Two American service members and a South Korean national working for the US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Thursday. A soldier at Camp Casey in the northern city of Dongducheon was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Wednesday after developing symptoms, according to USFK. Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, is where more than 100 infections have been reported among some 4,000 foreigners living in the city. Following a spike

South Korea's chief negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States pledged best efforts Thursday to conclude negotiations on all major points this week, as he departed for Washington for a new round of talks. Jeong Eun-bo and his US counterpart, Donna Welton, are set to meet in the US capital Friday for their first face-to-face talks on the sharing of the cost for stationing the 28,500 US Forces Korea since the administration of President Joe Biden took office in January. &quo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the role of local party officials in archiving national development as he attended a workshop of chief secretaries of city and county committees of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported Thursday. The workshop, the first of its kind, was held on Wednesday at the building of the Central Committee of the party in Pyongyang to discuss ways to implement goals put forth during a rare party congress in January, according to the Korean Central News Age

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the second consecutive day Thursday as the country pushes forward with its vaccination drive amid looming safety concerns. The country reported 424 more COVID-19 cases, including 401 local infections, raising the total caseload to 91,240, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The tally was slightly down from the 444 recorded the previous day. The country added seven more deaths from COVID-19, raising the

Samsung Electronics Co. said on Thursday it achieved the industry's fastest download speed with an advanced telecommunications technology using both 5G and 4G LTE base stations. In a demonstration carried out in Suwon, south of Seoul, the company achieved 5.23 gigabits per second (Gbps) in data speeds, which is enough to download a 4-gigabyte full-HD movie in six seconds, to its Galaxy S20+ smartphone, using E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) technology. EN-DC technology enables mobil

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Thursday, taking a cue from the overnight tech drop on Wall Street that was spurred by increased bond yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 35.89 points, or 1.16 percent, to 3,047.1 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.7 percent, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating 1.31 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively. Top cap Samsung Electronics lo

SEOGWIPO -- Even before managing his first regular season game, SK Wyverns' new skipper Kim Won-hyong has already gone through a dizzying roller-coaster ride. For one, his team will no longer be called the SK Wyverns after this week. Shinsegae Group's E-Mart purchased the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club from SK Telecom, and the new name is expected to be unveiled Friday. The abrupt decision by SK Telecom to sell off the team, which Kim learned through media, represented a low point. A h

테슬라 최고경영자(CEO) 일론 머스크의 아내이자 가수인 그라임스가 비트코인과 같은 암호화 기술이 적용된 디지털 그림을 경매에 내놓아 20분 만에 65억원을 벌었다. 3일(현지시간) 미국 경제매체 비즈니스 인사이더 등에 따르면 그라임스는 최근 '워 님프'(War Nymph)라는 제목의 디지털 그림 컬렉션 10점을 온라인 경매에 부쳤다. 이 그림들은 20분 만에 도합 580만달러(65억원)에 낙찰됐다. 그라임스는 화성을 수호하는 날개 달린 아기 천사 등 가상의 이미지에 자신의 노래를 배경으로 깔아 온라인 경매에 내놓았다. 그라임스는 디지털 컬렉션에 묘사된 아기 천사를 '신 창세기의 여신'이라고 주장했다. 이 디지털 그림들은 머스크가 추진하는 화성 우주여행, 머스크와 그라임스 사이에서 태어난 아이를 묘사한 것 아니냐는 추측이 나오면서 온라인 경매 참여자들의 관심을 끌었고 곧바로 '완판'됐다. 그라임스의 디지털 그림은 최근 가상자산 시장에서 큰 인기를 끄는 'NFT'(Non fu

IU, one of the K-pop scene's most prominent female solo acts, is set to drop her fifth full album later this month, her agency confirmed Thursday. Titled "Lilac," the singer-songwriter's studio album will be released March 25, according to EDAM Entertainment. It did not elaborate on the details of the upcoming album. A teaser image uploaded on IU's official social media channel shows the singer gazing into the camera in a simple shirt with lilac flowers falling in the background. Th

