The South Korean government called Monday on North Korea to refrain from escalating tensions in the region, responding to the latest statement, directed at Seoul, by Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korea's leader. "The Ministry of Unification clearly points out that North Korea should not cause additional tension on the Korean Peninsula in any case," the ministry's spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told a regular press briefing. The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs,

Kim Keon-hee, the wife of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, is considering commencing public activity ahead of her husband's inauguration in May after keeping a low profile for months, officials said Monday. Kim has stayed out of public view since she came under attack for various charges of misconduct, including allegations she lied on her resume when applying for jobs, even after her husband's election victory last month. "She is thinking hard about ways to make contributions to our society

South Korea's new coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest tally in six weeks Monday, but there are lingering concerns of another spike over the eased virus curbs. The country reported 127,190 new COVID-19 infections, including 15 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 14,001,406, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily tally marked the lowest number since the 99,562 cases on Feb. 22. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 17,453, up 218 from Sunday, t

Rep. Park Jin of the main opposition People Power Party is being considered for the first foreign minister of the incoming government, along with former Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong, sources said Monday. Park and Cho, who is also a PPP lawmaker, are in the United States this week as part of a delegation sent by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. If one is nominated foreign minister, the other could be tapped as the next ambassador to the US, according to the sources. Kim Sung-han, a former vic

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and his administration will work with the United States to strengthen the countries' alliance and their joint efforts to tackle various issues, including North Korea, the head of Yoon's delegation to the US said Sunday. Rep. Park Jin of Yoon's People Power Party also said the purpose of the delegation's visit was to closely coordinate their policies before the president-elect takes office on May 10. "There are seven of us here with expertise (in various area) t

The Seoul city government will actively consider building new crematoriums in addition to adding furnaces to existing ones in an effort to meet soaring cremation demand from rising COVID-19 deaths, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Sunday. Oh made the remark to reporters during a visit to Seoul Memorial Park, a crematorium on the southern outskirts of Seoul, saying the demand for cremation is difficult to meet even though the facilities have been in operation at full capacity. "Workers in the

Rival political parties on Sunday agreed to pass a bill calling for a special counsel probe into a sexual abuse case that led to the suicide of a noncommissioned Air Force officer in May.  Rep. Park Hong-keun, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, and his counterpart Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition People Power Party, reached an agreement to present the bill to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly on Monday for a review and pass the bill at a

No cases of delta, omicron recombinant viruses detected here so far

Kim Jong-un’s influential sister calls South Korean minister ‘scum-like guy’

Trade, diplomacy expert touted as key talent to lead coalition government

The office of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has asked for between 30 billion and 40 billion won ($2.46 million-3.28 million) in reserve government funds for its project to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae after working out the amount in talks with related agencies, officials said Sunday. "Working-level discussions wrapped up without major disagreements," said an official with Yoon's task force on relocation. "If Cheong Wa Dae gives the OK, we anticipate that appro

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 300,000 for the third consecutive day Sunday as the spread of the omicron variant slowed down after peaking out last month. The country reported 234,301 new COVID-19 infections, including 22 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,874,216, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea has seen a downward trend in daily cases in recent weeks, with a record high of over 620,000 on March 17 falling

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lambasted South Korea's defense chief for talk of "preemptive strike" capabilities and warned that the South may face a "serious threat" for such a "senseless" remark, according to Pyongyang's state media Sunday. In her rare press statement issued the previous day, Kim Yo-jong called South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook a "senseless and scum-like guy" for mentioning a preemptive strike at a "nuclear wea

The National Intelligence Service has detected a total of 99 cases of attempted industrial espionage over the past five years, which would have cost domestic companies about 22 trillion won ($18 billion), the agency said Saturday. Technologies and trade secrets targeted in the cases from January 2017 to February 2022 involved display devices (19 cases), semiconductors (17), electric and electronic products (17), automobiles (9), shipbuilding (8), information and communications (8) and machine

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to advance its nuclear capabilities last year despite its border closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to "historically low levels" of goods and people entering or leaving the country, a UN Security Council panel of experts said in its annual report, released Friday. The panel, however, said Pyongyang also continued to seek materials and technology for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs from overseas by evading UN Security C