President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to visit the Czech Republic this week to solidify South Korea's bid to win a major nuclear energy project and deepen economic ties with the European nation. Yoon will embark on a four-day trip on Thursday for talks with Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala to expand cooperation in nuclear energy, trade, investment, technology and other areas. The visit comes two months after a consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was selected a

Politics Sept. 18, 2024

The US Forces Korea commander nominee on Tuesday described North Korea's "rapid" advancement of its nuclear and missile capabilities as the "single greatest" challenge facing the Korea-based command, vowing to maintain a "constant" state of readiness if confirmed. During a confirmation hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Lieut. Gen. Xavier Brunson, currently the commander of First Corps, also voiced concerns over growing military exchanges between P

Foreign Affairs Sept. 18, 2024

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles in a northeastern direction on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, further ratcheting up tensions already heightened by its rare disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility last week. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches at about 6:50 a.m. from the North's Kaechon area in South Phyongan Province, north of Pyongyang, and the missiles flew about 400 kilometers. It did not elaborate on the missiles' poin

North Korea Sept. 18, 2024

Seoul-bound traffic on major expressways is clogged on Tuesday, the fourth day of the extended Chuseok holiday, with traffic jams expected to be eased the following day, according to the expressway operator. This year's Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest celebration, falls on Tuesday, and the extended holiday runs from Saturday until Wednesday. As of 8 a.m., the estimated travel time from the southwestern city of Mokpo to Seoul was seven hours and 50 minutes, six hours and 30 minutes from the

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2024

North Korea sent its foreign minister to Russia for her second trip in less than a year to the major backer of Kim Jong-un’s regime. The move comes as Pyongyang readies for a parliamentary meeting that will likely approve measures that raise tensions with South Korea. Choe Son-hui led a delegation taking part in women’s conferences, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday in a two-sentence dispatch. The foreign minister who rarely travels abroad last went to Moscow i

North Korea Sept. 17, 2024

Malaysia's health ministry reported on Tuesday one new case of the mpox virus infection of the clade 2 variety, a less severe variant of the disease, and said the patient had been isolated and was in a stable condition. The case was detected on Monday in a man who began showing symptoms of fever, sore throat, and cough on Sept. 11, with a rash appearing the following day, the health ministry said in a statement. Malaysia has detected 10 cases of mpox since July last year, all of which are

World News Sept. 17, 2024

Smoking accounted for more than 80 percent of in-flight illegal acts reported by South Korea's 10 carriers in the past five years, government data showed Tuesday. In the five years through July this year, 1,509, or 80.8 percent, out of 1,868 illegal acts were related to smoking onboard, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Under South Korean law, a fine of up to 10 million won ($7,500) will be imposed once in-flight smoking, including e-cigarettes, is f

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2024

Sales in South Korean convenience store chains ranked second among offline shopping outlets after department stores in the first half, the trade ministry said Tuesday. The ratio of sales in convenience stores came to 16 percent in the January-June period following department stores' 16.8 percent, showed data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Convenience stores exceeded large discount stores in terms of annual sales ratio for the first time in 2021 and have since maintained th

Industry Sept. 17, 2024

Nearly half of all fatal hit-and-run accidents in the past five years were caused by drunk or unlicensed drivers, National Police Agency data showed Tuesday. Out of 420 hit-and-run deaths from 2019-2023, 50.2 percent, or 211 people, were hit by drivers who were driving without a license or under the influence of alcohol, according to data submitted to Rep. Jo Eun-hui of the ruling People Power Party. During the same period, 30.5 percent of the 49,562 people injured from hit-and-run cases involve

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2024

A 35-ton fishing vessel capsized off the coast near Gunsan, a southwestern port city in North Jeolla Province, resulting in the deaths of three people onboard, the Korea Coast Guard said Monday. The Coast Guard successfully rescued all eight people from the capsized vessel. However, three of them -- the Korean captain, the Korean chief engineer and an Indonesian sailor -- were transferred to hospitals but later pronounced dead. The remaining five survivors, which include three Vietnamese and two

Social Affairs Sept. 16, 2024

The approval rating for President Yoon Suk Yeol has dropped to its lowest level since he took office in May 2022, a poll showed Monday. The survey, conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, showed Yoon's positive rating at 27 percent, down by 2.9 percentage points from the previous week. The previous record low was 29.3 percent in the first week of August 2022. It marked the third consecutive week that Yoon's approval rating has fallen below 30 percent. The survey attribute

Politics Sept. 16, 2024

K-pop boy group Seventeen will release its 12th EP on Oct. 14, the group's agency Pledis Entertainment said Monday. Titled "Spill the Feels," the album marks the 13-member group's first release in six months following its best-of album "17 is Right Here." Ahead of the album launch, Seventeen will kick off its "Right Here" world tour in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, from Oct. 12-13. The tour will continue in the United States, Japan and other Asian count

Culture Sept. 16, 2024

North Korea will hold a key parliamentary meeting next month to mainly amend the country's constitution, state media reported Monday, after its leader Kim Jong-un called for the constitutional revision to define South Korea as its primary foe. The 11th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly will be convened in Pyongyang on Oct. 7, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In an SPA meeting in January, the North's leader called for revising the constitution to define Sout

North Korea Sept. 16, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday visited police and fire stations to encourage police officers and firefighters who are working for public safety during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, his office said. Yoon visited Gwanak Police Station and Gangseo Fire Station in Seoul, where he was briefed on the situation on officers on duty during the holiday and expressed his thanks for their hard work, according to presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon. Yoon said since he took office, he has stressed

Politics Sept. 16, 2024

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe after a shooting occurred near his golf course in Florida on Sunday, in what investigators see as an apparent assassination attempt against the former president. The shooting took place shortly before 2 p.m. near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, where Trump was golfing. In a fundraising email, Trump said that he was "safe and well," according to CNN. His campaign and the US Secret Service also confirmed that he wa

World News Sept. 16, 2024