N. Korea missile launches seen as signaling ahead of UN gathering, Trump-Xi summit

North Korea's most recent missile launches likely seek to increase pressure on the US ahead of major international developments and as speculation about US-North Korea dialogue rises. Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday from Wonsan toward the East Sea. The first missile, launched at around 3 p.m., flew about 450 kilometers, while the second, fired at around 5:50 p.m., traveled more than 600 km, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The timing has drawn particular a

2026-09-21 15:07:37:00

3 military personnel injured in unidentified DMZ explosion: JCS

Three South Korean military personnel were wounded Monday, one of them seriously, in an explosion during a search operation inside the Demilitarized Zone. The explosion occurred in the western section of the DMZ, south of the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The JCS has yet to determine the cause of the blast. Possibilities they are considering include whether it was triggered by a land mine and, if so, whether the mine had been laid by

2026-09-21 15:05:48:00

Lee's approval rating halts 9-week slide

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose to 34.8 percent, snapping a nine-week run of consecutive declines, a poll showed Monday. In the Sept. 14-18 survey of 2,507 voters aged 18 and older, 34.8 percent gave a positive assessment of Lee's job performance, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. Lee's approval rating had fallen for nine straight weeks after reaching 48.9 percent in the third week of July before reversing course in the latest survey. His disapproval rating also edged

2026-09-21 10:32:24:00

Cho heads into Rubio talks as Seoul draws lines on investment, Hormuz

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday for talks expected to focus on Seoul's $350 billion investment commitment and its potential contribution to security in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Lee Jae Myung laid out clear parameters on both issues. Hours ahead of the meeting, Lee stressed during a press conference in Seoul that South Korea's national interests must be protected in negotiations over its US investment package and drew

2026-09-18 16:56:53:00

Lee says $350 billion US investment plan delayed over unresolved terms

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that South Korea and the United States are renegotiating parts of a $350 billion investment package over details in the agreement reached in working-level negotiations. The remarks shed light on the last-minute postponement of plans to unveil South Korea's first project under its $350 billion strategic investment commitment to the US. "I was told we were close to an agreement, but from what I saw in the details, there were some parts that were difficult to agr

2026-09-18 15:14:02:00

Lee says ‘no intention’ of reelection, maintains constitutional reform push

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday categorically ruled out seeking reelection, rejecting speculation that his push to revise South Korea’s Constitution to allow presidents to serve consecutive terms was intended to extend his own time in office. “I have absolutely no intention of seeking reelection,” Lee said during a special press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, reiterating the point as he sought to address political controversies and public discontent that surfaced following the recent lo

2026-09-18 11:45:16:00

3 rescued, 1 missing after N. Korean vessel sinks off South Korea

Three people were rescued and one remained missing after a small auxiliary vessel belonging to a North Korean merchant ship sank in international waters about 200 kilometers southeast of Homigot in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, authorities said Thursday. According to the East Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard, it received a report from the South Korean Navy at around 10:52 a.m. that an auxiliary vessel of a North Korean merchant ship had sunk, initially leaving four people miss

2026-09-17 19:29:24:00

8 KOICA overseas volunteers dismissed for sexual misconduct over 5 years

Sexual misconduct accounted for more than half of dismissals from South Korea’s state-run international development aid agency's overseas programs over the past five years, data showed Thursday. According to data the Korea International Cooperation Agency submitted to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Ki-heon, 15 volunteers were stripped of their status for violations of service rules between January 2022 and August this year. Eight of them were dismissed for sexual misconduct. Of the eight vol

2026-09-17 14:51:03:00

Kim Yo-jong rebuffs IAEA denuclearization calls, says N. Korea’s nuclear status ‘absolute’

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister and a ranking ruling party member, on Thursday declared Pyongyang's nuclear status "absolute" and irreversible, rejecting calls for denuclearization at an international nuclear gathering. Analysts say the unusually high-level response may also have been calibrated to avoid directly antagonizing Washington amid renewed prospects for US-North Korea dialogue. Kim Yo-jong, a director of the General Affairs Department of the Central Committee of t

2026-09-17 14:43:41:00

N. Korea’s overseas workers generate up to $800m a year: report

North Korea has between 35,600 and 101,280 workers deployed overseas, generating as much as $800 million annually despite UN sanctions banning the practice, a report by a multinational sanctions monitoring body showed Wednesday. According to the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team's latest report, North Korean workers remained in at least 17 countries in 2025, generating an estimated $450 million to $800 million. The majority are believed to be in China and Russia, with China hosting an estim

2026-09-16 23:36:24:00