South Korea will this week review a motion to bankroll North Korea's ongoing participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, the unification ministry said Tuesday. The South and North Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council will convene on Wednesday morning to deliberate on the motion to pay about 2.9 billion won ($2.7 million) worth of Olympic bills for Pyongyang, the ministry sa...

GANGNEUNG -- Korean figure skating star Cha Jun-hwan said Tuesday he is gaining balance in skating and getting more confident in competing at his first Olympics in PyeongChang. "I'm still on the way to recovering from the flu. Still, there is a long way to go," the 16-year old said after a 40-minute training session at the main rink of the Gangneung Ice Arena. "But I'm getting better and better....

President Moon Jae-in presided over a Cabinet video conference Tuesday for the first time since taking office, with some ministers attending from the presidential office and others from the central administrative city of Sejong. Forty-one Cabinet members, including Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, joined Moon at Cheong Wa Dae for the meeting, while 19 oth...

Korea's health authorities said Tuesday the outbreak of norovirus infections in the Olympic host town of PyeongChang was likely caused by contaminated water from a lodging facility where private security staff for the Winter Games stayed. The cooking water at the facility in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, was possibly contaminated, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Preve...

The floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party called Tuesday for reunions of separated families between South Korea and North Korea, saying it is the most urgent issue to address in expanding cooperation and exchanges between the two sides. Rep. Woo Won-shik made the appeal as inter-Korean relations have shown signs of warming in the wake of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's charm offensive to...

WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's surprise invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang has created additional pressure for the South to be tough with the provocative regime. Moon responded cautiously, saying that the two sides should build the conditions for a future summit. The liberal leader has long embraced a policy of engagement with Pyongyang to peacef...

The Cabinet plans to approve a measure Tuesday that calls for shortening the period of interrogation North Korean defectors go through after arriving in South Korea from up to 180 days to 90 days. Upon arrival in the South, defectors from the communist nation are put under custody for questioning by intelligence and other agencies to determine whether they are truly from the North and to find ou...

GANGNEUNG -- The joint Korean women's hockey team was eliminated in the preliminary round at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Monday, following its 8-0 loss to Sweden. Korea suffered its second straight loss in Group B play, at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, site of all ice events during the Olympics, two days after falling to Switzerland 8-0. The shots were 50-19 for Sweden. Korea need...

South Korea will take proactive measures to boost exports to keep the growth momentum going despite rising protectionist policies by major trading partners and fewer working days in February, the trade ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy expected the export growth will slow this month due to fewer working days from the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls later in th...

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday left open the door to dialogue with North Korea, saying it will be up to Pyongyang to decide when they are ready. Tillerson was speaking at a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo, where he was asked whether he sees the start of a diplomatic process with North Korea. Over the weekend, US Vice President Mike Pence told...

'여직원 사내 성추행' 논란으로 물의를 빚은 한샘이 불법으로 임산부에게 야간·휴일 근무를 시킨 사실이 드러났다. 이에 따라 한샘 사업주는 검찰에 기소 의견으로 송치될 것으로 보인다. 고용노동부는 지난해 11월 7일부터 약 한 달간 한샘 본사에 대해 근로감독을 실시한 결과 임산부(임신 중이거나 산후 1년이 지나지 않은 여성)의 야간·휴일 근로 등 근로기준법 위반 사례를 다수 적발했다고 13일 밝혔다. 한샘 상암동 신사옥 [한샘 제공=연합뉴스] 고용부에 따르면 회사 측은 임산부 16명에 대해 고용부 장관의 인가를 받지 않고 야간(오후 10시∼오전 6시)·휴일근로를 시켰다. 또 27명에 대해서는 시간외 근로 한도를 초과해 연장근로를 시킨 것으로 드러났다. 임산부에게 야간·휴일 근로를 시키려면 고용부 장...

헌정 초유의 대통령 탄핵을 몰고 온 국정농단 사건의 주범이자 박근혜 정부 '비선실세'로 알려진 최순실씨가 13일 주요 혐의에 대한 사법부의 판단을 받는다. 2016년 11월 20일 재판에 넘겨진 이래 450일 만이다. 서울중앙지법 형사합의22부(김세윤 부장판사)는 이날 오후 2시 10분 417호 대법정에서 최씨의 선고 공판을 열어 형법상 직권남용 권리행사방해·강요·특정범죄가중처벌법상 뇌물수수 및 알선수재 등 18가지 혐의사실에 대해 유무죄 판단을 내린다. (사진=연합뉴스) 최씨와 함께 기소된 안종범 전 청와대 수석, 지난해 4월 박근혜 전 대통령과 함께 기소된 신동빈 롯데그룹 회장도 이날 1심 선고를 받는다. 최씨와 안 전 수석은 박 전 대통령과 공모해 미르·K스포츠재단에 50여개 대기업이 774억...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged efforts to continue the reconciliatory mood with South Korea as he welcomed back a high-ranking North Korean delegation from their trip to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, the North's state-run news agency said Tuesday. "It is important to continue making good results by further livening up the warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue cre...