New Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visited parliament Tuesday in a move to seek its cooperation on pending diplomatic issues and mend fences with opposition parties that called her unfit due to her alleged ethical lapses.On Monday, Kang took office as the country's first female top diplomat, undertaking a series of daunting diplomatic tasks such as denuclearizing North Korea, strengthening the alliance with the United States and addressing diplomatic tensions with China and Japan. Foreign Minis

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae was set to launch a nomination committee headed by its chief of staff Tuesday, a move prompted by an apparent political impasse caused by disputes over earlier nominees.The new nomination committee was to hold its first meeting at 4 p.m., chaired by presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, a Cheong Wa Dae official said.The committee is expected to discuss possible candidates for the new justice minister. (Yonhap)President Moon Jae-in has appointed six new C

The upcoming taekwondo world championships in South Korea will be a historic one on many levels, as the organizers prepare for the largest competition to date.The 2017 World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships will take place in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul from June 24 to 30. This is the 23rd edition of the biennial competition, and the seventh in South Korea.The WTF announced last week that 971 athletes from 183 nations have registered to compete, making this the lar

South Korea's foreign ministry is seeking to hire around 400 new employees as part of its efforts to ease the mounting workload and provide better consular services, government sources said Tuesday.In a recently submitted request for staff increase, the ministry demanded a total of 218 more employees. This is around a 10 percent increase compared to its incumbent staff of 2,200, according to the sources. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Yonhap)Separately, the ministry is seeking to hire around 180 n

The daughter of former President Park Geun-hye's friend roiled in an influence-peddling scandal attempted to get citizenship in Malta, the prosecution said Monday, fresh evidence that could give the court grounds for her arrest warrantChung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, tried to apply for citizenship in the Mediterranean island country while she was detained in Denmark on suspected illegal stay, according to the prosecution.  The file photo, taken on June 13, 2017, captures Chung Yoo-ra

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street. The won traded lower against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.48 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,376.38.On Monday (US time), the Dow Jones industrial average moved up 0.68 percent to end at 21,528.99, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also advanced 1.42 percent to 6,239.01.Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.59 percent, and major chipm

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Monday denounced North Korea as "a brutal regime" after the death of a 22-year-old US student released by the reclusive country in a coma last week.Speaking moments after news of Otto Warmbier's death was announced publicly, Trump hit out at Pyongyang. US President Donald Trump (AFP-Yonhap)"It's a brutal regime," the president said during a White House event. "Bad things happened but at least we got him home to his parents."In a separate written stateme

WASHINGTON -- Ramping up pressure on North Korea will be a key topic for this week's high-level security talks with China that will bring together the top diplomats and defense chiefs of the two countries, a senior State Department official said Monday.Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, made the remark during a conference call briefing to preview the inaugural Diplomatic and Security Dialogue set for Wednesday.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it approved a request for a visit to the country by the North's taekwondo demonstration team, who will be participating at a world taekwondo championship in a southern province later this month.  The group of 32 North Koreans who gained approval includes Ri Yong-son, who currently heads the International Taekwondo Federation; Chang Ung, former ITF chief and the North's only International Olympic Committee member; and other performers, according to t

A special foreign affairs adviser to President Moon Jae-in on Monday stuck to his call for South Korea and the US to consider scaling back joint military exercises in exchange for North Korea's nuclear freeze, saying negotiation is about "give and take."Moon Chung-in, a Yonsei University professor, raised the eyebrows of opposition parties and conservatives in South Korea with the proposal for downsizing military drills that the North has long denounced as a rehearsal for invasion. (Yonhap)He br

Prosecutors on Monday cleared a former president of the city-run orchestra of sexual harassment and verbal abuse charges, putting an end to a scandal that plagued the classical music foundation for the last few years. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office dropped the charges against Park Hyun-jung, who was accused of repeated sexual and verbal assaults on her staff at the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, citing a lack of evidence.  This file photo, dated April 19, 2016, shows former Seoul

South Korea's pro football league said Monday that a video review system will be implemented next month to reduce refereeing mistakes and enhance the quality of matches.The K League, the operator of the pro football competitions, said the video assistant referee system will be adopted July 1 in its first division K League Classic after going through a three-month test. The International Football Association Board, the Swiss-based body that determines football rules, approved the K League's test

The southern resort island of Jeju was the most searched tourist destination by South Koreans in May amid unseasonably hot weather, industry data showed Monday. According to world's leading hotel price comparison site HotelsCombined, the most frequently searched region via its Korean website in May was Jeju Island with 14.6 percent, followed by Seoul with 9.3 percent. Tourists walk on a beach on the southern resort island of Jeju on May 7, 2017, the final day of a "golden holiday week" in South

Seoul's taxi companies will be obliged to have their drivers wear uniforms, starting this fall, under the metropolitan government's effort to boost the city's image among visitors, municipal officials said Monday.The Seoul metropolitan government and labor and management of the city's 255 taxi companies have recently reached an agreement to reintroduce the driver uniform after the system was abolished in November 2011 in favor of a free dress code, said the officials. Uniform candidates for the

South Korea's spy agency on Monday launched an in-house reform committee to head its efforts to insulate itself from politics and regain public trust.The National Intelligence Service committee set up two task forces under its wing each tasked with probing the agency's illegal involvement in domestic politics and overhauling its organizations, it said.The reform of the NIS was one of President Moon Jae-in's election pledges. Moon seeks to prohibit the spy agency from meddling in internal politic

President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Monday that the government will seek to introduce an enhanced public defender system to offer legal aid to low-income citizens in criminal cases starting in the investigation phase.The move is in line with Moon's pledge to strengthen the protection of citizens' human rights. Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, speaks during a press conference at its office in Seoul on June 4, 2017. (Yonhap)Park Kwang-o

Korea Post said Monday it will increase the number of postman by 100 during the latter half of this year to help reduce the workload of existing personnel in the crowded new towns near Seoul.About 7,000 postmen, 46 percent of the total 15,582, currently work more than 52 hours per week due to heavy workload, although current law stipulates a maximum of 52 hours work per week. A group of postmen stage a rally in downtown Seoul on June 18, 2017, to demand an increase in manpower. (Yonhap)"We will

The parliamentary speaker on Monday cautioned the presidential office not to play down the significance of confirmation hearings for Cabinet nominees even though the legislature's consent is not a requisite to their appointments.Amid a deepening standoff over President Moon Jae-in's nominees, Speaker Chung Sye-kyun also urged opposition parties to separate the appointment issues from other legislative affairs on policies.National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun (center) and the floor leaders of

South Korea on Monday refuted North Korea's claim that Pyongyang's nuclear issue is a matter that can only be discussed with the United States.North Korea's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri said that Pyongyang and Washington are the only stakeholders in the nuclear issue, claiming that Seoul has no say. An image of South Korean President Moon Jae-in (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)"As six countries were parties to the six-party denuclearization talks, North Korea's nuclear iss

It is necessary to "sternly" respond to North Korea's provocations, but all options should be on the table to denuclearize it, including sanctions and dialogue, South Korea's new top diplomat said Monday.In her inauguration speech, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also underlined the need for South Korea to get more actively involved in resolving the nuclear stalemate while further strengthening the alliance with the United States."(We) should sternly respond to provocations, but all options shou