TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to meet Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev Friday in the final leg of his Central Asia trip. Yoon last met Mirziyoyev in September last year on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States. Yoon is expected to work to ensure the stable supply of critical minerals from Uzbekistan, open ways for South Korean construction firms to join more Uzbek projects, and boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of health care

The United States remains "always vigilant" about North Korea's potential steps against South Korea that might go beyond its sending of trash-filled balloons to the South, a senior US diplomat said Wednesday. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell made the remarks amid tensions heightened by the North's recent floating of disturbing balloons across the inter-Korean border and the South's short-lived resumption of frontline loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts. "We

The US-led UN Command said Thursday it is investigating a series of incidents at the inter-Korean border earlier this week, including a brief border incursion by North Korean troops and South Korea's resumption of anti-Pyongyang broadcasts. On Sunday, some 20 North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone, separating the two Koreas, in the central section of the border before retreating northward after the South fired warning shots, according to Se

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- The presidential office on Wednesday revealed plans to add nonstop flights between South Korea's port city of Incheon and cities of Kazakhstan, namely the capital city of Astana and its most populous city, Almaty. Park Chun-sup, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, told reporters in a briefing that South Korean budget carrier T'way Air is poised to start operating direct flights between Incheon and Astana soon, two or three times a week. Also, anoth

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) proceeded with a parliamentary committee session Wednesday to reintroduce a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military's response to a Marine's death last year, despite fierce resistance from the ruling party. The DP unilaterally convened a meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, a key panel with the power to approve bills for a plenary vote at the National Assembly, while lawmakers of the ruling People Power

ASTANA -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that South Korea and Kazakhstan need to broaden the scope of economic ties beyond their traditional focus on the automotive and resource sectors to include critical mineral supply chains and infrastructure projects. During a bilateral business forum held as part of his state visit to Kazakhstan, Yoon underlined the need for expanding the areas of economic cooperation to better complement each other's industries. "Since the establishmen

The governors of two South Korean provinces bordering North Korea on Wednesday clashed on how to deal with activists flying leaflets targeting North Koreans over the border, after once again being harassed by trash balloons launched by Pyongyang over the weekend. Kim Dong-yeon, the governor of Gyeonggi Province from the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a meeting with provincial military and fire authorities the same day that if things got worse he would strengthen surveillance against attempts

Kwon Gyeong-ae, a lawyer whose repeated failures to show up to court lost a case involving a teenage girl's death caused by school bullying, was ordered by another court to pay 50 million won ($36,000) in compensation to the bereaved family of the victim. The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday ruled against Kwon in the civil damages suit filed by the girl’s mother, Lee Gi-cheol, and her family, in which they requested a total of 200 million won in financial and psychological dama

A member of a local church has been arrested and indicted for the abuse and murder of a 17-year-old girl, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said Wednesday. The 55-year-old suspect initially faced child abuse resulting in death, but the prosecution altered the charge to child abuse and murder after an additional investigation it conducted since taking the case from police on May 24. Child abuse and murder can be punished by at least seven years in prison, and up to a death sentence

MOUs to give S. Korean firms priority in mineral exploration, development in Kazakhstan: Yoon

South Korea announced a crackdown Wednesday on false or exaggerated advertisements for growth hormone treatments, as the private market for height-enhancement products grows here. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it has launched the crackdown in collaboration with 17 local governments. The initiative will continue through June 21. Hospitals, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies found to be overstating or falsely advertising information will be subject to administrative guidance and

A backlash is coming from South Korea's pregnant women over the Health Ministry's decision not to allow the simultaneous use of epidurals and a continuous local anesthetic colloquially referred to as a "pain buster" here during childbirth starting next month, lambasting the government for restricting womens' right to choose. The ministry has recently announced that pregnant women will no longer be able to use epidurals and pain busters, also known as severe pain reliever

Patients urge med professors to keep providing medical treatment, saying they are being thrust into death

District collects donations to provide free lunches for 1,000 seniors a day, to help them socialize, prevent lonely death

S. Korea, Cuba hold first high-level diplomatic talks since forging ties