A 2.1 magnitude natural earthquake struck near North Korea's nuclear test site early Friday, South Korea's weather agency said. The quake struck about 33 kilometers north-northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, at 2:15 a.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Kilju is where North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear testing site is located. The epicenter of Friday's quake was at a latitude of 41.24 degrees north and a longitude of 129.22 degrees east at a depth of 29 km. The KMA said

WASHINGTON -- The sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, including South Korea, show how many countries see Russia's invasion of Ukraine as unjust, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, said the United Nations has also voiced its clear opposition against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The international community has been very clear and we've been united in our defense of this wa

South Korea will provide emergency humanitarian aid of $10 million for Ukrainian citizens and refugees, President Moon Jae-in said after a 30-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Thursday night. “We are on the phone again under a very unfortunate situation,” Moon was quoted as saying during the call, and expressed his deepest condolences to the victims and their bereaved families of the war in Ukraine. “We pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice o

Moon holds expanded security meeting on prospects for threats from 2021 to 2030

South Korea has relocated its embassy in Ukraine from the capital Kyiv to Chernivtsi, a city closer to the border with Romania, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, as Russian troops continue to close in on the capital and attacks across the country intensify.  Ambassador Kim Hyung-tae and all remaining embassy staff left the capital and arrived in Chernivtsi on Wednesday night local time, along with six South Korean nationals who expressed the intent to evacuate, a ministry official in Se

Tech mogul-turned-politician steps down from election for fourth time

Three members of an online sports car club are arrested on Wednesday and are facing charges of reckless driving in a street racing crash that killed two other club members. The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency said it is investigating the three people, including a 29-year-old driver, on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act, primarily for driving at excessive speeds. According to the police, four vehicles drove in a row at very high speeds on a road in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Provin

South Korea on Thursday reported 128 COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily tally since the pandemic began, while the daily caseload hovered near the 200,000 mark. According to health authorities, the number of daily cases reported during the 24 hours of Wednesday came to 198,803. The total caseload thus came to 3,691,488, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The figure was down from that of the previous day, when it reached the highest figure of 219,241. The country&rs

Merger dims Lee Jae-myung's chances for victory before early voting starts Friday morning

Opposition party candidates reach dramatic agreement on eve of early voting

The armed conflict in Ukraine has led to a delay in talks among South Korea, the United States and Japan to arrange their in-person defense ministerial meeting, a Seoul official said Thursday. The three countries have been in talks to set up a meeting among Defense Minister Suh Wook and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Lloyd Austin and Nobuo Kishi, in line with an agreement at their phone talks last month to meet face-to-face at a "mutually agreed-upon" date. The three defense chief

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol leads his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung in a hypothetical two-way race, according to polls conducted before Yoon merged candidacies with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party. According to a survey conducted by Embrain Public from Tuesday to Wednesday, Yoon led Lee 45.9 percent to 45 percent in a hypothetical two-way race. The gap of 0.9 percentage point was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confide

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has planted memorial trees with key ruling party officials in Pyongyang to mark his country's tree-planting day, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday. On Wednesday, Kim attended the event with participants of the recently concluded Conference of Secretaries of Primary Committees of the Workers' Party of Korea, where they reviewed progress in key party tasks and pledged to improve them. During the event, Kim renewed calls for unity among party ranks, saying, "

South Korea and Mexico have agreed to resume negotiations to forge a bilateral free trade agreement 14 years after their suspension, Seoul's trade ministry said Thursday. The two nations began talks on a strategic economic complementary agreement in 2006, but the negotiations have stalled since 2008 amid opposition from businesses in the Latin American country. South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier held ministerial talks in Mexico City on Tuesday

Seoul’s own Beverly Hills had once lost its luster, then the pandemic brought luxury back