Marking the fifth anniversary of its debut this month, K-pop girl band TWICE will drop its second full-length album in October, its management agency said Thursday. According to JYP Entertainment, the band will officially release the new album on Oct. 26 and return to the K-pop scene for promotional activities. The release will be the band's second full-length album following its first, "Twicetagram," that came out in October 2017. TWICE will celebrate its fifth anniversary this mon

North Korea's imports of refined petroleum from China in August plummeted to about one-tenth of the amount in July, a United Nations report showed Thursday. According to the latest updates on the UN Security Council webpage on its sanctions committee on North Korea, the communist country imported about 142 tons of refined petroleum from China in August. The volume marks only 10 percent of the 1,498 tons the country imported from the neighboring country in July, the report showed. The August v

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstar BTS, will make its debut on the main bourse this month, arguably emerging as the top entertainment pick by investors this year. The company will open subscription for retail investors Monday and Tuesday at an initial public offering (IPO) price of 135,000 won ($115). The firm set its listing date for Oct. 15. Based on the offering price, Big Hit Entertainment is forecast to raise 962.6 billion won through the planned IPO, with its

President Moon Jae-in is likely to meet the top diplomats of China and the United States when they visit Seoul in October, as he strives to prevent North Korea's fatal shooting against a South Korean government official from escalating tensions and undermining efforts to reactivate the Korea peace process. Moon is seeking ways to improve inter-Korean ties with a view of declaring a formal end to the Korean War and helping advance denuclearization talks. Seoul and Beijing are in "continued

President Moon Jae-in will have a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, Cheong Wa Dae said. During the phone talks scheduled for 6 p.m., the two leaders are expected to delve into their countries' collaboration in their COVID-19 response, the presidential office here said. Moon also plans to request Germany's support for South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's bid for the top post of the World Trade Organizatio

What has largely been a successful season as a new ace for the Toronto Blue Jays has ended on a bitter note for Ryu Hyun-jin. Ryu was torched for seven runs on eight hits in his season-low 1 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the American League wild-card series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday (local time). The Blue Jays lost 8-2 and were eliminated from the best-of-three series 2-0. They lost the opener 3-1 on Tuesday. This was the Blue Jays' first

An inaugural Korean culture festival will kick off next month to give people from all over the world chances to enjoy Korean cultural heritage and modern trends in a virtual way, the culture ministry said Thursday. The first edition of the 2020 K-Culture Festival will be held online from Oct. 10-Nov. 11, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Led by the ministry and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), the newly launched event was designed to p

Online ads for unauthorized pharmaceutical sales over the internet have increased substantially in recent years, according to a lawmaker Thursday. The number of reported cases of illegal online ads for prescription drugs reached 37,343 as of 2019, up 49.8 percent from 2016, Rep. Ko Young-in of the ruling Democratic Party said, citing data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. During the period, ads for abortion-inducing drugs soared 12 times, from 193 to 2,365, and those for stimulants al

South Korea's exports rebounded for the first time in seven months in September, data showed Thursday, helped by increased shipments of chips and automobiles as major trade partners gradually resumed their business activities amid the pandemic. Outbound shipments came to $48 billion last month, up 7.7 percent from $44.6 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The on-year gain in exports marked the largest increase since Octob

The Seoul city government is offering zero-interest loans to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Under the program launched Monday, a total of 300 billion won ($255 million) will be offered at a 0.03-0.53 percent interest rate to businesses that were forced to close or restrict services under the city's social distancing rules, the local government said. These businesses include karaoke rooms, indoor gyms, private academies, internet cafes, restaurants and large coffee shops

South Koreans' direct purchases from overseas online malls more than doubled in the past five years in terms of value, a ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday.  Rep. Park Hong-geun of the ruling Democratic Party said the number of Koreans' overseas online direct buying jumped to 42.99 million in 2019 from 15.84 million in 2015, citing data from the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The value of foreign direct buying also soared to $3.14 billion from $1.51 billion over the cited period, the data

Govt. says no shooting-related remarks in initial intelligence South Korea's defense ministry said Wednesday there were no such words as "shoot to kill or fire" in the military's initial intelligence on North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official in the West Sea.  The ministry also expressed regret over some reports that said the South's military took no action despite hearing the North's order to kill the official.  "What happened during the incident in

President Moon Jae-in assured the South Korean people Wednesday that his government will succeed in the fight against COVID-19 and safeguard the economy from the fallout of the pandemic. He was delivering a video message to the public on the occasion of Chuseok, the Korean autumn harvest celebration. "(We) are observing Chuseok at a difficult time," Moon said on the first day of the holiday period. This year's Chuseok falls on Thursday. South Koreans are greeting one of the big

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit South Korea next week for talks with high level officials there, the state department said Tuesday. His planned visit comes after South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed declaring an end to the Korean War as a way of bringing North Korea back to the dialogue table over its denuclearization process. It will be part of his three-nation trip that will begin Sunday, according to the state department. He will first head to Tokyo where he will meet w

Four out of 10 Seoul residents believe their mental health has deteriorated due to the coronavirus outbreak, a poll showed Wednesday. In the poll of 3,983 citizens in their teens to 80s, 40 percent, or 1,489, said their mental health has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak erupted early this year. The remaining 60 percent said there has been little change in their mental health.  The survey was conducted online by the Seoul metropolitan government from July to August and its results were

The image of the Demilitarized Zone separating South and North Korea is associated more with war this year than last year, a local research institute said, as the inter-Korean peace process has stalled. The Gyeonggi Research Institute, a think tank run by the government of Gyeonggi Province, said that a survey of 550 South Koreans, 150 Germans, 150 Chinese and 150 Irish people showed that "war" was the No. 1 image with 6.7 percent among more than 20 keywords associated with the DMZ.

North Korea reaffirmed its resolve to maintain its military capabilities Tuesday, insisting peace can only be safeguarded when one possesses "absolute strength" to prevent war. "It is an undeniable reality of today that cutting edge military hardware, including stealth fighters, continue to be introduced into the Korean Peninsula and nuclear strike means of all kinds of directly aimed at the DPRK," Kim Song, the head of North Korea's mission to the United Nations, said in a

Korea plans to boost its support for developing countries as part of Seoul's contribution to the international fight against COVID-19, its prime minister said Tuesday. "The government will expand humanitarian support and official development assistance (ODA) efforts regarding COVID-19 prevention in developing countries," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in his pre-recorded speech to the virtual meeting of the United Nations' Initiative on Financing for Development in the Era of COV

South Korean boy group BTS topped two of Billboard's main charts with its new single "Dynamite" this week, Billboard said Tuesday. "Dynamite" returned to the top spot on Billboard's main singles chart, the Hot 100, after spending two seeks at No. 2. The song had spent two weeks at the top of the singles chart after debuting at No. 1, becoming the 20th song in Billboard's history to spend the first two consecutive weeks of its debut at the top spot. With the rebound of its

A Seoul court on Tuesday upheld bans on anti-government protests planned for the weekend, including a drive-thru rally, amid concerns over coronavirus infections. In two separate rulings, the Seoul Administrative Court rejected requests by conservative civic groups to suspend Seoul authorities' bans on their plans to hold rallies in the capital on Oct. 3, the National Foundation Day. One organization, which had led mass anti-government demonstrations in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Aug. 15,