The office of President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday it has no plan, for now, to dispatch a special envoy to North Korea. It cited "realistic restraints" attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in the day, Cheong Wa Dae announced the reopening of direct communication lines between the two Koreas that were severed in June last year. Moon and the North's leader Kim Jong-un have reached an agreement on that, as they have exchanged personal letters several times, it added. On whethe

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday as investor sentiment improved on optimism for strong corporate earnings despite the spreading new coronavirus pandemic. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.58 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 3,232.53 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 978 million shares worth some 12.1 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 534 to 287. Foreigners bought a net 44 b

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that Japan-born South Korean judoka An Chang-rim, who won an Olympic bronze medal Monday, has brought pride not only to Korean residents in Japan but to all 50 million South Koreans. The 27-year-old An defeated Rustam Orujov of Azerbaijan for the bronze medal in the men's 73kg class at the Tokyo Olympics. An was born in Tokyo to second-generation Japanese-Korean parents and received offers to be naturalized as a Japanese citizen. But he never gave up on his Ko

Nearly 90 percent of service members aged 30 and older have received the second doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, the defense ministry said Tuesday. As of Monday, 104,861 troops, or 89.7 percent of troops of the age group who had their first shots, have received the second doses, according to the ministry. The military provided AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for their first shots in April and May but the second doses were given with Pfizer's after health authorities decided earlier this m

South Korea has confirmed 1,412 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 1,242 cases of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Tuesday. The caseload of such infections reached 6,016 here, with the number of delta cases first reported in India tallied at 2,983, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Of the newly confirmed variant cases over the cited period, there were 1,233 local inf

TOKYO -- For a moment there, the swimming world held its collective breath Tuesday, as the South Korean teen swimmer Hwang Sun-woo was on a world record pace halfway through the 200m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics. The 18-year-old ended up in seventh place among eight finalists at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. But he did have his 15 minutes or fame -- or rather, about 50 seconds of it. Hwang had the fastest reaction time in the final with 0.58 second. He covered the first 100m in 49.78 seconds

North Korea said Tuesday that the restoration of communication lines with South Korea will play a positive role in improving relations between the two sides after the severed lines returned to operation after a 13-month suspension. "Now, the whole Korean nation desires to see the North-South relations recovered from setback and stagnation as early as possible," the official Korean Central News Agency said, confirming that all inter-Korean communication liaison lines were restored as o

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon attended a high-level meeting on climate change in London this week to discuss efforts to advance carbon emission goals ahead of an upcoming multilateral summit, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The two-day ministerial talks for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that ended Monday (local time) focused on how to implement the goals pledged by countries in the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change and encourage those w

The following is a chronology of major events leading to the restoration of communication lines between South and North Korea on Tuesday, 13 months after the North unilaterally severed them in protest of anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by activists. 2020 June 4 -- North Korea threatens to scrap a military tension reduction deal with South Korea and shut down major exchange projects in anger over Seoul's supposed failure to stop activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda le

South Korean internet-only bank Kakao Bank Corp. is set to draw relatively low subscription from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO), with deposits for the stock offering at a smaller-than-expected 22 trillion won ($19.1 billion) as of 11 a.m., its IPO managers said Tuesday. On the last day of the two-day subscription, retail investors may pour additional deposits to subscribe for one of the largest IPO deals. Kakao Bank's IPO subscription for individual investors closes at

Bereaved family members of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster agreed Tuesday to dismantle a memorial hall at Gwanghwamun Square while construction on the plaza is under way. The Seoul metropolitan government informed the families early this month that it would take down the structure Monday as part of construction work for the restructuring of Gwanghwamun Square. The families agreed at the time to move the makeshift hall, which was built in April 2019, and asked that a consultative body be set up t

TOKYO -- South Korean teen swimmer Hwang Sun-woo ranked seventh in the men's 200m freestyle event of the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, the best performance by a South Korean swimmer in nine years. The 18-year-old was in the lead after the first 150 meters before losing steam and finishing second from last at 1:45.26 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Tom Dean of Britain won the gold medal in 1:44.22, 0.04 ahead of fellow Briton Duncan Scott. Fernando Scheffer got the bronze in 1:44.66. Hwang had won the

Three members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in a massive outdoor rally in downtown Seoul on July 3, had actually contracted the virus from a restaurant, the militant labor group said Tuesday. Yang Kyung-soo, head of the KCTU, called a news conference to announce that the COVID-19 infections of the three KCTU members were confirmed to have occurred at a restaurant on July 7 and there have been no additional confirmed case

Inter-Korean military hotlines are back to normal operation after a 13-month suspension, the defense ministry confirmed Tuesday, saying the two Koreas will resume regular daily calls via the communication lines. Earlier in the day, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that the two sides agreed to reopen all direct communication lines at 10 a.m. as part of efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. "South and North Korean militar

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its new curved gaming monitor with Mini LED display will be launched this week. The Odyssey Neo G9 will hit the shelves in South Korea on Thursday with a price of 2.4 million won ($2,085). It will be globally available by Aug. 9, according to the tech giant. The latest product is the industry's first curved gaming monitor with Mini LED display, Samsung said. It uses the Quantum Mini LED light source that is 1/40 the height of a conventional LED, which is al