COPENHAGEN-- The Seoul city government will create floating swimming pools along the Han River by 2026, along with marina facilities equipped with restaurants, a concert hall and a sunset observation platform, the mayor has said. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled the plan to create the Han River Art Pier after touring the Harbour Baths in Copenhagen's Islands Brygge on Sunday, a recreational bathi...

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan must leave the past behind and move forward, as he faces a growing backlash at home over a recent summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "Korea-Japan relations must move beyond the past," Yoon told a Cabinet meeting. The main opposition Democratic Party and other critics have blasted Yoon for...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose back to the 12,000 level Tuesday, the day after the country lifted its mask mandate on public transportation. The country reported 12,016 new COVID-19 infections, including 17 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,714,976, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The Tuesday figure is up from Monday's nine-month low of 3...

Websites of some major North Korean organs, including the country's state media outlets and the foreign ministry, were knocked offline for an unknown reason Tuesday morning. As of 9 a.m., there were failures in connecting to North Korean domain names ending in ."kp," such as the official Korean Central News Agency and the main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun. The exact cause for the problem was no...

Innospace, a South Korean space startup, said Tuesday its suborbital test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV, has made a successful flight, marking the country's first civilian-made space rocket. The 8.4-ton thrust single stage hybrid rocket was fired from the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil at 2:52 p.m. Sunday, or 2:52 a.m. Monday, according to the company. Its engine combusted for 106 secon...

South Korea's exports fell 17.4 percent on-year in the first 20 days of March, data showed Tuesday, amid the protracted downcycle in the global semiconductor industry. The country's outbound shipments stood at $30.9 billion in the March 1-20 period, compared with $37.4 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports decreased 5.7 percent on-year to $37.3 bi...

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking US gains, as the takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by UBS raised hope for eased concerns about the global banking sector. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 14.85 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,394.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares rose after Swiss banking giant UBS on Sunday announced the takeover ...

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to show no respect for basic human rights and freedoms of its people in 2022 while impunity for corruption continued to remain widespread, an annual US report said Monday. The 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said the country had dozens of other human rights issues, ranging from unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government, torture, total sta...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to a G-7 summit to be held in Hiroshima in May, a news report said Monday. According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Kishida told reporters he invited leaders of South Korea, Brazil, India, Vietnam and four other countries to the upcoming G-7 summit during his current visit to India. Japan has the authority to invi...

South Korean stocks ended lower Monday, led by big-cap tech losses, on mounting concerns over a global banking crisis despite the takeover of the troubled Credit Suisse. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 16.49 points, or 0.69 percent, to close at 2,379.2. Trading volume was slim at 339.75 million shares worth 5.97 trillion won ($4...

MELBOURNE - Rio Tinto has more work to do to protect Indigenous cultural heritage at its mines around the world, according to an independent audit of its practices, the world's biggest iron ore miner said on Monday. Rio Tinto commissioned the audit as part of a pledge to overhaul its practices after it destroyed culturally significant rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia for an iro...

Three Japanese animations were among the top five films on the weekend box-office chart in South Korea, industry data showed Monday, proving their unwavering popularity among local audiences. The Japanese animation "Suzume" posted 712,473 admissions from Friday to Sunday to top the box office for the second consecutive week, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. Director Ma...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest daily tally in about nine months on Monday, the first day of completely lifting the indoor mask mandate on public transportation. The country reported 3,930 new COVID-19 infections, including 14 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,702,960, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The Monday figure is the lowest ...

South Korea reported another African swine fever case after a one-month hiatus on Monday, and issued a standstill order on pig farms and related facilities in the country's northern regions, the agriculture ministry said. The animal disease was found at a pig farm in the city of Pocheon, 41 kilometers northeast of Seoul, which raised 12,842 pigs, after 50 of the pigs died last week and an in-dep...