WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law an anti-Asian hate crimes act, enabling expedited federal government investigation into hate crimes targeting Asian and Pacific Islander communities. The signing of the law came one day after the House of Representatives voted 364-62 to pass the bill. The Senate had voted 94-1 to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act on April 22. "For centuries, Asian Americans, native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, diverse and vibrant communitie

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 600 on Friday, as health authorities decided to extend the current distancing rules for another three weeks amid continued cluster inflections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 561 more COVID-19 cases, including 542 local infections, raising the total caseload to 134,678, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's daily caseload compares with 646 on Thursday, 654 on Wednesday and 528 on Tuesday. Th

WASHINGTON -- The United States welcomes the opportunity to discuss ways to help South Korea's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and how they can work together to help the rest of the world, a White House spokesperson said Thursday. Jen Psaki made the remarks one day before President Joe Biden was set to hold a bilateral summit with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in. "We certainly expect that the leaders will discuss ways the United States can support South Korea in its fight ag

WASHINGTON -- A Korean captain and four crew members of a fishing boat have been kidnapped in waters off Ghana, in west Africa, a report said Thursday. The five crew members of the Atlantic Princess, a tuna boat, were kidnapped on Thursday (local time), according to the report from Dryad Global, a maritime security and intelligence provider. "The vessel is understood to have been approached by one speedboat with 8 pirates onboard," it said, adding the incident reportedly took place 6

WASHINGTON -- A US lawmaker proposed a bill on Thursday that calls for US efforts to declare a formal end to the Korean War and exchange liaison offices with North Korea. The bill, proposed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), also seeks to require the State Department to consider lifting its travel ban on North Korea for Korean Americans with separated families in the North. "The United States should pursue a sustained and credible diplomatic process to achieve an end to the Korean War, and ever

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on hopes for a quick economic rebound, backed by overnight gains on Wall Street and strong local exports data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.77 points, or 0.85 percent, to 3,189.05 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a strong start, tracking a 1.77 percent gain on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 finished up 0.55 percent and 1.06 percent, re

A state agency affiliated with the Korea Customs Service (KCS) has come under probe from the prime minister's office over its alleged construction of a "ghost" building in the central administrative city of Sejong, informed officials said Thursday. The Office for Government Policy Coordination sent its inspectors to the Customs Valuation and Classification Institute (CVNCI), a KCS affiliate headquartered in Daejeon, central South Korea, to look into its controversial construction of a

The new North Korea policy of the Joe Biden administration is designed to be flexible to enable the "best chance of diplomatic success" by learning from past unsuccessful efforts, a senior US administration official said Thursday. "We are not going to lay out exactly our diplomatic strategy here and now, I would simply say that we've tried to design it to be flexible," the official told reporters while speaking on condition of anonymity. "We understand where previous e

South Korea reiterated concerns Thursday over the worsening humanitarian crisis from the fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group, backing international efforts to broker a ceasefire. Since May 10, Israel and Hamas militants have launched deadly rocket attacks against each other. The United States, the United Nations and others have beefed up mediation efforts to stop the conflict from escalating into a full-blown war. "Our government again expresses deep concerns over the rap

The ruling Democratic Party's (DP) push for the sweeping revision of its real estate policy has hit a snag due to strong opposition from its hard-line members who are against "cutting taxes for the rich." The party's new leadership led by Rep. Song Young-gil has set out this week to alter the policy widely blamed for its crushing defeat in the latest local elections seen as a key barometer of public sentiment ahead of the presidential election next year. DP's newly refurbished specia

Two people were killed and six others injured in a car crash and subsequent building collapse in Seoul on Thursday, officials said. The accident occurred on a road in southwestern Seoul at around 11 a.m. when two trucks collided and one of them ran into a nearby five-story building, according to police and firefighters. An explosion and fire broke out at the building after gas leaked from a pipe hit by the five-ton freight vehicle, they said. An adjoining single-story building collapsed appar

A Seoul family court on Thursday sided with the ex-husband of Gerhard Schroeder's South Korean wife and ordered the former German chancellor to partially compensate the man for destroying his marriage. The man, whose identity was withheld, filed a lawsuit in 2018 seeking 100 million won ($81,708) in compensation, claiming Schroeder was responsible for the destruction of his marriage with the woman, Kim So-yeon. The Seoul Family Court on Thursday partially accepted the claim and ordered Schroed

South Korea will hold a series of climate change forums next week in the run-up to a global summit on climate change and sustainable development set for late this month, its preparatory committee said Thursday. A total of 10 sessions will take place during the "Green Future Week" from Monday to Saturday to enhance the international community's awareness and resolve to fight climate change ahead of the virtual Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) summit slated for May

Unification Minister Lee In-young called Thursday for nonpartisan parliamentary support for the ratification of a 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement, saying such cross-border issues should be shielded from "wasteful" political controversies. Lee made the remark during a forum in Seoul, saying that the government will soon officially ask for the ratification of the "Panmunjom Declaration" signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their first su

The American business lobby group here has submitted a petition for the pardon of Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group, to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae ahead of a bilateral summit between South Korea and the United States, its officials said Thursday. The American Chamber of Commerce in South Korea (AMCHAM) last week sent a letter to President Moon Jae-in asking him to consider pardoning Lee ahead of his visit to Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden