13 agreements signed cover cooperation in space, hydrogen, SMEs

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, plans to head the party's new committee on enhancing public welfare, party officials said Sunday. The move is understood to indicate Lee's resolve to focus on seeking ways to improve the people's livelihoods amid controversies over whether it is appropriate to keep his post in the face of widening probes by state prosecutors into allegations that he took bribes from a football club and committed other wrongdoi

PARIS-- French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed hope for visiting South Korea at an early date to hold talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol, Seoul's top envoy here said Sunday. Ambassador Choi Jai-chul said he presented his credentials to Macron at the Elysee Palace on Friday and then had an hourlong conversation, joined by several other new foreign ambassadors. Macron was quoted as saying he hopes to visit South Korea at an early date to discuss ways for the development of Seoul-Par

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dipped to the lowest Sunday tally in almost three months, as the government has stepped up efforts to contain the inflow from China. A total of 32,570 additional coronavirus infections, including 104 cases from overseas, have been confirmed nationwide, bringing the total caseload to 29,806,891, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The tally marked the lowest for any Sunday since Oct. 30, when the country reported 34,491 new cases. It

  ABU DHABI -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Saturday he expects to see "big achievements" from his state visit to the United Arab Emirates as he arrived with a business delegation representing some 100 firms. Yoon made the remark while meeting with top UAE officials at Abu Dhabi International Airport immediately after his arrival, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye. Yoon is the first South Korean leader to pay a state visit to the UAE since th

North Korea is slated to convene a key parliamentary meeting this week amid keen attention to whether its leader Kim Jong-un will issue another message related to the country's development of nuclear and other major weapons. The Supreme People's Assembly will hold the meeting Tuesday to discuss policy tasks, state budget issues and organizational matters for 2023, the North's state media said last month. The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the North's constituti

When sacrifices are taken for granted, don’t feel guilty for putting you first, new generation of firstborn daughters say

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo has sought support from Vietnam for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan, his office said Saturday. Kim embarked on a trip on Thursday to Vietnam and Indonesia to discuss expanding economic and security cooperation with the countries. During a meeting with Phan Van Mai, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, on Thursday, Kim said Busan is the perfect city to host the world exposition. Kim pl

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest for a Saturday in three months, showing signs of a slowdown in the pandemic. The country reported 36,699 new COVID-19 infections, including 99 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 29,774,321, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The tally marked the lowest for any Saturday since Oct. 22, when the country reported 26,892 new cases. The country added 45 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32,912. The n

President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for the United Arab Emirates on Saturday as part of a two-nation swing focused on promoting South Korean exports especially in energy and arms. Yoon is set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on a state visit, the first by a South Korean leader since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980, and meet with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During his four-day stay, he will also visit the Akh unit, a South Korean military contingent, and the Barakah nuclea

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reaffirmed their commitment to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in their bilateral summit held here in Washington on Friday. The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to further enhancing trilateral cooperation among their countries and South Korea to that end, according to their joint statement, released by the White House. "We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula i

The former head of the National Intelligence Service of Korea, Park Jie-won, ordered the deletion of all intelligence reports on North Korean troops killing South Korean government official Lee Dae-jun on Sept. 22, 2020 at sea, according to an indictment submitted to the National Assembly on Thursday. Park “had officials at the National Intelligence Service delete intelligence reports related to Lee Dae-jun’s case, which is not part of their duty,” and “destroyed records

President Yoon Suk Yeol dismissed the vice chair of the of the presidential committee on low birthrates Friday, his office said, after she offered to resign following a clash over birth promotion policies. Na Kyung-won, a former four-term lawmaker, was relieved from the posts of vice committee chair and ambassador for climate and environment, senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing. Yoon named Kim Young-mi, a standing member of the committee, to r

A special police investigation into the deadly Itaewon crowd crush in October concluded Friday, with 23 officials referred to the prosecution, but with the Seoul mayor, safety minister and national police chief not among them. Investigators referred officials, including the Mayor of Yongsan-gu Park Hee-Yeong, and the then-chief of the Yongsan Police Station, Lee Im-jae, to the prosecution on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. Four other officials from the Yongsan Ward and the

The US said Thursday it is still committed to a completely denuclearized Korean Peninsula and that South Korea has made it clear it is not seeking nuclear weapons, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol openly backed a nuclear buildup if North Korea poses a bigger threat than now. Yoon’s remarks about South Korea arming itself with nuclear weapons against North Korea, a nuclear state, were made public Wednesday when his defense minister briefed him on the ministry’s plan for this year.