US missile defense system capabilities including those in South Korea are constantly reviewed and upgraded to meet evolving threats, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Wednesday. Kirby also highlighted the need for such capabilities to counter threats posed by what he called any "would-be" foes. "This is the kind of capability that we not only believe we need in the region but that we need to continually review and upgrade as necessary," Kirby said when asked if the U

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, led by advances by auto and chemical stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.28 points, or 0.18 percent, to trade at 3,007.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.64 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 percent on easing concerns about the omicron variant of the new coronavirus. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.28 p

The United States is in a better position from a year earlier to compete with China, partly thanks to its strong alliances with countries such as South Korea, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday. The top US security advisor also underscored the importance of a US military presence in the Indo-Pacific region to help maintain peace and stability. "I believe that there's a fairly straightforward way of looking at this, which is, close to one year into the Biden administrat

Audi Volkswagen Korea, Honda Korea and three other companies will voluntarily recall more than 4,200 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea due to problems with vehicle components. The five companies, including Volvo Trucks Korea, Stellantis Korea, FMK which sells Ferraris and Maseratis in the country, are recalling a combined 4,282 units in 10 kinds of models, the Ministry of La

The top diplomats of South Korea and Hungary on Wednesday discussed ways to boost cooperation and exchanges between the two countries in a phone conversation, Seoul's foreign ministry said.    Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held phone talks with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, as their in-person meeting in Seoul was cancelled because one of Szijjarto's staff was confirmed to have COVID-19 following their arrival early in the morning.    During their conversati

South Korea expanded its entry ban to two additional African countries Wednesday amid growing concerns over the fast-spreading omicron coronavirus variant.    From Friday to next Thursday, short-term foreign arrivals from Ghana and Zambia will be banned. South Korean nationals and long-term foreign arrivals from these countries will face a mandatory 10-day quarantine, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.    Effective Nov. 28, South Korea had earlier banned fore

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit Britain this weekend to attend a meeting of foreign and development ministers from the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized countries, his ministry said Wednesday. The two-day session to open in Liverpool on Saturday is meant for discussions on a range of global issues, including ways for fair access to COVID-19 vaccines and cooperation on global supply chains as well as economy and security in the Indo-Pacific region and gender equality,

K-pop superband BTS has won three prizes at the 2021 People's Choice Awards, the latest in a series of honors it took home from the United States this year. The South Korean group won the group of 2021 and both the song and the music video of 2021 for its megahit "Butter" at the annual ceremony held in person in Santa Monica, California, Tuesday (US time). The septet, in particular, beat out big name stars, such as Coldplay, Dan + Shay, Jonas Brothers and Maroon 5, to win in the gro

South Korean stocks advanced for a sixth straight session Wednesday on the back of eased concerns about the omicron variant. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10.08 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 3,001.8 points. The key index retrieved the 3,000-point mark for the first time in about two weeks. Trading volume was moderate at about 482 million shares worth some 11 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outnumbering g

The ruling Democratic Party has begun looking into delaying the introduction of the "vaccine pass" system for children aged 12 to 18 and changing the types of facilities that require the pass after strong protests from students and parents, multiple party officials said Wednesday. Under rules that took effect Monday, the list of facilities requiring visitors to present a vaccine pass -- proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result -- has expanded to include restaurants, cof

South Korea is not considering a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing and the country is still undecided on the matter, a senior presidential official said Wednesday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, made the remarks when asked about the US government's announcement to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics due to China's human rights abuses. The official said the US informed South Korea of the diplomatic boycott, and Seoul has not de

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, on Wednesday welcomed the opposition campaign chief's proposal to spend 100 trillion won ($84.9 billion) to support small business owners and self-employed people hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We have been the stingiest nation in the world when it comes to supporting small business owners, passing over duties to people that are supposed to be handled by the state," Lee said during his campaign event for small a

Free lunch will be served to all kindergartners in Seoul starting in March, completing the city's universal free meal program up to high school, officials said Wednesday. Seoul's education office, city government and council of ward offices signed an agreement to provide funds for the program to all 790 public and private kindergartens, according to officials. A total of 71,876 kindergartners were enrolled in Seoul as of April. About 69.9 billion won ($59.4 million) will be necessary a year

Jungheung Construction, a midsized local builder, said Wednesday that it will sign a deal this week to buy a controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. In July, Jungheung Construction was named the preferred bidder to take over the 50.75-percent stake in its bigger rival from an investment fund under the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB). The deal is known to be worth around 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion). In 2018, Hoban Construction Co. was selected as a preferred bid

The average price of Seoul apartments has soared more than twofold in about five years under the current Moon Jae-in administration, according to a civic group analysis Wednesday. According to the analysis by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), an apartment in Seoul fetched 43.09 million won ($36,590) per pyeong, or 3.3 square meters, on average as of November, up 109 percent compared to May 2017 when Moon was sworn into office. The average price of 99.1-square-meter apartment