North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun visited the Mount Kumgang region on the country's eastern coast and called for building a modern and all-inclusive international tourist area "our own way," state media reported Sunday. In response, the South Korean government expressed hope that the two sides will have consultations on the Mount Kumgang issue at an "appropriate time" in consideration of the COVID-19 situation. Kim's visit, which came despite a nationwide fight against the

One "mysterious structure" has been built at the main square in North Korea's capital city of Pyongyang, which appears to be related to its party congress slated for next month, a US website monitoring the communist country has said. According to 38 North on Friday, a small building surrounded by a high wall has been built in Kim Il-sung Square "right across the street from the viewing platform used by (leader) Kim Jong-un and party officials during parades." It also said t

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu allegedly engaged in an altercation with a taxi driver while intoxicated in early November, when he was working as a lawyer, police officials said Saturday. Lee grabbed the taxi driver by the collar at an apartment complex in southern Seoul one night, as the driver was waking him up, according to officials at the Seocho Police Station. Lee, who had served as a judge before practicing law, was appointed to the No. 2 post at the Ministry of Justice on Dec. 2 ami

South Korea's government issued an emergency order earlier this week dictating private hospitals nationwide earmark a certain portion of their intensive-care beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients, officials said Saturday. The administrative order, the first of its kind, was delivered by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters to all local governments Friday, the officials said, as part of government efforts to cope with the worsening hospital bed shortage caused by a recent surge in cor

Two Navy officers and a soldier tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Saturday. The Navy officers stationed in the southeastern city of Jinhae underwent COVID-19 tests after their colleague was confirmed to have been infected earlier, according to the ministry. The soldier in the border city of Paju also tested positive while in isolation after coming in contact with other patients at his barracks, it added. The latest cases brought the total number of COVID-19 in

North Korea's long suspected uranium enrichment facility in Kangson may instead be dedicated to producing related components, a former official of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday. Olli Heinonen, former IAEA deputy director-general for safeguards, noted the facility appears to be linked to the North's uranium program, but not in a way that had been suspected. "The available evidence suggests that Kangson is not a uranium enrichment plant, although it is likely still tied

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases topped the 1,000 mark for the fourth consecutive day Saturday on continued cluster infections nationwide, deepening concerns over hospital bed shortages for seriously ill patients. The country added 1,053 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,029 local infections, raising the total caseload to 48,570, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It is the first time that the daily number has stayed above 1,000 for four straight days. After

A group of 17 civic organizations on Friday issued a joint statement decrying criticism from some quarters of the United States of a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea as "interference in internal affairs." The group, including the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, stressed that flying propaganda leaflets has nothing to do with freedom of expression but is an "act that foments conflict." "The interference in int

President Moon Jae-in expressed expectations Friday for closer South Korea-Indonesia partnership and co-prosperity under their free trade agreement. The two sides signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) earlier in the day. "With CEPA, we became even closer and more special friends," he wrote on his social media account. "With CEPA, Indonesia and Korea came to open markets to a greater extent than when we signed RCEP and Korea-ASEAN FTA." Thanks to

Chey Tae-won, chairman of South Korea's SK Group, has been named vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the top sports governing body on the continent. "The General Assembly elected a new OCA Vice President to serve as coordinator for the 90 sports federations that take part in the five OCA multi-sport games: Chey Tae-won, Vice President of the Asian Handball Federation and President of the Korea Handball Federation," the OCA said on its website after its general asse

South Korea held a ceremony Friday to honor a total of 514 sets of recently unearthed remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, vowing to make every effort until the last remains are returned to loved ones. The ceremony took place at the Seoul National Cemetery, attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Defense Minister Suh Wook and around 50 senior government and military officials. The remains include 127 sets discovered during this year's excavation work on Arrowhead Ridge

