The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan were set to hold three-way talks on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G-7) meeting in London early Wednesday (local time), the foreign ministry said. The meeting of Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will mark the first time the top diplomats of the three countries meet in more than a year. It will also be the first direct encounter between Chung a

South Korea's daily new virus cases spiked to the 600s on Wednesday as rising cluster infections continue to hamper the country's virus fight against the pandemic. The country reported 676 more COVID-19 cases, including 651 local infections, raising the total caseload to 124,945, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily new cases are sharply up from the 541 recorded a day earlier, the KDCA said. The number also bounced back to the 600s after three days. The count

Kia Corp., South Korea's No. 2 automaker, said Wednesday its first all-electric model, the EV6, logged decent presale orders in Europe. According to the automaker, presale orders for the EV have topped 7,000 in Britain, France, Germany and other major countries, with the number set to further rise. Kia unveiled its crossover EV built on a dedicated platform last month and received 21,016 units of preorders on the first day of its launch in South Korea, which set a new record among the automak

Almost nine in 10 young students in South Korea prefer in-person classes to online ones, despite risks of coronavirus infections, a poll showed Wednesday. According to the survey on 685 elementary, middle and high school students conducted from April 25 to Monday by a local teachers' group, 87.1 percent said they want to go to school and study even though they are exposed to the risk of catching COVID-19. In a similar response, 71.5 percent said they would like to keep attending in-person clas

President Moon Jae-in held an online meeting with a group of elementary school students on the occasion of Children's Day. He joined the event from his Cheong Wa Dae office on Tuesday, together with first lady Kim Jung-sook, and a related video clip was released Wednesday, which marks the 99th Children's Day in South Korea. Invited to the meeting were all 38 students at Doseong Elementary School in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. Located in the county, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, the tiny sch

North Korea may still be willing to give up its nuclear weapons for the right price, but will likely wait to see how serious and committed the new US administration is to diplomacy, US experts said Tuesday. "I do believe North Korea is committed to complete, verifiable denuclearization, assuming they get the security assurances they want and certainly they need because they're concerned about regime change, and they realize nuclear weapons, indeed, are a deterrent," Joseph DeTrani sai

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to build up its chemical and biological weapons, in addition to its other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as nuclear weapons that pose a serious threat to US forces and South Korean allies, a ranking US official said Tuesday. Jennifer Walsh, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security, also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may actually use such weapons in case of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula. &quo

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to allocate up to $700 million for the lower-interest loan program with the Asian Development Bank, in line with efforts to support developing nations. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki held a virtual meeting with ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and signed a memorandum of understanding to expand the Economic Development Cooperation Fund program between South Korea and the regional development bank, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The newly earmark

South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor said Tuesday it will launch the Genesis brand in Europe this summer to gain a share in the high-end and electric vehicle markets.  Hyundai Motor will initially launch the G80 sedan and the GV80 SUV in European markets, such as Germany, Britain and Switzerland, in June, the company said in a statement.  Hyundai said it also plans to introduce the G70 sedan, the GV70 SUV and a strategic model customized for European markets this year. In its broad e

SUWON -- Police on Tuesday raided dozens of places related to a virtual currency exchange and froze the exchange's cash deposits as part of an investigation into its alleged irregularities. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency said it conducted the raids into 22 places, including the exchange's headquarters in southern Seoul, and froze 240 billion won ($214 million) left in the exchange's account. The raids were to obtain evidence to corroborate the allegations that the CEO, surnamed Lee, ran a fr

Oceans Minister nominee Park Jun-young came under fire for his wife's alleged smuggling of porcelain ware during a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Rep. Kim Sun-gyo of the main opposition People Power Party took a swipe at the nominee during the parliamentary session over the allegations of possible tariff evasion. Kim first raised the allegations last week, suggesting that Park's wife bought a heap of porcelain teaware, plates and ornaments in Britain while the nominee was servi

South Korean labor and civic organizations on Tuesday denounced Japan for formally denying mobilizing Korean people for wartime forced labor. The Japanese Cabinet last week sent a lawmaker its decision that Japan's recruitment, placement and conscription of Korean workers during its colonial rule (1910-45) did not constitute forced labor. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and a coalition of NGOs campaigning for forced labor victims held a news conf

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks on the margins of a Group of Seven (G-7) gathering in London later this week, a source said Tuesday, as Washington eyes a thaw in strained ties between its Asian allies. The meeting between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and his US and Japanese counterparts, Antony Blinken and Toshimitsu Motegi, respectively, is set to take place Wednesday, as they gathered in the British capital for the session of G-7 fo

Science Minister nominee Lim Hye-sook drew heat from opposition lawmakers during a parliamentary confirmation hearing Tuesday for alleged ethical lapses. Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) bombarded Lim with a barrage of allegations of ethical lapses and demanded she withdraw from the nomination during the parliamentary session. Lim, a professor of electronic and electrical engineering at Ewha Womans University and the chair of the National Research Council of Science &

South Korea has confirmed 97 more cases of contagious variants of the new coronavirus, adding to concerns that the country's virus battle may be exacerbated by the more transmissible viruses. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 75 case were local infections and 22 imported cases, bringing the total to 632. Of them, 87 cases were the Britain-originated variant, followed by 10 from South Africa, according to the KDCA. The authorities have said they remain vigilant agains

South Korea will wait for North Korea's final decision on whether to play a World Cup qualifier set to take place in the South next month, an official said Tuesday, after Asia's soccer governing body asked Pyongyang to reconsider its decision not to play the game. Earlier, the South's Korea Football Association (KFA) said its North Korean counterpart, known as the DPR Korea Football Association, sent an official document to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) last Friday to declare its inten

Another batch of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccines for around 218,000 members of the general public aged 75 and over, and other virus-vulnerable groups will arrive in South Korea later this week, health authorities said Tuesday. The products are part of a direct contract for 3.3 million people between the US pharmaceutical firm and the Seoul government, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. So far, Pfizer vaccines, under the direct contract, for 1 million people have alrea

North Korean propaganda outlets on Tuesday denounced a South Korean court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit by wartime sexual slavery victims against the Japanese government as "a disregard for conscience and justice" and an act of subservience to Japan. Last month, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case brought by 20 plaintiffs, including surviving victims forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II, citing sovereign immunity, a legal do

More than 170 South Korean residents in virus-hit India returned home on Tuesday via a special flight, and more people will come home this week, health authorities said. A flight operated by Indian air carrier Vistara landed at Incheon International Airport around 10:17 a.m. with 172 passengers, including workers of Hyundai Motor Co., after departing from Chennai International Airport in southern India. India has been a virus hotspot in recent months, with a COVID-19 variant strain also posin

GANGNEUNG -- More than 40 foreign migrant workers in the east coast city of Gangneung tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday after preemptive coronavirus testing, municipal officials said. The municipality of Gangneung, 240 kilometers east of Seoul, has so far conducted the preemptive testing on 743 migrant workers and 43 of them were diagnosed with the new coronavirus, the officials said. By nationality, Russians accounted for 36 of the confirmed cases, with the others from Central Asian nat