAreWatching" flag aims to deliver a powerful message: global citizens are closely observing the discussions on solutions to end plastic pollution, the group said. Designed in collaboration with Swiss artist Dan Acher, it incorporates portraits of 6,472 ind

Seoul City announced Monday that it has launched two urgent care clinics and four specialized clinics to address the challenges patients requiring urgent care for non-severe conditions face during nights and holidays. The centers are expected to alleviate patients' challenges accessing medical care after a prolonged standoff between the government and trainee doctors, according to city officials. The two urgent care clinics, one in Yangcheon-gu and the other one in Songpa-gu, are to treat n

Starting Monday afternoon, heavy rain is expected to fall on Jeju Island and the Honam region, which includes Gwangju and South and North Jeolla provinces, and later spread across the country, according to the weather agency. Rain in the southern parts of the country and Jeju Island will mostly stop by Tuesday morning, but it will continue in the central regions until later in the day. The Korea Meteorological Administration added that low-pressure troughs could turn rain into snow in the moun

The national pension fund said Monday that the number of its recipients reached 7 million this month, marking the first time the milestone has been reached since its launch in 1988. "More than half of South Koreans aged 65 and above are currently receiving national pension," the National Pension Service said in a statement. "This indicates that the NPS is playing a pivotal role as a safety net for retirees." The NPS currently distributes 3.6 trillion won ($2.57 billion) month

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating rose for the second consecutive week to 25.7 percent, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 2 percentage points from the previous week, while the negative assessment fell 2.7 percentage points. The survey was conducted on 2,508 adults from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, wi

South Korea has designated May 27 as Aerospace Day to commemorate the launch of the Korea AeroSpace Administration and proclaim the country's commitment to becoming a global space power, the national space agency said Monday. The day will be commemorated as a national memorial day starting next year, according to KASA, which was established on May 27 this year. The designation has been made to uphold the country's goal of becoming one of the five global leaders in the aerospace industr

A group of North Korean soldiers disguised as "indigenous people" of Russia's Far East have engaged in combat with Ukrainian troops in Russia's western border region of Kursk, according to a Ukrainian news report. Citing Kyiv's top military officer, RBC Ukraine on Sunday reported that more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already stationed in the Kursk region and have taken part in battles against Ukrainian troops. "These are mostly general military units. They

A Posco factory in the southeastern city of Pohang has suffered its second fire in two weeks, officials said Monday, with no casualties reported. The fire started at the steel company's patented No. 3 Finex furnace of the plant, located about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 11:18 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters dispatched 21 fire trucks and some 50 personnel to the scene before extinguishing the fire at 1:13 a.m. Monday. The police and fire agency plan to look into the exact cause of the f

North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on enhancing sports exchanges for next year, the North's state media said Monday, as the two nations continue to bolster cooperation in various fields. Kim Il-guk, North Korea's minister of physical culture and sports, signed the protocol with Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. While details of the protocol were not disclosed, the KCNA said Kim and Degty

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is set to be sentenced Monday on charges of suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor, marking the second in a series of rulings that could jeopardize his potential presidential bid. Lee, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is accused of encouraging a secretary to former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony during a 2019 trial related to his alleged election law violations. The alleged offen

Golf has made its first appearance in Gallup Korea’s top 10 favorite hobbies for South Koreans, ranking No. 8 with 4.1 percent of survey respondents mentioning it as their hobby of choice. The annual survey, conducted with 1,777 participants aged 13 and older, asked, “What is your favorite hobby?” and marked the first time since the survey began in 2004 that golf reached the top 10. The top hobbies include gaming (9 percent), followed by fitness and hiking tied for second (7

President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee have stopped using their mobile phones and replaced them with new phones, an official at the ruling bloc said Sunday. The move came after Yoon said in a Nov. 7 press conference that both he and his wife should have changed to new mobile phones after his inauguration, in response to criticism over the first lady using her personal phone for communications linked to controversies surrounding her. "I was given advice on changing the mobile ph

Tensions between the rival political parties are expected to escalate in the following days, with the main opposition seeking to put a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee up for a revote on Nov. 28. On Nov. 14, the opposition-led Assembly passed the revised special counsel probe bill in a 191-0 vote, as the ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote. The Assembly has previously passed two similar bills, in December 2023

The South Korean government plans to hold a separate on-site memorial ceremony for Koreans forced to work at the gold mines on Sado island during Japan's colonial rule, following a last-minute decision to boycott Japan’s memorial event on Sunday. Seoul’s abrupt reversal comes amid a growing domestic backlash over the choice of Akiko Ikuina, a parliamentary vice minister at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, as the chief government delegate for Sunday’s memorial event. Ikuina

All eyes turn to Busan as delegations from 175 countries gather for the final round of negotiations to clinch a legally binding United Nations treaty to combat plastic pollution. Kicking off Monday and running through Dec. 1, the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee could define the global response to one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. The initiative stems from a resolution passed during the UN Environment Assembly meeting in March 2022, which

The Seoul Central District Court is set to rule Monday on perjury subornation charges against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. The ruling of the first trial comes just 10 days after Lee received a suspended prison sentence in a separate trial for violating the Public Official Election Act, further compounding the legal challenges that could cost him his parliamentary seat and jeopardize his presidential aspirations. Prosecutors filed the perjury subornation case aga