Russia appears to have prepared a Korean-language questionnaire to facilitate the distribution of military equipment to North Korean soldiers deployed in its territory, CNN reported. The questionnaire, provided by the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (SPRAVDI), is seen as further evidence that North Korean troops may be joining Russian forces in the conflict in Ukraine. The questionnaire includes instructions requesting soldiers to provide their hat, uniform

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressing a willingness to move relations between the two countries further forward and to promote regional and global peace, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday. Xi sent the message on Wednesday in response to a message that Kim had earlier sent on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of China's founding in 1949, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency. "China and the DPRK ar

North Korea's top diplomat has criticized a new multilateral sanctions monitoring team led by the United States as "unlawful and illegitimate" and warned the participating countries will "pay a dear price," state media reported Sunday. North Korea's Foreign Minister Choi Sun-hui issued a statement condemning the sanctions regime after South Korea, the US, and Japan on Thursday announced the launch of the monitoring mechanism with eight other countries, following Rus

South Korea's state-run oil developer has selected US-based Schlumberger as a service provider to analyze the rock and gas composition of a potential gas field in the East Sea, a document showed Sunday. Schlumberger will conduct the "mud logging" operation for an excavation project in the East Sea that could potentially uncover between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil, according to Rep. Kim Won-i of the main opposition Democratic Party, who cited data from Korea N

Unionized workers at Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital, one of the country's biggest hospitals, have decided to launch an indefinite walkout beginning on Oct. 31 in protest of the government's health care reform and poor working conditions, sources said Saturday. The union made the decision in a meeting held on Friday amid botched talks with the hospital on its call for maintaining the number of hospital beds, improving working conditions and raising pay for members. The u

The South Korean government said Thursday that it has decided to administer a regular mental health checkup for those aged between 20 and 34, starting next year as part of the state-run national health examination program. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, state health examination committee members conducted a meeting and agreed to expand the mental health checkup program. As part of the national health checkup program run by the National Health Insurance Service, the current pr

In South Korean schools, homeroom teachers are responsible for overseeing various aspects of their students' lives including their academic progress and college applications, keeping regular contact with parents if necessary. According to Education Ministry data made public Monday by Rep. Jin Seon-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea, the proportion of part-time teachers serving as homeroom teachers has been on the rise. In the past, homeroom teacher roles were reserved for full-time teacher

      North Korea claimed Saturday it has discovered remains of at least one drone sent from South Korea, describing it as the same type displayed on the South's Armed Forces Day in Seoul earlier this month. Pyongyang has accused Seoul of sending drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the capital. But South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said that he could not confirm the North's allegations. A North Korean defense ministry spokesperson said in a stateme

The United States is "highly concerned" about North Korea's reported dispatch of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, a White House official said Friday, noting that Washington will consult with allies on the implications of "such a dramatic move" if the report is true. On Friday, Korea time, South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed the North has decided to send around 12,000 troops to support Russia in the war and has already be

President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party chief plan to meet next week to discuss pressing issues, the presidential office said Friday, with controversies involving first lady Kim Keon Hee likely to top the agenda. Yoon and Han Dong-hoon, head of the People Power Party, will meet at the presidential office Monday, the office said, at a time when Yoon and the ruling party seek to recover from waning approval ratings as Yoon is halfway through his five-year term. The president and Han plan to d

North Korea has dispatched special forces to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, with the first batch already having arrived in Russia and a second group of North Korean troops expected to follow soon, South Korea's intelligence agency claimed on Friday. The National Intelligence Service said it "confirmed that North Korea began its participation in the war by transporting special forces to Russia via Russian Navy transport ships from Oct. 8 to 13." However, the NIS provided no

South Korea's conservative ruling bloc on Friday was divided over the prosecutors' recent decision to not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scandal involving a local BMW dealer. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Thursday dismissed the charges that the first lady violated the Financial Investment Services And Capital Markets Act. The announcement came some four years after the probe into allegations that Kim's stock trading ac

Bereaved families erupted in outrage following the acquittal of former Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho and two senior officials in a case concerning the Itaewon crowd crush. The court’s Thursday ruling sparked widespread anger among the families and their advocates, who accuse the judiciary of failing to hold top officials accountable for the disaster, which they attribute to inadequate planning and emergency response measures. The Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families group stro

With heavy rainfall expected nationwide through Saturday, temperatures across South Korea are set to drop sharply from Sunday, ushering in chilly autumn conditions. Some regions may even experience their first snowfall of the season. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea will see nationwide rain until Saturday as a low-pressure system from the west passes over the country. While the rain will cease in most parts of the country from Saturday morning, the rain will likely con

The poor condition of regional medical schools came under fire during Thursday's parliamentary audit at the National Assembly, just five months ahead of the start of the 2025 school year which will see a sharp rise in medical students. While several medical schools will have as many as twice or more medical students next year, Rep. Bak Seung-a of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea pointed out during the session held Thursday afternoon that the quota hike may not be feasible witho