배우 지수(본명 김지수·28)가 최근 제기된 학교폭력 의혹을 인정하고 사과했다. 지수는 4일 자신의 인스타그램에 올린 자필 사과문에서 "나로 인해 고통받은 분들께 진심으로 사죄드린다. 과거에 저지른 비행에 대해 어떤 변명의 여지도 없다. 용서받을 수 없는 행동들이었다"고 밝혔다. 이어 "연기를 시작하면서 과거를 덮어둔 채 대중의 과분한 관심을 받으며 여기까지 왔으나 마음 한편에 과거에 대한 죄책감이 늘 존재했고 돌이키기엔 너무 늦은 후회가 저에게는 늘 큰 불안함으로 다가왔다. 어두운 과거가 항상 나를 짓눌러왔다"고 말했다. 그러면서 "연기자로 활동하는 내 모습을 보며 긴 시간 동안 고통받으셨을 분들께 깊이 속죄하고, 평생 씻지 못할 나의 과거를 반성하고 뉘우치겠다"고 했다. 지수는 또 "나 개인의 커다란 잘못으로 방송사와 제작진, 배우들, 드라마 현장을 묵묵히 지켜왔던 스태프에게 엄청난 피해를 주는 것

WASHINGTON -- North Korea will continue to be the "most immediate threat" to the United States until it agrees to full denuclearization, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command said Wednesday. Adm. Phil Davidson also said the North continues to develop its ballistic missiles despite its ongoing moratorium on long-range missile testing. "Until the nuclear situation is resolved on the Korean Peninsula and Kim Jong-un agrees to complete denuclearization, North Korea will remai

WASHINGTON -- The United States will empower its diplomats to reduce threats posed by North Korea, President Joe Biden said in his interim national security strategic guidance published Wednesday. "We will empower our diplomats to work to reduce the threat posed by North Korea's growing nuclear and missile programs, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Republic of Korea and Japan," the US president said in his guideline, referring to South Korea by its official name. The guidance e

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and Japan are key partners of the United States in dealing with threats posed by North Korea, a White House spokesperson said Wednesday. The remarks from Jen Psaki at a daily press briefing come amid a steady deterioration in ties between the US allies. Asked if there will be any three-way discussion between the countries in the near future, she said, "I am sure at some point there will be. I have nothing to preview for you, but of course, Japan and South Korea a

WASHINGTON -- The United States has to use every tool available, including pressure, to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear capability, a top State Department appointee said Wednesday. Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary-designate, also highlighted the importance of China's cooperation in applying maximum pressure on the North. "Because I have been out of the government, I don't know all that is in place now, but certainly we do want to ensure that North Korea understands that unle

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out eight priorities for American diplomacy on Wednesday but again skirted the issue of how to deal with nuclear-armed North Korea. In his first major public address as secretary, Blinken touched on a wide range of issues ranging from tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting democracy to climate change. "When President Biden asked me to serve, he made sure that I understood that my job is to deliver for you ... I take this respon

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in one year in February due largely to a sharp rise in prices of agricultural and livestock products, data showed Thursday. The consumer price index rose 1.1 percent on-year in February, compared with a 0.6 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year gain since February last year, when the price index rose 1.1 percent. Consumer inflation also rose above 1 perce

South Korea's wine imports reached a record high in 2020 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone due to the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported 54,127 tons of wines last year, up 24.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. The value of imported wines also jumped 27.3 percent from a year ago to $330 million. Industry watchers attributed last year's surge to coronavirus-induce

WASHINGTON -- The United States will work to promote cooperation between South Korea and Japan as it sees trilateral cooperation between the two countries and the US as vital to facing regional challenges such as North Korea, a ranking US diplomat said Wednesday. Sung Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said cooperation between South Korea and Japan is more important to the US than any other relationship. "The Biden-Harris administration is committ

South Korea's economy grew slightly faster than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020, although this had no effect on the overall economic contraction for last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's economy expanded 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, 0.1 percentage point higher than what has expected, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Asia's fourth-largest economy contracted 1 percent last year,

South Korea's foreign reserves inched up in February due to the US dollar's weakness that increased the value of non-US dollar foreign reserves, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $447.5 billion as of end-February, up $4.83 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold b