Days after outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in made possibly his last ambitious push to diplomatically resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program, the North on Friday rejected his call for a declaration ending the Korean War, making it clear it has no interest in political statements unless they bring badly needed relief from crippling economic sanctions. Nuclear diplomacy between the US and North Korea has stalled over disagreements over a relaxation of the US-led sanction

LONDON (AP) -- Climate protesters blocked the entrance to Britain's busiest ferry port on Friday to highlight the climate crisis and fuel poverty in the UK. Vehicles were stuck in queues as more than 40 protesters from the climate group Insulate Britain blocked the main road into the English Channel port. The Port of Dover is Europe's busiest ferry port and handles 17 percent of the UK's trade in goods. "Port of Dover confirms protesters are currently blocking the entrance to the port,&qu

KABUL (AFP) -- Residents of a Hazara-dominated farming community in central Afghanistan say they have been ordered out of their homes by Taliban fighters doing the bidding of Pashtun landlords who want to seize their crops and stores. Mohammad Mohaqeq, a Hazara political leader exiled since the Taliban takeover last month, raised the alarm earlier this week in a letter published on social media. He said more than 800 families had been ordered out of their homes in a remote district straddling

The Biden administration's special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest of "inhumane" large-scale expulsions of Haitian migrants to their homeland as it is wracked by civil strife and natural disaster, US officials said Thursday. Daniel Foote was appointed to the position only in July, following the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise. Even before the migrant expulsions from the small Texas border town of Del Rio, the career diplomat was known to be deeply frustrated with w

The Polish Embassy in Seoul held the first edition of Poland Business Week on Sept. 13-17 to promote Polish companies in tech sectors such as fintech, cybersecurity and drones. The embassy said the event was aimed at bringing together internationally acclaimed Polish companies and offering them a fresh occasion to seek potential business partners in Korea. The inaugural event was held virtually due to COVID-19 but the embassy hinted that future editions could come in a hybrid form that comp

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's central bank on Friday said all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies are illegal, sounding the death knell for the digital trade in China after a crackdown on the volatile currencies. The global values of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have massively fluctuated over the past year partly due to Chinese regulations, which have sought to prevent speculation and money laundering. "Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial acti

A South Korean media bill under criticism for potentially undermining press freedom, if passed, could give a "negative message" to the world about the country's stance on freedom of media, a UN expert said Friday. Irene Khan, a UN special rapporteur on promoting the right to freedom of expression, made the remark during a virtual press briefing, weeks after she sent a letter to the Seoul government calling for a revision of the bill. The legislation, titled Press Arbitration Act

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases on Saturday exceeded 3,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic as people returned home from the Chuseok holiday. The country reported an all-time high number of daily cases for the second consecutive day by adding 3,273, including 3,245 local infections, raising the total caseload to 298,402, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Saturday's daily caseload jumped 839 from the previous day's record high of 2,43

Including South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, technology companies and automakers were asked to make efforts to improve transparency about their US supply chains during a meeting hosted by US Secretary of Commerce on Thursday, according to news reports. Samsung was among a list of companies including TSMC, Intel, Apple, Microsoft and some automakers, which tuned into the meeting held via teleconference, according to the reports. The companies were asked to submit documents including inf

The five members of ITZY talked about their first studio album “Crazy in Love” that came out on Friday through a Q&A statement released through their label JYP Entertainment. 　 The LP consists of 16 tracks and Ryujin admitted that it was not easy since it was the first time she recorded so many songs in such short time. 　 “But I am glad that we get to show a diverse range of new songs,” she said. The name of the lead track, “Loco,” is a slang for crazy

South Korean mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay said Friday it has delayed its plan to go public yet again amid toughened consumer protection regulations in the domestic market. Kakao Pay, a 55:45 joint venture of internet giant Kakao Corp. and China’s Ant Group, has revised its prospectus to carry out its initial public offering process by three weeks. Its IPO size, at up to 1.53 trillion won ($1.3 billion) via 17 million new shares, will remain unchanged. According to the latest fi

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will kick off its third and final season of 2021 with Japanese-German conductor Erina Yashima and clarinetist Kim Han. The SPO will hold concerts on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Lotte Concert Hall in eastern Seoul under the baton of Yashima. It is the first time for Yashima, assistant conductor at the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2019, to lead the Seoul-based orchestra. Under her lead, the orchestra will present Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,&rdqu