African swine fever has returned to South Korean farms after seven months, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Wednesday, after it confirmed two cases at a farm of 401 pigs in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Province. All domesticated pigs at the farm were culled immediately. A total of 11 African swine fever cases have been discovered from wild boars in Yeongwol-gun since the outbreak started in 2019. The pig farm is just 1.2 kilometers away from where the last case in the county wa

Police on Thursday raided the office of a vocal North Korean defector who claimed to have sent anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North in defiance of a ban. Police launched an investigation after Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, a North Korean defectors group, said the organization sent 10 balloons carrying around 500,000 leaflets between April 25-29. "We are currently searching relevant locations," an official with the Seoul Metropolitan Police said.

A political standoff between the ruling and main opposition parties appeared imminent Thursday, as key National Assembly committees were scheduled to decide on the parliamentary approvals of scandal-ridden minister nominees recently picked by President Moon Jae-in. Earlier this week, parliamentary confirmation hearings on nominees for science, oceans, land, trade and labor ministers were carried out by the National Assembly. Of those, Lim Hye-sook, Park Jun-young and Noh Hyeong-ouk, nominees f

The Korea International School held this year’s Human Rights Week via Zoom on April 19 with middle and high school students and faculty members, featuring guest speakers whose own experiences illustrate the importance of knowing and responding to current social issues. HRW is organized by the KIS Human Rights Initiative, a group of 13 students. With the theme of “Removing the Mask on Social Pandemics,” HRW centered its daily sessions on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. T

Six Army members and four Air Force officers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday, the latest in a series of infections across the nation. Three of the four airmen were confirmed to have been infected after coming into contact with their colleagues who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The remaining Air Force officer, an Army officer, and four soldiers contracted the virus following their recent vacation, the ministry said, adding that

North Korea's official newspaper on Thursday urged people to stay alert against coronavirus infections through "strange objects" floating in the air, days after the regime issued a harshly worded statement against propaganda leaflets sent from South Korea. Last week, an activist group consisting of North Korean defectors in South Korea said that it released around 500,000 leaflets into the North via large balloons despite a recently enacted ban on such cross-border leafleting. The s

South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences to Mexican people over a deadly metro line disaster in their country, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. In a letter delivered to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador the previous day, Moon noted that the accident was regrettable, having a lot of victims and causing damage, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon sent a message of condolence to the victims and their families and hoped for the speedy recovery o

US Forces Korea (USFK) has eased its quarantine rules for fully vaccinated, newly arrived members, allowing them access to duty location and other on-post activities during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period upon arrival, the US military said. All USFK-affiliated individuals arriving here are required to undergo a COVID-19 test and quarantine for 14 days. Medical personnel administer a second test prior to their release. Under the revised quarantine policy that took effect Wednesday, th

Gen. Paul LaCamera is expected to take office as the new commander of the US Forces Korea (USFK) around next month if his confirmation process goes smoothly, sources said Thursday. LaCamera, who currently serves as Army Pacific Commander, was nominated to succeed Gen. Robert Abrams to lead the 28,500-strong USFK, and his nomination was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee late last month for a confirmation hearing, according to the sources. "The exact schedule for the hearing i

Outgoing US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams will receive a Korean name as a gift from a South Korea-US friendship group during his farewell event next week, organizers said Thursday. The Republic of Korea-US Alliance Friendship Association will present the name, Woo Byung-soo, to the four-star general for "his contributions to the alliance and defense of South Korea" at the event scheduled for next Thursday, according to the group. The first name, Byung-soo, is made

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended an art performance by the families of the army, state media reported Thursday. The performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) took place Wednesday at the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim lauded the KPA after watching the show, saying it "always sets an example in implementing the party's policy on mass

WASHINGTON -- US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that her country supports waiving the intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, which would allow mass production of the currently scarce vaccines in other parts of the world. The USTR stressed the need for extraordinary measures to meet extraordinary challenges. "The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we'll actively participate in @WTO negoti