South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Wednesday renewed Seoul's call for North Korea to participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics despite heightened tensions over the North's new missile test.  Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (Yonhap)"Though we are now in a situation where it is somewhat awkward to talk about inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, it is crucial for us to maintain the atmosphere of reconciliation through sports activities," Lee said during a session of a state pa

Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan have strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile provocation and agreed to pursue stern action at the United Nations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the ministry, held emergency phone conversations with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi on Tuesday and US envoy Joseph Yun on Wednesday, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)The Nort

A group of university professors and scholars demanded on Wednesday that President Moon Jae-in halt his push to scrap the building of new nuclear power plants and phase out those in operation. Joo Han-kyu and university professors at press conference(Yonhap)"(The government) should immediately halt the push to extinguish the nuclear energy industry that provides cheap electricity to the general public," the group said in a press release.During a ceremony in Busan last month to mark the permanent

Supreme Court justice-nominee Cho Jae-youn pledged during a parliamentary confirmation hearing Wednesday that if appointed he will work to restore public trust in the judiciary by delivering fair, commonsensical rulings and stamping out rampant "special treatment" to judge-turned-lawyers.  Supreme Court justice-nominee Cho Jae-youn (Yonhap)"Through exhaustive self-reflection and self-awareness, I will try to grasp the common perception that is not adulterated by personal values or religious conv

INCHEON -- The members of the Conference of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol will meet for a forum in Seoul later this week about one month ahead of its implementation to protect biological resources, a state-run research organ here said Tuesday.  (Yonhap)"The National Institute of Biological Resources of Korea under the environment ministry will hold the forum titled 'National Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS: Sharing Lessons and Discussing Challenges' at a Seoul hotel on Wednesda

South Korea's military on Wednesday made public footage of its high-profile missiles that can be used for possible operations to remove the North Korean leadership.The Joint Chiefs of Staff released a one-minute video clip showing a fighter jet firing a Taurus KEPD 350 long-range precision-guided missile. It accurately hit and destroyed a simulated target.The JCS' unusual move came a day after the North test-fired an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile.  Taurus with the range of 500 kilo

A North Korean soldier, who had been undergoing training to guard one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's villas, has defected from his country, the head of a civic organization for North Korean human rights here said Wednesday. (Yonhap)"A recruit who was being trained at Kim Jong-un's villa in the North Korean border city of Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, crossed the Amnok River to defect around June 10," pastor Peter Jung of the Justice for North Korea told Yonhap News Agency over the phone

Top South Korean and US military commanders were united Wednesday in sending a tough warning message to North Korea for its long-range missile test. Vincent K. Brooks (Yonhap)"Self-restraint, which is a choice, is all that separates armistice and war," Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander of the US Forces Korea and the allies' Combined Forces Command, said in a joint statement with Gen. Lee Sun-jin, chairman of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff.They called it the Combined Statement on Alliance Resp

 The United Nations Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss the international community's actions over North Korea's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. (Yonhap)"The emergency UNSC meeting will be held Wednesday (New York time) at the request of South Korea, the United States and Japan," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "The South Korean government will discuss with council members, including the US, UNSC measure

South Korea will carry out an annual war mobilization exercise to test the operation of military contingency systems involving servicemen and government employees, the defense ministry said Wednesday.(Yonhap)The two-day exercise, slated for this Thursday and next Tuesday, will focus on training in the execution of war resources and forces mobilization plans that are issued in the event of war, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The drill is held regularly, but this year's exercise is

South Korea's Navy said Wednesday four additional AW-159 shipborne anti-submarine helicopters have joined a front-line fleet for combat operations.The Navy acquired eight AW-159 choppers, also known as Wildcats, last year in two batches in June and December, respectively. The first four were deployed in February. AW-159 (Yonhap)"The remaining four were deployed at a front-line fleet and put into maritime operations today," the Navy said in a statement. It did not reveal the location, but a defen

South Korea's defense ministry on Wednesday confirmed North Korea's test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, identifying it as an upgraded two-stage version of its KN-17 or Hwasong-12 missile.During a parliamentary briefing, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said that the ministry put the missile's range at between 7,000 kilometers and 8,000 km but found no definitive evidence to prove its atmospheric re-entry capability.The minister also noted there is a "high" possibility of Pyongyang stag

WASHINGTON -- A US senator called Tuesday for a "global economic embargo" against North Korea, denouncing Pyongyang's test of what it claims was an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the UniS.Sen. Cory Gardner (Yonhap)"With each additional missile test by North Korea and weak response by the international community, we are moving further down the road of potential military conflict that would have catastrophic consequences. We need to use every diplomatic and economic tool we

WASHINGTON -- The United States has requested that the UN Security Council hold a meeting to discuss North Korea's latest missile launch, UN diplomats said Tuesday.   (Yonhap)The meeting is expected to take place Wednesday, the diplomats said.   After firing a ballistic missile earlier Tuesday, the North claimed it succeeded in its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, with the missile reaching an altitude of about 2,800 kilometers before coming down in the East Sea 930 km away fr

South Korea on Tuesday permitted a private aid group to contact North Korea for their plan to provide humanitarian assistance despite North Korea's new missile test, which it said was an intercontinental ballistic missile.  People watch a live TV report at Seoul Station on July 4, 2017, showing North Korea`s special announcement that it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Yonhap)Sources said the Ministry of Unification gave the approval earlier in the day in line with

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday warned North Korea not to cross a "red line" after it claimed a successful test of its first intercontinental ballistic missile.  (Yonhap)Moon urged the North to immediately halt its provocations, saying he is not sure what kind of consequence the communist state will have to face if it crosses the "red line.""I hope North Korea will not cross the point of no return," the South Korean leader said in a meeting with former British Prime Minister David

BEIJING -- China slammed North Korea's claimed launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. (Yonhap)"Related UNSC resolutions have clear rules on North Korea's ballistic missile technology and activities of (ballistic missile) launches," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a press briefing. "China opposes North Korea's continuation of (ballistic missile) activities in violation of these rules," he sai

POHANG, South Korea -- A ceremony to break ground for a UN global education center, initiated by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, will be held at Handong Global University in the country's southeastern port city of Pohang next week, an official at the faculty said Tuesday.  (Yonhap)"A ground-breaking ceremony for the 'Ban Ki-moon Global Education Institute in Support of the UNAI' will be held next Tuesday for its completion in October 2018," the official said. The UNAI is short for the U

The nominee for prosecutor-general is credited with having ample experience in high-profile investigations involving big businesses and politicians, a key factor cited for his nomination by President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday.   Moon Moo-il (Yonhap)Moon Moo-il, current head of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office, is viewed as the right candidate to lead the prosecution that the president wants to reform as they are considered to have wielded too much power and been swayed by politics. "Nominated for

North Korea claimed Tuesday that it successfully launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile in the latest in a series of its provocative acts. (Yonhap)North Korea test-fired the missile, called the Hwasong-14, under the observance of its leader Kim Jong-un, the country's state-run TV broadcaster said in its special announcement.It said the missile reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers and flew 933 km before hitting a target in the East Sea.The North fired an unidentified ballistic m