North Korea appears to be releasing water from a dam near the inter-Korean border without giving prior notice to the South, a South Korean government official said Monday, as the North is drenched by heavy downpours. 　 　“As rain has fallen heavily in North Korea, the North is repeatedly opening and closing the floodgates of Hwanggang Dam,” the unification ministry official said. “It seems (the North) is adjusting the Hwanggang Dam‘s water level based on the rainfall sit

Over 520,000 dogs are being raised for meat in South Korea as of this February, with about 388,000 slaughtered a year, a study revealed Monday. There are a total of 1,156 dog farms across the country and they each keep an average of 450 animals. The total number of restaurants serving dog meat across the country is 1,666. These are the findings of a two-month field study conducted by the country’s government-civilian consultative body on dog meat consumption, which was announced Monda

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, left South Korea on Thursday, but controversy over Seoul’s response to her visit continues.  When Pelosi arrived here late Wednesday following her stop in Taiwan, no South Korean delegation was present to greet her at the airport as is custom for a high-level visit. President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was on vacation, did not take time out to meet with Pelosi in person and instead opted for a phone call. While deigning not to

Heightened US-China tensions leave little room for improvement in Seoul-Beijing relations

Voice grows for legislation protecting children’s basic rights in Korea

The South Korean government could reinstate electronic travel authorization in Jeju, following a number of cases involving foreign visitors overstaying their tourist visas. The Ministry of Justice confirmed Monday that the government plans to introduce the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) for the island. A spokesperson of the ministry, however, added it would still collect opinions from representatives from Jeju’s tourism organizations before making the final decision. Th

Returning from vacation, Yoon faces multiple challenges over scandals, low rating, party feud

Education Ministry in a quandary over school entry age plan

Pyongyang to hold another nationwide meeting to set a new direction for anti-epidemic policy in early August

National police chief nominee Yoon Hee-keun said Monday that police power should be under supervision and oversight, as other powers are, but the police's political neutrality should not be damaged. The nominee made the remarks during his parliamentary confirmation hearing following the interior ministry's launch last week of a police bureau tasked with overseeing the law enforcement agency amid criticism the bureau hurts the political neutrality of police. The 16-person bureau in char

Aug. 8th, 2022 is the 55th anniversary of the ASEAN’s foundation. Congratulations on ASEAN Day through this page. It is not an overstatement that ASEAN Member States have manifested their earnest efforts to seek peace and prosperity in the region since its establishment, overcoming unexpected obstacles over the past five and a half decades. Last May, I had the chance to meet the president and vice president of a university in Vietnam, a member of “Passage to ASEAN Association,&rdq

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 on Monday for the first time in a week on fewer virus tests during the weekend, but the number of seriously ill patients remained at a two-month high amid a virus resurgence fueled by a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country added 55,292 new COVID-19 infections, including 482 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,544,420, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily cases tend to increase through