S. Korea attends NATO-led cyberdefense exercise

South Korea is set to attend an international cyberdefense exercise led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the first time to enhance collaboration with NATO in the cyberspace domain, the defense ministry said Monday. NATO's flagship annual cyber exercise, called Cyber Coalition 2023, takes place in Estonia from Monday to Friday, involving 35 NATO members and partners as well as the European Union to strengthen their joint ability to counter threats in the cyber domain. South Kore

DefenseNov. 27, 2023

N. Korea claims S. Korea violated key inter-Korean agreements

North Korea claimed Monday that South Korea has breached a 2018 inter-Korean military accord and other key agreements between the two Koreas, condemning joint military drills between Seoul and Washington as a provocative act that violates the military accord. The condemnation came as North Korea vowed last week to resume all military measures halted under the 2018 deal and deploy new weapons to the border in response to Seoul's partial suspension of the military tension reduction accord ove

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

N. Korean leader casts ballot in local elections

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cast his ballot in local elections held over the weekend to pick new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation, state media reported Monday, with voter turnout recorded at almost 100 percent. Kim visited a polling station set up in South Hamgyong Province on Sunday and voted for candidates who ran in the elections in the region, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea's local elections are held

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

S. Korea, U.S., Japan stage joint naval drills involving aircraft carrier

South Korea, the United States and Japan jointly conducted naval drills in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday to bolster their defense posture against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, the South's Navy said. The joint exercise took place in southeastern waters off Jeju Island involving the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which has been docked at a naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The South Korean Navy's Ae

DefenseNov. 26, 2023

Number of Chinese travelers to S. Korea remains far below pre-pandemic levels

The monthly average of Chinese travelers visiting South Korea remained far below pre-pandemic levels, despite China's reopening from COVID-19 restrictions and resumption of group tours, data showed Sunday. Around 144,000 Chinese nationals visited South Korea per month on average this year, according to the data released by the Hyundai Research Institute. The tally was about one-third of the monthly average of 416,000 recorded from 2017 to 2019, when the Chinese government had banned group t

Social AffairsNov. 26, 2023

S. Korea, Japan, China agree to accelerate summit efforts

BUSAN — The top diplomats of South Korea, Japan and China reached a consensus on Sunday to accelerate efforts to hold a trilateral summit at the earliest time, but without specifying a time frame. "The three ministers reached an agreement to promptly restore and normalize trilateral cooperation," South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin told reporters following the trilateral meeting. "The three ministers have reaffirmed the agreement to convene the summit meeting -- the pinna

Foreign AffairsNov. 26, 2023

Yoon replaces spy agency leadership

President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the National Intelligence Service head Kim Kyou-hyun's offer to step down from the post without naming his successor. Yoon's office said Sunday in a statement that Kim "reestablished NIS' position as the nation's top agency dedicated to security and intelligence, and put in efforts to set up a system for cooperation with allies' intelligence agencies." Kim, former deputy national security adviser, was tapped as the spy agency ch

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

S. Korea, China discuss N. Korea, Xi visit

BUSAN -- China's top diplomat Wang Yi expressed concerns over intensifying tension on Korean Peninsula and said that China will play a role in stabilizing the situation during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday. The two also agreed to reinforce high-level and strategic communications for reciprocal visits between the foreign ministers and the potential visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea, at a meeting held on the sidelines

Foreign AffairsNov. 26, 2023

PM departs for Paris as fate of Busan's World Expo bid draws near

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo departed for Paris on Sunday to attend a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions on Tuesday, where a vote will take place to determine the fate of Busan's bid to host the World Expo in 2030. Accompanying Han at Incheon Airport were Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Oh Young-ju, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, and Chey Tae-won, who is the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the chairman

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

Athletes, teachers, doctors chosen as dream jobs for Korean students: survey

Athletes topped the list of most desired jobs for elementary school students, while teaching was picked as the most coveted job among middle and high school students, a survey showed Sunday. Teaching and becoming a doctor were picked by elementary school children as the most desirable job following athletes. The survey results showing a preference toward athletes may stem from the high number of sporting events held this year, including the Asian Games and the World Cup soccer qualifiers, acco

