South Korea's imports of home furnishing products hit an all-time high last year on the back of demand by stay-at-home consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The imports of eight kinds of home furnishing goods, including sofas and lamps, came to $3.5 billion last year, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. 　It rose 26.1 percent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019. 　By country, inbound shipments from China were the largest with $2.

Uzbekistan has announced that it will host the International Week of Ziyorat Tourism every autumn, the Uzbek Embassy in Seoul said in a press statement Thursday. The embassy said Uzbekistan cabinet ministers adopted a resolution focusing on measures to hold a Ziyorat Tourism week with the aim to make the annual event an easily reachable pilgrimage tour to showcase features that make Uzbekistan one of the most important centers of world civilization. According to the statement, Uzbekistan will

South Korea’s political circle is yet to reach a compromise over the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s supplementary budget proposal made earlier this month, with prospects remaining unclear whether the proposal will pass the final vote at the National Assembly this month. Floor leaders of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea announced Friday that the two failed to reach a deal on the budget proposal despite holding a two-hour discussion over

The outlook of the election for Seoul’s education superintendent remains blurry for the conservative bloc, as candidates have failed to form a merger while continuing to attack each other. With less than a week left to the local elections, Cho Hee-yeon, the current superintendent of education for Seoul, and Kang Shin-man, who are considered liberal-leaning candidates, announced they have formed a merger Thursday. “Seeing some candidates demonize and assault certain groups for t

US says China poses ‘serious, long-term threat’ to global order in policy speech

Heavyweights head to polling stations across the country to rally support for their flagbearers

President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Kim Kyou-hyun, a former deputy national security adviser and career diplomat, as his first spy chief Friday. Yoon presented Kim with a letter of appointment a day after the National Assembly approved him as director of the National Intelligence Service. Kim takes over at a time when tensions run high in the wake of a series of weapons tests by North Korea. During his confirmation hearing Wednesday, the director vowed to reinforce the country's intelligence

China exported around 2,838 tons of refined oil to North Korea in March and April this year, according to data that the country provided to the UN Security Council (UNSC). Beijing supplied Pyongyang with 15,947 barrels, equivalent to 1,914 tons, in March and exported another 7,695 barrels, or 923.8 tons, last month, showed a related update posted on the UNSC's sanctions committee on North Korea. The total figure represents about 5 percent of the volume of refined oil it can supply to the No

South Korea reported fewer than 20,000 COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day Friday as the pandemic's grip on the country appears to be loosening. The country added 16,584 new infections, including 49 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,053,287, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily tally fell to a 17-week low for a Friday and declined around 34 percent from a week earlier, as the virus curve has turned downward since mid-March. So

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that the government will encourage doctors to prescribe COVID-19 treatment pills for high-risk patients on the day their infections are confirmed. "For high-risk COVID-19 groups, including people aged 60 or older, test, treatment and prescription of medicine will be carried out in one day," Han told a virus response meeting. The government will also allow high-risk patients to swiftly be admitted to hospitals responsible for COVID-19 treatment, H

North Korea reported over 100,000 new suspected COVID-19 cases and one additional death Friday. More than 100,460 people showed symptoms of fever and one death was reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. The total number of fever cases since late April came to more than 3.27 million as of 6 p.m. Thursday, of which more than 3.03 million have recovered

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged Beijing to work with the US on global issues, including North Korea, as he laid out US policy toward China and its intensifying power competition. The top US diplomat insisted the two powers must cooperate on vital global issues including North Korea despite their differences. "On non-proliferation and arms control, it's in all of our interests to uphold the rules, the norms, the treaties that help reduce the spread of weapons of m

The United States and South Korea are working to find the "right mix" of tools to address the North Korean issue, a senior White House official said Thursday. Edgard Kagan, special assistant to President Joe Biden and senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, also said the countries have no illusions that there is a magic solution to the challenges posed by North Korea. "We have no illusions that there is a magic sort of solution to any of this,&q

The Azerbaijan Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday celebrated Independence Day, ahead of the national holiday on May 28, and the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan-Korea diplomatic relations at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. Delivering opening remarks, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Korea Ramzi Teymurov discussed Azerbaijan Independence Day, the history of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and significant achievements made during the period. Outlining his country’s recent history -- from becoming the first d

The third session of this year‘s H.eco Forum focused on plastic pollution in the oceans, as well as the ongoing efforts in the private sector to address this issue. In the session, Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geo Centric, stressed the importance of business efforts to counter plastic pollution in the oceans. Na said that measures to counter plastic pollution should be taken immediately worldwide, and businesses should join the efforts. “Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the amo