Recent joint statement by nuclear-armed states should be followed by multilateral “No First Use” policy on nuclear weapons

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, came out on top in a poll released Sunday in a hypothetical alliance with the major opposition nominee Yoon Suk-yeol. In a survey by Southern Post, Ahn earned 42.3 percent of support as the main opposition candidate in case of a unified presidential bid with Yoon, the People Power Party (PPP) nominee. Lee Jae-myung, representing the ruling Democratic Party, had 28.9 percent support in that scenario. The survey wa

President Moon Jae-in on Saturday attended the send-off ceremony for three firefighters killed in a warehouse blaze earlier this week, expressing his sympathy to the bereaved families. On Wednesday, the fire broke out at a seven-story warehouse in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The victims were unaccounted for on Thursday morning, and their bodies were recovered later. "Moon expressed condolences to each member of the bereaved families, saying he wishes to deliver consolation o

President Moon Jae-in on Friday extended his sympathy over the deaths of three firefighters killed in a warehouse blaze in Pyeongtaek this week. Presidential Chief of Staff You Young-min visited the funeral altar earlier in the day and conveyed Moon's message of condolences to the bereaved families. Moon said he "prays for the repose of the three firefighters who died while facing the flames with thorough responsibility and courage," according to You. You said the government will

President Moon Jae-in on Friday ordered aides to closely cooperate with US troops stationed in South Korea to curb the spread of COVID-19 at US military bases here. Moon also instructed aides to come up with enhanced antivirus measures for citizens and business facilities near US military bases, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. According to a recent report by the Stars and Stripes, the US military's news organization, US Forces Korea counted 467 new COVID-19 cases

Antiviral COVID-19 pills will arrive in South Korea next week, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. "We will make sure they can be used swiftly in the medical field," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. The government has so far secured oral COVID-19 drugs for around 1 million patients. The country signed a prepurchase contract with US drug giant Pfizer Inc. for its Paxlovid pill for 762,000 patients. It also inked a deal with MSD, a subsidiary of US drugmaker

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and the chief of his People Power Party reached a surprise agreement Thursday to put their long-running feud behind them and move forward for election victory. PPP lawmakers also withdrew their push to oust party chairman Lee Jun-seok as the two patched up the row that has been blamed for the recent sharp fall in Yoon's public support about two months ahead of the March 9 presidential election. The surprise reconciliation came after Lee sa

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed his condolences over the death of three firefighters who were killed while battling a warehouse blaze in Pyeongtaek. Moon said he is "heartbroken" by the news of three firefighters "who died while engaging in rescue activities at the forefront of protecting the lives and safety of people," according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon prayed for the repose of the deceased and offered deep consolation to families of t

Park Byeong-seug hopes for constitutional amendment, supports end-of-war declaration

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol with 36 percent support against Yoon's 28 percent, a survey showed Thursday. Lee of the ruling Democratic Party lost 3 percentage points from last week, while Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party remained unchanged, according to the survey of 1,000 adults conducted Monday through Wednesday by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research. Still, Lee is leading Yo

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Thursday he will ease regulations on companies to help promote competition and boost efficiency, as he seeks to woo voters from the corporate sector. "If regulations limit competition and efficiency, abolishing or easing them is desirable for the whole economy," Lee told a virtual meeting with Korean executives attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Lee of the Democratic Party said the government's role is to creat

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday rebuked the military for failing to detect a man who crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea over the weekend, calling for the military to have a special sense of alert in border security. The man, who was found to be a North Korean defector, crossed the heavily fortified border on Saturday despite surveillance cameras having caught him as many as five times in a major security failure, according to the military. Moon said the "failure

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), on Wednesday renewed his call for providing COVID-19 relief grants to all people, saying it is an effective way to help pandemic-hit small businesses. "Basically, all people have suffered (from COVID-19), so opportunity should be given to all of them," Lee told reporters after a campaign event in Gwangju, 330 kilometers southwest of Seoul. "I am not saying it needs to be done immediately but in princi

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday called for North Korea to make efforts for dialogue in a more earnest manner, after Pyongyang launched a suspected ballistic missile into the sea in this year's first show of force. "This morning, North Korea test-fired an unidentified short-range projectile," Moon told a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway at an inter-Korean border town. "Because of this, there are concerns that tensions could rise and a stalemate of inter-Korean relations c

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday reiterated his willingness to build an integrated railway network for the peace on the Korean Peninsula during a visit to a groundbreaking ceremony for railroad construction in the Jejin railway project. On the same day, the North fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea. “It could symbolically show our trust and willingness to connect the Donghae Line and Gyeongui Line, which the two Koreas agreed to pursue as a top priority in the Panmunjom De