A group of South Korean opposition lawmakers said Sunday the U.S. government responded negatively to their request to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula during their visit to Washington. The legislators of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party returned Saturday from their four-day trip to meet State Department officials, Congress members and influential scholars. (Yonhap)In a press release they said they conveyed South Koreans' concerns about North Korea's evolving milit

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday urged parliament to pass a confirmation motion for his Supreme Court chief nominee which is pending amid controversy over his political views. In a statement issued a week before the incumbent's term ends, the president called for lawmakers' cooperation to prevent an unprecedented vacancy in the nation's top justice posts.  Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Yoon Young-chan (Yonhap)Opposition parties have delayed a vote on nominee Kim Meong-su taking issue with his past p

(Yonhap)South Korea's private kindergarten operators on Sunday called off their planned strike amid rising public criticism and parents' concern. The Korea Kindergarten Association had planned to temporarily halt operations on Monday and Sept. 25-29 in protest of the government's plan to increase state-funded kindergartens which they fear may crowd them out. They are also asking for more financial support. The advocate group for private-owned kindergartens said the plan was formally cancelled an

The government is likely to expand the scope of formal recognition of damage from toxic humidifier disinfectants to include asthma, Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung said Sunday.In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Kim said a government panel dealing with the incident has almost reached a decision on the inclusion of asthma, a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways in the lung, as a side effect of the toxic humidifier disinfectants.The humidifier sanitizer case, one of t

EUMSEONG -- Ban Ki-moon, the newly elected chief of the ethics body at the International Olympic Committee, said Sunday he feels a heavy responsibility taking the job, but will try to improve the transparency of the organization. Ban, who served as the UN secretary-general from January 2007 to December 2016, was officially elected at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on Thursday (local time) to lead the Ethics Commission, an independent body that establishes the framework of ethical principles and

The number of North Koreans who escaped to South Korea between January to August this year declined more than 10 percent from a year ago, government data showed Sunday. The decrease is attributable to North Korea's tightened surveillance over its people and reinforced security by Pyongyang and Beijing along their borders, according to the Ministry of Unification's report to Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party. In this file photo taken on Aug. 9, 2017, South Korean citizens hold

The prosecution said Sunday it is looking into allegations the state intelligence agency set up plans to control the management of major broadcasters in the late 2000s.The National Intelligence Service was also found to have compiled a blacklist of senior officials and program directors critical of the conservative government according to its internal inspection.  (Yonhap)The prosecution is widening its probe into past wrongdoings by NIS officials involved in political smear campaigns and gaggin

The South Korean Navy's submarine SSK Lee Eok Gi (SS-071) wobbled a bit, setting sail from the country's newest naval port on Jeju Island.The slight odor of oil that filled the cramped, windowless diesel-electric sub made some of the strangers aboard worry about getting seasick."This is (like) a lake," Cdr. Kang Byung-oh, the captain of the 1,200-ton sub, told a small group of reporters in the torpedo room, which doubles as a briefing room, last week. "The waves are only about 1.5 meters high. W

South Korea's interior minister on Sunday reaffirmed his resolve to adopt a municipal police system as part of efforts to enhance local autonomy and decentralization. Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Boo-kyum said the establishment of a municipal police system will mark one of the most drastic self-reform agendas for law enforcement to provide better service to the people.  South Korea`s Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Boo-kyum speaks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency at his

Lotte Hotel & Resorts said Sunday it opened its second hotel in Russia last week as it seeks to tap deeper into the overseas market.The new hotel opened in Saint Petersburg on Friday. It launched its first Russian operation in Moscow in 2010. Lotte currently operates hotels in the United States, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Myanmar.Lotte Hotel & Resorts is affiliated with Lotte Group, South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate with sprawling businesses in food, retail and construction. (Yonhap) This un

The South Korean government will carry out comprehensive safety checks of public facilities like subway stations and outdoor markets ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holidays, the industry ministry here said Sunday.The inspection will take place at some 3,400 bus terminals, department stores, hotels and markets nationwide from Monday for two weeks, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Some 2,500 inspectors will check the electricity and gas systems of such facilities.The country

Two firefighters were killed Sunday after being trapped in a pavilion in the city of Gangneung on South Korea's east coast that collapsed following a blaze, firefighting authorities said.The two were extinguishing the fire at Seoknan Pavilion, one of the scenic spots around the city's Gyeongpo Lake, before the pavilion collapsed around 4:29 a.m. They were pronounced dead after being rushed to hospitals. This photo, taken on Sept. 17, 2017, shows the rubble of Seoknan Pavilion in the city of Gang

Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung visited the family of a South Korean missionary held captive in North Korea since 2013, the ministry said Saturday.The Vice Minister visited Kim Jung-wook's family on Friday to comfort them and explain the government's ongoing efforts to bring the 53-year-old Christian missionary safely back home.  (Yonhap)"We will continue doing our best to successfully repatriate detainees using all the resources at our disposal," Chun was quoted by the ministry as sayin

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold a trilateral summit next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday.A senior Cheong Wa Dae official said that President Moon Jae-in and his US and Japanese counterparts, Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe, respectively, will hold a luncheon meeting on Thursday (Eastern Standard Time).(Yonhap)North Korea's continued provocations are expected to top the agenda for t

Kuwait has decided to deport a senior North Korean diplomat and stopped issuing new visas for North Koreans, a US-based media report said Saturday, citing its UN sanctions implementation report.   In the report to the UN Security Council, Kuwait said it has decided to cut the number of North Korean diplomats in the country to four from the current nine, the Voice of America (VOA) reported. On the deportation list is Pyongyang's ambassador to Kuwait So Chang-sik.    UN Security Council meeting he