Nominees face a barrage of questions from ruling party lawmakers

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- A long-awaited evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was under way Sunday, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed that she visited Ukraine's president to show unflinching American support for the country's defense against Russia's invasion. Video posted online by Ukrainian forces showed elderly women and mothers with small children bundled in winter clothing being helped as they climbed a steep pile of debris from the sp

Liu Xiaoming says resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula in the hands of US, N. Korea

Annual forum will discuss ‘Climate Crisis and the Ocean’ this year

Voluntary efforts and effective policies helped Korea take lead in global forestry

South Korea's icebreaker is on its way to the southeastern port of Busan after completing a 195-day international exploration mission in the Antarctic Ocean, the oceans ministry said Monday. The Araon, South Korea's first ice breaking vessel, kicked off its mission to the South Pole on Oct. 20 last year and will return to Busan on Tuesday, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said. The 7,487-ton research ship explored the sea under the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, one of the biggest ice shelves i

South Korea has identified descendants of six independence activists who supported the nation's fight against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule from Hawaii, the veterans affairs ministry said Monday. The identification was an outcome of the project that the ministry launched in December to locate descendants of the activists, who operated in the U.S. territory, and properly honor them with state benefits, according to officials. Among the four descendants were George Blair McCun, the grandson of Geo

President Moon Jae-in pledged Monday to work together with the international community to conserve forests. Moon made the remark in a keynote speech at the opening of the 15th World Forestry Congress in Seoul, saying South Korea experienced forest destruction during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea and the 1950-53 Korean War. "Based on our experience of restoring forests through solidarity and cooperation, we will actively participate in the international community's efforts to conser

South Korea and Norway kicked off annual three-day talks on defense industry cooperation in Seoul on Monday, the state arms procurement agency here said, as Seoul seeks to support local companies' efforts to tap into the European country's market. The two sides began the ninth session of their joint committee on arms industry cooperation, with their agenda including South Korea's bid to export K-2 tanks to Norway, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Kim Saeng, chi

More than half of South Koreans oppose granting a pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak, a poll showed Monday, amid rising speculation outgoing President Moon Jae-in may use his clemency powers to set Lee free before he leaves office. The Korea Society Opinion Institute survey of 1,012 adults, conducted between Friday and Saturday, showed 51.7 percent of respondents are against pardoning Lee, while 40.4 percent are in support of amnesty for the former president. Lee's pardon has emerged as a

Police on Monday raided Seongnam City Hall over allegations that former ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung took hefty donations from companies via the city's football club while serving as mayor of the city. Investigators from the Bundang Police Station searched five divisions of the city government, including the city planning and policy planning divisions, to seize materials related to the allegations, according to officials. Lee, who unsuccessfully ran for the presidential elec

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to around 20,000 on Monday, marking the lowest level in nearly three months, as the country lifted the outdoor mask mandate in a major step toward regaining normalcy. The country reported 20,084 new COVID-19 infections, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,295,733, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's tally is a marked drop from the previous day's 37,771, and it is the first time since early February

　South Korea’s total population has started to decline amid low childbirths, but the number of foreigners here is forecast to continue to increase to make up of 4.3 percent of the population in 2040, a report showed. 　After peaking at 51.84 million in 2020, the country’s total population started to decline in 2021 and will likely further fall to 50.19 million in 2040, according to the report from Statistics Korea. 　Despite a fall in Korean nationals, the number of foreigners who r

South Korea's top envoy to Ukraine and some other embassy staff have returned to Kyiv to restart operations there, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. South Korean embassy officials had evacuated from the capital and worked at a temporary office in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi since March following Russia's invasion of the country. Amb. Kim Hyung-tae and some embassy staff have returned to Kyiv in preparation for work there starting Monday (Ukraine time), the ministry said, adding it is c

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un praised students and young workers who participated in a massive military parade for demonstrating ardent patriotism like no other country, state media reported Monday. At the photo session held Sunday, Kim noted the "rosy future" of "our-style socialism" belongs to the youth and urged them to hasten their efforts toward this "sacred patriotic cause," according to the official Korean Central News Agency. "Our youths have regarded