KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russian forces shelled Ukraine's second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an agreement to keep talking. The country's embattled president said the stepped-up shelling was aimed at forcing him into concessions. "I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method

South Korea reported less than 140,000 cases of COVID-19 for the second consecutive day Tuesday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but virus-related deaths remained high amid the fast spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. The country reported 138,993 new coronavirus infections, including 138,935 local cases, raising the total caseload to 3,273,449, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in mid-Fe

North Korea has reported to the World Health Organization that the country has seen no cases of the coronavirus after more than 56,000 people have undergone tests so far, WHO data showed Tuesday. The North has claimed it has remained coronavirus-free since the pandemic began two years ago. According to the latest WHO statistics, 56,227 North Koreans have been tested for COVID-19 so far, but none of them were found to be infected. Of the about 1,300 people tested between Jan. 11-17, 110 showed sy

The two leading presidential candidates are expected to highlight their plans for relations with Japan on Tuesday as the country marks the anniversary of a 1919 uprising against Tokyo's colonial rule. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) are expected to use their campaign rallies in Seoul to outline how they will handle relations with Japan long plagued by history-related tensions. Lee will kick off his campaign sched

The United States and nine other member countries of the UN Security Council on Monday condemned North Korea's recent missile launch while urging Pyongyang to engage in sustained dialogue. The call came in a joint press conference that followed a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss issues including North Korea's latest missile test. "The DPRK's February 27 (local time) launch of a ballistic missile is yet another example of the DPRK's recent pattern of destabilizing be

Korea decided to provide $10 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, as it is fighting against Russia's invasion, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.    The aid for the Ukrainian government and its people, including refugees, was announced hours after President Moon Jae-in ordered officials to swiftly draw up a plan to help support the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.    "The assistance will be swiftly made following consultations with th

    Russia's top envoy to South Korea warned the two countries' cooperative ties could "change course," after Seoul announced its decision Monday to join a sanctions campaign to hold Moscow accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.    Ambassador Andrey Kulik made the remarks hours after Seoul's foreign ministry announced its decision to bar the exports of strategic materials to Russia and join the multinational move to exclude the country from the SWIFT global

COVID-19 deaths in South Korea are soaring to record levels while the country moves to live with omicron despite the continuing surge. Meanwhile, as the country seeks to live with omicron, COVID-19 deaths are soaring to record levels. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Korea saw 114 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours ending Sunday midnight -- the highest to date since the pandemic began. In the past week, COVID-19 deaths have averaged at 86 per day, up from 49 se

The Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea elected Oh Young-jin, president of The Korea Times, as its seventh chairman at its meeting of executive directors on Friday. Oh will serve as the chairman of Foreign Language Newspapers Association for a term of one year. The association was established in July 2015 and carries out joint research and projects to aid the development of foreign-language newspapers published in Korea. Its members are English-language dailies The Korea Hera

South Korea is suspending the use of the COVID-19 vaccine pass nationwide from Tuesday, citing a high vaccination rate and continuing legal challenges. The move comes more than two months since vaccine passes were introduced extensively in early December. While the mandate is lifted, people are no longer required to present proof of being fully vaccinated or have negative test results to enter public places. The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday said the passes were being scrapped for

South Korea decided to prohibit exports of strategic materials to Russia, joining the US and other countries in imposing tough restrictions following the invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. 　 The government has notified the US of its related decisions via a diplomatic channel, the ministry said.  　 Seoul announced its first set of economic measures targeting Russia in the wake of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The government will strengthen export control re

South Korea’s new financial welfare program for the younger generation is designed to disregard the nationality of the recipient. Anyone here who meets the income and age criteria -- Korean or not -- can sign up for a state-backed savings product that pays around 10 percent in yearly interest, tax breaks and saving incentives. Some call it unfair. “Why should (the government) give money to foreigners with the tax that we (Koreans) paid,” reads a petition on the homepage of

Candidates face headwinds after putting feet in mouth over security

The technology of next-generation genome writing in the field of platform bio will be essential to leading the future in the competitive era of technology hegemony, the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology said Monday, as it announced 10 promising future biotechnologies for this year. The state-run institute said the technology of next-generation genome writing, which allows designing DNA and quickly combining it at a mass scale, will help mankind overcome technical limitat

KYIV (AFP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that his nuclear forces were on alert sparked outcry in the West as the invading troops faced stiff resistance on Monday. The UN General Assembly will hold a rare emergency session Monday to discuss the conflict, which has claimed dozens of lives and raised fears that it will displace millions of people. Ukraine has also said it had agreed to send a delegation to meet Russian representatives on the border with Belarus, which would be