Kai, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, is set to release his first solo album in November, his agency said Wednesday. The six-track album titled "KAI (开)" is scheduled to be released on Nov. 30, SM Entertainment said, without elaborating on the main track and track list. KAI, who debuted in 2012 as the main dancer of EXO, has gained popularity for his dance skills and solid performance. He is also the main dancer of SuperM, a project group managed by SM Entertainment. Apart from his m

SEJONG -- Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun construed Joe Biden's victory in last week's US presidential election as reflecting American people's desire for national reconciliation and solidarity. He described the sprit as the "zeitgeist" of the current era. "I believe we need to pay attention to the zeitgeist under which the American people chose Joe Biden. I believe that (zeitgeist) is of solidarity and inclusion," Chung said during a dinner meeting with reporters at his offi

Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho has renewed South Korea's commitment to strengthening multilateralism to help cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Lee made the remarks in a video message sent to Tuesday's high-level forum that the Spanish government hosted in support of multilateralism on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. "The Republic of Korea is ready to cooperate with various

Six more personnel working at a defense ministry agency handling welfare for service members and an airman have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the ministry said Wednesday. The Welfare Agency officials, including both active-duty soldiers and civilian employees, were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 after one of its workers tested positive for the virus earlier this week, according to the ministry. The ministry has temporarily shut down the agency in Yongsan to conduct disinfec

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Britain have held video talks to discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation after Britain's complete withdrawal from the European Union (EU), Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. During the talks held Tuesday with Nigel Adams, minister for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho stressed the need for continuity in bilateral trade relations between the two countries after Britain's transitio

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking Dow's continued gain related to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine test results and improved chip exports. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.05 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,465.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came to a strong start after a straight seven-day gain. Investors remained optimistic about Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine test results, backed by positive comments by top US infectious disease speciali

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose by triple digits for a fourth day Wednesday to a nearly three-week high on sporadic cluster infections across the nation, with more cities adopting enhanced social distancing schemes. The country added 146 more COVID-19 cases, including 113 local infections, raising the total caseload to 27,799, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload marks the highest since the 155 cases added on Oct. 23, and a sharp ri

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has surpassed political heavyweights from the ruling Democratic Party to rank top in the latest popularity poll of prospective presidential candidates released Wednesday. According to a survey of 1,022 people 18 years and older by pollster Hangil Research & Consulting, 24.7 percent said they support Yoon as South Korea's next president. Lee Nak-yon, chairman of the Democratic Party, ranked second with 22.2 percent, while Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myun

서울의 모 법원 부장판사가 동료들과 회식을 하던 중 쓰러져 병원으로 옮겨졌으나 숨졌다. 11일 경찰에 따르면 이모(54) 부장판사가 전날 오후 9시 40분께 서울 강남구의 한 식당 인근 화장실에서 쓰러졌다는 112 신고가 접수됐다. 그는 심폐소생술(CPR)을 받으며 병원으로 옮겨졌으나 당일 11시 20분께 숨졌다. 이 부장판사는 일본군 성노예제 문제 해결을 위한 정의기억연대(정의연) 후원금을 유용한 혐의 등으로 기소된 윤미향 더불어민주당 의원 사건을 담당하고 있었다. 경찰은 정확한 사망 원인을 조사하고 있다. (연합뉴스)

President Moon Jae-in pledged efforts Wednesday to make South Korea "peaceful and prosperous," paying respects to war veterans on the occasion of the International Memorial Day for UN Korean War Veterans. "The more we reflect on their spirit of dignity, the more we are humbled by their solemn sacrifice," Moon wrote on his social media accounts. "I pay tribute to those who dedicated themselves to freedom and peace, and pray for the souls of those who sacrificed their own

WASHINGTON -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien on Tuesday and discussed "many important national security issues facing the two countries," the US official said. "It was great to speak with my esteemed colleague Kang Kyung-wha, Foreign Minister of our ally, the republic of Korea," O'Brien tweeted. "We discussed many important national security issues facing both nations and the Indo-Pacific." Kang has b

A western border hiking trail along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Korea will reopen to the public later this month after more than a year of closure due to the outbreak of African swine fever. The hiking trail in Paju, about 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, will begin accepting visitors starting Nov. 28, after all three DMZ hiking trails closed in September last year amid concerns over the spread of African swine fever. "Even after the reopening of the Paju hiking trail

South Korea's exports rose 20.1 percent on-year in the first 10 days of November, customs data showed Wednesday, amid the new coronavirus outbreak. The country's outbound shipments stood at $14.1 billion in the Nov. 1-10 period, compared with $11.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also gained 12.1 percent on-year during the cited period. Imports increased 7.8 percent on-year to $13.3 billion in the 10-day period, according to the dat

South Korea's trade volume is unlikely to pass the $1 trillion mark in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and a Sino-US trade row, sources said Wednesday. The gloomy projection comes as South Korea's trade fell sharply in the first 10 months of the year from a year ago, pounded by the double whammy. South Korea's exports and imports totaled $798 billion in the January-October period, down 8.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the industry an

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co. said Wednesday that they will continue their partial strike this week for higher wages despite the company's statement that it may reconsider planned investments in its plants. GM Korea's daytime and night-duty workers will stage a four-hour strike from Wednesday to Friday, while continuing to refuse to work overtime during the week and on the weekend, union spokesman Cho Ha-soo said over the phone. The daytime and night workers already held two rounds of par

South Korea reported the sharpest on-year fall in jobs in six months in October, extending its job losses to an eighth month amid the protracted pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.09 million last month, 421,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Job losses increased from an on-year fall of 392,000 in September. The tally marked the sharpest on-year decline since April, when the country shed 476,000 jobs due to

President Moon Jae-in held phone talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday and discussed ways to promote bilateral ties and cooperate on climate change, his office said. Johnson invited Moon to the summit of the Group of Seven advanced economies to be held in Britain next year, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon expressed appreciation for the invitation and also invited Johnson to the upcoming P4G summit that South Korea plans to host in May next year. P4G, which stands for Par

Twenty-one people affiliated with the US military, including 16 service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday. The service members all arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights, while four dependents and a contractor arrived on commercial flights at Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, according to the US military. Nineteen of the newly con

Jeju Air, South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Tuesday its net losses widened in the third quarter from a year earlier due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the airline industry. Net losses deepened to 66.8 billion won (US$60 million) in the three months that ended in September from 30.14 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "Suspended flights on profitable international routes amid the pandemic continued to weigh on the quarterly res

Soprano Park Hyesang said Tuesday that she has picked two Korean-language songs for her new album to show her own process of self-discovery as a Korean vocalist. Her latest album "I Am Hera," named after her English name, was released last Friday, with the German classical music record label Deutsche Grammophon (DG). It was DG's first official recording since the COVID-19 outbreak. "Many people had advised me to come up with a stereotypical repertoire that would never fail for