Trump touts ties with NK leader, signals interest in dialogue in acceptance speech

Former US President Donald Trump said Thursday in his Republican National Convention speech to accept the conservative party's nomination as its presidential candidate that he "got along with" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. His remarks came as he touted himself as the right person allegedly to stop the wars and deal with the geopolitical complexities involving Russia and North Korea, given his experience holding in-person meetings with both North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Ru

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Major US carriers including American, UAL ground flights citing comms issue

Major US carriers including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines issued ground stops on Friday morning citing communication issues, less than an hour after Microsoft resolved its cloud services outage that impacted several low-cost carriers. It was not immediately clear whether the call to keep flights from taking off were related to the earlier Microsoft cloud outage. Apart from American and Delta, UAL and Allegiant Air too grounded flights. The FAA did not immediately respond

Foreign AffairsJuly 19, 2024

Political blame game intensifies in Seoul over Sue Mi Terry row

The recent indictment in the US of Sue Mi Terry, a North Korea expert who formerly worked for the US Central Intelligence Agency, is feeding the political blame game between the ruling bloc and opposition here over which administration is responsible for what is perceived as South Korea's spying blunder. A South Korean liberal lawmaker who formerly served as the chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol's office for "creating an inte

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Over 40 North Korean trash balloons detected overnight: JCS

Over 40 balloons carrying trash flew across the border from the North and fell in northern Gyeonggi Province overnight, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Friday. The JCS detected at least 200 balloons flying from North Korea from 5 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday, and one-fifth of them dropped in South Korea. Residents of Seoul received an alert at around 5:50 p.m. Thursday that a North Korean balloon had entered South Korea's territorial airspace. The balloons mostly carried paper

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Parliamentary committee to hold hearing on Yoon's impeachment petition on Marine's death anniv.

A parliamentary committee is set to hold a hearing Friday to address an online petition demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, focusing on allegations of his interference in a probe into a young soldier's death. The National Legislation and Judiciary Committee will review the petition urging the National Assembly to propose a bill to impeach Yoon citing five reasons, including his alleged influence on the military's investigation into the Marine's death, and first l

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

S. Korea brings largest-ever 'Korea House' to Paris Olympics

South Korea will operate its largest-ever "Korea House" during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics to promote its culture and serve as a support base for its athletes, the culture ministry said Friday. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee, the facility will run from July 25 to Aug. 11 at Maison de la Chimie (House of Chemistry), an international conference center in the heart of Paris. The Korea House has been a tradition since

Social AffairsJuly 19, 2024

N. Korean leader discusses military ties with visiting Russian vice defense minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has discussed the "importance and necessity" of military cooperation with Russia's vice defense minister, state media reported Friday, amid Pyongyang's deepening military alignment with Moscow. Kim met with a Russian military delegation, headed by Aleksey Krivoruchko in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He has become the first known ranking Russian military official to visit North Korea since Russian Pre

North KoreaJuly 19, 2024

S. Korean military resumes loudspeaker broadcasts near border in response to NK balloons

South Korea's military conducted propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea in response to its latest launch of trash-carrying balloons into the South, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The broadcasts took place from Thursday evening to early Friday in areas near where the balloons were launched, the JCS said in a notice to reporters. It did not provide further details. "The military's response going forward will fully depend on North Korea's actions," the

DefenseJuly 19, 2024

S. Korea, Canada agree to enhance regional security, economic cooperation

Top diplomats of South Korea and Canada held talks Thursday to discuss ways to expand cooperation in regional security, the economy, technology and other areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly, adopted an "action plan" to further develop the comprehensive partnership in broad areas encompassing security, the economy, supply chains, technology, health and climate change. Cho and Joly vowed to

Foreign AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Hospitals process resignations of nearly 7,700 trainee doctors

Local training hospitals have completed processing the resignations of nearly 7,700 trainee doctors who have left their posts over the past five months to protest the medical school quota hike, the health ministry said Thursday. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 56.5 percent of the 14,531 trainee doctors expressed their intention to leave since they left their hospitals in late February. As 7,707 candidates have applied for the training program starting in Septemb

