South Korea's agricultural agency said Friday it plans to expand surveillance on fire blight amid growing concerns over the nationwide spread of the deadly disease for apple and pear trees. The move came as an apple farm in Andong, 268 kilometers south of Seoul, confirmed another case of fire blight, which marked the first infection to be reported from North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Rural Development Administration. North Gyeongsang Province accounts for around 60 percent of South

A 2-year-old girl has been in a coma for nearly a month since her adoptive father abused her to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain. Doctors say she is unlikely to wake up given the extent of the trauma she suffered when her father, 36, allegedly slapped her face and knocked her down a total of four times at their home in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 8. An investigation revealed that the adoptive father had abused the girl multiple times prior to M

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Seong-yong offered to step down Friday, holding himself responsible for the suicide of a sexually harassed female noncommissioned officer and the military's mishandling of the case. President Moon Jae-in was quick to accept the resignation, as he ordered a thorough investigation and stern punishment of those responsible a day earlier, saying his heart aches to think of the despair the victim must have felt. Presidential aides said whoever is responsible will b

Two Air Force officers and two Army officers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday. The airmen stationed in Osan, 55 kilometers south of Seoul, were confirmed to have been infected in a test required to exit quarantine. They had been in isolation following COVID-19 cases on their base earlier, according to the ministry. The two Army members tested positive following their recent vacation, it added. One of them also had received the first dose of a COVID-19

In a sign of the growing importance of K-pop fans, major agencies and labels here are launching venues dedicated to them at their corporate sites. While companies have temporarily operated pop-up stores and exhibitions for K-pop fans, the recent openings of these permanent venues mark a shift in how they view fans for business growth. Hybe, the company behind BTS, Seventeen and Tomorrow X Together, in May opened Hybe Insight at its new company headquarters in central Seoul. The 4,700-square m

GOYANG -- A man had his ankle severed when a device presumed to be a land mine exploded in a wetland area in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on Friday, authorities said. The accident occurred at the entrance of Janghang Wetland at 9:50 a.m. during a cleanup operation by a social cooperative. The worker in his 50s was airlifted to a hospital. The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. The 7.6-kilometer-long wetland of the Han River estuary was last month included in the Ramsar li

Military prosecutors carried out a series of raids on the Air Force headquarters and other locations in connection with an investigation into the suicide death of a female noncommissioned officer following sexual harassment by a colleague. At around 10 a.m., investigators raided the police corps of the Air Force headquarters as well as the police squadron of the 15th Special Missions Wing that the victim was affiliated with, the defense ministry said in a release. Military prosecutors are loo

BTS is set to release a "Cooler" and "Sweeter" remix of its Billboard-topping single "Butter" later Friday, its label said. The "Cooler" version brings a guitar sound to the summery number, while the "Sweeter" remix adds some R&B vibe to the song, according to Big Hit Music. The release is scheduled for 1 p.m., exactly two weeks after the seven-piece act rolled out "Butter" globally on May 21. Last week, BTS also dropped the "

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Friday the government is reviewing another extra budget with larger tax revenue in a bid to help support vulnerable people hit hard by the pandemic. Minister Hong Nam-ki said the country will not sell more government bonds to finance the extra budget as it is expected to collect more tax revenue this year amid an economic recovery. "The government will focus its policy efforts on helping restore the job market and achieve an inclusive growth,&

The music video for all-female act BLACKPINK's song "Ddu-du Ddu-du" has broken 1.6 billion views on YouTube. The 2018 hit broke the milestone at 7:22 a.m. Friday, setting a new record for a K-pop act, its management agency YG Entertainment said. The record came roughly 19 months after it became the first music video by a K-pop group to surpass the 1 billion mark in November 2019. "Ddu-du Ddu-du," the main track of the four-member band's first EP, "Square Up," rel

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message to congratulate Raul Castro, former secretary of Cuba's communist party, on his 90th birthday, stressing his role in strengthening relations between the two countries, state media said Friday. "Our party and people always remember and appreciate the great contributions made by Raul Castro Ruz to strengthening the genuine comradely unity and the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two parties and the two countries," Kim said

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases reached nearly 700 Friday on cluster infections in various settings, while health authorities remain upbeat about reaching the nation's vaccination goal earlier than expected, with vaccine hesitancy waning and more supplies expected to be shipped in down the road. The country reported 695 more COVID-19 cases, including 674 local infections, raising the total caseload to 133,289, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily cas

Prices of enterprise solid state drives (SSDs) are likely to increase sharply in the third quarter of the year due to robust demand from server companies, a report showed Friday, boding well for top memory chip producer Samsung Electronics Co. Contract prices of enterprise SSDs for the July-September period are expected to go up 10-15 percent from the previous quarter, according to the latest report from market researcher TrendForce, which revised its previous forecast of a 5-10 percent increa

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday on increased valuation pressure after gaining for the past five sessions.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.73 points, or 0.52 percent, to reach 3,230.7 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start after finishing only an inch away from its all-time high the previous session. A tech slump led the KOSPI's retreat. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 0.72 percent, and No. 2 c

WASHINGTON -- The United States plans to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to countries in need, including South Korea, President Joe Biden said Thursday. The United States earlier pledged to provide up to 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 20 million doses that have already been approved for use in the United States. The other 60 million doses are from AstraZeneca, yet to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. "As the United States continues our efforts to get every el