South Korea and the United States agreed to step up cooperation for stable supply chains of critical minerals and other economic security issues in their high-level economic talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon and Jose W. Fernandez, the US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, held their first in-person meeti...

South Korea and the United States agree on the urgent need to address the challenges posed by North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Tuesday. The South Korean diplomat said he and his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, have also agreed on the importance of maintaining and strengthening US extended deterrence to South Korea. "(We) agreed that the North Korea issue is the top polic...

Suicides among young people, especially women, increased during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, despite a drop overall in South Korea. The number of suicides fell by 604 to 13,195 in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s report published Tuesday. The ministry said preliminary data from 2021 indicated a continued declining trend. The...

Survey says mothers take up 70% of child care on weekdays

Nurturing individuals who are not only competitive but also collaborative is the end goal, according to Schreider. Schreider said the school aims “to foster future leaders that derive better solutions to the world’s real problems collaboratively, and shape a better world together.” At Branksome Hall Asia, students themselves have also developed their own motto -- “I Shine When You Shine” -- to h...

The South Korean government is expected to shorten the country’s COVID-19 quarantine mandate to five days, according to health officials on Tuesday. A government task force has reportedly been discussing the possibility of lifting the mandatory quarantine, but some experts from the group currently see lifting the mandatory quarantine as still risky. At the moment, it is more likely that the gove...

S. Korea to independently conduct live-fire missile drill during RIMPAC exercise

Authorities expect the rocket setup to go as planned on Wednesday when the weather at the launch site improves.

South Korea's military reported 782 additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, raising the total caseload among its service members to 169,772, the defense ministry said. The new cases included 655 from the Army, 67 from the Air Force and 36 from the Navy. There were also 14 cases from units under the direct control of the ministry, nine from the Marine Corps and one from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cu...

South Korea's top diplomat on Tuesday emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation among his country, China and Japan, citing the regional powers' stature and potential. "Given the stature and economic and cultural potential of the three countries, should we continue our future-oriented cooperation, it would be an important driving force for peace and prosperity in the world beyond the Ea...

Seoul’s FM vows to bolster nuclear cooperation in talks with US Energy chief

Police raided the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Defense Communication Command (DCC) on Tuesday in connection with allegations that an unqualified company won a contract to supply information modules to the military. The National Police Agency sent investigators to search the DIA office in Seoul's Yongsan district and the DCC office in Gwacheon, just south of the capital, for material...

Prosecutors have again acquitted veteran singer Kim Kun-mo of allegations that he sexually assaulted a female hostess at a bar, sources said Tuesday. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office dismissed the woman's appeal and acquitted the 54-year-old singer of rape charges on June 7, they said. Kim, who holds the Guinness World Records title for the bestselling album of all time in South Korea in the 1...

Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday proposed a bill aimed at strengthening parliamentary oversight of the government despite objections from the ruling People Power Party. Rep. Cho Eung-chon and 13 other DP lawmakers proposed revising the National Assembly Act in a way that empowers parliamentary standing committees to request revisions to presidential decrees or enforce...

UN High Commissioner calls for relaxing sanctions on Pyongyang for pandemic support