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co. agreed Friday to accept the company's revised wage proposals amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. GM Korea workers voted in favor of the second tentative wage and collective agreement deal in a two-day vote that ended on Friday. The workers rejected the first tentative deal earlier this month. In the second deal, GM Korea agreed to drop a damage suit filed against the union for strike-driven output losses and provide 4 million won ($3,600) per worker in perfo

South Korean stocks rose slightly to reach a record high Friday, buoyed by optimism over US stimulus talks despite a spike in local COVID-19 cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.75 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,772.18. Trading volume was high at about 1.05 billion shares worth some 18.9 trillion won ($17.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 491 to 342. Foreigners sold a net 192.4 billion won, while in

US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams on Friday called for "immediate and aggressive" measures against the new coronavirus, as the US military was set to raise its antivirus scheme by one notch. Effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, USFK will heighten the Health Protection Condition (HPCON) by one notch to Charlie, or HPCON C, for all areas in the country due to the resurgence of COVID-19 nationwide. The decision on the tighter guidance was announced earlier this week. The cou

The unification ministry said Friday it is keeping a close eye on the North Korean foreign minister's status following a media report that he has recently been removed from a key party position. A local newspaper reported earlier in the day, citing an unidentified government source, that Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon appears to have lost his position as an alternate member of the political bureau of the Workers' Party Central Committee. "There has been no official announcement yet, but we

South Korea's human rights watchdog said on Friday that the Army's forced discharge of a sergeant who underwent a sex reassignment surgery while serving in the military was an infringement of human rights by a public authority. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said its plenary meeting held Monday concluded the Army's decision in January not to allow Byun Hee-soo, then a staff sergeant, to continue to serve in the military as a female soldier had no legal grounds. The NHRCK

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped at the fastest clip in 2019 due to sluggish overseas demand for semiconductors, government data showed Friday. The country's overseas shipments stood at $541.2 billion last year, down 10.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service. Large companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered bigger declines than smaller businesses. Combined exports of 857 large corporations sank 13.5 percent

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a consolation message Friday to French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tested positive for the coronavirus. It's "regrettable to hear the news of your sudden coronavirus infection," Moon wrote on his Twitter account. The note, written in French, began with "M. le President @EmmanuelMacron." Moon pointed out that he and Macron talked about overcoming COVID-19 in their phone talks two weeks earlier. He expressed hope for Macron's qu

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it seeks to raise its stake in its plant in Turkey by acquiring a 27 percent stake held by Kibar Holding in preparation for the post-coronavirus recovery. Early this month, Hyundai Motor submitted documents to the Turkish authorities to buy most of Kibar's stake in its local factory, a company spokesman said over the phone. The South Korean carmaker currently holds a 70 percent stake in the 230,000-unit-a-year plant in the northwestern city of Izmit, and Kibar ow

"또 트로트냐"고 질릴 때도 됐지만, 원조의 힘은 강력했다. 18일 시청률 조사회사 닐슨코리아에 따르면 전날 오후 10시 방송한 TV조선 트로트 오디션 예능 프로그램 '미스트롯' 시즌2 첫 회 시청률은 25.497%-28.649%(유료가구)를 기록했다. 순간 최고는 30.2%까지 치솟으며 이날 오전 1시까지 이어진 장장 3시간 동안의 방송 시간 동안 시청자의 눈을 꽉 붙들었다. '미스트롯' 시즌1의 첫 방송 시청률은 5.9%, 마지막 회는 18.1%, '미스터트롯'의 첫 회는 12.5%, 최종회는 35.7%였다. '미스트롯2' 첫 방송 성적은 '미스터트롯'이 한창 치고 올라가던 5~7회와 비슷한 수준이다. '미스터트롯'은 8회에서 30%를 넘었지만, '미스트롯2'는 이 기세대로라면 다음 회에 바로 30%대로 진입할 수도 있을 것으로 전망된다. 전날 방송에서는 마리아, 김태연, 윤태화, 홍지윤 등 새로운 실력자들의 무대가 연이어 펼쳐지며 심사위원단은 물론 시청자