North Korean criticized the international community on Tuesday for its double standard toward the country's development of intercontinental ballistic missile.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's Day address that the country has entered the final stage of preparations to test fire an ICBM, an apparent warning that the reclusive country is perfecting the capability to hit the continental United States with nukes.(Yonhap)"Acting by the double-dealing standard unilaterally set by t

South Korea said Tuesday that it will take a firm stance against China's recent hostile movements against its businesses in apparent retaliation for welcoming a US-owned missile system."We will continue to object to the Chinese measures," Vice Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee said at a task force meeting to discuss pending trade issues between South Korea and China.His comments came as Beijing is heightening non-tariff barriers against South Korea as the Seoul government decided to deploy the US-led m

Seoul’s education office said Monday that it would cancel the high school credentials of Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of President Park Geun-hye’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, over revelations the school gave her special treatment in attendance and grading. After an inspection into Sunhwa Art School and Chungdam High School, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it would ask the prosecution to launch an investigation into Chung, her mother and 10 faculty members involved in the scandal.Chun

Around 1.6 million South Koreans rallied near the presidential office north of Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul to demand the ouster of scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye on Saturday.  Here are some of the photos featuring one of the biggest, but most peaceful protests in the country.A protester wears a chicken costume to make fun of President Park while marching towards the presidential office. (Bak Se-hwan/The Korea Herald)At 3 p.m., protesters gather at Gwanghwamun Square before marchi

Tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday in their sixth consecutive weekend rally to demand the President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal.As of 8 p.m. up to 1.5 million protesters, according to rally organizers, packed main boulevards connecting City Hall and Gwanghwamun Square to Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul for a candlelight vigil aimed at ramping up pressure on Park to immediately step down.Up to 900

Tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday in its sixth consecutive rally to demand the scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal. As of 4 p.m., up to 500,000 protestors packed main boulevards in central Seoul, according to rally organizers, and began to march toward the presidential office along three main routes to ramp up pressure on Park to step down.This is the sixth week of major protests aga

A painting by Korean abstract artist Kim Whan-ki has been sold for 6.32 billion won (US$5.36 million) on Sunday, making it the most expensive South Korean art work ever sold.At Seoul Auction's 20th Hong Kong Sale, held at the Hong Kong Grand Hyatt, the yellow-dotted oil painting named "12-V-70 #172" broke the previous record of 5.4 billion won set by the very same artist during an auction held in Seoul in June.The auction for the work, completed in New York in 1970, started at 4.5 billion won, b

South Korea's opposition parties on Sunday urged the Saenuri Party to join ties for the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye on her influence-peddling scandal, adding the ruling party should respond to the weekly rally that allegedly gathered more than a million a day earlier.On Saturday, organizers claimed a record 1.5 million people joined the fifth consecutive weekly rally held in central Seoul, demanding Park step down from her office amid allegations that her confidante Choi Soon-sil exer

Greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea were reduced by 0.8 percent in 2014 compared to a year earlier, marking the first time in 18 years for the figure to decline, the government said Sunday. The Greenhouse Gas Inventory & Research Center of Korea (GIR) said the emissions recorded 690 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2014, reduced from 696 million tons tallied in the previous year. The figure has been constantly increasing from 656 million tons in 2010 to 682 million and 687 milli

A key figure in the influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante was indicted Sunday on charges ranging from an abuse of authority to embezzlement.Prosecutors said Cha Eun-taek, former commercial and music video director, will now stand trial for allegedly using his connection with Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of Park's at the center of the scandal, to pocket profits. Cha Eun-taek (Yonhap)According to prosecutors, Cha apparently used his network to coerce

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday had a joint committee meeting to discuss various issues on their agreement governing the legal status of American forces stationed in South Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. The 197th joint committee meeting of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which defines areas of legal responsibility of the 28,000-strong U.S. soldiers here, was held at the foreign ministry in Seoul. The SOFA meeting is held once or twice a year, and this wa

China hopes for "early  results" in negotiations for a giant Asian trade pact, its foreign ministry said Tuesday after US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to ditch a rival deal,  the Trans-Pacific Partnership.Trump pledged in a short video message to signal the US's withdrawal from the TPP -- a vast, arduously negotiated agreement between 12 countries that  does not include China -- on his first day in the White House.The TPP is the economic plank of outgoing US President Barack Obama's strate

Most followers of Korean pop culture will remember the megahit TV series "Descendants of the Sun," which created a sensation at home and abroad.The writer and director of that drama have teamed up again to create a fantasy rom-com based on the lives of an immortal goblin, an amnesiac grim reaper and a high school girl claiming to be the goblin's future bride.In its lead roles, "Goblin" has cast actors Gong Yoo, Lee Dong-wook, Kim Go-eun, Yoo In-na and Yook Sung-jae, a member of the boy band BTOB

A former employee at a local accounting firm has been indicted on charges of writing false reports for cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., prosecutors said Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it indicted the former accountant at Deloitte Anjin LLC, surnamed Bae, on charges of violating the Certified Public Accountant Act and the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies.Bae, who served as the manager in charge of Daewoo Shipbuilding's external audit

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday denied rumors that it had purchased large amounts of medicines from a local pharmaceutical firm with the help of a doctor linked to President Park Geun-hye's confidante at the center of an ongoing corruption scandal.Citing data from the state-run health insurance review agency, Rep. Kim Sang-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party claimed that Cheong Wa Dae purchased 20 million won (US$16,999) worth of medicines from Green Cross Corp. in March

A local court said Tuesday the first hearing on the influence-peddling scandal in which President Park Geun-hye was named an accomplice to a corruption scheme involving her friend and former aides will be held next month.The Seoul Central District Court said the first preparatory hearing for Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend, and two former presidential secretaries is slated for Dec. 13.They were indicted on Sunday on a string of charges including abuse of authority and coercion for allegedl

A formal arrest warrant has been issued Thursday for Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s longtime confidante, accused of collaborating with a presidential aide to abuse power and attempting to commit fraud. After checking the charges raised against Choi, the court said that it is "necessary" to arrest her. Choi Soon-sil (center) enters a court room to attend a hearing on the court's review on the arrest warrant for her on Thursday. (Yonhap)　Choi, a 60-year-old civilian who has no background

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met  EU leaders in Brussels on Sunday to finally sign a giant trade deal seven years in the making that was almost torpedoed by a small region of Belgium.The ceremony had been pushed back from Thursday after French-speaking Wallonia, with just 3.6 million people, initially vetoed a deal affecting more than 500 million Europeans and 35 million Canadians.Protesters on Sunday threw red paint at the European Union's headquarters, banged drums and chanted slogan

Around 50 ships owned by or related to North Korea have transferred nationality to Tanzania since the United Nations Security Council adopted its strongest-ever resolution on the country in March, in an apparent attempt to circumvent the sanctions, a U.S. report said Saturday. The group of vessels includes one ship blacklisted by the U.N.'s sanctions committee and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Washington, D.C.-based NK News said, citing European shipping database Equasis and Port Stat

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho met with his British counterpart on Friday (local time) in Washington, D.C., to discuss ways to expand ties between the two countries after London's exit from the European Union (EU).Yoo is on a U.S. trip to attend the conferences of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings.During his visit, Yoo and his British counterpart Philip Hammond discussed post-Brexit issues, especially as the c