Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul held talks with his counterparts from Peru and Honduras on Sunday and discussed bilateral relations and economic cooperation, among other issues, his office said. The talks took place as the two diplomats were visiting Seoul to attend a multilateral forum on cooperation between South Korea and Latin America, set for Monday. In the talks with Peru's top diplomat, Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco, Cho took note of the fact that the two countries have been expanding

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned Sunday of taking "new responses" if South Korea keeps sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border and blasting loudspeaker broadcasts, calling it a "prelude to a very dangerous situation." The statement by Kim Yo-jong came after the South resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North in retaliation against the North's repeated sending of trash-filled balloons amid rising tensions in the inte

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to pay state visits to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week to explore expanding cooperation in critical minerals and other key sectors. Yoon will embark on the six-day trip Monday, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee, and visit the resource-rich Central Asian nations through June 15, his office said. On the first leg of the trip, Yoon will arrive in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Monday, hold a summit with the country's President Serdar Berdimuham

South Korea's largest organization of doctors was set to announce its future course of action against the government's medical reform on Sunday, potentially including an all-out strike, amid the lingering walkout by junior doctors that has lasted nearly four months. The Korea Medical Association plans to hold a press briefing later in the day to release the result of a vote carried out last week on whether to launch a strike, including community doctors, according to medical sources. A

Dozens of North Korean balloons filled with trash were spotted in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province on Sunday, prompting authorities to scramble to detect and retrieve them. North Korea once again sent balloons presumed to be carrying trash to South Korea on Saturday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, after it launched nearly 1,000 similar balloons across the border since last week. The latest balloon campaign came after South Korean civic groups' launch of large balloons carrying anti-P

  WASHINGTON -- North Korea, China and Russia are expanding and diversifying their nuclear weapons stockpiles at a "breakneck" speed, a White House official said Friday, warning that absent a change in the trajectory of their arsenals, the United States may have to increase its own. Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, made the remarks at a forum, noting that the three countries are driving the US and it

ROME (DPA) -- Italy celebrated the inclusion of Italian opera singing on the World Heritage List with a gala concert at the Arena of Verona on Friday night that was broadcast on national television. The concert, presided over by star Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, featured performances by greats including German and Peruvian tenors Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flórez. There was also an orchestra of 160 musicians and a choir of 300 singers. There were 20,000 spectators at the sold-out a

COPENHAGEN (DPA) -- Leaders have strongly condemned an assault on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a central Copenhagen square, adding to the alarming rash of political violence rattling Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a "despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe" in a post on the social media platform X. Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said he was "outraged" by the &qu

Medical doctors and professors may stage a walkout later this month in protest against the government's recent decision to hike medical school admissions, informed sources said Saturday. The Korean Medical Association (KMA), the largest doctors' organization with over 129,000 members, may stage a walkout on June 20, pending on the outcome of a recent vote, they added. More than 70,000, or 54.8 percent, of KMA members took part in the vote held for four days since Tuesday, according to

Jungkook of K-pop supergroup BTS has topped iTunes Top Song charts of 96 countries with "Never Let Go," a digital single dedicated to the band's fans, his agency said Saturday. BigHit Music said the song, released the previous day, ranked No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs charts in the United States, Italy and 94 other countries as of 9 a.m. The song expresses Jungkook's gratitude toward the boundless love he receives from ARMY, the name of the BTS fandom. It was released as part of

WASHINGTON -- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will have an official meeting on North Korean human rights issues next week for the first time in less than a year, its work schedule showed Friday, as South Korea as this month's UNSC president seeks to highlight the link between the North's security challenge and its repressive political climate. The council is set to hold a briefing on the North's human rights situation on Wednesday. It last held a meeting on the same i

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will hold their third round of cost sharing negotiations for stationing US Forces Korea (USFK) in Washington next week, the chief US negotiator said Friday. Linda Specht, senior advisor and US lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department, said that the two sides will have the negotiations over the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) from Monday through Wednesday. The South Korean delegation is led by Le

Prosecutors on Friday indicted one of three suspects behind the murder last month of a South Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand. The suspect in his 20s was apprehended last month in the southern city of Jeongeup, 217 kilometers south of Seoul, in connection with the murder of a South Korean traveler in his 30s and the abandonment of his body in Pattaya in early May. Thai police earlier found the victim's body inside a black plastic container filled with cement from a reservoir in the Thai

South Korean stocks ended more than 1 percent higher Friday as investors' hopes for US rate cuts increased after the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in almost five years. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 33.17 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,722.67. Trade volume was heavy at 771.8 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won ($8.9 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 400. Foreign invest

A South Korean fleet of warships and maritime aircraft and around 840 Navy and Marine troops were set to depart for Hawaii on Friday to join a US-led multinational maritime exercise slated to kick off later this month, the Navy said. The fleet will leave a naval base on the southern resort island of Jeju on Friday afternoon to join the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise scheduled to run from June 26 through Aug. 2, according to the Navy. The Korean fleet comprises naval ships including the 7,6

A man arrested for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend and her daughter last week was referred to the prosecution for possible indictment, police said Friday. The 65-year-old man, identified as Park Hak-sun, was apprehended on charges of stabbing a woman in her 60s and her daughter in her 30s to death at an office in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam on May 30. He had initially fled the scene but was arrested 13 hours later. Emerging out of Seoul's Suseo Police Station on Friday m

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics Co. were set to launch a one-day walkout over wages on Friday, a union official said, in what would be the first walkout at the technology giant. About 28,000 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union were set to collectively take the day off, but some analysts expected the labor action to have no major impact on production. The NSEU said it will not disclose the number of workers joining the walkout, saying the decision should be made voluntarily

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday backed by gains of big-cap tech and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 38.36 points, or 1.43 percent, to 2,727.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US stock market closed mixed as investors remained cautious ahead of key jobs data to be released later in the day, which will likely set the tone for the Federal Reserve's rate policy. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.9

Doctors at four major hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University are set to stage a walkout from June 17, according to hospital officials on Friday, in a move that would complicate efforts by the government to resolve a protracted walkout by trainee doctors. Medical professors at the four SNU hospitals voted to launch the walkout, calling for the government to fully withdraw administrative steps to punish trainee doctors who have left their worksites since late February in protest of th

Indonesia approved a proposal Thursday to accept a South Korean donation of an aging corvette for its navy, reports showed. Indonesia's parliament passed the proposal to receive the 1,200-ton Bucheon 773 corvette, which retired in 2021 after nearly 30 years in service, from South Korea, Reuters reported. It is estimated that US$85 billion will be needed for maintenance and other costs to make it operational, Deputy Defense Minister Herindra told parliament. The donation came after Indonesia