North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a photo session with families of the army, a day after attending their art performance, state media reported Friday. Earlier on Wednesday, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended the performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA), according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim highly appreciated the performers' devoted efforts for being "reliable assistants to their husbands&quo

SM Entertainment, the K-pop powerhouse behind acts like SuperM and EXO, on Friday unveiled a plan to launch a new K-pop band in the United States through a televised audition program. SM and MGM Worldwide Television will introduce a competition series to pick members of a new boy band named NCT-Hollywood, one of the subunits for SM's NCT boy band brand, the company said in a statement. NCT, short for Neo Culture Technology, is SM Entertainment's international idol group project launched in 201

Five Navy sailors tested positive for the new coronavirus while on the same naval ship, bringing the total caseload from the vessel to 38, the defense ministry said Friday. Last month, the Navy reported 33 COVID-19 cases among members of the Gojunbong landing ship in the first mass infection on a military vessel. Of 84 sailors aboard the ship, 51 tested negative and have been in isolation, but five of them were found to have contracted the virus in a test required to exit quarantine, the min

The top diplomats of South Korea and Britain have agreed to reinforce cooperation on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and the expansion of bilateral exchanges during their talks near London, the foreign ministry said Friday. The agreement came during a strategic dialogue between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, in the London suburb of Kent on Thursday, the day after a Group of Seven ministerial session ended. "The two minister

WASHINGTON -- The award winning immigrant film "Minari" will be screened online for some moviegoers in the United States next week, the Korean Cultural Center in Washington said Thursday. The film will be made available online free of charge to 600 viewers on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the culture center. "The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. is pleased to present a special screening of Minari in celebration of the broad critical acclaim for this Ameri

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to the 500s again Thursday as fewer people took virus tests on the Children's Day holiday, but the country's health authorities remained vigilant over cluster infections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 574 more COVID-19 cases, including 562 local infections, raising the total caseload to 125,519, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload reached 488 on Monday and 541 on Tuesday but jumped to t

The wife of Belgian Ambassador to South Korea Peter Lescouhier was questioned by police on Thursday over assault allegations, officials said, amid public criticism over "insincerity" in the embassy's handling of the matter.    The wife appeared at the Yongsan Police Station in central Seoul in the afternoon to undergo questioning and she has returned, an official at the precinct said, without providing more details.    Police have been looking into allegations t

South Korea's top security officials "positively" evaluated the outcome of the United States' monthslong policy review on North Korea recently completed by the Joe Biden administration, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.    The assessment came during a regular standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC) after the White House said last week that it has completed its policy review on the communist state according to the presidential office.    The U

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Thursday it has formed business ties with IBM Korea and local major banking firm Woori Bank to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology for financial services. The three will establish an AI lab to develop new services, such as an AI-based language model specifically designed for the financial sector and an asset management system that uses AI technology to make quick and accurate market predictions, according to a statement from the telecom o

A political standoff between the ruling and main opposition parties appeared imminent Thursday, as key National Assembly committees were scheduled to decide on the parliamentary approvals of scandal-ridden minister nominees recently picked by President Moon Jae-in. Earlier this week, parliamentary confirmation hearings on nominees for science, oceans, land, trade and labor ministers were carried out by the National Assembly. Of those, Lim Hye-sook, Park Jun-young and Noh Hyeong-ouk, nominees f

As baseball starts go, this was short and sweet for Yang Hyeon-jong of the Texas Rangers. In his first major league start, Yang struck out eight Minnesota Twins in just 3 1/3 innings at Target Field in Minneapolis on Wednesday (local time). The bullpen took over with one out and bases loaded in the bottom fourth and the game tied at 1-1, and reliever John King bailed out the Korean left-hander with a couple of groundouts. The Rangers prevailed 3-1, after scoring twice in the top of the sixth

South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences to Mexican people over a deadly metro line disaster in their country, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. In a letter delivered to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador the previous day, Moon noted that the accident was regrettable, having a lot of victims and causing damage, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon sent a message of condolence to the victims and their families and hoped for the speedy recovery o

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to stay on as the world's third largest vendor of true wireless stereo (TWS) products, including wireless earbuds, for this year as competition heats up in the fast-growing hearables market, a report showed Thursday. Samsung's market share in 2021 was estimated to stay unchanged at 7 percent and sit behind its rivals Apple Inc. and Xiaomi Corp., according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. The South Korean tech giant, which makes Galaxy Buds in-ear dev

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to the 500s again Thursday as fewer people took virus tests on the Children's Day holiday, but the country's health authorities remained vigilant over cluster infections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 574 more COVID-19 cases, including 562 local infections, raising the total caseload to 125,519, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload reached 488 on Monday and 541 on Tuesday but jumped to t

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government is guarding against signs of instability in the housing market as prices of some old apartments in Seoul have picked up on expectations for eased rules for redevelopment housing projects. Housing prices in Seoul recently climbed after new Mayor Oh Se-hoon took office last month with a pledge to ease regulations on rebuilding old apartments in the capital. "The growth of apartment prices in Seoul is picking up compared to before the

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Thursday, led by tech drops that stemmed from concerns about earlier-than-expected inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.83 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,145.54 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start, tracking the overnight US tech decline. Tech shares retreated in Seoul amid foreign selling, while bank and infrastructure shares advanced. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.9

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to a fresh record high in April as the US dollar's weakness boosted the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $452.3 billion as of end-April, up $6.18 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The United States has long encouraged South Korea and Japan to work together to resolve their thorny history issues, including the issue of comfort women, to promote reconciliation and cooperation, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson, also noted US foreign policy is centered around human rights, including the rights of women and children. "We have also long encouraged Japan and the ROK to work together on the history related issues

The top diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) countries on Wednesday urged North Korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear programs, while also urging Pyongyang to engage in inter-Korean dialogue. The foreign ministers also expressed their support for US efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula diplomatically. "We call on the DPRK to refrain from provocative actions and to engage in a diplomatic process with the explicit goal of denuclearization. We remain committed to the goal of

People who have been fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus in South Korea are exempted from the mandatory 14-day isolation starting Wednesday when arriving here from overseas and when having close contact with virus patients. The new rules will be applied only for those who have been fully inoculated in South Korea two weeks after receiving COVID-19 jabs, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). They will still need to receive COVID-19 tests and have no rel