First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun will visit Washington later this week for talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Monday. Choi and Sherman are set to meet on Wednesday (US time) for their first in-person talks since the latter assumed office in April. The two sides plan to discuss follow-up measures to last month's summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden, w

K-pop act Tomorrow X Together (TXT) is set to appear on popular American TV shows to perform its first English-language song this month, the group's management agency said Monday. On Thursday, the five-member boy band will deliver its first performance of "Magic," along with an interview, on ABC's "Good Morning America," according to Big Hit Music. On June 15, the act will put on another performance of the song on the CBS program "The Late Late Show with James Corden.

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Monday it plans to release 80,000 tons of rice into the market this month to cope with supply shortages and stabilize prices. The move will raise the amount of reserved rice released into the market since January this year to 290,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ministry earlier announced it plans to release up to 370,000 tons of reserved rice into the market this year. The combined production of rice came

South Korea said Monday it plans to increase the number of government-supported shipping services to North America starting next month to help local exporters cope with the hike in freight costs. Under the plan, the country will operate four shipping schedules to North America monthly starting July under cooperation with HMM Co., South Korea's largest shipper, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The figure marks a sharp rise from the previous plan to operate two shipping s

RM, the leader of global dynamo BTS, has released a self-written solo song based on his experience of riding his bike across the South Korean capital. The 3 minute and 23 second song, uploaded on YouTube and SoundCloud, is a relaxed and comforting track in which RM raps and sings in Korean and English. RM, who has taken part in the songwriting for the seven-piece act's songs, including their latest hit "Butter," worked on his solo song with jazz singer-songwriter John Eun.  &n

The approval rating of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was seen as displaying upward momentum, according to a new poll Monday, amid its intense leadership race and new developments surrounding the former prosecutor general predicted to join the party to run for president. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,519 people over the age of 18 from May 31 to June 4, the PPP's approval rating was recorded at 38 percent, up 2.4 percentage points from the previous week. The ruling Dem

Colleagues of the late Air Force noncommissioned officer, whose suicide sparked a public uproar over sexual abuse in the military, had abused her for about a year repeatedly after watching her unable to speak up about such cases, a lawyer for the bereaved family said. The claim suggests that additional members of her unit could have abused the victim, identified only as Master Sergeant Lee, besides the lastest case in March in which she was groped and suffered other abuse by a colleague in a ca

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to under 500 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend as health authorities push to ramp up the vaccination drive on the back of an increased vaccine supply. The country reported 485 more COVID-19 cases, including 454 local infections, raising the total caseload to 144,637, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure was sharply down from 556 cases on Sunday. But daily cases usually rise on Wednesday and Friday

SK Telecom Co., a major mobile carrier, denied a news report Monday that it is planning to sell a stake in its e-commerce unit 11Street to US retail giant Amazon.com Inc. in a bid to bolster its online retail business. Local media had earlier reported that Amazon will exercise its right to acquire a 30 percent stake in 11Street, and that the US retailer could acquire up to a 50 percent stake in the South Korean e-commerce company. SK Telecom and Amazon strengthened ties in November last year t

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by slower-than-expected US jobs data that partially eased concerns of early inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.48 points, or 0.54 percent, to reach 3,257.56 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a bullish start as investors are relieved that the increase in US non-agricultural jobs in May turned out to be slower than the market consensus. The key stock i

"F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series, has become the third title to attract more than 2 million moviegoers in South Korea in 2021, box office data showed Monday. The action blockbuster drew 173,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to 2.05 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It is the third film released in 2021 to hit 2 million in the country, following the Disney-Pixar fantasy animated film &quo

Public opinion appears to be almost evenly divided over to whom the upcoming new round of COVID-19 relief payments should go, an opinion poll showed Monday. According to the poll conducted on 500 voters nationwide Friday by Realmeter, 38 percent said the stimulus checks should be paid to all nationals. Another 33.4 percent, however, responded the relief funds should selectively go to underprivileged people, the poll results showed. A total of 25.3 percent opposed the payment of emergency relie

Foreign investors turned to net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, ending their one-month buying spree, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 10.1 trillion won ($9 billion) worth of local stocks in May, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Investors from the United States sold 2.9 trillion won of stocks last month, while investors from Singapore purchased a net 654 billion won of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-May, local stocks held by forei

Two South Korean golfers have finished tied for seventh at the US Women's Open, as the country failed to produce its third consecutive champion at the oldest major tournament in women's golf. World No. 1 Ko Jin-young and second-ranked Park In-bee both finished the championship at one-over 285 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on Sunday (local time). Ko shot a two-under 69 in the final round, thanks to three birdies against one bogey. Park, a two-time US Women's Open champion, had a 72 on Sun

The military began administering Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine to soldiers under 30 years old Monday, the defense ministry said. Of the around 414,000 eligible service members, about 86.5 percent applied for the inoculation, and the vaccine will be given at 91 military clinics across the nation through July 16, according to the ministry. Soldiers aged 30 and older were already given AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, with about 88 percent, or 116,900 members, of the age group agreeing to take thei