South Korea and the United States will hold their second round of negotiations in Seoul next week on the sharing of the costs for the upkeep of American soldiers stationed here, Seoul officials said Thursday. The talks, set for Tuesday through Thursday, come about a month after the allies launched the negotiations on determining how much Seoul should shoulder for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. The first round of the SMA talks took place in Hawaii. The current six-year deal,

A rare mid-May warning of heavy snow was issued Wednesday over mountainous areas in northern Gangwon Province. The warning went into effect at 7:20 p.m. as snow, which had started shortly beforehand, was forecast to continue into Thursday morning, accumulating up to 7 centimeters in highland and other mountain areas of northern Gangwon. A heavy snow warning is issued when snowfall accumulation is expected to reach five centimeters or more within a 24-hour period. It marks the first mid-May heavy

President Yoon Suk Yeol exchanged Wednesday somewhat awkward greetings with Cho Kuk, leader of a minor opposition party, in their first public encounter in years after the two became at odds with each other over the investigation into Cho's family. The brief meeting took place when Yoon was leaving an event held in celebration of Buddha's birthday in central Seoul, where many other key political figures were also present. Yoon greeted Cho, the leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, by s

President Yoon Suk Yeol promised Wednesday to run state affairs "rightly" in a way that will help improve the people's livelihoods and make the country overcome challenges. Yoon made the remarks in a congratulatory speech in observance of Buddha's birthday, a public holiday in South Korea, saying he will do all he can do to make a "warm and happy" society. "I will do my best to carry out the state affairs rightly as I always keep the Buddha's teachings in

A memorial for the victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, currently installed in front of the main City Hall building in central Seoul, could be relocated as a special bill that mandates an investigation into the tragedy took effect Tuesday. The Seoul city government on Wednesday said the bereaved families and civic groups related to the incident, which claimed 159 lives, would begin discussions on an alternative location for the altar that was installed near Gwanghwamun in February last year.

Some say doctors oppose med school quota hike to protect their turf, while others believe they deserve fair compensation for their vital services

The nominee for the new chief prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials is set to explain multiple accusations against him and his family, including allegations of nepotism, in a confirmation hearing scheduled for Friday. Oh Dong-woon, a former judge and attorney, was nominated last month to lead the state investigation agency but has since been mired in controversy surrounding the hiring of his wife at a law firm he worked for between January 2018 and Octobe

An online user claimed to have discovered broken metal pins, resembling syringe needles, in Korean premium hanwoo beef, raising questions about meat inspection protocols. On Tuesday, a user of the online community Bobaedream shared images of metal pieces she claimed were from a needle tip found in beef. She described an experience of chewing on a "small metal pin" first and "a pin resembling a sharp needle tip” later, although a thorough search for other metal parts afterwar

As South Korea grapples with a significant surge in plastic pollution, the chief of the world’s largest nongovernmental conservation group's Korean office called for the government here to adopt stricter regulations, calling it an "absolutely necessary" measure. “Some environmental issues cannot be resolved through voluntary participation, and targeting plastic waste problems is one of them,” World Wide Fund for Nature-Korea's executive director Park Min-h

S. Korea, Zimbabwe set to sign Trade and Investment Framework during first Korea-Africa summit in June

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his "beloved daughter" Ju-ae attended a ceremony marking a newly built street at the north gateway of Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Wednesday. It was the first time in about two months that Ju-ae made a public appearance since she visited a military unit on March 15. Kim and his daughter attended the ceremony on Tuesday, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency. The KCNA described the street as "clear proof of

The government plans to amend tobacco-related laws to designate synthetic nicotine as a type of tobacco in order to regulate the product category seeing growing popularity among young smokers, according to officials Wednesday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to push for a revision of the law to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco under the Tobacco Business Act, according to officials. In South Korea, tobacco-related laws are man

South Korea's top envoy to the United States expressed confidence Tuesday that the alliance between Seoul and Washington will strengthen "incessantly" through the allies' "institutionalized" cooperation irrespective of who wins the White House in November. Ambassador Cho Hyun-dong made the remarks as US President Joe Biden is set to face former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election amid speculation that Trump's return to the top office could potentially bring a foreig

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a new tactical missile weapons system and called for an "epochal change" in war preparations by attaining arms production plans, state media said Wednesday. Kim oversaw the "tactical missile weapons system to be newly equipped by the combined missile units of the Korean People's Army in charge of an important firing assignment" on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not provide further details on the

The closing rate of restaurant businesses in South Korea exceeded 20 percent last year, higher than during the height of the COVID-19 period. According to the FinTech company Pinda's big data business analysis platform, “Open Up,” 176,258 out of 818,867 restaurants closed last year, with a closing rate of 21.52 percent. This means that more than 1 out of 5 restaurants closed. The number of restaurants that closed last year surged by 82.6 percent from 96,530 in 2020. The closin