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

PM 'not concerned' about impact of Trump reelection on S. Korea-US relations

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday he is not concerned about the impact Donald Trump's potential reelection as US president could have on South Korea-US relations, given the American people's strong support for the alliance. Han made the remark during a meeting with reporters at the government complex in the central city of Sejong amid speculation the Republican presidential nominee could threaten to reduce the US troop presence in Korea or raise trade barriers against the Asian

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

N. Korea resumes sending trash-carrying balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be travelling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul. It advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. North Korea is estimated to have launched more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent

North KoreaJuly 18, 2024

Seoul touts Czech nuclear plant deal as Yoon's diplomatic feat

Behind South Korea's win of a 24 trillion won ($17.4 billion) nuclear power plant deal in the Czech Republic was President Yoon Suk Yeol's diplomatic effort, according to local reports quoting his aides in Seoul. Yoon who calls himself "Korea Inc.'s No. 1 salesman" has helped the South Korean consortium inching closer to signing what would be the central European country's largest energy project to build at least two 1,000 megawatts of nuclear units in Dukovany, a city located 170 kilo

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

Top court recognizes legal rights of same-sex couple for 1st time

South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a same-sex couple, who sought to receive the same spousal coverage as heterosexual couples from the National Health Insurance Service. Under the current law, South Korea does not legally recognize same-sex marriage. However, Thursday’s ruling marks the first time that the top court recognized the legal rights of a same-sex couple. The top court’s landmark ruling upholds a high court’s decision in February last year

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Detained ship carrying 4,500-ton of N.Korean coal: Seoul

South Korean authorities have concluded that a detained cargo ship was carrying 4,500 tons of North Korean-produced anthracite coal in breach of UN sanctions, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced on Thursday. The unflagged cargo ship DE YI has been docked in South Korean waters since March 30 for investigation, following intelligence obtained by the South Korean government implicating the vessel in actions contravening UN Security Council resolutions. "Our government has decided to take

Foreign AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Torrential rains trigger evacuations, closures in Greater Seoul, central region

Torrential rains swept through the central parts of South Korea on Thursday, leading to evacuations in landslide-prone and flood-prone areas, school closures and traffic disruptions, causing chaos for many. The northern parts of Gyeonggi Province were among the hardest hit, including Paju, which saw rain up to 75.1 millimeters per hour early Thursday morning. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the total amount of rain that fell in Paju from midnight to 6 a.m. reached 143.5 mm.

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Seoul on alert over N. Korea's land mines floating into South with heavy rains

Authorities were on heightened alert Thursday over the possibility of land mines planted by North Korea troops floating into South Korean territory with the heavy rainfall. There is also a possibility that North Korea could intentionally float land mines toward the South via shared waterways to protest anti-North Korea leaflet-carrying balloons, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. North Korean troops have been newly planting land mines on the northern part of the Demilitarized Zone separatin

North KoreaJuly 18, 2024

Materials expert nominated as new science minister

Yoo Sang-im, a professor of materials engineering at Seoul National University, has been nominated as the new minister of science and ICT, the presidential office announced Thursday. Introducing Yoo, the presidential office described him as “the right person to strongly lead our country’s science and technology policies during this great transformation of the advanced technology revolution, based on his long research experience and expertise in the field of science and technology.&rd

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

'Dad's not real': Woman jailed for 15 years for patricide

A young woman under the delusion that the world and her father were fake was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering her father, a local court said Thursday. Ulsan District Court found the defendant in her 20s guilty of killing an ascendant, for which the Criminal Act stipulates a harsher punishment than for murder. She was also ordered to wear an electronic tracking anklet for 10 years after release. The court pointed out that killing one's parent is an extreme act against humanity

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Firefighter saves woman hanging from high-rise balcony

A 28-year-old firefighter is being hailed a hero after a video of him saving a woman who was hanging from the balcony of a high-rise building went viral. Firefighter Shin Gang-min saved a woman in her 30s who was hanging from the railing of a 13th-floor apartment unit in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province on Tuesday. The woman had climbed over in an attempt to take her own life, which the Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters learned of after receiving a report at around 5:46 p.m. After the police s

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024