South Korea and a group of Arab countries will resume talks for their free trade deal this week after a 13-year hiatus in a move to forge deeper economic ties, Seoul's industry ministry said Sunday. South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will began the fourth round of official talks for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on Monday for a four-day run, according to the Min...

South Korean business giants are venturing into the fledgling digital asset market and blockchain-related operations as they seek new business opportunities. On Friday, Ryu Young-sang, chief executive of SK Telecom, said in a shareholders meeting that the company plans to “adopt an economic system” to its own metaverse platform called ifland, a sign that digital currency tradable in the virtual ...

President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol are to hold their first meeting on Monday evening, 19 days after the presidential election, the two sides confirmed Sunday. Monday’s meeting will be their first in 21 months since Yoon visited Cheong Wa Dae to attend the Anti-Corruption Policy Council in 2020, when he was prosecutor general. They were supposed to meet on March 16, but the m...

A total of 70 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or stronger were detected on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters last year, a level similar to the yearly average over the past 20 years, the state weather agency said Sunday. The 2021 figure is up from 68 logged the previous year and is similar to the yearly average of 70.6 since the country began tracking related data with a digital...

South Korea's Veterans Affairs Minister Hwang Ki-chul will embark on a trip to Thailand, Turkey and South Africa this week for talks on bilateral cooperation and meet Korean War veterans, his office said Sunday. On Tuesday, Hwang is set to meet Thai officials in Bangkok, visit a Thai military unit that participated in the 1950-53 conflict and attend a dinner session with Thai veterans who fought...

North Korea seems to be working on making a "shortcut" to a tunnel at its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, apparently aimed at making speedy preparations for a seventh underground nuclear experiment, according to government sources in South Korea on Sunday. If carried out, it would be the secretive nation's first known nuclear test in 4 1/2 years. South Korea's military and intelligence authori...

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Sunday criticized South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's policy stance on the Kim Jong-un regime as a move to revive "confrontational" approaches by former conservative administrations in Seoul. The Tongil Voice claimed that Yoon is poised to follow the policy lines of two former presidents, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, who took tougher approaches th...

South Korea has issued a joint statement with 20 other countries urging a halt to the supply of arms to Myanmar's military regime on the occasion of the nation's Armed Forces Day, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday. The European Union also joined the call for the regime to cease its violence against people there and restore the nation's path to democracy. "Some countries continue to supply le...

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases stayed below 400,000 for the fourth consecutive day Sunday, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continues to spread across the nation amid eased antivirus curbs. The country added 318,130 new coronavirus infections, including 43 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 11,162,232, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) sai...

SANYA, China , March 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year, hundreds of millions of people switch off for Earth Hour as a symbolic gesture of solidarity to protect the planet. This year on March 26 , invited by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), the organizers of Earth Hour, the Sanya Tourism Promotion Board (STPB) took part in the global movement, joining hands with multiple tourism organi...

South Korean Lee Si-hyeong finished well out of contention at the figure skating world championships in France, while his countryman Cha Jun-hwan withdrew because of problems with his boots. Lee finished 18th in the men's singles competition at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France, on Saturday (local time). He earned 138.71 points in Sat...

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday cited "pragmatism" and "people's interests" as key elements his incoming government should keep in mind when deciding on state agendas. Yoon made the remarks during a workshop of the presidential transition committee in Seoul and also highlighted the importance of economic development. "We need to set the national tasks of priority as we smoothly take o...

Lee painted a rosy outlook for Korea’s fashion industry. It will likely mark a milestone globally, thanks to the popularity of K-pop, Korean movies and Korean food. Thanks to active promotions by talented Korean fashion designers, Korea is a big topic in the global fashion industry, he said. More keen attention from local distributors and consumers, coupled with fashion labels’ active promotions...

“Things go in an unexpected way and that is the charm of being a documentary producer. You get invited to places not on your filming itinerary. That’s OK, as long as you have the vision to connect the dots with your theme, which for me, has been and will always be, the origins of food.” The documentary producer also had thoughts on how many people see food on their screens these days. “I often s...

Qatari women’s traditional costumes include abaya, or a long-sleeved, floor-length garment; hijab, or a head covering; and a dress called thobe nashel. The preferred colors are dark red and violet, with embroideries added to highlight the beauty of the costumes. Photos by Park Hyun-koo Written by Jie Ye-eun