US President Joe Biden has banned the provision of nonhumanitarian aid to North Korea for fiscal year 2022, accusing the reclusive state of human trafficking, according to the White House. It marks the 19th consecutive year for a US president to take such a measure against Pyongyang. In a presidential memorandum for the secretary of state, posted on the White House website Tuesday (Washington t...

Veteran electioneer Kim Chong-in is once again taking a central role in the presidential election, following yet another power struggle within the People Power Party. Less than three weeks after the party’s Chairman Lee Jun-seok and presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol settled their differences, chaos has struck again with Lee resigning from the election committee following an argument with the ...

A London-based Korean curator has been appointed to head the 2023 Gwangju Biennale. Lee Sook-kyung, senior curator of International Art at the Tate Modern, will take on the role of artistic director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale scheduled to take place in April 2023, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation announced Tuesday. Lee, who has been active in the global art scene for the past 28 years, special...

South Korea's drug safety agency said Wednesday that it has begun reviewing an emergency authorization of US drug giant Pfizer Inc.'s oral drug to treat COVID-19. Paxlovid is the antiviral pill for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of hospitalization or death, according to Pfizer and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. If authorized, Paxlovid would be th...

A former elementary school principal indicted for allegedly installing a spy camera in a female teachers' restroom admitted to all charges against him in his first court hearing Wednesday. The 57-year-old former principal at the school in Anyang, 23 kilometers south of Seoul, was charged with the sexual offenses last month for allegedly fitting a tiny camera inside a tissue box in the restroom i...

A man has been arrested in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in connection to the killing of a landlord who was found dead in a residential building she owned on Dec. 15. According to local police on Wednesday, the suspect, in his 40s, had been living secretly in a one-bedroom unit in the victim’s building in Wonju. The attack occurred when the landlord, who lived in Gyeonggi Province, came to check on ...

South Korea's finance ministry said Wednesday it will put the top priority on stabilizing consumer inflation next year as the country faces a buildup in price pressure amid rising prices of raw materials and farm products and the economic recovery. The government plans to beef up the monitoring of the supply of key farm produce closely linked to people's livelihoods and freeze public utility bil...

South Korea's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it will continue to prioritize a "soft landing" for soaring household debt and bringing debt growth down to pre-pandemic levels next year. In a report laying out its policy goals for next year, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) also said that it will "preemptively" manage vulnerability risks facing the financial sector amid worries that ...

SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Wednesday it has signed an initial pact with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Auto Co. for EV battery development.SsangYong Motor on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with BYD Auto to develop car batteries and produce battery packs for its models, the company said in a statement. "The partne...

The opening of the musical version of “The Lion King” will be delayed, as performers and crew face difficulties in flying into Korea after several airlines abruptly canceled flights bound for the country, according to S&Co, the production company of the international tour. “Our performance team members’ entry (into Korea) has been delayed due to COVID-related travel problems,” S&Co said in a sta...

South Korean over-the-top service provider Watcha is set to air its first original music variety show “Double Trouble,” featuring duets by 10 K-pop stars. “Double Trouble” presents a series of performance battles in which 10 male and female idol members compete for the title of “Best Duo.” During its 10-episode run, the artists will pair up with different partners to put on five performances. ...

South Korea called on the United States Wednesday to quickly start talks to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports.South Korean Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook made the request to his US counterpart, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, in phone talks, the ministry said. "Moon told Raimondo that Washington should launch negotiations on the issue as soon as possible as i...

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung pledged Wednesday to complete the country's first moon landing project by 2030 if elected in the March presidential poll. The Democratic Party (DP) nominee also said he will establish a new position of deputy prime minister for science, technology and innovation to oversee planning and budget issues in the science industry. The plans, which were...

The volume of cargo processed at South Korean seaports fell nearly 2 percent in November due to delayed handling at major ports, government data showed Wednesday. Cargo handled at the country's ports stood at 128.5 million tons last month, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo also declined 1.9 on-yea...

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a plan to offer $15 million to Africa for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines during US-hosted virtual ministerial talks on responses to the omicron variant, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong attended the session involving top diplomats from some 10 countries, as well as the African Union (AU) and the European Union. It was hos...