Pyongyang appears to seek to officialize Russia support, but denies weapons transactions

Unusually cold weather in South Korea is driving a surge in winter illnesses, such as hypothermia, frostbite and chilblains, according to health authorities. The latest data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency found that the number of such patients reached 345 as of Friday since December, a 65.9 percent rise from the same period a year ago. The temperature in Seoul last week dro...

CHUNCHEON -- A South Korean soldier has mistakenly fired a machine gun during training near the border with North Korea, and the military has immediately informed North Korea that the shooting was not intentional, military officials said Sunday. The South Korean military said four live rounds were fired from the machine gun during a training session by an Army unit along the inter-Korean border ...

A senior North Korean official on Sunday rejected alleged weapons transactions with Russia, warning the United States that it will face unsavory consequences if it continues to spread such rumors. Kwon Jong-gun, director-general in charge of affairs to the US at North Korea's foreign ministry, called the allegation a grave provocation and said North Korea cannot tolerate what he describes as a U...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 20,000 on Sunday, just a day ahead of the country's planned lifting of a mask mandate for indoor places that has been in place for more than three years. The country reported 18,871 new cases, including 37 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,149,601, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The daily caseload had b...

The case concerns a state-sponsored land redevelopment plan to build a residential complex in Daejang-dong in southwestern Seongnam. The city-approved plan had allowed an inexperienced asset management company, Hwacheon Daeyu, to take larger total dividends than a public-sector company, even though Hwacheon Daeyu and its related parties held only a combined 7 percent stake in the consortium, whi...

Two Chinese fighter jets flew through the overlapping parts of the air defense identification zones of South Korea and China earlier this week, prompting the military here to put its warplanes on standby, officials here said Friday. Their flight on Thursday came just before the Pentagon announced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Seoul for talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jon...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell under 30,000 Saturday as the country plans to lift a mask mandate for most indoor places next week. The country reported 23,612 new cases, including 48 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,130,730, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload had been above 30,000 for the second straight day Friday d...

Prosecutors indicted the head of a hotel adjoining the site of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush without physical detention Friday, amid allegations the hotel's illegally extended structures made the cramped area even narrower. The 76-year-old head of Hamilton Hotel, surnamed Lee, was accused of illegally building structures near the main building of the hotel and occupying an adjacent road without...

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a statement Friday criticizing the USs' decision to send tanks to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia's invasion, saying that Washington is crossing the "red line." "The U.S., which has exposed the whole continent of Europe to the grave danger of war and caused big and small concerns, is now further crossing the red line," Kim Yo-jong, vi...

Plan to remove force as rape conviction requirement axed within hours after ruling party backlash

NIS raid of umbrella labor union rekindles debate

The number of arrests in South Korea in connection with online drug trades reached 3,092 in 2022, a more than 20 percent increase from the previous year, data showed Friday. The number of packages seized, however, declined from 957 to 657 over the same period, according to data revealed during a vice ministerial pangovernmental meeting held in Government Complex Seoul. Since the total weight of...

Ruling to unseat Cho unless acquitted in higher court

The operation of Jeju International Airport, the gateway to the southern resort island, was again disrupted by inclement weather Friday, only three days after its operational paralysis. At present, wind shear and strong wind warnings are in effect for the airport. According to the Jeju branch of the Korea Airports Corp., 50 flights to and from the Jeju airport -- 18 departures and 32 arrivals -...