Vietnam has expressed interest in hosting the second US-North Korea summit, while high-level officials of the two countries were confirmed to have visited Vietnam recently, according to news reports.High-ranking Vietnamese officials delivered such intent to the South Korean government, CNN reported, citing a South Korean government source.(Yonhap)Mark Lambert, the acting US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, recently visited Vietnam, Yonhap News Agency report

An inspection on old heating pipes that run 686 kilometers nationwide found 16 spots with safety risks, the Korea District Heating Corp. said Thursday.An old hot water pipe burst near a subway station northwest of Seoul, killing one and injuring 45 on Dec. 4, prompting the KDHC to examine the hot water pipes that are more than 20 years old. Such pipelines account for 32 percent of the nation’s heating pipes that run a combined 2,164 kilometers in public areas. (Yonhap)In an inspection by 93 peop

A Korail manual that requires cabin attendants to consult a manager before evacuating passengers delayed the evacuation on the derailed KTX bullet train last week, according to a cabin attendant. Four of the Seoul-bound bullet train’s 10 cars went off the tracks shortly after it left the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, with 198 passengers Saturday. Fifteen people were injured in the accident, including a Korail employee who was inspecting another track.  (Yonhap)At the time

A high school teacher under police investigation over sexual harassment allegations was found dead in Daejeon on Monday.Apartment management staff found the man, 42, lying dead on a flower bed in an apartment complex in Daejeon’s Yuseong district on Monday and reported the death to police at 4:48 p.m., the Yuseong Police Station said Tuesday. (Yonhap)Police suspect that the man took his own life because some of his clothing was found on the 19th floor of the apartment building. He is also believ

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission advised the government to find ways to allow high school graduates of multicultural families to get jobs even before they become Korean nationals.As of June, there were some 9,800 children born abroad who moved to Korea when their father or mother married a Korean national or was naturalized as a Korean, according to the rights commission.  (Yonhap)Even if such children under the age of 19 pass the naturalization exam, it takes over a year before f

Two people who were in the vehicle of President Moon Jae-in’s protocol secretary when he drove under the influence last month told police they tried to stop him, concurring with the aide’s statement earlier. Kim Jong-cheon drove about 100 meters under the influence of alcohol shortly after midnight on Nov. 23 in Hyoja-dong, Jongno-gu, near the presidential office.  Kim Jong-cheon (Yonhap)Police plan to hand over the case to the prosecution this week with a recommendation to indict Kim on DUI cha

South Koreans on balance support Kim Jong-un giving a speech at the National Assembly during his envisioned trip to the South, according to a recent survey.In a poll of 503 adults across the country, 46.7 percent of the respondents said they agreed to having Kim speak at the parliament, while 40.2 percent said they were against it.   (Yonhap)The survey, conducted by Realmeater and commissioned by CBS, had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.Over 70 perc

The court’s rejection of warrants for two former Supreme Court justices allegedly involved in a massive power abuse scandal on Friday raised questions on whether the judiciary was seeking to contain the damage by pinning all the blame on one person.(Yonhap)Two judges at the Seoul Central District Court on Friday denied prosecutors’ requests for warrants to detain retired Justices Ko Young-han and Park Byong-dae, saying that charges against them were not sufficiently substantiated to warrant a pr

Prosecutors raided police headquarters Thursday as part of an investigation into the alleged abuse of authority by police intelligence units under the Lee Myung-bak administration.The Public Security Department 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to the National Police Agency headquarters in Seoul to search three intelligence departments and seize electronic data related to their suspected political interference.  (Yonhap)Following a raid on the NPA’s intellige

The court ruled in favor of members of a megachurch in Seoul’s Gangnam district who sought to strip the senior pastor of his position in a yearslong internal dispute. According to the Sarang Church, the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a remanded case to nullify a decision that made Rev. Oh Jung-hyun the senior pastor of the church 15 years ago. Rev. Oh Jung-hyun of Sarang Church (Yonhap)Oh was appointed head pastor of the megachurch by the Eastern Seoul arm of the General As

The court denied a warrant to detain former Defense Security Commander Lee Jae-soo, who is suspected of leading an illegal spying operation that targeted the families of those killed in the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking.Judge Lee Eon-hak of the Seoul Central District Court refused to issue the warrant that prosecutors sought against Lee on suspicion of abuse of authority late Monday, citing a low flight risk and no risk of destroying evidence because sufficient evidence had already been obtained.  Fo

SINGAPORE -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has become an important partner for not only Korea’s prosperity, but also for its peace, Korea’s Ambassador to Singapore Ahn Young-jip said in an interview with The Korea Herald.“ASEAN has expressed its views on the Korean Peninsula through various summits, and has been showing great interest in the stability, peace and prosperity of the Northeast Asian region,” Ambassador Ahn said Friday at the embassy here.President Moon Jae-in arrived Tu

The Seoul City government on Thursday issued an advance notice on deregulation as part of efforts to increase housing supply downtown and near metro stations. Under the revised city ordinances, more floor space in residential complex buildings in downtown commercial zones can be assigned for residential purposes, and the required floor area ratio will be raised from the current 400 percent to 600 percent for rental homes in semiresidential zones across Seoul. (Yonhap)Under the current rules, at

Police recommended a non-indictment for the Gyeonggi Province governor’s election rival and an actress who has claimed to have had an affair with the governor, as they referred the case to prosecutors. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung filed a complaint in June against former gubernatorial candidate Kim Young-hwan of the Bareunmirae Party and actress Kim Bu-seon, accusing them of violating the election law by publicizing falsehoods. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung (Yonhap)The two Kims cl

Merchants illegally occupying the old site of the largest fish market in Seoul continued with their business Tuesday morning, a day after power and water supplies were cut off.The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, known as Suhyup, cut power and water at the old site Monday morning as over 250 fishmongers refused to move to a new, modern building next door in Noryangjin, causing huge losses. Three people were injured during a scuffle Monday night as the merchants blocked trucks carry