North Korea appears to be ratcheting up efforts to strengthen its power grip on the young, as it celebrated the anniversary of the Korean War armistice signed in 1953. In an editorial, Pyongyang’s state-run daily Rodong Sinmun urged young people to learn from their predecessors, highlighting the value of patriotism as the North celebrated the 69th anniversary of the signing of the armistice on Wednesday. “The youth should learn from the excellent minds and ethos of their past ge

North Korea held a politically charged event to mark its “Victory Day” in the Korean War, though its celebrations were notably absent of saber rattling and bellicose rhetoric from the country’s leader. But the United States said concerns still remain over a seventh nuclear test, warning that it would incur “tremendous costs” to North Korea. North Korea held an eighth national conference of war veterans in the capital city of Pyongyang on Tuesday on the occasion

Gov. hints at reforming police university, whose graduates seen to lead collective backlash against new bureau

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases passed the 100,000 mark for the first time since late April due to the spread of BA.5, a new, more contagious version of omicron, the government said Wednesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 100,285 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Tuesday. Kim Sung-ho, vice minister for disaster and safety management, said during a COVID-19 response meeting on Wednesday that the daily tally was the highe

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases dropped below 20, according to its state media Wednesday. More than 18 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll had stood at 74, with the fatality rate at 0.002 percent. The total nu

A new Korean War monument is set to be unveiled in Washington, D.C. this week, the veterans affairs ministry said Wednesday, as South Korea and the United States mark the 69th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 conflict. Some 3,000 people, including Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, will attend a ceremony celebrating the completion of the Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall at 10 a.m. on

The US military has disclosed photos of last week's combined Marine drills with South Korean troops in an apparent move to highlight their readiness amid North Korea's evolving military threats. Posted on the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service last Wednesday, the photos depicted US troops from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 engaging in the Korean Marine Exercise Program (KMEP) drills in Pohang, 374 kilometers south of Seoul. The disclosure marked a sh

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in more than three months on Wednesday as the new wave of an omicron subvariant is spreading fast. The country added 100,285 new COVID-19 infections, including 532 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 19,446,946, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's number is the largest since 111,291 reported on April 20 and up from Tuesday's 99,327. The daily infection case

The United States and its allies will take appropriate steps to hold North Korea accountable should the recalcitrant country conduct a nuclear test, a National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said Tuesday. John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, also noted the North may continue to be ready to conduct a test. "We have been very clear that North Korea could be ready to conduct a nuclear test. That is something we said very, very openly," Kirby said in a press brief

The acting chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has apologized after a text conversation he had with President Yoon Suk-yeol was caught on camera, in which Yoon was seen backbiting about suspended party chief Lee Jun-seok. PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong took over as acting chair of the party early this month after the party's ethics committee suspended Lee's party membership for six months over allegations of sexual bribery and a cover-up. On Tuesday, Kweon was caught on

North Korea held a national conference of war veterans earlier this week to celebrate the 69th anniversary of what it claims to be victory in the three-year conflict against South Korea and the US-led UN troops, according to state media Wednesday. The 8th National Conference of War Veterans took place in Pyongyang the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. It made no mention of the country's leader Kim Jong-un, suggesting he has skipped this year's confe

South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun on Tuesday stressed the need to make the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) a flexible and effective mechanism to better respond to fast-changing global trade circumstances as member nations have prepared to launch official negotiations. Ahn made the remarks during a two-day IPEF ministerial meeting held via teleconferencing from Tuesday, which also brought together 13 top trade officials from the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India a

Mayor plans to invest W12tr to transform 493,000 square-meter area into Asian Silicon Valley

More than half of foreigners who came to Korea last year as seasonal farm workers had left their workplaces in violation of contracts, according to a media report Tuesday. Of 559 people who entered the country as seasonal workers last year, 56 percent, or 316, have disappeared without any notice, a KBS report said. The public broadcaster said that nearly 100 of the foreign workers who arrived here in the first six months of this year to work in rural villages in Gangwon Province had disapp

Yoon levels up criticism, calling out police action to be ‘breach against state discipline’