BEIJING -- Hours after the deployment of a US advanced defense shield went into full swing in South Korea, China strongly urged Seoul and Washington on Wednesday to pull back the equipment, warning that the installation would further up tensions in the region. Six trailers reportedly carrying the high-profile X-band radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, mobile launchers and other elements were seen entering the deployment site in the southeastern county of Seongju, North Gyeon

South Korea has far too lenient regulations on fine dust measurement and needs to toughen the threshold to better inform the public of the air quality amid the worsening climate here, experts here said Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Environment, a daily average of over 50 micrograms of ultra-fine dust is the threshold for South Korea to call bad weather for the day, whereas the minimum level for the United States and Japan stands at 35 micrograms.  (Yonhap)The ministry said the measurem

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in on Wednesday garnered official support from a group of former security officials and experts, a welcome shot in the arm amid growing doubts about his credentials as future commander-in-chief.The candidate of the liberal Democratic Party secured backing from 1,000 former soldiers, police officers, intelligence agents and defense experts, as he tried to project the image of a leader capable of handling North Korea's escalating military threats.Moon Jae-in, the

South Korea's two leading universities said Wednesday they will strengthen the eligibility requirements in the selection of student athletes amid criticism over unfairness and loopholes in the current system.Kim Yong-hak, president of Yonsei University, and Yeom Jae-ho, president of Korea University, held a joint press conference in Seoul and said student athletes aspiring to enter their schools will be required to meet certain academic standards starting in 2021. The heads of Yonsei University

The UN point man on the North Korean human rights situation made an “urgent appeal" on Wednesday to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula as US military assets were deployed in the region to counter North Korea's growing provocations."The recent rise in conflict rhetoric is worsening already critical human rights challenges in North Korea," Tomas Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, said in a news release by the Office of the United Nations Hi

Former and current US Forces Korea service members will establish a brand-new association next week to promote friendly ties between the two countries, according to a group of figures here advocating the further development of the alliance on Wednesday.The organization, named the "Korea Defense Veterans Association," is scheduled to be created in Washington DC on May 3. An image of South Korea-US alliance in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)Headed by former USFK commander Walter "Skip

South Korea plans to provide $4 million in humanitarian assistance to war-torn Yemen this year and join international efforts to end the civil war there, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.South Korea made the commitment during a fundraising event for Yemen in the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was jointly hosted by Switzerland, Sweden and the United Nations. (AP-Yonhap)About two thirds of the entire Yemeni population ar

A group claiming to be helping the son of the slain brother of North Korea's leader said Wednesday it is now protecting seven North Korean defectors rescued from Southeast Asia, but cannot send them to Seoul due to the absence of security assurance from South Korean presidential candidates.Last Tuesday, the group, which calls itself "Cheollima Civil Defense," openly asked South Korean presidential contenders running for the May 9 election whether they are willing to accept and protect North Kore

BERLIN -- A music concert was held in a Czech city in memory of Emil Kapaun, a Czech-American priest and war hero who died in captivity during the 1950-53 Korean War, the South Korean Embassy in Prague said Tuesday.South Korean Ambassador to the Czech Republic Moon Seung-hyun took part in the concert organized by the municipal government and archdiocese in the eastern city of Olomouc. Emil Kapaun, a Czech-American war hero who died in captivity during the 1950-53 Korean War (South Korean Embassy

South Korea has taken the hockey world by storm this week, emerging as the only undefeated nation at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division I Group A in Ukraine.South Korea, ranked 23rd, came from behind to defeat 19th-ranked Hungary 3-1 Tuesday in Kiev. With three straight wins, South Korea is sitting pretty at the top of the six-nation competition with two games remaining.South Korean forward Shin Sang-hoon takes a shot against Hungary at the International Ice Hock

South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to push for a ban on North Korea's trade of fishing rights if it conducts a fresh nuclear or missile provocation, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.The countries are currently reviewing a plan to craft new UN Security Council sanctions including prohibiting the communist country from selling its fishing rights and exporting its labor, in the event that it carries out another nuclear test or a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, acc

The number of childbirths in South Korea fell for the 15th month in a row in February amid a deepening trend of late marriage and a rapidly aging population, a government report showed Wednesday.About 30,600 babies were born in February, down 12.3 percent, or 4,300, from 34,900 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Childbirths have been on a decline since a 3.4 percent on-year gain in November 2015. (Yonhap)The latest number also marked the lowest number of new chil

JEJU -- A local appellate court on Wednesday sentenced a 51-year-old Chinese man to 30 years in prison for murdering an unrelated South Korean woman who was praying at a church on the country's southern resort island of Jeju last year.Chen Guorui attacked the 61-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Kim, in September when she was praying alone inside a Catholic church. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead a day after the incident took place.This file photo

Not only being overweight but also being underweight causes depression for both men and women, a finding that highlights the importance of maintaining the right weight for psychological health, a study said Wednesday.Published in the recent issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study showed that the risk of depression is 16 percent higher for people underweight than for those in the norm range. The risk was 21 percent for men, much higher than 12 percent among women.Obesity also brough

The South Korean government on Wednesday finalized a series of additional measures to prevent fires in traditional markets and reduce fine dust pollution as part of efforts to enhance public safety.During a meeting of Cabinet ministers, Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn confirmed the measures and called for enhanced inter-agency cooperation in implementing them.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of ministers on public safety at the central g

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 110,000 ethnic Koreans in the United States petitioned the US government Tuesday to refer to the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as "the East Sea" in addition to "the Sea of Japan," their representatives said.A Korean resident group in Virginia and other representatives said in a press conference in Falls Church, Virginia, that they submitted the petition signed by 108,300 to the White House.  A group of ethnic Korean residents attend a press conference

Refugees with disabilities are entitled to the same social security benefits as Korean nationals, South Korea's human rights watchdog said Wednesday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said that it has asked the minister of health and welfare to revise the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act and related guidelines to ensure disabled refugees living in South Korea are treated equally with handicapped Korean citizens. This photo, taken on Jan. 23, 2017, shows Lee Sung-ho, the chairperson of

South Korea's women's groups on Tuesday demanded that Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party drop out of the presidential race, following a controversy surrounding his self-professed involvement in a past sex crime."Hong's past act constitutes conspiring in a sexual assault and was a clear and grave crime," the Korean Women's Association United said in a statement.Hong Joon-pyo, presidential candidate of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, explains his oil tax policy on April 25

The conservative Liberty Korea Party said Tuesday that it would ask the prosecution to investigate the allegations that presidential frontrunner Moon Jae-in had personally used a law firm's car in a possible breach of the political fund act.The move followed a media report that the candidate of the liberal Democratic Party used a sports utility vehicle belonging to the firm between March 2010 and November 2014 with the firm paying the fees for leasing the car. Presidential frontrunner Moon Jae-i

DAEGU -- A man who set a fire at a memorial hall of late President Park Chung-hee, father of South Korea's ousted leader Park Geun-hye, last year was sentenced to four and a half years in prison Tuesday.The Daegu District Court convicted the 48-year-old, identified only by his last name Baek, of setting the fire with paint thinner at the late Park's birth home in Gumi, some 261 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in December, based on seven jurists' unanimous decision to find him guilty.The memorial