Shangri-La seen as the most likely venue

President Moon Jae-in vowed to expand cross-border exchanges with North Korea on Friday, saying an increase in exchanges may eventually lead to the unification of the divided Koreas."Should the exchanges that were launched by South and North Korean art performance groups continue and should the South and the North meet more frequently," the president said while meeting a group of South Korean artists over lunch at his office Cheong Wa Dae. "I believe the people may freely come and go between the

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a one-year prison term for a doctor accused of negligent homicide and other charges in the death of popular rock singer Shin Hae-chul. Shin died in October 2014 after the doctor, identified only by surname Kang, performed laparoscopic surgery on him to downsize his stomach. An investigation found that Shin died of complications related to pericardial perforation suffered during the surgery. Kang was indicted on charges of negligent homicide in connection with t

Sales of K-pop sensation BTS' latest Japanese album topped the 250,000 threshold, grabbing the platinum record status from the Japanese record industry, its agency said Friday.The third full-length BTS album in Japan, "Face Yourself," has recently surpassed 250,000 copies in sales and won the certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan, according to Big Hit Entertainment.The record was released in the Japanese market on April 4. (Big Hit Entertainment)It is the fifth highest o

North Korea has promised to not carry out unannounced missile tests and to abstain from other activities hazardous to commercial aviation in a recent meeting with officials of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an American media report said Friday.North Korean authorities recently delivered such promises to visiting officials of the international aviation body while disclosing they have completed their nuclear weapons program, Voice of America reported, citing ICAO spokesman William

Three-term lawmaker Rep. Hong Young-pyo was elected as the new floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday.The new floor leader faces the task of reducing differences with the opposition parties to normalize the National Assembly that has been crippled for the past two months. Hong decisively beat Rep. Noh Woong-rae for the leadership position, garnering 78 votes out of 116 ballots cast. Noh, who is also a three-term lawmaker, obtained 38 votes. Hong, a close aide of President

Hyundai says Elliott‘s demand of adopting holding company structure ‘unacceptable’

Police said Friday they will seek an arrest warrant for a female model suspected of leaking a photo of her male colleague posing nude during a drawing class at a university.  The Seoul Mapo Police Station said that the suspect, a 25-year-old only identified by her family name, Ahn, could destroy evidence or flee. She has been in police custody since Thursday evening. The suspect faces possible charges of using a device to take obscene photographs in violation of laws regarding sex crimes, police

South Korea and the US will hold another round of negotiations next week on sharing the cost of maintaining American troops in Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.The third session of the 10th Special Measures Agreement talks between the allies will be held in Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday, it said.The previous ones took place in Honolulu in March and on Jeju Island in April.The two sides plan to have "in-depth consultations" to fine-tune their positions on the basis of discussions

North Korea's state-controlled media on Friday kept mum about the date and location of a historic meeting between leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump despite a lot of hype outside the communist nation.Trump broke the news via his Twitter account Thursday night (Seoul time) that his "highly anticipated" talks with Kim will be held in Singapore on June 12."We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!" he wrote.The message sparked a flood of reports by internation

Guaranteeing a living wage for everyone is important, and Hyun Sang-won (an alias), the owner of a convenience store in downtown Seoul, agrees in principle that people deserve fair pay for work rendered.But the harsh reality facing the 50-something retiree is that he is currently tinkering with the possibility of reducing part-time workers at his store amid a saturated market and increased costs, which he says partly stems from the recent hike in the country's legal minimum wage. Preaching an in

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's announcement Thursday of a date and location for his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed cautious optimism for a deal to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program.The key, however, will be whether the terms are implemented after the two leaders come out of their historic June 12 meeting in Singapore."Trump and Kim wouldn't meet unless certain things have already been agreed to," Frank Aum, senior expert on North Korea at the US Insti

The South Korean government has set a task force to handle the unfolding legal dispute with US private equity fund Elliott as the US firm is demanding a huge financial compensation from the government, according to related ministries on Friday. The task force of government officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and so forth is holding working-level meetings before the government starts negotiating with t

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will likely hold a telephone conversation with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the near future, before the upcoming US-North Korea summit set to be held next month, an official from Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. The call will be made over the new hotline installed between the offices of the leaders of the two divided Koreas, the official noted, while speaking on condition of anonymity."The call will be made in the near future," the of

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place in Singapore June 12."The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th," Trump tweeted. "We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!"Trump's tweet came just hours after three American citizens were brought home from imprisonment in the communist country.Their release cleared a major obstacle