Progressive presidential nominee Sim Sang-jeung hinted Thursday that if elected, she could put the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea on the agenda for possible peace talks with North Korea.During a debate hosted by the Kwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists, the candidate of the Justice Party also proposed a "two-stage" denuclearization process of seeking a freeze on Pyongyang's nuke tests and then a nuclear-free peninsula. Sim Sang-jeung, the presidential candidate of the pro

BUSAN -- The education office of South Korea's second-largest city of Busan said Thursday it will abolish multiple-choice objective tests in elementary schools starting next year. Students from an elementary school in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, run from the school grounds as summer vacation starts. (Yonhap)Kim Seok-joon, superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education, said it made the unprecedented decision to help boost students' abilities to think and solv

More than 70 percent of South Koreans fear that the advent of the fourth industrial revolution will threaten their jobs, but a greater number of them see it as a positive development that will benefit mankind, a survey showed Thursday.The poll conducted by the Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation said 89.9 percent believe the job market will shrink due to the next industrial revolution, up 24.3 percentage points from the same survey a year ago. While 76.5 percent worry that their

Police said Thursday they will strengthen a crackdown on the acts of overcharging or cheating foreign tourists and improve security efforts in areas frequented by travelers in time for the extended holidays of neighboring countries next week.An influx of foreign visitors is anticipated here, as both Japan and China will enjoy lengthy holidays from the end of this month to the first week of May -- Japan's so-called golden week holiday from Saturday to May 7 and China's Labor Day holiday from Satu

The North Korean government has tacitly approved an expansion of market economy for years as local marketplaces have grown in size, a report said Thursday."Since the current leader Kim Jong-un took the helm (in 2011), the North Korean authorities have given tacit permission to introduce some elements of a market economy, which led to the growth of local marketplaces," said the report published by the state-run Korea Development Institute. (Yonhap)As the Pyongyang government has not clamped down

Over half of the fine dust particles in Seoul come from abroad, the municipal government said Thursday, amid the city's struggle to fight worsening air quality.The Seoul Metropolitan Government, citing a study conducted by the Seoul Institute, said the portion of the capital's fine dust pollution from China and other foreign countries has increased to 55 percent compared to 49 percent tallied in the previous report released in 2011. The capital blanketed in a gray haze caused by fine dust in the

YEONGJONGDO -- North Korea can still possibly launch a military provocation and that will be the key subject of the UN Security Council's special meeting on the North this week, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Thursday. "During all of April, (we) have been closely watching the possibility of North Korea launching an additional provocation, and the possibility of a provocation still remains," the minister said before boarding a flight to New York at Incheon International Airport. 

JEONJU -- After schooling the South Korean national under-20 football team in a friendly, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors head coach Choi Kang-hee was not afraid to give advice to young players who have been gearing up for the upcoming FIFA competition at home.Jeonbuk, the winners of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation Champions League, were too strong for the U-20 team as they easily snatched a 3-0 victory on Wednesday in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The tune-up match was designed to raise the compe

The security chiefs of Seoul and Washington discussed the ongoing "smooth" installation of a US missile defense battery in South Korea on Thursday, a day after some of its key components were delivered to the deployment site in a southeastern county.National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and his US counterpart H.R. McMaster held a 25-minute telephone conversation over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system and other security issues, Seoul's presidential office said i

A Seoul-based North Korean defectors' group on Thursday called for the designation of April 15, the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's birthday, as a commemorative day for defectors worldwide.Ahn Chan-il, the head of the private World Institute for North Korean Studies, made the proposal at a press conference in Seoul. (Yonhap)"It's about time we had a day for people who fled North Korea," he said.He said Kim's birthday, called the Day of the Sun, is observed as the biggest national holiday

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday ordered the election watchdog to "sternly" deal with illegal electioneering as the presidential campaign heats up with the vote just 12 days away.During a regular Cabinet meeting on pending state affairs, Hwang voiced concerns over intensifying smear campaigns through social media in the lead-up to the May 9 poll. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a Cabinet meeting on pending state affairs at the central

South Korea's Navy will start the trial operation of an unmanned ship next month, the country's newly developed weapon mainly for use on the tense sea border with North Korea, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday.The Defense Acquisition Program Agency launched a 3.3 billion won ($2.9 million) project in late 2015 to develop an unmanned surface vessel in partnership with LIG Nex 1, a local defense firm. A newly developed unmanned surface vessel cuts through the water. (Defense Acquisit

Two South Korean football clubs were eliminated from knockout berth contention in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League after Wednesday's losses. Ulsan Hyundai were blanked 4-0 by Japanese side Kashima Antlers in their Group E contest at home, while FC Seoul fell 4-2 to Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG in their Group F match. Both K League Classic clubs needed a victory to keep their hopes alive for the last 16, but failed to execute the mission.The players of Kashima Antlers (in pink) c

Former Dutch Olympic speed skating champion Bob de Jong will coach the South Korean national team for next year's Winter Olympics, the sport's national federation said Wednesday.The Korea Skating Union said de Jong, 40, will serve as an assistant coach on the national speed skating team for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the first Winter Games to be held in South Korea.Bob de Jong of the Netherlands reacts after winning the men's 10,000m at the International Skating Union World Cup Speed

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday it has signed a partnership agreement with the organizers of a Seoul air show to be held later this year.The Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, or Seoul ADEX, is scheduled to take place at Seoul Airport, a military compound south of the capital, from Oct. 17-22. Visitors look around weapons on display at the 2015 Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition at the Seoul Airport. (Yonhap)The biennial international event sets the

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in widened his lead over centrist Ahn Cheol-soo in a new poll published Thursday ahead of the May 9 vote.Moon of the liberal Democratic Party garnered 44.4 percent, while Ahn of the center-left People's Party gained 22.8 percent, according to the Realmeter survey conducted from Monday through Wednesday.Both candidates lost points from last week, but Ahn fell by more, widening the margin from 18.3 points to 21.6 points. Moon lost 2.3 points while Ahn lost 5.6.So

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn visited retail giant Lotte Group's landmark skyscraper in Seoul Wednesday as US forces began installing part of a US missile defense system in a southeastern county.The ostensible purpose of his visit to Lotte World Tower was a safety check on the 123-story building.(Yonhap)But his aide said it was partially intended to encourage Lotte, which has borne the full brunt of China's economic retaliation for the deployment of a Terminal H

GOYANG -- Reigning Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Margarita Mamun will visit South Korea to promote tourism in a local city, officials here said Wednesday. Margarita Mamun (Yonhap)The Goyang City Government said Mamun, who won the rhythmic gymnastics all-around gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, will land in South Korea on Thursday to participate in various tourism promotional events for the city located just north of Seoul. She will also teach young rhythmic gymna

North Korea said Wednesday that the United States and the United Nations Security Council should be held accountable for the possible outbreak of war on the divided peninsula ahead of this week's UN meeting on the North's nuclear issue.North Korea's foreign ministry said that the US is to blame for pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war by conducting joint military drills with South Korea and bringing its nuclear strategic assets to the region, according to the Korean Central N

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in widened his lead over centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, a number of opinion surveys showed Wednesday, to regain his dominant position in the election less than two weeks away.Early this month, Ahn of the center-left People's Party emerged as a formidable challenge to Moon of the liberal Democratic Party.His approval ratings climbed across the board to rival those of Moon in the 30-40 percent range.Within weeks, Ahn's rise appeared to have been short-lived. Presidentia