The ASEAN-Korea Center (AKC) and the Korea Institute of International Economic Policy (KIEP) convened the fourth edition of the Trade and Investment Roundtable on Wednesday to bolster economic collaboration between the ASEAN region and Korea. Themed "ASEAN-Korea Cooperation for Next Decade to Come," the roundtable focused on supply chain resilience and digital transformation in ASEAN and Korea. In his opening remarks, Kim Jae-shin, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, emphasize

North Korea has appointed a new ambassador to its mission at the United Nations office in Geneva, the UN website showed Saturday. Jo Chol-su, who previously served as director-general of international organizations at North Korea's foreign ministry, presented his credentials to the UN Office at Geneva on Friday, according to the website. Jo's appointment comes five months after his predecessor, Han Tae-song, returned to the North amid allegations of his involvement in ivory smuggling.

North Korea said Saturday it will deploy a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher to its military starting this year, voicing expectations that the weapon system will strengthen the country's artillery combat capabilities. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a test-firing of controllable shells for "the technically updated version" of the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The weapon system is believed to tar

A lantern parade marking the upcoming Buddha's birthday will take place in Seoul on Saturday, drawing an expected 50,000 people and leading to road closures. The parade and related festivities are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, before Buddha's birthday that falls on Wednesday, according to a Buddhist committee preserving the lotus lantern festival. A procession of lantern holders will leave Dongdaemun gate at 7 p.m. Saturday and walk across the Jonggak intersection before reaching

The government plans to establish a state-led adoption system to better ensure the well-being of adoptees and reduce the number of children adopted overseas, health ministry officials said Friday. The announcement of the adoption system reform comes ahead of the scheduled implementation of laws on overseas and domestic adoption in July next year, aimed at enhancing the rights and well-being of adoptees and adoptive families. In the envisioned system, the central and the regional government will

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Friday that the government will actively make efforts to help South Korean firms not receive "unfair treatment" in overseas markets. He made the remark during his meeting with Science Minister Lee Jong-ho as the foreign and science ministries newly created a consultative body to promptly discuss and share relevant policies in the artificial intelligence and digital sectors. The meeting was held ahead of the upcoming AI summit, which Seoul is set to co-

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday interacted directly with the public for the first time in a month since the ruling bloc's general election defeat in April. Yoon visited a Korean restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul, with his aides to interact with the South Korean citizens during lunchtime. The president had lunch there and discussed the soaring price of dining out, according to spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. After lunch, Yoon spent time at the Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs through central Seoul. Th

Seoul International Travel Fair kicked off Thursday at COEX, Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, to show the tourism potential of countries, cities, and provinces around the globe. Organizers and participants of the event said the exhibition was held to address the need to diversify tourist demographics beyond their traditional strongholds, noting the growing interest from travelers. Hafsa H. Mbamba, CEO of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism said the Tanzania has pristine beaches with mountaineering

Cho first South Korean foreign minister to visit China since 2017

The Busan police on Friday requested an arrest warrant for a YouTuber in his 50s, accused of stabbing to death another YouTuber whom he was quarreling with in front of a local court. The suspect surnamed Hong is accused of murdering the victim surnamed Jo, also in his 50s, in front of the Busan District Court in Yeonje-gu, Busan, at around 9:52 a.m. on Thursday. The suspect fled the scene afterward but was captured by police at around 11:35 a.m. in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, some 70 ki

Lim Hyun-taek, the chief of the Korean Medical Association, made yet another controversial comment at a press conference Friday, during which he seemingly disparaged medical schools in other countries. The recently-elected leader of the doctors' group launched harsh criticism against the South Korean government's plan to allow foreign doctors to practice medicine in the country, in a bid to fill the health care void from the mass walkout of trainee doctors here. "There are (medica

After strong defiance from Korean doctors on the government’s plan to allow those holding foreign medical licenses to practice medicine in the country, a scheme to let such doctors practice medicine here is unlikely to take effect anytime soon. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that there are no immediate plans to bring in foreign license holders to fill the current medical void, emphasizing that if such a situation were to arise, sufficient safety measures would be put in place. Ear

The National Police Agency on Thursday posted a video of a South Korean police officer who plowed through the cold waters inside the drain system to save a drunken man who fell and injured himself. According to the NPA, emergency rescue services in Nam-gu, Ulsan, received reports that a man was lying inside a drainage tunnel at around 9 p.m., May 4. Police officers and emergency workers were dispatched to the scene and found a man in his 50s, who while walking intoxicated lost his footing and fe

South Korean tattooists held a protest in Daegu on Thursday calling for the legalization of nonmedical tattoos, ahead of the country's first-ever jury trial case involving the legal basis for a tattoo performed by a person without a medical license. Several members of the Korea Tattoo Federation gathered in front of the Daegu District Court in Suseong-gu and demanded a not-guilty verdict for a practitioner charged with giving a person an eyebrow tattoo without a medical license. The 20-som

The South Korean government said Friday that it has devised a guideline to clamp down on businesses that run "pseudo-casino operations," addressing the legal loophole that has allowed de facto gambling at drinking establishments such as the poker-themed bars commonly called "hold'em pubs." The guideline on bans of pseudo-casino operations was jointly developed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the National Police Agency and the National Gambling Control Com