Social AffairsNov. 26, 2023

First lady explains S. Korea's dog meat ban plan to Queen Camilla

First lady Kim Keon Hee told Queen Camilla about South Korea's legislative moves to ban the consumption of dog meat during their meeting in London last week, according to a presidential spokesperson on Sunday. Touting the move initiated by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the ruling party to ban dog meat sales by 2027, Kim described the proposed legal ban as a constructive step to enhance the awareness of animal rights, spokesperson Lee Do-woon said in a written statement. Yoon's t

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

FM Park holds talks with China's Wang ahead of trilateral talks with Japan

Foreign Minister Park Jin held bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Busan on Sunday, hours before the two were set to meet trilaterally with their Japanese counterpart. The talks came days after North Korea said it launched a military spy satellite and successfully placed it into orbit, after two botched launch attempts in May and August, respectively. In response, South Korea scrapped part of a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction accord. In a tit-for-tat, North Kore

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

Japan reportedly decides to support S. Korea's World Expo bid: media

Japan has decided to support South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern city of Busan, a local media report said Sunday, as the voting for the mega event is set to take place this week. The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun said Tokyo has made the decision in consideration of President Yoon Suk Yeol's continued efforts to improve long-frayed ties between the two countries. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had reportedly notified his will to support Busan's

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

N. Korean people urged to vote as local elections take place

North Korea called for residents to cast their ballots and "fulfill their duties as members of the republic" as the reclusive regime was set to hold its first local elections featuring more than one candidate Sunday. Pyongyang was set to hold local elections to pick new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation. In what appeared to be an intention to introduce competition in the election system, some constituencies fielded two candidates. Under t

North KoreaNov. 26, 2023

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan hold bilateral talks ahead of trilateral talks with China

Foreign Minister Park Jin held bilateral talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in Busan on Sunday, ahead of the trilateral gathering involving their Chinese counterpart. In the talks with Kamikawa, Park was expected to discuss ways to move the bilateral relations forward amid a thaw in the ties after South Korea decided to resolve the issue of compensating Korean forced labor victims during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula without asking for contributions f

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

Yoon returns home from trip to Britain, France

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Sunday from a trip to Europe that took him first to Britain for a state visit and then to France for a final campaign to bring the 2030 World Expo to Busan. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee paid a four-day state visit to London on the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations and received a ceremonial welcome featuring a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace and a state banquet hosted by King Charles III. The visit produced a new bilateral agreement, call

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

Top diplomats of S. Korea, China, Japan to hold talks on resuming trilateral leaders' summit

Top diplomats of South Korea, China and Japan were set to hold talks in the southeastern port city of Busan on Sunday, with discussions on resuming the long-stalled three-way summit of the three countries' leaders expected to be in focus. The trilateral meeting among Foreign Minister Park Jin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa also comes after about a four-year hiatus as the three neighboring countries seek to deepen the tripartite cooperation despite m

PoliticsNov. 26, 2023

Yoon appoints new JCS chief

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of new Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Myung-soo on Saturday, officials said, making him the first top-ranking military officer to come from the Navy in a decade. According to the presidential office and the JCS, Naval Operations Commander Vice Adm. Kim was appointed as the new JCS chief without a confirmation report from the National Assembly. Kim underwent a parliamentary confirmation hearing earlier this month but failed to win t

DefenseNov. 25, 2023

Teen rapist's lawyer asks for leniency because he is 'polite'

“He was a polite and delicate student who shed tears even when scolded by the teacher,” a statement by the attorney of a 15-year-old middle school student said, asking for leniency despite admitting that the student had committed a serious crime deserving severe punishment. The prosecution sought imprisonment for a student who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman in her 40s during her late-night commute, robbing her of cash before escaping. The Nonsan branch under the Daejeon Dis

Social AffairsNov. 25, 2023

Man to get commendation for rescuing driver from burning EV

A 34-year-old man will be presented with a letter of appreciation for rescuing a driver in his 70s from a burning electric vehicle in Busan, Busan Yeonje Police Station said Thursday. Yoo Se-rim was passing by in Yeonje-gu when he saw an electric taxi on fire at around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday. The taxi had burst into flames after it crashed into a shop. Yoo helped extract the driver who was stuck inside the car. The driver sustained severe burns on his face, arms and legs, but is conscious, accor

Social AffairsNov. 25, 2023