The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has reduced the amount of COVID-19 vaccines allocated for North Korea, a UN website showed Tuesday, apparently canceling a batch of jabs developed by a US company, in a move seen attributable to the lack of a response from Pyongyang. A total of 1.29 million vaccines have been allocated to the North, according to the UN Children's Fund's COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard, down 252,000 from the previous 1.54 million doses as of earlier th

A surge in coronavirus cases has been wreaking havoc on playing schedules in South Korean professional sports this month, an eerie deja vu to previous springs when seasons were postponed or even canceled outright at the onset of the pandemic. The top two divisions in pro football just had their first weekend of the season, and it's the volleyball and basketball leagues, with their seasons in full swing for months, that have been hit the hardest. The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), which run

North Korea's military massacred more than 1,100 South Korean Christians and Catholics during the 1950-53 Korean War, a state reconciliation panel said Tuesday. The North's Korean People's Army killed 1,026 Christians and 119 Catholics during its retreat from the South following an amphibious Incheon landing operation by United Nations forces, also known as Operation Chromite, on Sept. 26, 1950, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said, citing a report from Seoul Theological University.South

South Korea's new COVID-19 infections rose again to just shy of 100,000 on Tuesday amid fears that the cases could further surge due to the fast spread of the omicron variant across the country. The country reported 99,573 new COVID-19 infections, including 99,444 local cases, raising the total caseload to 2,157,734, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). New daily infections have risen at a fast pace in recent weeks, surpassing the 100,000 mark for the first time F

　North Korea retreated four notches in an annual international corruption ranking to 174th among 180 countries last year, a report by an anti-corruption watchdog showed.  　The reclusive country scored 16 out of 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index report issued by Berlin-based Transparency International, down two points from the previous year. 　The index evaluates countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, using data collected “by a variety of reputab

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will push for another extra budget to support pandemic-hit small businesses, the party's floor leader said Tuesday. Rep. Yun Ho-jung said the DP plans to swiftly draft a second supplementary budget for this year after the March 9 presidential election and will even consider using an emergency order if necessary. His remarks came a day after the National Assembly passed a 16.9 trillion-won ($14.2 billion) extra budget bill, which was up 2.9 trillion won from the g

DAEJEON -- A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for putting liquid bathroom cleaner into the intravenous drip line of another patient for unclear reasons while in hospital for burn treatment, sources said Tuesday. The man committed the crime at a hospital in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, in March last year. Following the infusion, the patient complained of chest pains and a nurse changed the IV solution, but the man put the cleaner into the line again abo

The top diplomats of South Korea and India have met in France to discuss regional issues and ways to expand cooperation and exchanges in various areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong sat down with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Paris on Monday (local time) on the eve of the Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum 2022. They were invited to the France-hosted forum, along with over 50 foreign ministers from the European Union and the Indo-Pacific r

Instant noodles captured the top spot in production among food products in South Korea in 2020 on a surge in exports amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The output of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, stood at 1.93 million tons in 2020, up a whopping 231 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Ramyeon's ranking in terms of production was up 12 notches from the previous year. Strong exports were cited as the ma

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday as Russia sent in forces to parts of Ukraine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 42.05 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,701.75 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors dumped local stocks following reports that Russian dispatched what it called "peacekeeping forces" to eastern Ukraine. Most large caps slumped in Seoul, led by foreign sell-offs. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics decreased 1.89 percent, and No. 2 chipmak

South Korea's business sentiment improved for March to exceed the benchmark level for the first time in three months amid relaxed anti-coronavirus measures in major economies, a poll showed Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales stood at 102.1 for next month, up 2.4 points from February, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said. It represents the first time since December that the monthly yardstick of business sentiment has been above the bench

Painter Toh Yun-hee’s Seoul exhibition is celebration of color

Installation artist Choe U-ram was selected as the artist for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2022, an annual project organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea to support established Korean artists. Choe is known for kinetic sculptures known as “anima-machines” that combine the realms of art and science, which he has explored since the early 1990s. The kinetic installations created with stainless steel, robotics and acrylic show how humans’ desire i

President Moon Jae-in will preside over a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting, set to take place at Cheong Wa Dae at 11 a.m., comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in Ukraine after recognizing their independence. Moon is expected to use the meeting to discuss measures to protect South Korean nationals and minimize damage to South Korean businesses b