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...

South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Monday amid eased woes over the global banking sector. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 3.34 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,399.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, US shares ended lower due to the decrease in banking stocks in the wake of the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.19 p...

Innospace, a South Korean space startup, said Monday its suborbital test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV, has been launched. 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 (local time), or 2:52 a.m. Monday (Korean time), according to the company. "We are now verifying the flight performance of the engine and its payloads...

The government's decision to lift the mask mandate on public transportation and pharmacies in open public spaces will go into effect this week amid a gradual COVID-19 virus downtrend. The removal of the mask mandate on public transportation, including subways, buses, taxis and planes, Monday comes 2 1/2 years after the government adopted the mask rule in October 2020. COVID-19 infections have b...

A former South Korean diplomat has lost a lawsuit seeking to reverse the foreign ministry's decision to fire him for sexually assaulting a female embassy employee when stationed in Ethiopia, sources said Sunday. The Seoul Administrative Court last month ruled against the plaintiff, surnamed Lee, in his lawsuit seeking to have the foreign minister overturn his dismissal. The ruling was finalized ...

BTS member Jimin's single "Set Me Free Pt. 2" topped iTunes charts in 110 countries Saturday, the group's agency BigHit Music said. The hip-hop track, released at 1 p.m. Friday, is part of his debut solo album, "Face," which will roll out next Friday. The song had claimed the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Top Songs charts in 110 countries, including Britain, Canada, Italy and Finland, as of 9 a.m., ...

INCHEON -- Police launched an investigation Saturday after a family of five was found dead in their home in Incheon. Police received a call at 10:37 a.m. reporting that people were lying motionless in an apartment in the Michuhol Ward of the city, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, according to the Michuhol Police Station. The deceased were identified as the parents and their three young children. Th...

WASHINGTON -- A delegation from the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), is set to visit South Korea early next month, diplomatic sources said Saturday. During their visit scheduled for April 5-6, the nine lawmakers plan to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and Foreign Minister Park Jin to discuss ways to develop the...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 10,000 for the third consecutive day Saturday ahead of the lifting of the mask mandate for public transportation. The country reported 9,259 new COVID-19 infections, including 16 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,690,223, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest count is slightly up from the previo...