Parliamentary speakers from MIKTA -- an informal middle power partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Austria – gathered in Istanbul on Thursday and issued a joint declaration making a case for strengthening the role of parliaments. In the declaration, speakers highlighted the importance of national parliaments in diplomacy in the face of the complex security challenges. T...

Prosecutors are seeking one year of imprisonment for a 24-year-old man accused of smashing an unacquainted man’s face with a rock in Jeju City on Jan. 31. The man was caught on security footage hitting the victim with a rock and then fleeing the scene. The victim was watching a street performance at the time. The victim and the assailant appeared to not be connected in any way. Police found that...

President Yoon Suk Yeol doubled down on bolstering extended deterrence, a US pledge to use all resources including nuclear weapons to deter and respond to attacks on its allies, amid deepening Seoul-Washington ties to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats The two allies are pursuing a more united front on Pyongyang, as they return to full-scale military exercises Monday following a five-year hia...

South Korea is anticipating a potential visit this year by Chinese President Xi Jinping or at least big senior-level exchanges between the two countries, a senior Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said Friday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of the topic, said outside factors like pandemic travel curbs had prevented senior Seoul-Beijing exchanges, dismissing ...

A middle school teacher in Seoul was booked by police on suspicion of brandishing scissors at a colleague. The Seoul Seongbuk Police Station said Friday that the offender, whose name and age have not been disclosed, is facing assault charges involving scissors and physical abuse. According to police, the offender, who also serves as the director of the school affairs department, allegedly shout...

Airport police said they evacuated 218 passengers and 12 crew members from a Korean Air plane after a suspicious item reported to be a live bullet was found on the plane as it was ready for departure early Friday morning. No injuries were reported as everyone disembarked. Korean Air flight KE621 was scheduled to depart from Incheon to Manila, the Philippines, at around 7:45 a.m., but a report wa...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed over 10,000 for the fourth straight day Friday amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs, with health authorities mulling further easing antivirus measures. The country reported 10,335 new COVID-19 infections, including 10 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,615,522, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Friday's tally is ...

The key part of Choi’s plans to improve Anyang involves technology. “These (plans) would include building an AI big data analysis platform to create safer school zones,” he said. He added he would attract more companies to base their headquarters in the city. Last year, Anyang secured a total of 3.7 billion won in financial incentives by winning 66 awards and accepting 104 applications. Choi s...

WASHINGTON -- North Korea will continue to face increased consequences unless it changes its behavior, a state department spokesperson said Thursday, hours after Pyongyang potentially fired multiple ballistic missiles in its latest provocation. Ned Price said the US remains equally committed to the defense of its allies as it is to dialogue with the provocative North. "We are seeking with our p...

North Korea announced Friday its leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a "fire assault drill" of an artillery unit a day earlier as he stressed the need to "overwhelmingly respond" to any war preparations by its "enemy." Photos released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency also showed Kim's daughter Ju-ae attending the "field guidance." Kim inspected the "Hwasong artillery unit charged with ...

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup visited the Navy's submarine unit Thursday and called on troops to maintain a "full" combat readiness posture, his office said. His visit to the Submarine Force Command in Changwon, 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul, came amid concerns that North Korea could make provocations in response to a major South Korea-US military exercise set to begin next week. "You shoul...

North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea on Thursday, Seoul's military said, in the latest show of force ahead of a major South Korea-US military exercise set to begin next week. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch from the North's western port city of Nampo at 6:20 p.m. It did not elaborate further. "While strengthening its monitoring and vigila...

The first message from the ruling People Power Party’s freshly elected leaders highlighted stronger ties with other democracies, most notably Japan, with which the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration is determined to mend relations. Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, who won the chairpersonship with 52.9 percent of the votes from registered party members, said in a first meeting of the new party leaders o...

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration will resume regular military intelligence sharing with Japan depending on how a recent thaw in ties unfolds, a senior official at Yoon’s office said Thursday, ahead of a two-day summit starting Thursday next week between Yoon and his Japanese counterpart. The South Korean leader is seeking to use the opportunity to make stronger three-way ties with Japan and the ...

The Turkish Embassy in Seoul held a two-day event this week to promote the country's leather industry, which boasts a competitive edge in terms of both price and quality, it said Thursday. At the event, 24 Turkish companies promoted their goods in hopes of building partnerships with Korean buyers, it added. The event, which kicked off Monday, was supported by Turkish Ministry of Trade and the I...