Three-quarters of South Koreans agree with the need to shift to the “living with COVID-19” scheme, according to a recent poll, as the government is moving to phase out coronavirus restrictions under the new policy next month. According to the survey conducted early this month with 1,083 people aged 19 to 69, 76.5 percent expressed support for the government‘s planned transition to coexistence with the coronavirus. In a similar poll carried out in August, only 56.9 percent wer

North Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on around 42,000 people but found no infections, a World Health Organization (WHO) report showed Tuesday. A total of 678 North Koreans underwent testing for the virus from Oct. 8-14, but all were found negative, according to the WHO's COVID-19 weekly situation report Of the newly tested North Koreans, 113 people had flu-like illness or acute respiratory infections, while the rest were healthcare workers, it said. The latest testing brings the total

Having recently failed in their bid to win three major titles this year, South Korean football club Ulsan Hyundai FC will try to stay in the hunt for two trophies this week. Ulsan, currently in second place in the top-flight K League 1, will host the K League 2 club Jeonnam Dragons in the semifinals of the Korean FA Cup on Wednesday. The kickoff at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, some 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is 7 p.m. The other semifinal contest, between Gangwon FC and Daegu FC, wi

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from expectations for strong corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 14.33 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,034.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.9 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.18 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.43 percent to 70,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker

SK hynix Inc., South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker, reported strong third-quarter earnings Tuesday on the back of solid memory chip demand and rising prices. Net profit for the three months that ended in September leaped by 205.7 percent from a year earlier to 3.31 trillion won ($2.8 billion). Operating profit came to 4.17 trillion won, the highest since the fourth quarter of 2018. Sales increased 45.2 percent to a record of 11.8 trillion won during the same period, marking the second consecutive qu

The value of derivatives-tied securities issued in South Korea plumbed a near eight-year low in the first half of the year amid the bullish run of major global stock markets, data showed Tuesday. The amount of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) outstanding came to 80.2 trillion won ($68.5 billion) as of end-June, the lowest level since the end of 2013, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Those products are structured to track the pe

South Korea has concluded a free trade agreement with the Philippines in a move expected to bolster ties with the Southeast Asian nation and help diversify South Korea's trade portfolio, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and his Filipino counterpart, Ramon Lopez, were to declare the conclusion of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and sign their joint statement during a virtual meeting set to be held in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry an

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said the North's close ties with China are "sealed in blood" and will further strengthen for generations as he marked the anniversary of China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, state media reported Tuesday. Kim sent a remembrance wreath to a cemetery of fallen Chinese soldiers in Hoechang, South Pyongan Province, on Monday on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of China's dispatching of troops to the three-year war, according to the Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States is strengthening restrictions for all inbound travelers, including US citizens who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, the White House said Monday. Starting from Nov. 8, all non-US citizens and non-immigrant visitors from outside of the country will be required to provide a proof of vaccination before heading for the US, according a proclamation signed by President Joe Biden. Those fully vaccinated, regardless of their citizenship, will continue to be required

WASHINGTON -- China should help denuclearize North Korea if it wishes to see stability on the Korean Peninsula, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. John Kirby also insisted that Beijing has a great amount of influence over Pyongyang that he said can be used to help the North make the right decision. "What I can tell you is that we know China has influence in Pyongyang and that influence could be important to helping us all achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula," the Department

Group marks the start of a new series with virtual concert

“We must be able to think about unthinkable things because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.” So spoke the late US Sen. William J. Fulbright, who founded the famous Fulbright scholarships under which so many have been able to study in foreign countries and expand their horizons. Fulbright has always struck me as an unusually wise man. So I try to follow his advice. Let me tell you my conclusion from trying to think the unthinkable: If the US

Outsiders often view Africa as one large zone of war, poverty and tragedy. It’s not, but armed conflict is ongoing today in about a dozen of Africa’s 54 countries. While all of these conflicts are tragic, some are more relevant to the outside world than others. Ethiopia’s conflict is one of them. It began in November 2020, and the scale of suffering is massive. With Ethiopia’s size, geography and composition, the conflict could increase exponentially, with potential impl

Around six years ago, many people interested in classical music received shocking news: a winner of the Chopin International Piano Competition was an unfamiliar pianist named Seong-jin Cho. He was the first Korean to be awarded first prize since the competition was established. The Chopin International Piano Competition is one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world and was made to honor Chopin in 1927. Thanks to this competition, Seong-jin Cho became one of the world’s mos