Residents of Asan and Jincheon continued on Thursday to protest the government’s plan to use facilities in their towns to quarantine some 700 Korean evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The evacuees -- first batch scheduled to be flown out of Wuhan Thursday night -- will be housed at a public officials training center in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and a police training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, for monito

Nearly 2.73 billion passengers used subway lines run by Seoul Metro last year, the subway operator said Tuesday. On average, some 7.47 million people used Subway Line Nos. 1 to 8 daily as well as the second and third segments of Line No. 9 (Eonju Station to VHS Medical Center Station). Gangnam Station on Line No. 2 was the busiest subway station, with a daily average of 141,597 passengers. Hongik Univ. Station and Jamsil Station, also on Line No. 2, were the second-and third-busiest stations

The Justice Ministry’s latest decision to replace prosecutors involved in investigating President Moon Jae-in’s associates has drawn strong criticism from all opposition parties. Following the first round of shakeup on Jan. 8 that ousted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s closest aides from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the ministry last Thursday reassigned senior prosecutors who led the probes into former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and people in the presidential offi

North Korean state media confirmed Wednesday the appointment of a military official who directed the construction of key tourism facilities as the country’s new defense minister.Kim Jong-gwan, vice minister of the People’s Armed Forces, was assumed to have replaced No Kwang-chol as the minister, as he was named an alternate member of the Workers’ Party politburo during a party meeting at the end of last month.The North’s Korean Central News Agency had disclosed a photo of

The Justice Ministry said Tuesday that 8,093 foreign nationals who had been staying in Korea illegally voluntarily left in the period of one month, thanks to new incentives that exempt them from penalties if they leave by June 30 and allow them to reenter the country on short-term visas.The daily average number of those leaving Korea more than doubled after the incentives were introduced on Dec. 11, the ministry said.From March 1, those found to have overstayed their visas will be slapped with f

The Unification Ministry and local governments are taking steps to provide emergency support to destitute defectors from North Korea.Surveys conducted last year showed that 553 -- or 1.7 percent -- of the 31,000 defectors from the North residing in South Korea were suspected to be in “crisis” and in urgent need of help, the ministry said Tuesday.The inquiries were made in a bid to locate those in the blind spot of the welfare system, after a woman from North Korea and her 6-year-old

The US State Department said it supports inter-Korean cooperation, Voice of America reported Friday.　“The United States supports inter-Korean cooperation and coordinates with our ROK ally to ensure inter-Korean cooperation proceeds in lockstep with progress on denuclearization,” an official at the State Department spokesperson’s office said, when asked to comment on recent remarks by the South Korean foreign minister, according to the US broadcaster.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-

South Korea and the US still have their differences on how to share the costs of stationing American troops in Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, after the two sides wrapped up their latest round of negotiations in Washington.“The two sides broadened their mutual understanding and consensus but confirmed that there are still differences between them,” the ministry said in a statement Thursday without mentioning what the differences were. “In the latest meeting, our

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington are looking for ways to promote dialogue with Pyongyang under the current sanctions framework.“Promoting dialogue within the sanctions framework is the issue of mutual interest (of South Korea and the US),” Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told reporters before heading to Washington on Wednesday for talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.&

South Korea’s top envoy on North Korean nukes will visit Washington this week for talks with his US counterpart, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, amid a protracted stalemate in denuclearization negotiations with Pyongyang.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will visit Washington from Wednesday through Saturday to meet with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who is also the chief US envoy in negotiations with the North, the

Chung Eui-yong, chief of the Cheong Wa Dae National Security Office, met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday amid tensions over North Korea and Iran.　Trump briefly met with Chung and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Kitamura, and noted that the two countries are among the strongest US allies in the Indo-Pacific, according to a White House readout sent late Wednesday.Chung had visite the US to meet with his Japanese and US counterparts.   Upon his return

The US State Department stressed that South Korea is required to implement sanctions against North Korea in regard to President Moon Jae-in’s New Year’s address, in which he vowed efforts to expand inter-Korean cooperation, Voice of America reported Thursday.“All UN member states are required to implement UN Security Council sanctions resolutions, and we expect them all to continue doing so,” an official in the State Department spokesperson’s office said, according

US ambassador to South Korea said Tuesday that he hopes Seoul sends forces to the Strait of Hormuz, where tensions have escalated since the US killing of a top Iranian commander last week.“I would hope that Korea will send forces out there,” Amb. Harry Harris said in an interview with broadcaster KBS, adding that South Korea gets so much of its energy from the Middle East.More than 70 percent of South Korea’s crude oil imports are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.Qassem Sol

President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser is expected to arrive in Washington on Tuesday for three-way talks with his US and Japanese counterparts amid rising tensions over North Korea and Iran, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae’s national security office, is scheduled to meet with US national security adviser Robert O’Brien and Japan’s National Security Council chief Shigeru Kitamura on Wednesday.The three are likely to discuss

A new conservative party led by eight lawmakers who left the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party held their first supreme council meeting on Monday.Reps. Yoo Seong-min, Ha Tae-keung, Oh Shin-hwan and five others announced the launch of the party, tentatively named the New Conservative Party, on Sunday, vowing to represent younger, reform-minded conservatives. “The New Conservative Party has set sail for the rebuilding and revival of conservatives, not a division or failure of conservat