President Yoon Suk-yeol sent a thank you letter and gifts to two miners who were rescued from a collapsed mine in southeastern South Korea after more than nine days, a presidential spokesman said Sunday. The two miners walked out alive after being trapped for 221 hours in the zinc mine in the county of Bonghwa, 244 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Friday. "A new hope was given to the Republic of Korea weighed down with sorrow. I wish you a quick recovery," Yoon was quoted as saying in

South Korea’s two main political parties on Friday joined in criticism of North Korea for keeping up with its missile barrage while the country is grieving the 156 lives lost to the Halloween stampede in Seoul over the previous weekend. In a resolution adopted by its committee for national defense, the National Assembly said that North Korea firing missiles was a clear violation of both the September 2018 agreement and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1,718. The committee's re

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday, where they promised cooperation in the economic and security sectors of the two countries and close cooperation in the event of further provocations by North Korea. After holding a summit at the presidential office building in Yongsan, the two leaders made a joint press announcement. "We both agreed that solidarity between countries is important to protect freedom in response to the threats faci

The United Nations Security Council said it would hold a meeting to discuss the North Korean issue at the UN Headquarters in New York at 3 p.m. on Friday, local time, amid the escalating North Korean provocations. This meeting, held at the request of the US, is the first in a month since the public meeting held on Oct. 5 in the wake of North Korea's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile. North Korea has recently increased the intensity of its provocations, firing a total of six

Halloween tragedy becomes a major challenge for Yoon government, reminiscent of political fallout from 2014 ferry sinking

President Yoon Suk-yeol paid another visit to a mourning altar for victims of the Halloween crowd crush on Thursday, his fourth this week. Yoon arrived at the altar in front of City Hall with his aides and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, and paid tribute to the victims by laying a chrysanthemum, burning incense and bowing his head in silent prayer. The visit was his third to the same altar and fourth overall, including a visit to a mourning altar near the site of the tragedy Tuesday. A weeklong

NK fires three missiles toward East Sea, with ICBM launch likely a failure

President Yoon Suk-yeol condemned North Korea's latest barrage of missile launches, one of them close to South Korean waters, as a de facto violation of the South's territory and ordered swift action to make the North pay for the provocations. Yoon also called on the military to be ready against additional and high-level provocations by North Korea as he presided over an emergency National Security Council meeting following the launch. North Korea fired three short-range ballistic miss

President Yoon Suk-yeol paid his third visit to a mourning altar for victims of the Halloween crowd crush Wednesday. Yoon has kept his public schedule to a minimum since the tragedy that killed at least 156 people in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday. On Wednesday, he returned to Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall with members of his Cabinet and the presidential office, and laid a chrysanthemum on the altar before bowing his head in silent prayer. Yoon also looked at photos of

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday the government will sternly hold accountable those responsible as transcripts of emergency calls revealed that police took no action hours before the Itaewon tragedy. Han made the remarks a day after the National Police Agency admitted that 11 emergency calls reporting overcrowding in Itaewon started coming in around four hours before the disaster that killed at least 156 people, but no action was taken. Many of the callers said they felt like they were

President Yoon Suk-yeol was enraged after learning that police took no action even after receiving 11 calls about the dangerous level of crowds on the night of the Itaewon tragedy, according to a presidential official. Yoon received a list of the calls made to the 112 police hotline Saturday evening, shortly before presiding over a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, and ordered the circumstances be determined "thoroughly without a trace of doubt" and that those responsible be "handled stric

President Yoon Suk-yeol called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday following North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, his office said. The missile flew toward the eastern South Korean island of Ulleung before crashing into international waters in the East Sea, according to the South's military. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s political parties quickly turned to finger-pointing over the Halloween crowd surge that killed at least 156 people, according to the latest official count, with the opposition claiming that the disaster was not an accident. “What happened in Itaewon is no doubt a man-made disaster, and it was caued by the incompetence of the administration in office,” the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung said Tuesday. The Democratic Party spoke

Government to undertake all-out efforts to prevent recurrence, build crowd management

President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a government-civilian meeting next week to discuss improved safety measures in the wake of the deadly Halloween crowd crush, an official said Tuesday. The meeting is expected be held early next week with Yoon presiding, and relevant ministers and civilian experts attending to analyze the cause of last weekend's tragedy and brainstorm ways to improve safety measures based on examples from other countries, the presidential official told Yonhap News Agency. At leas