Samsung Lions slugger Park Byung-ho tied the Korea Baseball Organization postseason home run record with his 14th career dinger Friday. Park belted a solo home run off Kia Tigers reliever Jeon Sang-hyun in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 3 of the Korean Series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul. With 14 homers, Park has pulled into a tie with the retired Lions legend Lee Seung-yuop. Park has one home run in the wild card round, nine in the first ro

The foreign ministry on Friday submitted a questionnaire to the United Nations human rights office, urging North Korea to disclose the whereabouts of South Korean detainees. The document was submitted to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ahead of the Universal Periodic Review on North Korea, scheduled for next month, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UPR is a mechanism requiring each UN member state to undergo a peer review of its human rights

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday intelligence indicates Russia is expected to deploy the first batch of North Korean soldiers in combat zones within a few days. Zelenskyy shared the assessment on social media platform X, citing a report from Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. "According to intelligence, the first North Korean soldiers are expected to be deployed by Russia to combat zones as early as Oct. 27–28," Zelenskyy wrote. "This is a c

Two of the greatest players in Samsung Lions history participated in a pregame ceremony before the first Korean Series game in a new home stadium. Former Lions ace Kim Si-jin threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and his former catcher Lee Man-soo crouched behind the plate to do the catching before Game 3 of the Korean Series against the Kia Tigers at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Jang On-yu, grandson of the late Lions outfielder Jang Hyo-jo, stood in th

Seoul shares closed slightly higher Friday on retail buying amid waning bets on the Federal Reserve's rate cuts. The Korean won fell to the lowest point in almost four months against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.24 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,583.27. The main index has fallen 0.4 percent this week. Trade volume was moderate at 454.58 million shares worth 10.14 trillion won ($7.3 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 617 to 258. Institutions and i

North Korea's parliament has convened a meeting to adopt a new law on its national anthem, state media reported Friday, in what observers believe was aimed at upholding leader Kim Jong-un's "two hostile states" stance. The Standing Committee of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held its 33rd session in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The report did not provide details about the new law on the national anthem, but observers speculated

South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has met with the new Japanese finance chief, Katsunobu Kato, and discussed ways to strengthen economic ties between the two countries, his office said Friday. Choi held his first meeting with Kato in Washington, DC, on Thursday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to maintain close communication and make

KAZAN, Russia -- President Vladimir Putin did not deny US claims that North Korea had sent troops to Russia but said on Thursday it is up to Moscow how to run its mutual defence clause with Pyongyang and accused the West of escalating the Ukraine war. The United States said on Wednesday that it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that the West is casting as a significant escalation of the Ukraine war. Asked by a reporter a

The United Nations Secretariat expressed its opposition Thursday to the "further militarization" of the ongoing war in Ukraine amid growing concerns that North Korean troops could be deployed to support Russian forces in the armed conflict. Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Secretary General Antonio Guterres, made the remarks as Seoul and Washington have confirmed that some 3,000 North Korean troops were sent to eastern Russia by ship earlier this month -- a development reaffirming d

A fire at a US Forces Korea warehouse in the southeastern port city of Busan has been brought under control, with no casualties reported, officials said Friday. The Busan Metropolitan City Fire Disaster Headquarters said the fire was nearly under control by 7:24 a.m., with the fire response system also lifted as of 7:34 a.m. The blaze occurred at 6:31 p.m. Thursday at the USFK's facility in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, prompting authorities to dispatch over 160 personnel and 51

Seoul shares opened higher Friday following tech gains on Wall Street, although investors remained concerned about a potential slower pace of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 25.4 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,606.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.33 percent to 42,374.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.76 percent to 18,415.49. In Seoul, tech stock

The first batch of North Korean troops sent to Russia to support its war in Ukraine has reportedly arrived in Russia's western border region near Ukraine, according to Ukrainian media on Friday. The North Korean military unit was spotted Wednesday in the "war zones" of Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have been conducting operations since launching an incursion in August, Ukrainian media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence

A fire broke out at a US Forces Korea (USFK) storage facility in the southeastern port city of Busan on Thursday, officials said, with no casualties reported so far. The blaze occurred at 6:31 p.m. at the USFK's Busan Storage Center in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to officials. More than 160 personnel and 51 pieces of fire equipment have been mobilized to extinguish the fire, which is believed to have started during plumbing work. As of 7:55 p.m., Busan fire authoriti

Ruling People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon's call for appointing an independent inspector general investigating corruption by the president's family has sparked internal conflict, driving a wedge between him and the floor leader. During a supreme council meeting Thursday, Han reiterated his calls to begin the process to appoint an independent inspector general responsible for investigating corruption by the president's spouse, close relatives and senior presidential aides

Prosecutors on Thursday reaffirmed their demand for a fine of 3 million won ($2,174) against the wife of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on charges of providing free meals to several people ahead of the 2021 party election to pick a presidential candidate. The Suwon District Prosecutors Office demanded the fine against Kim Hye-kyung during the closing hearing on charges of election law violations. She was indicted for providing meals worth 104,000 won to the wives of three former and current p

A group representing the families of those abducted by North Korea vowed Thursday to fly leaflets into North Korea next week, aiming to raise awareness about the abductee issue. About 100,000 leaflets bearing the names and photos of abductees in North Korea will be sent across the border from the western border city of Paju sometime next week, the group said in a press conference in Suwon, south of Seoul. A copy of the leaflet shown by the group included images and descriptions of those abduct

Seoul shares closed lower Thursday on tech losses amid concerns over weak economic growth and diminishing expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. The Korean won, however, snapped its 8-day losing streak against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.59 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,581.03. Trade volume was moderate, with 336.43 million shares worth 9.47 trillion won ($6.9 billion) changing hands, and losers outnumbering gainers 613 to 256. Institutio

The main opposition Democratic Party plans to push for the passage of a bill calling for a special counsel probe into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee at a parliamentary plenary session next month, an official said Thursday. The DP has previously voted for two similar bills, only to see them scrapped in revotes conducted following President Yoon Suk Yeol's vetoes. A DP official told Yonhap News Agency that a new bill is likely to be reviewed in the legislation and judiciary par

North Korea is building unidentified structures on an eastern inter-Korean road that it blew up last week, a source said Thursday, amid heightened cross-border tensions over the North's border activities. Last Tuesday, North Korea blew up sections of the eastern Donghae Line and the western Gyeongui Line, just north of the border, days after vowing to cut off all roads and railways linked to the South and build front-line defense structures. Since the explosions, South Korea's border s

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street amid concerns over a slower pace of the US Federal Reserve's rate cuts. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.92 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,590.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.96 percent to 42,514.95, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.6 percent to 18,276.65. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics