South Korea has issued a joint statement with 20 other countries urging a halt to the supply of arms to Myanmar's military regime on the occasion of the nation's Armed Forces Day, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday. The European Union also joined the call for the regime to cease its violence against people there and restore the nation's path to democracy. "Some countries continue to supply lethal assistance to Myanmar's military regime, enabling its violence and repression," read the

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases stayed below 400,000 for the fourth consecutive day Sunday, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continues to spread across the nation amid eased antivirus curbs. The country added 318,130 new coronavirus infections, including 43 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 11,162,232, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's tally is down from 335,580 reported the previous day, with the daily caseload being on a

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday cited "pragmatism" and "people's interests" as key elements his incoming government should keep in mind when deciding on state agendas. Yoon made the remarks during a workshop of the presidential transition committee in Seoul and also highlighted the importance of economic development. "We need to set the national tasks of priority as we smoothly take over the work from the incumbent government and launch a new one," Yo

North Korean media outlets ran headlines Saturday boasting of the country's "success" in launching a new intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this week, casting it as "a thrilling victory." The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, reported on its front page, "We have seen it, and so has the world," adding, "Our country has become stronger once again and our people have become greater once more." North Korea on Friday confirmed its test-fir

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has met with former US Vice President Mike Pence for a second time in Seoul and the first since Yoon's election, and had broad discussions on security and alliance issues, party officials said Saturday. The two-hour breakfast meeting between Yoon and Pence took place at a hotel in Seoul on Friday, according to party officials familiar with the matter. Pence was visiting Seoul to speak at a session on international affairs. The two had their first encounter in F

The United States will introduce a new UN Security Council resolution that will update and strengthen UNSC sanctions against North Korea, the head of the US mission to the UN said Friday. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield also called for full implementation of the existing sanctions on North Korea to prevent Pyongyang from engaging in further provocations. "And because of DPRK's increasingly dangerous provocations, the United States will be introducing a chapter seven Security

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases stayed below 400,000 for the third consecutive day Saturday, as the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant continues amid eased virus curbs.  The country added 335,580 new COVID-19 infections, including 49 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 11,497,711, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.   Saturday's tally is down from 339,514 the previous day. South Korea has seen the average count trend down

  Kang Kyung-wha, a former South Korean foreign minister, on Friday lost in her bid to become new chief of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In a five-way competition for director-general of the Geneva-based agency, Kang failed to grab a majority vote of 56 titular members of its governing body, which is composed of 28 governments, 14 employers and 14 workers. The ILO said Gilbert Houngbo, a candidate from Togo who currently serves as president of the International Fund for

South Korea's Air Force conducted a rare training involving its F-35A radar-evading fighters in a show of airpower Friday, a day after North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Defense Minister Suh Wook oversaw the "Elephant Walk" training and ordered troops to maintain "full" readiness based on the "invisible power" of the F-35As, the defense ministry said. It did not disclose the training site for security reasons. The training marke

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed bilateral cooperation for peace on the Korean Peninsula in a telephone conversation on Friday. During the 25-minute phone conversation, Yoon stressed the two countries should cooperate for peace on the Korean Peninsula and the complete denuclearization of North Korea. “Yoon said the South Korean people are greatly worried about the tension between the two Koreas following the consecutive intercontinental ballistic

South Korea is looking to bring in alternative therapies amid a shortage of Paxlovid, the COVID-19 antiviral pill from Pfizer. The only antibody drug on the market here, Celltrion’s Regkirona, was suspended from use a month ago after evidence emerged that it was ineffective against omicron. Being distributed from Saturday is Merck’s antiviral pill Lagebrio, whose approval here was delayed until Wednesday, nearly four months since the company applied for emergency use review in No

US imposes fresh sanctions on five entities in Russia and North Korea

In the aftermath of Yoon Suk-yeol winning the closest presidential race in history, disdain from the female population toward him has left many suspecting that his victory has exacerbated the country’s gender conflict, particularly among the younger population. The National Police Agency on Monday ordered the Seoul cyber police to investigate a series of postings at an online community, discussing possible assassination of the president-elect. The websites in questions include female-domi

Floor leader election results sign of new power dynamics in liberal faction

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan on Friday condemned North Korea's firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and urged it to cease provocative acts, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong talked over the phone with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, after the North confirmed it successfully test-fired a new ICBM on Thursday under the direct order of its leader Kim Jong-un. The officials pointed out the North's latest missile test is a clea