GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea’s well-known pop-songs, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and Secret Garden’s “You Raise Me Up” were among the pieces performed by North Korea’s art troupe as part of the pre-Olympics celebrations in the sub-host city of Gangneung on Thursday. Despite being met with public protests on their arrival earlier this week, the communist state’s well-known troupe, the Samjiyon Orchestra, was met with a full audience at the Gangneung Art Center.Some 150,000 South Korea

#MeToo campaign in Korea spreads to literary world

North Korea slammed anti-North Korea activists Wednesday for having held a rally against the North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics when its art troupe arrived in South Korea a day earlier for performances.The Samjiyon art troupe traveled to the South by ferry Tuesday to perform in celebration of the Winter Games on a rare trip that involved Seoul's temporary exemption of a North Korean ship's sea travel from its sanctions.Members from conservative civic groups held a rally aga

Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump’s daughter, is likely to attend the closing ceremony of the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics, CNN reported.　Citing a White House official, CNN reported that Trump, who also serves as her father’s senior adviser, was requested by the US President and the United States Olympic Committee to lead the country’s presidential delegation to South Korea. 　Last month, US President Donald Trump told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that the US would be sending a

WASHINGTON -- A group of US senators asked President Donald Trump Monday to explain his withdrawal of Victor Cha from consideration for ambassador to South Korea, saying it is "shocking" that the post remains vacant.In a letter addressed to the president, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and 17 other Democrats and independents also voiced concern about the Trump administration's reported considerations of a limited military strike on North Korea."We write to express our serious concerns regarding the

　With North Korea’s nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam planning to attend the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the focus is on what his participation means and who will be joining him during the scheduled visit.　In a message sent Sunday night via a cross-border communication channel, North Korea told South Korea that it would send a high-level delegation from Feb. 9-11, the South’s Unification Ministry said. It said the North’s delegation includes Kim and three other officials but gav

North Korea raked in nearly $200 million last year by exporting items banned by United Nations sanctions, media reports said, citing a UN panel of experts. A new report, authored by a panel of experts, has been delivered to a UN committee on North Korea as the US-led pressure campaign against the rogue nation has been ramping up. A coal truck crosses the North Korea-China border. (Yonhap)North Korea “continued to export almost all the commodities prohibited in the resolutions, generating nearly

The top US nuclear envoy said Friday that Washington wants to open dialogue with North Korea for its denuclearization. After meeting with South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung in Seoul, Joseph Yun also told reporters that he sees the resumed inter-Korean talks and easing tensions after the North's decision to join the upcoming Winter Olympics as a "good opportunity" for denuclearization efforts. (Yonhap)"We want to open dialogue with North Korea, we want to have a credible dialogu

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea came up with a plan for the revision of the Constitution on Friday, which includes changing the current single five-year presidency and naming popular uprisings in the preface to the Constitution.On the second day of the party’s discussion on how to revise the Constitution, the party’s Floor Leader Rep. Woo Won-shik said they have decided to promote a change in the presidential system but maintain it as well. While there were many who favored a four-year two-

The brand value of Samsung Electronics Co. rose two notches from a year earlier to rank fourth in an annual report on the world's most valuable brands, a British corporate valuation and strategy consultancy said Friday.The Korean tech giant's brand value jumped 39 percent to $92.3 billion in 2018 from a year earlier and remains Asia's most valuable brand, Brand Finance said. "As the company strives to be at the forefront of technology, and its brand philosophy 'Do What You Can't' continues to re

The share price of top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. would rank much lower after its stock split is completed, data showed Friday.On the heels of record 2017 earnings driven by strong demand for chips, Samsung's board of directors Wednesday announced a dramatic 50:1 stock split aimed at enhancing shareholders' value and making the tech giant more accessible to investors.The decision -- if endorsed at the company's annual shareholders' meeting on March 23 -- would cut the face value of Samsung from

Washington has abandoned plans to nominate Victor Cha as the next US ambassador to South Korea, reportedly due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s “bloody nose” strategy against Pyongyang. Cha, a former White House official during the Bush administration, is no longer being considered for the job after he raised concerns with National Security Council officials over the Trump administration’s consideration of a limited military strike against North Korea, as well as its threats t

Aside from obvious benefits, experts say latest move allows peak into tech giant‘s management strategy

The Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office decided Wednesday to form a special inspection team to look into sexual assault allegations rocking the office, officials said.A female prosecutor, Seo Ji-hyun, raised the accusations against a former senior prosecutor on Monday, claiming that he groped her body during a funeral dinner in 2010 and that senior Justice Ministry officials tried to cover it up, transferring her to a remote post.The alleged victim appeared on TV and spoke about her hardship, spa

KSU criticized for administrative mishap and handling of physical abuse