The opposition Democratic Party of Korea went after the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s national security strategy on Thursday in a bid to keep the ruling People Power Party on the defense. Democratic Party floor leader Rep. Park Hong-keun convened an emergency meeting, in which he said that the “incompetence of the administration was threatening the security of the country.” “North Korean drones intruded into our airspace and revealed critical security gaps, and yet the r

South and North Korea breached the armistice agreement by flying drones across the inter-Korean border last December, said the United Nations Command on Thursday. South Korea disputed the UNC’s conclusion, saying that sending drones to North Korea after Pyongyang’s infiltration was carried out in “self-defense,” which is not restricted by the armistice agreement. The special investigation team was able to determine that the North Korean military “committ

Foreign Minister Park Jin is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in early February, sources said Thursday, as the two allies step up efforts to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and resolve a trade dispute involving US tax rules that its allies say favor locally made electric vehicles. The Foreign Ministry said details like exact dates and agendas were under debate, without elaborating. In late February, Park is expected to attend the Munich Security Conference i

The South Korean military on Thursday has publicly conceded overall defects in its counter-unmanned aircraft operations and the absence of real-time information-sharing between the army and air forces on airborne objects.  The forces initially failed to recognize the urgency of the situation and communicated via wire-tapped phone calls when North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles infiltrated South Korea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff in its report of a three-week ins

Some grew cannabis at home, Jeju tangerine farm; another smoked during trip with pregnant wife

Heavy snow fell around the central region on Thursday, putting local governments and power suppliers in emergency mode to prevent accidents and power outages. A heavy snow advisory was issued for most of the Seoul metropolitan area and the west coast of South Chungcheong Province on Thursday morning. The advisory is issued when the amount of snow accumulated over 24 hours is expected to be more than 5 centimeters. As of 2 p.m., 3.5 cm of snow had accumulated in Seoul, 6.9 cm in Incheon, 8.5 cm i

Presidential secretary says higher gas bills inevitable, blames sharpness of increase on Moon's energy policy

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rebounded to over 30,000 on Thursday after staying below 20,000 the previous four days due to fewer tests during the Lunar New Year holiday that ended Tuesday. The country reported 35,096 new cases, including 34 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,075,652, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Thursday's daily infections increased by more than 5,300 from a week earlier. The country added 26 COVID-19 deaths, bringi

North Korea is making all-out antivirus efforts, its official media said Thursday, amid a news report that it has imposed a lockdown on the capital city of Pyongyang apparently ahead of a military parade to mark the army founding anniversary next month. The Rodong Sinmun, the regime's main newspaper, stressed the need to place the top policy priority on strengthening quarantine efforts, calling on its people to continue fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic with the "greatest sense of

A man has been sentenced to a fine of 500,000 won ($405.7) for scribbling offensive words last year on a presidential election campaign banner of now main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, sources said Thursday. The Seoul Western District Court recently gave the sentence to the 44-year-old man, surnamed Jin, charged with scribbling on a banner set up near a bus station in Seoul's Yongsan district last year to promote Lee's run in the latest presidential election, according to the source

President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to hold meetings next week with Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a presidential official said Thursday. The NATO chief and the US defense secretary are set to visit Seoul next week, and the presidential office is making arrangements for meetings with Yoon, the official told Yonhap News Agency. During the meetings, Yoon is expected to reaffirm his commitment to strengthening the s

A heavy snow advisory was issued Thursday in the greater Seoul area and some central parts of the country, the state weather agency said. The advisory went into effect in Seoul's southwest and northwest regions, Incheon, parts of Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul and the coastal region of South Chungcheong Province, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The snowfall was heaviest overnight and into early Thursday, impacting the morning commute, the KMA said. The KMA advised citi

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in his new memoir that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told him in 2018 that he needed US forces in South Korea to protect himself from China. Kim "said that he needed the Americans in South Korea to protect him from the CCP, and that the CCP needs the Americans out so they can treat the peninsula like Tibet and Xinjiang," Pompeo wrote, referring to the Chinese Communist Party, in his book "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America

‘White-paper protests were never really just about lockdown’

South Korea and China look set for a renewed clash over what South Korean authorities believe are Chinese cyberattacks on multiple local academic organizations, potentially the latest flare-up in tensions recently heightened by a tit-for-tat visa spat over stronger COVID travel curbs. Police opened a formal probe Wednesday to investigate hacking that had disrupted access to websites of at least 12 academic groups, a string of attacks that took place over the four-day Lunar New Year holiday endin