US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a media interview that it was unfortunate that the US failed to get North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to begin the denuclearization process during his term. The outgoing secretary of state who was deeply involved in US President Donald Trump’s summits with Kim made the remarks when asked by Bloomberg TV on Monday whether he feels there has been progress on North Korea. “President Trump came in and recognized that one of the great challenges t

North Korea remains silent about its much anticipated eighth party congress which it said would be held in early January. For the sixth Workers’ Party congress held in October 1980 and the seventh in May 2016, North Korea announced the opening dates 20 days and 10 days prior to the dayslong event. This time, North’s state media is merely continuing to emphasize the importance of party leadership. The Rodong Sinmun, a mouthpiece of the North Korean Workers’ Party, said in its

President Moon Jae-in’s son Moon Joon-yong said he can accept criticism against the “president’s son,” but cannot accept the denunciation of what he does for a living. “Since the reason politicians criticize me through mass media is to attack the president of the rival camp, I point out that their intention is lousy,” Moon, 38, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. Opposition politicians have questioned the fairness of the city of Seoul’s decision to grant M

North Korea reported zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 despite having 10,960 people tested by early December, the World Health Organization said on Monday. According to the WHO’s regional situation report on the pandemic, North Korea had 791 people tested between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3, and 766 from Dec. 3 through Dec. 10, and all of them tested negative. A total of 21,586 samples from 10,960 people in the country were tested with reverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at an interval of 1

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Monday warned against producing and spreading false information about COVID-19, saying the government will deal with such acts with zero-tolerance. “With the COVID-19 crisis continuing, false and fabricated information such as ‘Level 3 social distancing confirmed’ and ‘hoarding of daily necessities begins’ are spreading again,” the prime minister said during a meeting of the central disaster headquarters. “Actions of sp

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared to other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, reflect on changes being made, and explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. -- Ed. SINGAPORE -- At Singapore’s three major local banks, women account for more than

The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday announced sanctions against six trading companies and four vessels over their involvement in North Korea’s illicit trade of coal. The OFAC’s latest move, which comes a day after a US newspaper published US government-provided satellite photos indicating coal trade between North Korea and China, appears to be the Trump administration’s message to Pyongyang that it will not loosen the reins until i

North Korea and China are no longer even trying to avoid international surveillance when trading coal illegally, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Citing senior officials in the US State Department and satellite photos provided by the State Department, the US newspaper said North Korea-flagged vessels have lugged hundreds of coal shipments to China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan area over the past year. North Korea, prohibited from exporting coal under United Nations sanctions since 2017, had

President Moon Jae-in’s support rating hit its lowest point ever last week, marking the sharpest weekly drop since his term began, local pollster Realmeter said Monday. In a separate poll by the same pollster, 44.3 percent of voters said only Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae should resign after her monthslong conflict with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over control of the prosecution and its work. On Nov. 24, Choo announced her decision to remove Yoon from duty, and the two are in a legal

An aide to Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon was found dead Thursday after prosecutors questioned him over allegations that a firm suspected of involvement in investment fraud paid for Lee’s office supplies. Police found the deputy chief of Lee’s secretariat, also surnamed Lee, dead in a building near the Seoul Central District Court around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday during a search, after he was reported missing. Lee, accompanied by a lawyer, was interrogated at the Seoul Central Dis

The government will pay some 90,000 visiting care workers 500,000 won ($456) each and will also pay for essential workers, such as street cleaners and delivery workers, to undergo health screening under next year’s budget plan. Of the state budget for 2021, which the National Assembly passed into law Wednesday, 35.65 trillion won is to be executed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The parliament added some 167.9 billion won to the government’s initial budget for the ministry

Jung Eun-kyung, who has led South Korea’s COVID-19 response for almost a year and has briefed Koreans about the latest situation on television daily, has been hospitalized due to a fracture in her shoulder. The chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency fell from her bed and broke a bone in her shoulder Wednesday, and requires hospitalization for two to three days, the KDCA said, citing her doctor. She is currently on sick leave, according to the agency. Her deputy Na Seon

Heavily tattooed South Korean men will no longer be able to avoid active-duty military service. Under the current rules, those bearing many tattoos or who upset other people by having tattoos on certain body parts can get grade four, for non-active duty, or supplemental service, on their physical exams. This has led some to get tattoos to avoid active duty, which is for men who get grades one through three on the physical exams. Instead of serving in the military, non-active-duty personnel wo

Some 3,500 people have expressed their intention over the past three weeks to take part in clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments under development in Korea. The Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials said Monday that it began receiving tenders on Nov. 10 for participating in clinical trials, and about 3,500 people have signed up since. The KoNECT plans to set up a system that links these people to hospitals so they can take part in the clinical trials should they be conf

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl came second in a poll on potential presidential candidates in the 2022 race, joining the ranks of ruling Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon and Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung. In a survey of 2,538 Koreans aged 18 or above nationwide, conducted over five days from Nov. 23 by Realmeter, 19.8 percent picked Yoon as their preferred presidential candidate, up 2.6 percentage points since last month’s 17.2 percent, which was the highest since his name was