The new US special envoy for North Korean human rights made an overture for dialogue with the recalcitrant regime Wednesday, after Pyongyang accused her of "distorting and slandering" its rights records. Ambassador Julie Turner made the call, underscoring that the North Korean rights records have been "well documented" as highlighted in the 2014 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on the situation in the reclusive country. "I would welcome the opportunity to have a co

North Korea Nov. 9, 2023

Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were set to hold talks Thursday on North Korea, alliance, regional and global issues, amid concerns over expanding military cooperation between the North and Russia. The talks come after revelations that the North provided Russia with a large amount of munitions and weapons for use in the war in Ukraine under an arms deal apparently reached at a rare September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President V

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2023

Unionized workers of Seoul Metro, the operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1-8, will stage a strike starting Thursday in protest of the company's manpower reduction plan, officials said Wednesday. The labor union has threatened to take the collective action after the company announced a plan to reduce its workforce by 2,212, or 13.5 percent, by 2026 to overcome its chronic deficit and normalize management. The labor and management of the company, run by the Seoul city government, have held ro

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

South Korea and the International Atomic Energy Agency held regular high-level policy talks Wednesday and discussed North Korea's nuclear program and other areas of cooperation, the foreign ministry said. Park Yong-min, the deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, met with Massimo Aparo, deputy director general of the IAEA, in Seoul for their 12th round of the meeting earlier in the day, the ministry said in a release. The two sides discussed joint efforts to strengthen

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

History shows that the team that drops the opening game of the Korean Series, the South Korean baseball championship round, loses the series nearly 75 percent of the time. But there's no panic in the clubhouse for the LG Twins even after their 3-2 loss to the KT Wiz in Game 1 of the best-of-the-seven series Tuesday night, according to manager Youm Kyoung-youb. In his media scrum prior to Game 2 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Wednesday, Youm said he told his players to stick to what they&

Soccer Nov. 8, 2023

The top diplomat of the Vatican will visit South Korea later this month for talks on bilateral ties and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, Seoul's catholic bishops' institution said Wednesday. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states, is scheduled to make a four-day visit to South Korea starting Nov. 20, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. During the envisioned trip, he plans to meet with South Korea'

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

South Korean stocks ended lower Wednesday amid lingering woes over the country's ban on short selling. The local currency gained ground against the greenback. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 22.34 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 2,421.62. Trading volume was moderate at 461.3 million shares worth 7.54 trillion won ($5.75 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 498 to 378. After opening higher, the Kospi climbed as high as nearly 1 percent in

Market Nov. 8, 2023

BRUSSELS -- This year is "virtually certain" to be the warmest in 125,000 years, European Union scientists said Wednesday, after data showed last month was the world's hottest October in that period. Last month smashed through the previous October temperature record, from 2019, by a massive margin, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said. "The record was broken by 0.4 degrees Celsius, which is a huge margin," said C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess, who de

World News Nov. 8, 2023

South Korea's industry ministry said Wednesday it plans to inject 78 trillion won ($59.7 billion) by the end of this year in trade financing to keep outbound shipments on the recovery track. South Korea's exports moved up on-year for the first time in 13 months in October, driven by robust automobile shipments, along with signs of improvement in the chip sector. The fund will be raised by state-run institutions, including the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. and Export-Import Bank of Korea,

Economy Nov. 8, 2023

The veterans ministry said Wednesday a large group of foreign Korean War veterans and their family members will visit South Korea this week under a program to commemorate their service during the 1950-53 Korean War. A total of 70 people -- 51 from 10 countries that sent troops or other forms of support to South Korea during the war, as well as 19 people of Korean descent from the United States, Canada and Argentina -- will arrive Wednesday for a six-day stay on the occasion of an annual memorial

Defense Nov. 8, 2023

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it has vaccinated 98 percent of cattle in the country against lumpy skin disease. The authorities have inoculated more than 3.9 million out of the country's 4.08 million cows so far to protect them against LSD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The government launched the intensive vaccination campaign last month after reporting its first-ever case of LSD on Oct. 20 under the plan to vaccinate all cattle

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increased to 37 percent from a month ago, according to a survey conducted jointly by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV on Wednesday. The survey also showed that the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party would secure 33 percent and 32 percent of the vote, respectively, if the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April were held tomorrow. Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV jointly commissioned the survey to gauge p

Politics Nov. 8, 2023

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street over a slide in Treasury yields there. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.84 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,454.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks closed higher overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging up 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.9 percent amid an easing of Treasury yields there. In Seoul, battery and bio-related shares opened stronger, with l

Market Nov. 8, 2023

KT Wiz left-hander Wes Benjamin is about to pitch in the biggest game of his career in South Korea this week, but he says he won't change anything -- including his facial hair. Benjamin last shaved after the Wiz dropped their second straight game against the NC Dinos in the previous Korea Baseball Organization postseason series on Oct. 31. Then the Wiz won three games in a row to take the best-of-five series and reach the Korean Series. Benjamin is now in full playoff beard mode. "I do

Baseball Nov. 8, 2023

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the fifth straight month in September on the back of a widened trade surplus and increased dividend income from overseas, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's current account surplus reached $5.42 billion in September, following the surplus of $4.98 billion the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. September's surplus came as the country's trade balance has remained in the black for six s

Economy Nov. 8, 2023