South Korea's agricultural ministry said Sunday it has identified another case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms, with the confirmed caseload staying at 103. The latest case of the deadly H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported from an egg farm in Pocheon, 46 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first highly contagious bird flu case from farms since 2018 in November last year. Cases traced

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 400 on Sunday, partly due to fewer testing over the weekend, as the country launched its first mass vaccination campaign last week. The country reported 356 more virus cases, including 334 local infections, raising the total caseload to 89,676, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Sunday's daily caseload marks a decline from 415 tallied the previous day. The figure was gradually increasing throughout last week

North Korea has staged worker pep rallies en masse across the country to boost morale in achieving a new five-year state economic development put forward by leader Kim Jong-un last month, the country's state media said Sunday. The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that workers' rallies aimed at encouraging the fulfillment of the year-one goals of the five-year economic plan were held in multiple industrial fields and units. The rallies were held as answers to an earli

'소림축구' 등에 출연한 홍콩 유명 영화배우 우멍다(오맹달·吳孟達)가 27일 간암으로 사망했다고 홍콩매체 성도일보 등이 보도했다. 그의 지인인 배우 톈치원(田啓文)은 취재진과 만나 우멍다가 이날 오후 5시 16분(현지시간)께 숨을 거뒀다고 밝혔다. 우멍다는 간암으로 투병해오다 최근 병세가 나빠졌던 것으로 전해졌다. 우멍다는 저우싱츠(주성치·周星馳)와 콤비를 이뤄 '도성', '서유기 월광보합', '서유기 선리기연', '희극지왕', '소림축구' 등 다수 작품에서 인상 깊은 연기를 펼쳤고, 최근에는 2019년작 중국 흥행영화 '유랑지구'에도 출연했다. 중화권 매체들은 그를 별명인 '다수(達叔·맹달 아저씨) '다거(達哥·맹달 형)' 등으로 부르며 추모하고 있다. 펑파이에 따르면 저우싱츠는 "그동안 우멍다의 병세를 지켜보며 다소나마 마음의 준비를 했지만 여전히 너무 슬프고 비통하다"면서 "오랜기간 콤비이자

The National Assembly has approved a law revision that would step up the punishment for perpetrators of fatal child abuse in the wake of a series of recent deaths of abused children. The bill to revise the act on child abuse crimes passed a plenary National Assembly session Friday. The revised law newly codifies the crime of child abuse homicide, stipulating the maximum capital punishment and a minimum seven-year imprisonment for perpetrators. Before the revision, the worst cases of child abu

South Korean telecom companies are stepping up efforts in sustainable energy projects, as they join the country's broader push for renewable energy and commit more to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives. Last Monday, top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said it signed a deal with state-backed utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) to be supplied with 44.6 gigawatt hours of renewable energy annually as part of its efforts to go green. Along with affiliates under th

South Korea's health authorities on Saturday issued a new guideline to vaccination centers across the nation, asking medical staff members to maximize the number of jabs per vaccine bottle by utilizing state-of-the-art syringes. One day after the start of the nation's public vaccination program, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said a special model of locally produced syringes has paved the way for increasing the number of vaccine recipients by one to two per vaccine bot

The number of foreigners diagnosed with COVID-19 in South Korea has soared this year due mainly to the steady outbreaks of cluster infections at industrial workplaces, a government agency said Saturday. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, 1,747 foreign nationals have tested positive for the coronavirus here since the beginning of the year, accounting for 6.6 percent of all domestic cases in the same period. The growth of foreign COVID-19 patients was particularly steeper ov

Four-time reigning champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors launched their South Korean football title defense with a victory on Saturday. Jeonbuk edged out FC Seoul 2-0 to kick open the K League 1 season at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. FC Seoul defender Kim Won-gun headed in an own goal in the 75th minute, and Jeonbuk winger Mo Barrow rounded out the scoring with an injury-time goal. Jeonbuk's new bench boss Kim Sang-sik won his head coaching debut. The former t

A group of 300 medical workers treating novel coronavirus patients started receiving the first batch of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. in South Korea on Saturday, one day after the country kicked off a free vaccination campaign. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals treating COVID-19 patients in the greater Seoul area were administered with their first shots of Pfizer's two-dose vaccine regimen at a state-run vaccination facility in central Seoul. The in

About 18,500 people received a vaccination for COVID-19 in South Korea on the launch day of the nation's public vaccination campaign against the pandemic, a government agency said Saturday. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, 18,489 people across the country got their first shots of the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine Friday. "On Friday, 18,489 medical workers, health care workers and nursing home patients received the AstraZeneca vaccine at community h

South Korean stocks are likely to face choppy trading next week following this week's highly volatile trading, as concerns about a US Treasury yields hike may continue to fuel heavy selling by foreign investors here. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,012.95 points Friday, down 3.05 percent from a week ago. Foreigners dumped a net 2.1 trillion won ($1.9 billion) at the main bourse this week as the yields of benchmark 10-year US Treasury fueled inflation worri

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Saturday it is investigating yet another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms, with the confirmed caseload staying at 102. The latest suspected case of the deadly H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported from an egg farm in Pocheon, 46 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first highly contagious bird flu case from farms since 2018 in Nove

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 400 on Saturday, the second day of mass vaccinations, as sporadic cluster infections continued to linger throughout the nation. The country reported 415 more virus cases, including 405 local infections, raising the total caseload to 89,321, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Saturday's daily caseload marks a rise from 406 tallied the previous day. The figure reached a weekly low of 332 on Monday, before g

A Seoul court on Friday upheld a ban on street rallies conservative groups planned to hold on March 1 Independence Movement Day, as concerns continue to mount over the spread of the new coronavirus in the capital city. The Seoul Administrative Court dismissed their request to suspend Seoul city government's measure to prohibit anti-government rallies at Gwanghwamun Square in the city center. The groups are critical of the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. The March 1 Independence Movement Da

INCHEON -- A 12-year-old YouTuber living in the United States has been identified as the alleged culprit of a terror threat against Incheon International Airport on the national holiday next week, officials said Friday. The teenage boy, who was born in South Korea and is residing in the US, is accused of having uploaded a YouTube video that warns of an attack at the Incheon airport, west of Seoul, at 11 a.m. on the March 1 Independence Movement Day, according to the Incheon International Airpo

South Korea's parliament on Friday ratified key International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on workers' rights and forced labor, which have long stalled due to objections from businesses and conservative politicians. The nation joined the United Nations agency in 1991 but had not adopted four of its eight key conventions, lagging behind international standards in protecting labor rights. The National Assembly passed motions to ratify three of them -- No. 29 on forced labor, No. 87 on f

South Korea's 5G subscriptions jumped by over one million for the first time last month to reach nearly 13 million users, data showed Friday. The country's 5G subscriptions reached 12.87 million as of end-January, up 1.02 million from the previous month, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest data comes amid the popularity of Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest flagship Galaxy S21 smartphones launched last month. The Galaxy S21 series posted 30 percent higher sale

Unification Minister Lee In-young called Friday for efforts to ensure that international sanctions on Pyongyang do not result in unintended negativec effects on the lives of ordinary North Korean people. "We need to assess how effective sanctions have been on the desired goal of denuclearization five years since they were imposed," Lee said in an interview with the Financial Times, according to a Korean-language release from his ministry. "If the lives of North Koreans have wors

A politically controversial bill on building a new airport in the second-biggest South Korean city of Busan got the final nod from the National Assembly on Friday. The bill nails down a multi-billion-dollar state project to build a new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country's southeast region. The bill proposes special exemption for the compulsory preliminary feasibility study for the construction pr