South Korea's government is drawing fire for stripping a Paralympic gold medal winner of basic state subsidies for livelihood stability, critics said Saturday.The controversial policy came to light after Chung Ho-won, a disabled resident of Sokcho on the east coast, said he lost his status as the beneficiary of basic livelihood security aid after winning a boccia gold medal at the Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August last year.Boccia is a competitive sport practiced by people

South Korea's oldest nuclear reactor suspended its power supply operations Saturday as a first step toward its permanent shutdown.The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said it cut off the power supply line of the Kori-1 reactor as of 6 p.m. and began cooling down the reactor in earnest. Kori nuclear power plant (Yonhap)The temperature of the reactor is expected to drop to 90 C at midnight Sunday from the current 300 C, and will gradually go down further.When it reaches 90 C, the reactor will be of

South Korea's new maritime minister on Saturday promised a "new approach" toward the long drawn out search for the remains of nine missing victims believed to be still trapped in a ferry that sank three years ago.Oceans and Fisheries Minister Kim Young-choon visited a dock in Mokpo, a southwestern port city, where search operations are under way.Oceans and Fisheries Minister Kim Young-choon (right) talks to an official during a visit to the dock where the salvaged Sewol ferry is placed in Mokpo,

A North Korean man defected to South Korea on Sunday after crossing the border, Seoul's military said.He was spotted at the northern part of the mouth of the Han River in Gimpo, just west of Seoul, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff.(Yonhap)The JCS said the man, in his early 20s, was spotted around 2:30 a.m. Sunday near the observation post of the Second Marine Division. Questioning is under way to find out what caused him to flee to the South.The man is said to have swum his way south w

South Korea's defense ministry will soon launch a task force to craft a draft military reform plan in line with President Moon Jae-in's campaign pledges, officials said Sunday.Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk will lead the group to be created later this month. President Moon Jae-in speaks during a visit to the defense ministry on May 17, 2017. (Yonhap)It plans to draw up a report on defense reform measures and report it to a related special committee expected to be established under the presid

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has cut his public activities significantly as he firmed up his grip on power.In its briefing to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, the NIS also said that the reclusive leader has been engrossed with gleaning intelligence on the South's military operations plan to "decapitate" the North Korean leadership. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (KCNA-Yonhap) (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea.

South Korea condemned Thursday the Japanese government's recent order to its foreign missions to report maps with markings of Dokdo, the Korean name of the islets to which the country lays territorial claim. Japan's Kyodo News reported last week that the government posted messages on the websites of its 70-something overseas diplomatic missions, urging readers to report to the embassies if they see any maps or publications in which the islets are named Dokdo or its surrounding waters as the East

A new helipad has been built at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's lakeside villa, a news report said Thursday, citing an analysis of satellite imagery.Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS, discovered the new structure in imagery of the villa taken on April 2, according to Washington-based Radio Free Asia. These images captured from Google Earth and provided by Curtis Melvin to RFA show North Korean leader Kim Jong-un`s villa before (right) and after the hel

Thomas Shannon, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, paid his respects to a South Korean soldier killed in Afghanistan a decade ago during his trip here earlier this week, the US Embassy said Thursday.On its Facebook account, the embassy posted photos of Shannon paying tribute to Army Ssg. Yoon Jang-ho in front of a stone monument for him at the US military base in Yongsan, central Seoul. Thomas Shannon, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, pays his respects to Ssg. Yoo

South Korea's vice unification minister said Thursday that the government will seek to improve strained inter-Korean ties in close cooperation with the United States.Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung made the remark in his meeting with Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, in Seoul to exchange views about North Korea, according to the Ministry of Unification. Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung (right) and Thomas Shannon, US undersecretary of state for politica

North Korea said Thursday it released an American university student over “humanitarian” reasons in its first official comment since he was returned to his home state of Ohio in a coma.The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Otto Warmbier had been serving hard labor but did not comment on his medical condition or how the country negotiated his release with the United States. (Yonhap)“Warmbier, who had been (serving) in hard labor, was sent back home on June 13, 2017, on humanitarian ground

A group of South Korean medical researchers developed a new type of anti-cancer immune material derived from a plant, the science ministry said Thursday, opening up new treatment opportunities for patients. The team, led by Lee Chang-hwan of Ulsan University, developed the new substance made from the plant named rehmannia that can selectively destroy tumor cells, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said. The substance has shown potential for attacking brain cancer, it said. (Photo c

South Korea's capital city of Seoul will face the steepest decrease in population over the next 30 years amid the country's chronic low birth rate and rapid aging, government data showed Thursday.The number of residents in Seoul is predicted to reach 8.81 million in 2045, down 1.13 million, or 11.3 percent, from 9.94 million tallied in 2015, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. (123RF)Busan, the second-largest city located on the southeastern coast, will likely lose 470,000, or 13

A hostel inside the North Korean embassy compound in Germany has been in operation despite a German government ban on the building's commercial lease, a news report said Thursday.The Cityhostel Berlin, which rents part of the embassy property, was taking reservations by phone and Internet on Wednesday, according to Washington-based Radio Free Asia. This undated photo shows a hostel operating within the North Korean Embassy in Berlin. (EPA-Yonhap)"Yes, it is possible to make reservations. Rooms f

A Seoul appellate court Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that cleared two opposition lawmakers of charges of taking illicit political funds in the runup to the April parliamentary elections last year. The Seoul High Court dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the initial verdict and found Reps. Park Sun-sook and Kim Soo-min of the People's Party not guilty.This file photo shows Rep. Park Sun-sook (left) and Rep. Kim Soo-min of the People`s Party on Oct. 12, 2016. (Yonhap)Park and Kim

South Korea on Thursday urged North Korea to seek reconciliation and peace as the two rivals marked the 17th anniversary of their first summit.On June 15, 2000, leaders of South and North Korea held a historic summit in Pyongyang, which produced a landmark joint declaration on reconciliation. This file photo taken by the Joint Press Corp. on June 13, 2000, shows former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung (right) and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il shaking hands at an airport in Pyongyan

President Moon Jae-in presented each of his new vice ministers and officials of similar status with a letter of appointment Thursday, marking what could be seen as an official launch of his new administration.A total of 27 new ministers and vice ministerial-level officials were officially appointed in a ceremony at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)The president named the new vice minister for oceans and fisheries, Kang Joon-suk, earlier Thursday, but he was not

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean attacker Son Heung-min might need to go under the knife for his arm injury suffered during a recent FIFA World Cup qualifying match, a national football team official said Wednesday. Son was forced to leave the game with a broken right forearm in South Korea's 3-2 loss to Qatar in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Doha on Tuesday. With the Taeguk Warriors trailing 1-0, Son got up in the air to battle defender Mohammed Musa for the ba

The National Assembly on Thursday adopted reports on the results of confirmation hearings for President Moon Jae-in's picks for the interior and oceans ministers, clearing the way for their official appointments.Oceans and Fisheries Minister-nominee Kim Young-choon speaks during a parliamentary confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 14, 2017. (Yonhap)The adoption of the report is a key part of the parliamentary confirmation process before the president formally appoints t

INCHEON -- The South Korean men's national team made a solemn return on Wednesday from an away loss to Qatar in a World Cup qualifying match.With a dreadful defensive effort, South Korea fell to Qatar 3-2 in Doha on Tuesday, their first loss to the Middle East nation since December 1984.South Korean players (in white) react to their 3-2 loss to Qatar in the teams` World Cup qualifying match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on June 13, 2017. (Yonhap)South Korea gave up the first two goals of t