North Korea appears to be preparing to carry out explosions at roads connected to South Korea, the South's military said Monday, just days after Pyongyang vowed to cut off all inter-Korean roads and railways. On Wednesday, the North's Korean People's Army announced the measure that will "completely separate" North Korea's territory from that of South Korea and said it sent a telephone message to the US military in the South to "prevent any misjudgment and accid

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday, taking a cue from Wall Street gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 15.92 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,612.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The rise follows gains on Wall Street last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.97 percent higher Friday (US time), with the tech-heavy Nasdaq advancing 0.33 percent. In Seoul, large caps traded mixed. Market kingpin and tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced

North Korea's military has ordered artillery units along the border with South Korea to be fully ready to open fire, state media has reported, after the North warned of a "horrible disaster" over the alleged flight of drones over its capital. North Korea's defense ministry issued the statement Sunday night, days after the recalcitrant regime claimed South Korea had sent unmanned drones carrying anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month. "

South Korea warned North Korea on Sunday that it will see "the end of its regime" if it causes any harm to its people, after the North threatened a "horrible disaster" over the alleged flight of drones over its capital. The South's Defense Ministry issued the statement after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, made the threat in a commentary carried by its state media, just a day after the reclusive state claimed the South had sent

Some of the balloons floated by North Korea to dump trash across South Korea have been equipped with GPS transmitters, South Korea's military said Sunday. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, GPS transmitters were found in some of the North Korean balloons, and Pyongyang may be using them to look into the balloons' flight data. A South Korean military official said the military is "tracking North Korea's possible development of balloon flotation technology a

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan will gather in Seoul this week for trilateral talks on ways to further boost their partnership, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun will host US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano for the dialogue scheduled for Wednesday, the ministry said in a release. Kim will also hold separate bilateral talks with Campbell on the same day and wit

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned Sunday that South Korea will face a "horrible disaster" if South Korean drones are flown again over the North's capital. Kim Yo-jong made the remark in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, just a day after the reclusive regime floated trash balloons toward South Korea, claiming the South had sent unmanned drones over Pyongyang three times this month. "We have no concern about who i

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan are expected to hold a trilateral summit near the end of this year, according to South Korea's national security adviser Saturday. Earlier in the day, Seoul's presidential office said US President Joe Biden has proposed holding a trilateral summit by the end of this year. He made the proposal in a message conveyed to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol through Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Association of Southeast Asia

North Korea's news media for the domestic audience on Saturday reported the reclusive regime's claim that the South sent unmanned drones carrying anti-North propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month. The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, as well as the country's state radio and TV, reported the news by carrying a statement from the North's foreign ministry issued the previous day. It is unusual for North Korea to publicize the South's sendin

North Korea has floated more trash balloons toward South Korea, the military said Saturday, after the reclusive regime claimed the South had sent unmanned drones over Pyongyang three times since last week. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea sent around 20 balloons starting late Friday until early Saturday morning, with some 10 of them landing in the inter-Korean border county of Cheorwon in Gangwon Province. The JCS said the bundles consisted of household garbage, such as scrap paper and

K-pop star Jennie has topped iTunes charts in 47 countries, including the United States, with her latest release, "Mantra," her agency said Saturday. The Blackpink member's new digital single, released Friday, claimed the No. 1 spot on iTunes' Top Songs charts across various nations, such as Brazil, Singapore, the Philippines and Mexico, as of 9 a.m. the following day. With this, she became the first K-pop female soloist to top the chart in the US this year, according to OA E

The Russian ambassador to North Korea has hosted a reception to reaffirm bilateral ties ahead of the 76th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday. The event, hosted by Russian Ambassador Alexandr Matsegora, was held in Pyongyang on Friday, with the attendance of Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, ahead of the anniversary, which falls on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. North Korea and Russia have been bolstering military ties, as well

US President Joe Biden has proposed holding a trilateral summit with the leaders of South Korea and Japan by the end of this year, according to South Korea's presidential office Saturday. The proposal was made through US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a dinner hosted by the prime minister of Laos at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit Thursday (local time). Biden said the proposed summit would build on the "Camp David sp

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Friday from his trip to the Philippines, Singapore and Laos that focused on diplomacy to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations and draw support for his policy on North Korea. During the six-day trip, Yoon attended a series of annual summits involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos on Thursday and Friday, and made state visits to the Philippines and Singapore. It marked Yoon's third consecutive year attending

Son Woong-jung, a football coach and father of Premier League star Son Heung-min, was ordered by a local court Friday to pay a fine over charges of abusing young players at his football training center. The Chuncheon District Court in Chuncheon, some 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, ordered Son Woong-jung, his son Son Heung-yun and another coach at Son Football Academy to each pay 3 million won (US$2,220) in fine. All three were also asked to complete 40 hours of child abuse treatment programs.

The Air Force has conducted live-fire drills involving the long-range air-to-surface Taurus missile, officials said Friday, in the first such exercise in seven years amid North Korea's persistent nuclear and missile threats. In the tests conducted on Tuesday and Thursday, F-15K fighter jets fired the Taurus missile, which flew 400 kilometers and successfully hit pre-designated targets in the Yellow Sea, according to the Air Force officials. In 2017, South Korea conducted a live-fire test in

Former Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu is expected to be appointed the new South Korean ambassador to Indonesia, diplomatic sources said Friday. An internal personnel review process is under way for Bang to fill the post that has been vacant since July, sources said. The previous ambassador, Lee Sang-deok, left the position after he was tapped to lead the state agency for overseas Koreans. Bang's likely appointment would reflect the importance South Korea attaches to its partnership with th

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday urged North Korea to retract its recent move to cut off all roads and railways connected to South Korea, voicing concerns over the North's "explicit intent" to completely sever inter-Korean ties. On Wednesday, North Korea's military said it will "permanently shut off and block the southern border" with South Korea by cutting off all roads and rail links with the South and building frontline defense structures. "We deman

Kim Beom-su, founder of tech giant Kakao Corp., has filed for bail two months after being arrested over suspected stock manipulation related to the firm's takeover of a K-pop agency last year, sources said Friday. Kim, now chairman of Kakao's Management Innovation Committee, filed for bail with the Seoul Southern District Court the previous day, legal sources said. Since his arrest on Aug. 8, Kim has been facing trial in detention, charged with involvement in the suspected stock manipu

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as the country's central bank was set to hold a rate-setting meeting later in the day. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.68 percent, or 17.55 points, to 2,616.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors' eyes are on the results of the Bank of Korea's monetary policy meeting to be held later in the day, where it is widely expected to start its rate-cutting cycle. Overnight, Wall Street lost ground amid mixed bets on