Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in widened his lead over centrist Ahn Cheol-soo in a new poll published Thursday ahead of the May 9 vote.Moon of the liberal Democratic Party garnered 44.4 percent, while Ahn of the center-left People's Party gained 22.8 percent, according to the Realmeter survey conducted from Monday through Wednesday.Both candidates lost points from last week, but Ahn fell by more, widening the margin from 18.3 points to 21.6 points. Moon lost 2.3 points while Ahn lost 5.6.So

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn visited retail giant Lotte Group's landmark skyscraper in Seoul Wednesday as US forces began installing part of a US missile defense system in a southeastern county.The ostensible purpose of his visit to Lotte World Tower was a safety check on the 123-story building.(Yonhap)But his aide said it was partially intended to encourage Lotte, which has borne the full brunt of China's economic retaliation for the deployment of a Terminal H

GOYANG -- Reigning Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Margarita Mamun will visit South Korea to promote tourism in a local city, officials here said Wednesday. Margarita Mamun (Yonhap)The Goyang City Government said Mamun, who won the rhythmic gymnastics all-around gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, will land in South Korea on Thursday to participate in various tourism promotional events for the city located just north of Seoul. She will also teach young rhythmic gymna

North Korea said Wednesday that the United States and the United Nations Security Council should be held accountable for the possible outbreak of war on the divided peninsula ahead of this week's UN meeting on the North's nuclear issue.North Korea's foreign ministry said that the US is to blame for pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war by conducting joint military drills with South Korea and bringing its nuclear strategic assets to the region, according to the Korean Central N

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in widened his lead over centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, a number of opinion surveys showed Wednesday, to regain his dominant position in the election less than two weeks away.Early this month, Ahn of the center-left People's Party emerged as a formidable challenge to Moon of the liberal Democratic Party.His approval ratings climbed across the board to rival those of Moon in the 30-40 percent range.Within weeks, Ahn's rise appeared to have been short-lived. Presidentia

BEIJING -- Hours after the deployment of a US advanced defense shield went into full swing in South Korea, China strongly urged Seoul and Washington on Wednesday to pull back the equipment, warning that the installation would further up tensions in the region. Six trailers reportedly carrying the high-profile X-band radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, mobile launchers and other elements were seen entering the deployment site in the southeastern county of Seongju, North Gyeon

South Korea has far too lenient regulations on fine dust measurement and needs to toughen the threshold to better inform the public of the air quality amid the worsening climate here, experts here said Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Environment, a daily average of over 50 micrograms of ultra-fine dust is the threshold for South Korea to call bad weather for the day, whereas the minimum level for the United States and Japan stands at 35 micrograms.  (Yonhap)The ministry said the measurem

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in on Wednesday garnered official support from a group of former security officials and experts, a welcome shot in the arm amid growing doubts about his credentials as future commander-in-chief.The candidate of the liberal Democratic Party secured backing from 1,000 former soldiers, police officers, intelligence agents and defense experts, as he tried to project the image of a leader capable of handling North Korea's escalating military threats.Moon Jae-in, the

South Korea's two leading universities said Wednesday they will strengthen the eligibility requirements in the selection of student athletes amid criticism over unfairness and loopholes in the current system.Kim Yong-hak, president of Yonsei University, and Yeom Jae-ho, president of Korea University, held a joint press conference in Seoul and said student athletes aspiring to enter their schools will be required to meet certain academic standards starting in 2021. The heads of Yonsei University

The UN point man on the North Korean human rights situation made an “urgent appeal" on Wednesday to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula as US military assets were deployed in the region to counter North Korea's growing provocations."The recent rise in conflict rhetoric is worsening already critical human rights challenges in North Korea," Tomas Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, said in a news release by the Office of the United Nations Hi

Former and current US Forces Korea service members will establish a brand-new association next week to promote friendly ties between the two countries, according to a group of figures here advocating the further development of the alliance on Wednesday.The organization, named the "Korea Defense Veterans Association," is scheduled to be created in Washington DC on May 3. An image of South Korea-US alliance in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)Headed by former USFK commander Walter "Skip

South Korea plans to provide $4 million in humanitarian assistance to war-torn Yemen this year and join international efforts to end the civil war there, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.South Korea made the commitment during a fundraising event for Yemen in the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was jointly hosted by Switzerland, Sweden and the United Nations. (AP-Yonhap)About two thirds of the entire Yemeni population ar

A group claiming to be helping the son of the slain brother of North Korea's leader said Wednesday it is now protecting seven North Korean defectors rescued from Southeast Asia, but cannot send them to Seoul due to the absence of security assurance from South Korean presidential candidates.Last Tuesday, the group, which calls itself "Cheollima Civil Defense," openly asked South Korean presidential contenders running for the May 9 election whether they are willing to accept and protect North Kore

BERLIN -- A music concert was held in a Czech city in memory of Emil Kapaun, a Czech-American priest and war hero who died in captivity during the 1950-53 Korean War, the South Korean Embassy in Prague said Tuesday.South Korean Ambassador to the Czech Republic Moon Seung-hyun took part in the concert organized by the municipal government and archdiocese in the eastern city of Olomouc. Emil Kapaun, a Czech-American war hero who died in captivity during the 1950-53 Korean War (South Korean Embassy

South Korea has taken the hockey world by storm this week, emerging as the only undefeated nation at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division I Group A in Ukraine.South Korea, ranked 23rd, came from behind to defeat 19th-ranked Hungary 3-1 Tuesday in Kiev. With three straight wins, South Korea is sitting pretty at the top of the six-nation competition with two games remaining.South Korean forward Shin Sang-hoon takes a shot against Hungary at the International Ice Hock