Woo Sang-ho merely a referee to oversee the internal feud, experts say

Three countries release joint statement to condemn North Korea’s missile tests as ‘unlawful,’ vows to advance trilateral cooperation for extended deterrence

‘US tactical nuclear weapons should be deployed in S. Korea to show NK is not only nuclear power’　

South Korea and the United States are in talks over the selection of a new site to house American military facilities that the countries have agreed to retain in central Seoul under their broader base relocation scheme, sources here said Wednesday. The two sides have been "positively" weighing the idea of putting residual military facilities in a site right next to an area in the northernmost portion of the US military's Yongsan Garrison -- now reserved for the construction of the

More than a dozen unionized truckers on a general strike were apprehended Wednesday for allegedly obstructing business operations of a plant in Icheon, officers said. A total of 15 members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity, under the wing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, were taken into custody on charges of blocking cargo trucks from entering the plant operated by the country's leading beverage company, Hite Jinro Co., in the city 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul at around 8:30

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 13,000 on Wednesday following an extended weekend, as the country is working to return to pre-pandemic normalcy by easing antivirus restrictions. The country added 13,358 COVID-19 infections, including 59 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,188,200, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload had stayed below 10,000 from Sunday through Tuesday on fewer tests over the weekend and the

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday that a potential pardon for jailed former President Lee Myung-bak "is not an issue to talk about now." Yoon made the remark to reporters upon arrival at the presidential office following news reports that Lee filed for a suspension of his sentence and could be included in beneficiaries of a presidential pardon that could be carried out to mark Aug. 15 Liberation Day. "This is not an issue to talk about now," Yoon said when asked to comme

Song Hae, South Korea's oldest TV presenter, died Wednesday. He was 95. According to the police and hospital officials, he passed away in the morning at his home in southern Seoul. He had been admitted to a hospital for medical treatment and released several times this year. He tested positive for COVID-19 in March. Born in 1927 in Hwanghae Province in present-day North Korea, Song crossed the inter-Korean border to the South during the 1950-53 Korean War. He started his entertainment caree

South Korea is pushing to approve AstraZeneca's antibody treatment Evusheld this month to better protect people with weak immune systems, the health authorities said Wednesday. The government plans to wrap up due procedures for its approval for emergency use within June and administer it to the people "as soon as possible," Second Health Vice Minister Lee Gi-il said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Evusheld is designed to stop the c

North Korea held a ruling Workers' Party politburo meeting and decided on the agenda to be discussed at a key party meeting set for early this month, state media said Wednesday. Jo Yong-won, secretary for organizational affairs of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, presided over the political bureau meeting on Tuesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the meeting. The politburo meeting comes ahe

Former President Lee Myung-bak, now serving a 17-year prison time for corruption, has filed for a suspension of his sentence, citing health issues, prosecution sources said Wednesday. The 81-year-old's petition was filed with the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, 23 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday, they said. The prosecution office said it will hold a deliberation committee meeting and decide whether to release Lee from the Anyang Correctional Institution. Lee, wh

An employee of KB Savings Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, has been arrested for allegedly embezzling 9.4 billion won ($7.5 million) of corporate funds over a six-year period, officials said Wednesday. The Songpa Police Station in southern Seoul detained the employee in his 40s a day earlier on embezzlement charges following its investigation into the case since December at the request of the bank, according to the officials. The bank employee in charge of corporate financing allegedly embezz

Constitutional reforms seen as way forward for country’s development, democratization

A North Korean defector group said Tuesday it sent balloons carrying masks and COVID-19 medicines across the border earlier this week to help people there, while the Seoul government asked activists to refrain from such a campaign that may have a negative impact on regional stability. 　 　Twenty big balloons filled with 20,000 pieces of masks, 15,000 Tylenol pills and 30,000 vitamin C pills were floated between 10 and 11 p.m. Sunday from Pocheon, north of Seoul, Fighters for a Free North Korea

S.Korea, US air forces conduct joint drills in show of force against N.Korea