The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights appointed an Australian labor expert as the new head of the Seoul office, filling in the post that has been vacant for the past two years, according to a media report Wednesday. The office of the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General confirmed that James Heenan, the head of the OHCHR Office in Palestine, has been tapped as the new chief of the Seoul office, the Voice of America reported. “The head of the office is Jam

US nuclear-powered supercarrier will stage military drills with South Korean warships for first time since 2017

Another typhoon could bear down on the Korean Peninsula, which was recently hit by the powerful Typhoon Hinnamnor, according to the state weather agency Wednesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said a tropical depression has developed into a typhoon over waters 1,370 kilometers east-southeast of Japan’s Okinawa as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The newly developed typhoon, the 14th typhoon this year, has been named Nanmadol. Typhoon Nanmadol was less volatile, as of Wednesday, than Typ

A job fair for international students will take place next month in Seoul, providing opportunities for jobseekers to meet with recruiters from various companies. "2022 Job Fair for International Students," organized by KOTRA and the Education and Trade Ministries, will be held on Oct. 21-22 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Around one hundred companies, including South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific, will participate in the annual event, hoping to employ foreign students. Consul

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) suggested Wednesday that the rival parties adopt a joint resolution against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's pledge to keep the country's nuclear weapons. "I urge the ruling party and the main opposition to react in a bipartisan manner amid an unprecedented security crisis," Emergency Committee Chairman Chung Jin-suk told a party meeting. "It has become clear that Kim Jong-un's 2018 promise to former President Moon Jae-in to give

Yoon Jong-in, the chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, has tendered his resignation about a year before his three-year term ends next year, officials said Wednesday. Appointed by former President Moon Jae-in, Yoon took office as the inaugural chairperson of the then newly established PIPC in August 2020. His term was to end in August 2023. He recently submitted a letter of resignation, commission officials said without elaborating. The ruling People Power Party has urge

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases jumped to over 90,000 on Wednesday after the Chuseok fall harvest holiday that ended early this week amid worries over a spike in the virus infections. The country reported 93,981 new COVID-19 infections, including 314 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,193,038, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's tally jumped by nearly 37,000 from 57,309 a day earlier following the four-day holiday that ended Mon

SEOUL/JEJU -- An annual international peace forum is set to kick off on the southern resort island of Jeju on Wednesday, with a focus on ways to promote global cooperation amid North Korea's continued saber-rattling, growing US-China rivalry, the Ukrainian crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. The three-day Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity comes especially as the Russia-Ukraine war poses new challenges to the global security environment, accelerated by intensifying Washington-Beijing stan

MADRID/SEOUL -- National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo met the leader of Spain's Senate to discuss ways to widen economic cooperation between the two countries, his office said Wednesday. During their 30-minute meeting in Madrid on Tuesday, Kim and Ander Gil Garcia, president of the Senate of Spain, discussed how they could enhance cooperation in areas like renewable energy, electric vehicles, construction and infrastructure. Kim asked for Spain's support for South Korea's bid to h

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States will discuss "concrete" steps to sharpen deterrence against North Korea's evolving military threats during their high-level security talks later this week, according to a senior Seoul official Tuesday. Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul made the remarks upon arriving at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., to attend a session of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) slated for Friday (

Tropical depression over waters of Okinawa could develop into a typhoon and hit the country, weather forecaster says

The launch of a national education committee is being stalled as related bodies dispute the right to recommend members. The committee, tasked with deliberating on long-term education policy, was initially scheduled to be launched in July. While the committee is to have 21 members, the National Assembly, entitled to recommend nine of the committee members, has so far selected only two nominees. The president has the right to name five. Education-related bodies can also recommend a total of two m

As historic sites disappear one by one in Seoul to make room for more apartments, opposition grows to redevelopment plans

IAEA assessment follows on heels of NK leader’s pledge to ‘never denuclearize’

The police transferred the case of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday to the prosecution, on charges of third-party bribery connected to the Seongnam FC sponsorship scandal. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency handed over the results of a supplementary investigation to the prosecution, in which the provincial police agency found Lee guilty of offering bribes to a third party. This was a reversal of the results of the previous investigation by the Bu