[News Focus] What are the implications of Yoon naming Russia before NK?

President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday raised the possibility that Yoon has made it official that North Korea now stands behind Russia in terms of Seoul's priority in foreign relations, which could signal a downturn ahead in the inter-Korean relationship. As the South Korean leader warned North Korea not to pursue information and technology from Russia needed to enhance its weapons-of-mass-destruction capabilities, in ret

North KoreaSept. 21, 2023

Russia-NK military ties could lead to sanctions, Seoul says

South Korea will consider imposing unilateral sanctions as a viable course of action should concrete evidence of illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia be confirmed, Seoul's vice foreign minister said Thursday. Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin emphasized that Russia's potential transfer of technologies to enhance North Korea's weapons of mass destruction would constitute a "serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions" if confirmed. "T

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Kim Jong-un’s car escorted by Hyundai van in Russia

North Korean state-run media on Wednesday broadcast a documentary that featured North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's motorcade in Russia, notably escorted by vans manufactured by South Korea's auto giant, Hyundai Motor. The state-controlled Korean Central Television, which primarily targets the North's domestic audience, unveiled an hour-and-a-half-long documentary titled "A Historical Moment: Setting a New Milestone in North Korea-Russia Relations," providing a comprehensi

North KoreaSept. 21, 2023

Cooler weather with large daily temperature range expected over weekend, Chuseok holiday season

As the season begins to turn, a large daily temperature range and rain are expected across the country, the weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that the nationwide minimum morning temperature would drop to around 15 degrees Celsius on Friday, and to around 10 C in the mountainous areas in Gangwon Province. The weekend is likely to see the greatest daily temperature differences between day and night, with clear skies expected during the daytime -- a typ

Social AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Number of dementia patients set to surpass 1m this year

As South Korea's population ages at a rapid pace, the number of dementia patients in the country is also rising quickly, projected to exceed one million for the first time this year. According to the “Current State of Dementia 2022” report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1 in 10 Koreans over the age of 65 suffers from dementia. The number of dementia patients aged 65 or older last year was 935,086, accounting for 10.38 percent of the senior population aged 65 or

Social AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Yoon condemns NK-Russia military cooperation as 'direct provocation' to Seoul

President Yoon Suk Yeol criticized a recent talk between leaders of Russia and North Korea that a potential arms trade between them would be a "direct provocation" not only to Ukraine but also to South Korea, stressing that Seoul won't just sit and watch. "If the DPRK acquires the information and technology necessary to enhance its (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, such a deal between Russia and the DPRK will be

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Supreme Court confirms 20-year sentence for 'spin kick' assailant

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called spin kick assailant in the southeastern port city of Busan, who caused social outrage last year due to his brutal attacks on a female stranger for the purpose of rape. The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of following the victim, to whom he had no personal connection, for 10 minutes all the way to her apartment's elevator on May 22, 2022, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the bac

Social AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Yoon meets world leaders in New York for 3rd day to promote Expo bid

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of summits with world leaders in New York on Wednesday as part of his ongoing efforts to secure support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Yoon, on the third day of his trip to attend the UN General Assembly, is using the annual gathering to meet with dozens of leaders on the sidelines in a last-minute push to bolster the country's campaign for the Expo bid. Yoon engaged in a series of discussions with leaders from Europe,

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Fighter jet crashes in Seosan; pilot makes emergency escape

A KF-16 fighter jet crashed during takeoff from its base in the southwestern county of Seosan on Thursday, and the lone pilot safely ejected before being taken to a hospital, the Air Force said. The jet belonging to the 20th Fighter Wing went down at the base in Seosan, some 120 kilometers southwest of Seoul, at 8:20 a.m. while taking off on an unspecified mission, the Air Force said. "The pilot has made an emergency ejection and is safe," the Air Force said in a text message to report

DefenseSept. 21, 2023

Parliament to vote on motions on opposition leader's arrest, PM's dismissal

The National Assembly was set to vote Thursday on two separate motions seeking the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The motions will be put to an anonymous vote during a plenary session in the afternoon. The motion requesting parliamentary consent to lift the arrest immunity of Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party came after the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for him over breach of trust and other charges. By law, sitting la

PoliticsSept. 21, 2023

Court bans documentary countering sex abuse claim against deceased ex-Seoul mayor

A Seoul court on Wednesday granted an injunction to ban a documentary film that raises doubts about sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, which led to his suicide in 2020. The Seoul metropolitan government and lawyer Kim Jae-ryon representing the female victim filed the injunction on Aug. 1 seeking to prohibit the screening of the documentary titled "First Defense." The Seoul Southern District Court accepted the request, saying it is difficult to ascer

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Eight workers injured in collapse of concert structure

Eight workers were injured Wednesday when a 40-meter structure for a concert stage collapsed during construction in high winds in the city of Hanam, just east of Seoul. The incident occurred at a public park at 4:26 p.m., when 13 workers were working to construct a stage for an upcoming K-pop concert scheduled for the weekend, according to police and rescue personnel. The structure, made up of steel pipes and scaffolding, suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons and some workers were briefly trapp

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk to be released on parole next week

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife will be released on parole next week ahead of the Chuseok holidays after serving one third of her four-year prison term for her involvement in document forgery related to her daughter's college admission, legal sources said Wednesday. The parole review committee under the justice ministry convened on the day and determined Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, is eligible for special parole on the occasion of Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgi

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

S. Korea, US discuss potential Pyongyang-Moscow space cooperation in tabletop exercise

South Korean and US defense officials discussed possible space cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow during a bilateral tabletop exercise on space this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday. Choi Byung-ok, head of the ministry's defense policy bureau, and John Hill, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, led the discussion-based exercise, as well as working-level talks, from Tuesday to Wednesday at the ministry in central Seoul. The exercise

DefenseSept. 20, 2023

[Top Envoy] ‘Don’t look back anymore’: former envoy on S. Korea-Japan thaw

When Shin Kak-soo, South Korea’s former ambassador to Japan, supported efforts for a summit between the Korean and Japanese leaders in Kyoto in December 2011, the career diplomat, just seven months into the job, did not expect to wait 12 years to see the next one. “The talks didn’t go well. Seoul was doubling down on resolving disputes involving Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the peninsula. Not only wasn’t Tokyo as receptive to the idea as Seoul wanted, but the di

Foreign AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Over 2,000 subway passengers injured in Seoul over 5 years

More than 2,000 passengers were injured while using the subway in Seoul over the last five years. By subway line, Line No. 2 recorded the highest number of injured passengers. According to data released by Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 2,485 passengers were involved in safety accidents while aboard subway Lines No. 1 to 9 from 2019 to August this year. By year, 671 passengers were recorded to have been injured on Seoul’s subways in 2019, 457 in 2020, 482 in 20

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Australian wife of Korean War veteran to be buried beside husband

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that it will bury the Australian wife of an Australian Korean War veteran next to her husband at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. The burial ceremony, which the Australian Embassy in Seoul will hold the next day, came four years after Olwyn Green died at 96, leaving behind her wishes that she be reunited with her husband, Lt. Col. Charles Green. The COVID-19 pandemic had prompted the wait. Green, commanding officer of the 3rd batta

North KoreaSept. 20, 2023