First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has met Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to discuss bilateral ties and cooperation in trade, development, health and other areas during his trip to the African country, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Choi was in Morocco on Sunday and Monday in the first leg of his Africa trip, which includes Senegal and Nigeria, to cement the two countries' partnership ahead of the 60th anniversary next year of the establishment of bilateral relations. Dur

South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Tuesday as tech large caps showed signs of a rebound from their weeklong plunge, in addition to strong advances by financial stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.63 points, or 0.05 percent, to 3,172.92 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index opened with mild gains as the country's two largest chipmakers rose after tumbling on pessimism about a future price fall of DRAMs. Gains by financial and ban

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in South Korea on Monday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit here in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He embarked on the two-day state trip at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in, during which they are scheduled to hold summit talks. He was greeted by South Korea's Commerce Minister Moon Sung-wook at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. He is the first Kazhak president to travel to South Korea in five years. In their s

South Korea strongly protested Japan's renewed claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its newly created defense white paper for elementary and junior high school students, the foreign ministry said Monday. Lee Sang-ryeol, the director-general for Asia Pacific affairs, and Kim Yong-gil, minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, lodged a protest to Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and Taisuke Mibae, deputy director-general of the Japan

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Monday it will consider rerouting flights to avoid Afghanistan's airspace following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul. Korean Air said some of its cargo flights have used the Afghan airspace at high altitudes, though its passenger flights have not. "We are closely monitoring the (political) situation in Afghanistan and may change our routes if necessary," a company spokeswoman said over the phone. The move is in line with majo

South Korea's agricultural ministry on Monday reported two additional cases of African swine fever (ASF) after it confirmed the first cases of the animal disease at a local farm in about three months on Aug. 8. The authorities found the two new cases in a pig farm in Inje, Gangwon Province, and began culling about 1,700 pigs at the farm, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. On Aug. 8, pigs at a farm in Goseong of the same province were infected with the disease, pr

President Moon Jae-in sent a condolence letter to Haiti's leader Monday over massive damage from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the message to Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Moon expressed his sympathy for the people of the Caribbean country and hope for an early recovery from the damage. He added that the South Korean government will take active part in the international community's efforts to provide emergency assistance, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-me

President Moon Jae-in said it is very meaningful that the remains of Gen. Hong Beom-do, a legendary Korean independence fighter, have been repatriated to South Korea's soil, according to his office Monday. Moon conversed with the three members of his special delegation at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the previous day. They traveled to Kazakhstan to bring Hong's remains home, 78 years after his death in the Central Asian country. Moon observed the arrival of the remains at th

The consortium formed by Doosan Heavy Industries's British unit and a British firm has received a 180 billion-won ($155 million) water treatment deal, Doosan said Monday. Doosan Heavy's wholly owned Doosan Enpure joined hands with BAM Nuttall to obtain the deal for the relocation of the Guildford sewage treatment facility from Thames Water, Britain's largest water and wastewater services company, the company said in a statement. "We will complete the construction of a new sewage treatme

President Moon Jae-in instructed his government Monday to do its best for the safe evacuation of South Korea's diplomatic officials and residents in Afghanistan. He told relevant authorities to make all-out efforts so that every single South Korean national there can be evacuated to safety, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The president has been receiving real-time reports on recent security situations in the nation, where the Taliban has taken control, she added. Moon

South Korea and the United States kicked off their annual joint military training Monday, undeterred by North Korea's strong protest and threats of a serious security crisis. The nine-day command post exercise staged on the peninsula is based largely on a computer simulation with no field training, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The drill is defensive in nature as usual, it stressed in a statement.The number of participating troops will be restricted in consideration o

Son Heung-min wasted little time making his mark on the new Premier League campaign, scoring Tottenham Hotspur's winning goal in their season-opening victory over Manchester City. Son's left-footed shot from outside the box in the 55th minute sealed Spurs' 1-0 win over the defending champion at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). Son, now in his seventh season with Tottenham, also put his new boss, Nuno Espirito Santo, on a victorious start to his Tottenham tenure. Esp

LG Energy Solution Ltd., South Korea's leading battery company, said Monday it has signed a six-year deal with Australian Mines Ltd. for a stable supply of key battery materials. In the deal that will begin at the end of 2024, LG Energy Solution will receive 71,000 tons of nickel and 7,000 tons of cobalt from the Australian company over six years, the South Korean firm said in a statement. "Securing key raw materials and a responsible battery supply chain has become a critical element i

Public support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has fallen after a two-week rise, a poll showed Monday amid a conflict between the party's two key figures -- Lee Jun-seok and Yoon Seok-youl. In the Realmeter survey on 2,512 people, aged 18 and older, nationwide from last Monday through Friday, the PPP's approval rating dipped 0.5 percentage point to 37.3 percent from a week earlier. The ruling Democratic Party's rating gained 1.4 percentage points to 33.5 percent. The PPP, in p

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the minor opposition People's Party, announced a no-deal end Monday to negotiations with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) over a proposed merger. "I am very sorry to say that the efforts to unify the two parties have come to a halt here," he said during the press conference at the National Assembly. Ahn described the negotiation process as the "hardest time" for him since he became a politician a decade ago. He apologized to those who h