South Korea discovered 28 more bone fragments believed to be from troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War as well as thousands of artifacts inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) so far this year, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The military resumed a demining and excavation operation on Arrowhead Ridge in Cheorwon, about 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on April 5, after months of hiatus during winter, to continue the project launched in 2019. Over the past two months, the military has disco

Loans extended by insurance companies in South Korea rose 7 percent on-year in the first quarter, led by gains in home-backed lending and corporate loans, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 255.1 trillion won ($229 billion) as of end-March, compared with 238.4 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their loans to households rose 3.6 trillion won on-year to 124.9 trillion won as of end-March, as the extension

The BTS megahit "Dynamite" has racked up 1.1 billion views on YouTube, becoming the band's third music video to reach the milestone. The seven-piece act's first English-language single hit the milestone at 3:46 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Big Hit Music. The feat comes roughly 10 months after the group released the upbeat disco-pop track on Aug. 21. The song earned BTS its first No. 1 debut on the Billboard's main singles chart as well as its first Grammy nomination. BTS now has th

South Korea on Tuesday held the sixth round of free trade talks with a group of South American countries, after around a year of hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The two parties kicked off the four-day meeting virtually to set details on the pending trade agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. The previous meeting was held in Uruguay in February 2020. South Korea launched its first talks with the four member states of the South American trade block Mercosur -- B

South Korea's intelligence chief is expected to return home Tuesday after a weeklong trip to the United States that apparently focused on discussions with his counterparts on North Korea, sources said. National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won had been in the US since his departure on May 26. His trip drew keen attention as it came just days after President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden held a summit and agreed to use diplomacy to resolve the North's nuclear standoff.

A team of state prosecutors requested Monday that a local court sentence the mother-in-law of Yoon Seok-youl, a former top prosecutor, to three years in jail. The 74-year-old, identified only by her surname Choi, is accused of violating the Medical Service Act in connection with her involvement in a nursing facility. She illegally received about 2.29 billion won ($20 million) from the National Health Insurance Service while running the nursing hospital in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, from 2013-20

Financially troubled budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. has received letters of intent (LOIs) from some investors for its stake up for sale and will select a final bidder next month. Easter Jet, currently under a court-led rehabilitation scheme, has received LOIs from several companies, including a consortium led by Kanglim, a local equipment maker under underwear company Ssang Bang Wool, and other private equity funds, according to industry sources.   The budget carrier selected a preli

South Korean stocks advanced for a second straight day Monday after a choppy session, as investors lean towards belief that the price hike is likely temporary. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.19 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 3,203.92 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 13.8 trillion won ($12.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 505 to 342. Foreigners bought a net 52

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Monday it has obtained its second overseas approval from Thailand for its planned acquisition of smaller local rival Asiana Airlines Inc. Korean Air said it recently received approval from the Thai regulator, following the first from Turkey in February. It still needs nods from seven other countries and the European Union to proceed with the 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) deal to acquire the debt-ridden Asiana. The seven countries i

The top professional baseball league on Monday announced plans to relax social distancing rules on seating arrangements at stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic, no longer requiring fans traveling in groups to put unoccupied seats between members of their parties. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said up to four fans will be allowed to sit in a row if they're attending games as a group. The KBO said it reached the decision following consultations with national health authorities and the sp

South Korea plans to send a military air tanker to the United States this week to bring coronavirus vaccines that Washington pledged to provide to the country, the defense ministry said Monday. The US plans to provide Johnson & Johnson (J&J)'s Janssen vaccine doses for 1 million people after President Joe Biden vowed to help South Korea with vaccine supplies to fully inoculate all 550,000 Korean troops. "We are scheduled to send a (KC-330) air refueling tanker on Wednesday, which

South Korea's science minister said Monday the country will expand investment and focus on the development of its space program after the United States lifted all restrictions on the country's missiles. During a bilateral summit on May 21, South Korea and the US agreed to scrap the restrictions on South Korean missiles, which was first put in place in 1979 and had limited Seoul's development of even non-military space projectiles. The guidelines, which have undergone revisions over the years,

South Korean steelmakers have raised prices of automotive steel for the first time in four years, people familiar with the matter said Monday, a move that could boost their bottom lines. Posco, the country's largest steelmaker, reached a deal with Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. to raise the price of a ton of automotive steel to 50,000 won ($45), they said. The move is meant to reflect the increased costs of iron ore, one of the main raw materials used in steel production. The price of iron o

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not made any public appearances for the past 24 days, marking his longest absence this year, the unification ministry said Monday. Kim was last seen in public on May 6 when he held a photo session with families of the North's army after watching their performance the previous day. "This marks the longest period there have been no reports of (Kim's) public activities this year," Lee Jong-joo, spokesperson of the unification ministry, told a regular

Unification Minister Lee In-young will hold meetings this week with the leaders of businesses that participated in the long-suspended tourism project at North Korea's Mount Kumgang to discuss cross-border cooperation and exchanges, his office said Monday. Lee will meet Tuesday with Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun of Hyundai Group that used to run tours to the scenic mountain on the North's east coast while a meeting with Lee Joong-myung, chairman of Ananti, which used to run a golf course at the moun