New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to have his first summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the margins of annual regional gatherings in Laos next week, Japan's broadcaster NHK reported Thursday. The two leaders will have their first in-person meeting since Ishiba took office on Tuesday, the Japanese public broadcaster said, as both plan to participate in a series of meetings involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos. The plann

Two senior US diplomats will travel to South Korea next week to attend a workshop on human rights violations in North Korea and other events, the State Department said Wednesday. During their trip from Monday to Oct. 11, Special Envoy for North Korean human rights Julie Turner and Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack plan to co-host a high-level strategic workshop centering on accountability for human rights violations in the North, according to the department. Organi

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held their first phone conversation Wednesday to discuss bilateral ties and cooperation on countering threats posed by North Korea, Yoon's office said. During the call, Yoon and Ishiba agreed to work on enhancing both bilateral cooperation and trilateral collaboration involving the United States to address North Korean issues. "The leaders agreed on the need for South Korea, Japan and the United States to make

Seoul shares closed lower for the third consecutive day Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines amid the escalating tension in the Middle East following Iran's massive missile attack against Israel. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 1.22 percent, or 31.58 points, to 2,561.69. Trading volume was moderate at 341.9 million shares worth 9.38 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners at 705 to 177. F

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday endorsed Cabinet motions demanding parliamentary reconsideration of three opposition-led bills, including one calling for a special counsel probe into first lady Kim Keon Hee's allegations. It marked the 11th time that Yoon has exercised his veto power since taking office in May 2022, and a total of 24 bills have been rejected amid ongoing tensions between the opposition-controlled National Assembly and Yoon. The most disputed bill calls for an independe

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid growing concerns over an all-out war in the Middle East after Iran attacked Israel with missiles. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.89 percent, or 23.04 points, to 2,570.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares tumbled after Iran fired missiles directly at Israel, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.41 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plunging 1.53 perce

South Korea's consumer prices slowed to the lowest level in 3 1/2 years in September, falling below 2 percent for the first time since early 2021, data showed Wednesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.6 percent on-year last month, compared with a 2 percent increase a month earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. September's figure marked the lowest level since February 2021, when consumer prices grew 1.4 percent. The figure last came to the 1 percent ra

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Wednesday the South Korean government will stay vigilant against heightened tensions in the Middle East following Iran's massive missile attack on Israel, vowing to enhance market monitoring and devise responses. Iran fired a barrage of around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday (local time), in what Tehran said was retaliation for the recent killings of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials, according to foreign media reports. Israeli Prime Minister

North Korea sent what appeared to be trash-filled balloons toward South Korea on Wednesday, the South's military said, in the first such launch in 10 days. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North launched the balloons, warning they may float toward Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. Since late May, the North has launched more than 5,000 balloons carrying trash on over 22 occasions in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent to the North by North Korean defectors and activ

The San Francisco Giants' outfielder Lee Jung-hoo returned home Tuesday following a rookie season cut short by a shoulder injury in May. Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the Giants in December but only played in 37 games in 2024, after suffering a left shoulder injury on May 12. He crashed into the outfield wall at Oracle Park in San Francisco while trying to make a leaping catch in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He was initially diagnosed with a left shoulder dislocat

BRUSSELS (Yonhap) -- South Korea and three other Indo-Pacific partners of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will attend the upcoming defense ministerial meeting for the first time later this month, NATO's chief said Tuesday. New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the defense ministers of South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, collectively known as IP4, were invited to the meeting scheduled for Oct. 16-17 in Brussels. "I look forward to welcoming them and forging a sh

South Korea's exports extended on-year gains to the 12th straight month in September, data showed Tuesday, on the back of robust shipments of chips. Outbound shipments rose 7.5 percent on-year to $58.7 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports added 2.2 percent on-year to $52.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.66 billion. South Korea has maintained a trade surplus for 16 consecutive months. By sector, exports of semicond

North Korea will never bargain over its "national prestige," Pyongyang's envoy to the UN said Monday, reaffirming the regime's adherence to its nuclear weapons program despite criticism over its growing security threats. Ambassador Kim Song made the remarks during a general debate at the UN General Assembly, repeating accusations of America's "hostility" toward Pyongyang and claiming that its nuclear weapons were "just made and exist to defend ourselves.&q

The government discussed plans Monday for a potential emergency evacuation of South Korean nationals in Lebanon as the escalating conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is raising fears of a full-scale war in the region. The meeting, led by the Foreign Ministry, was the latest to be held to review contingency plans for South Korean citizens in Lebanon and nearby regions, following a serious of strikes by Israel on Lebanon that have killed dozens of people, including He

North Korea has been removed as an observer of a regional anti-money laundering group due to its lack of engagement and failure to fulfill obligations, South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday. The unanimous decision was made at the 26th general assembly of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), held in the United Arab Emirates last Tuesday, the ministry said in a press release. The APG, formed in 1997, is an intergovernmental body committed to effectively implementing the inte

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the sports ministry to uncover the truth behind the appointment of the national football team's head coach and come up with measures to enhance transparency in the hiring process. Yoon made the call after Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yu In-chon briefed him on the ministry's probe into the Korea Football Association (KFA)'s controversial selection of Hong Myung-bo as the head coach of the South Korean men's squad in July, presidential

Prosecutors demanded Monday a three-year prison term for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on charges of suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor in 2018. Lee, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), was indicted last year on charges of demanding a secretary of former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony in a 2018 election law violation case involving him. The court will deliver the verdict on Nov. 25. The case involves Lee'

Seoul shares fell by more than 2 percent Monday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the releases of key economic data in the United States later this week. The local currency ended at a 9-month high against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 2.13 percent, or 56.51 points, to 2,593.27. Trading volume was moderate at 352.4 million shares worth 10.5 trillion won ($8.03 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 708 to 181. Institutions and foreign inv

South Korea's media regulator said Monday that Telegram has pledged to adopt a zero-tolerance policy and immediately remove deepfake pornography and other illegal content from its platform, in cooperation with local authorities. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) said it had a face-to-face working-level meeting with Telegram on Friday, raising concerns over deepfake content involving doctored images of Korean women, which has surfaced on Telegram in recent months. In respo

A Seoul court is set to deliver verdicts Monday for the Yongsan Ward office chief and a former chief of the Yongsan Police Station over the deadly 2022 crowd crush in the district of Itaewon. Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan Ward office, and former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae were indicted last year over allegations that they failed to take steps to prevent the crowd crush that left 159 people dead on a Halloween weekend in the Itaewon nightlife district on Oct. 29, 2022. The Seou