South Korea and the United States staged combined counter-drone drills at a US air base in a southwestern city last week, US military photos showed Sunday, as Seoul seeks to reinforce readiness following North Korea's drone incursions late last year. Posted on the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service on Friday, photos showed the drills taking place at Kunsan Air Base in Gunsan, 275 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday. One photo depicted a US Air Force officer ai

South Korea reported 12,051 new cases of COVID-19, the lowest for a Sunday in about eight months, as a downward trend continued. The total caseload came to 30,350,199, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The new cases marked the lowest daily outbreak reported on a Sunday since July 3, when 10,036 cases were reported. The number of critically ill patients came to 268, down from 284 the previous day, marking the lowest daily figure in 107 days. Sunday's tally is also down fr

South Korea plans to adopt a basic plan as early as next month to develop a new advanced guided missile capable of striking North Korean long-range artillery pieces hidden in caves, the state arms procurement agency said Sunday. The envisioned missile will be an upgraded version of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile, which is dubbed the "long-range artillery killer," according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. While the existing KTSSM system is operated on

South Korea reported an African swine fever case from a local farm in the eastern region of Gangwon Province, officials said Sunday. The latest ASF case was found in Yangyang in Gangwon Province, some 174 kilometers east of Seoul, according to authorities. It is the fourth ASF outbreak that South Korea has reported this year, following ones in Pocheon, Cheorwon and Gimpo. Authorities issued a 48-hour standstill order for pig farms and slaughterhouses in areas in the province, except for the nort

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 20,000 for the 10th consecutive day Saturday, signaling a solid downtrend in the spread of the virus here. The country reported 12,805 new cases, including 24 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30.34 million, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The Saturday tally is down from 14,624 the previous week and 13,504 the previous day. The country added 16 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 33,713, the KD

The Democratic Party of Korea has called for a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee, as its chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, appeared before prosecutors Friday for the third time this year in one of several criminal investigations facing him and his aides. The party is now considering fast-tracking a bill to name a special counsel against the first lady, whose stock transactions have come under scrutiny in connection with a Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation investigation. &ldqu

Yoon press office warns legal action against ‘fake news’ surrounding president and family

South Korea has imposed sanctions on North Korean individuals and groups for stealing cryptocurrency assets and coordinating cyberattacks, the first independent steps to curb cybercrimes that Seoul says are linked to bankrolling Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. Four North Korean computer programmers and seven entities associated with North Korea’s top military intelligence agency -- the Reconnaissance General Bureau -- face the ban, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday

A planned exchange visit to a US town by South Korean high school students last year was canceled after animal activists there raised the issue of dog meat farms operating in the area the students are from, it was revealed Friday. Palisades Park, New Jersey – a twin town of Gangwha County in Incheon-- decided to cancel the planned three-week exchange program in June last year. The decision was made after some activists reported to the borough’s council about illegal dog meat activi

South Korea will restart issuing short-term visas for travelers from China on Saturday, ending a monthlong suspension prompted by a rise in COVID-19 infections in China. Beijing had immediately retaliated with the same suspension, calling it a “countermeasure” and urging Seoul to lift its restrictions first. Kim Sung-ho, the vice interior minister in charge of disaster and safety management, said Friday that the latest shift in policy came in light of the fact that fewer arrivals fro

Seungri, a former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang, was released from Yeoju Prison in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday after completing his 18-month sentence, according to the Ministry of Justice. Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, was indicted in January 2020 over his involvement in the “Burning Sun scandal,” a far-reaching sex and drug scandal since 2018. The 33-year-old singer began his military service during trial and was sentenced to three years in prison in a military c

Koreans' pursuit of famed teachers dates back to 1960s, but internet and online classes elevated their status to quasi-celebrities

South Korea and the United States plan to incorporate "live, virtual and constructive" training elements in this year's springtime combined military exercise for the first time in five years, the US Forces Korea said Friday, as part of efforts to bolster readiness against evolving North Korean threats. The LVC framework refers to "live" field maneuvers, "virtual" simulation drills and "constructive" war games -- three key elements that are intertwined

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain open to dialogue with North Korea but will not reduce sanctions on the reclusive country just to bring Pyongyang back to the dialogue table, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. On the same token, the department spokesperson said the US will not reduce its joint military exercises with allies. "We have an offer on the table to the DPRK for dialogue right now. This is an offer that the DPRK could have accepted over the course of n

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was set to appear before prosecutors for questioning Friday as part of a development corruption investigation that he condemned as politically motivated. Lee is scheduled to show up at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office at 11 a.m. in connection with the investigation into corruption-ridden property development projects in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, launched while he was mayor. It marks the third time in about a month that Lee, the chair of th