Oct 17, 2019   Social affairs

S. Korea raises travel alert for Catalonia

South Korea on Thursday advised its citizens to refrain from visiting Catalonia, northern Spain, due to growing separatist protests.The foreign ministry raised its travel alert for the region, which includes Barcelona, from blue, or travel caution, to yellow, or travel restraint. Riots have continued in several Catalan towns after lengthy prison sentences were handed down to nine leaders of the region's drive for independence from Spain. Protesters have clashed violently with riot police in Barc

Oct 17, 2019   Social affairs

9th case of African swine fever found in wild boar near inter-Korean border

Two wild boars found dead near the border with North Korea tested positive for African swine fever on Thursday, bringing the number of cases to nine in South Korea, a state-run institute said.The confirmation came a day after the two wild boar carcasses were found in the border towns of Paju and Yeoncheon, said the National Institute of Environmental Research controlled by the Ministry of Environment."The area where new cases were found is near where previous cases were confirmed," an

Oct 17, 2019   Foreign Affairs

New ambassador vows to seek 'constructive role' from US in resolving tesions with Japan

South Korea's new ambassador to the United States said Thursday that he will encourage Washington to play a "constructive role" in resolving tensions between Seoul and Tokyo that led to the South's decision to end a military information-sharing pact with Japan.Lee Soo-hyuck, who was formally appointed this week, made the remark as concerns have grown over trilateral cooperation between the US and its two Asian allies after Seoul decided in August to withdraw from the General Security o

Oct 17, 2019   Diplomatic Circuit

Mandela daughter appointed ambassador to South Korea

The late anti-apartheid activist and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zenani Mandela-Dlamini has been appointed South Africa’s ambassador to South Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.Arriving in Korea on Oct. 2, she visited the ministry on Thursday to hold meetings with officials here.In her previous posts, she served as the South African ambassador to Argentina for five years from 2012, and then was appointed as high commissioner in Mauritius.“I am really happy a

Oct 17, 2019   Defense

US has no secret plan to make UNC operational headquarters: Abrams

The United States does not have any “secret plan” to make the United Nations Command an operational command, and media reports regarding this are “fake news,” Gen. Robert Abrams, the UNC commander said Thursday.As South Korea is gearing up to retrieve its wartime operational control from the US, concerns have been raised here that Washington would try to keep its authority over the military activities in the region by strengthening the US-led UNC. “There is no

Oct 17, 2019   North Korea

‘N. Korea wants innovative approach from US for nuke talks’

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Thursday that North Korea may be seeking an epoch-making approach from the US for a breakthrough in their deadlocked nuclear talks. Nuclear negotiators from Washington and Pyongyang resumed stalled working-level talks in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 5, seven months after a disappointing summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But the two countries failed to make tangible progress in their recent meeting. “The US and N

Oct 17, 2019   Politics

Top prosecutor Yoon promises bold in-house reforms at audit

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl pledged to drastically reform his agency at a parliamentary audit Thursday. “All of us are aware that the people are demanding prosecution reform more strongly than ever,” he said. “We respect their voices and the parliament’s decisions, and will also come up with our own reform measures.”His remarks reaffirming the agency’s commitment to reform come three days after former Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigned from his post.

Oct 17, 2019   North Korea

Senior NK military official in Beijing to attend regional security forum

A senior North Korean military official arrived in Beijing on Thursday, apparently to attend a regional security forum to be held next week.Kim Hyong-ryong, the North's vice defense minister, was seen arriving earlier in the day at the Beijing international airport on an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang.The trip appears aimed at Kim attending Xiangshan Forum, a regional security forum, to be held in Beijing from Sunday through Tuesday. China has held the forum every year since 2014 to counter the

Oct 17, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Top court confirms suspended sentence for Lotte chief

South Korea’s top court on Thursday confirmed a suspended sentence for Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin for his involvement in a corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from power in 2017.The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that sentenced Shin to 2 1/2 years, suspended for four years, on charges including bribery, dereliction of duty and embezzlement. 　Lotte Group said in a statement it will do its best to become a trusted company by contributing

Oct 17, 2019   Diplomatic Circuit

S. Korean, ASEAN officials look ahead to special summit and stronger regional ties

BUSAN -- Ahead of the highly anticipated summit in Busan next month between the leaders of South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, top officials from participating countries gathered in the southern port city Wednesday and voiced high expectations for the future of the relationship between South Korea and the ASEAN nations.South Korean Ambassador to ASEAN Lim Sung-nam, ASEAN-Korea Center Secretary-General Lee Hyuk, Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and Myanmar Ambassador to South Korea

Oct 17, 2019   Social affairs

Cho’s wife grilled amid questions over diagnosis

The wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk left the prosecutors’ office around midnight on Wednesday after being questioned over allegations that she forged a document and managed a dubious private equity fund. It was the sixth time prosecutors summoned Chung Kyung-shim, a professor at Dongyang University, for interrogation. She was questioned Oct. 3, 5, 8, 12 and 14.Chung’s lawyers said Tuesday that Chung has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and a cerebral infarction, or stroke. T

Oct 17, 2019   Social affairs

S. Korean soldier who lost legs to landmine aims for Paralympic gold

Pulling with smooth, steady strokes along a rowing course on an artificial lake, South Korean Paralympic hopeful Ha Jae-hun is the picture of calm determination, but it has taken him four years and 21 rounds of surgery to find this peace.Ha lost his legs when he stepped on a landmine just inside the Demilitarized Zone along the border with North Korea. He was just 21.The South Korean staff sergeant had volunteered to lead an early morning patrol after a colleague was assigned to training. That m

Oct 17, 2019   North Korea

US seeks to address N. Korea's security interests: official

The United States will address North Korea's security interests if the regime gives up its nuclear weapons program, a senior US official said Wednesday, beckoning Pyongyang to return to denuclearization talks.David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, testified at a Senate hearing after working-level talks between Washington and Pyongyang broke down in Sweden on Oct. 5."They've come out to talk. We need to encourage them to continue doing that," St

Oct 16, 2019   Politics

PM Lee likely to hold talks with Abe next week: Seoul official

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon is likely to meet one-on-one with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his trip to Tokyo next week, though the plan has yet to be finalized, a Seoul official said Wednesday.   Lee plans to visit Tokyo to attend Japanese Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony, slated for next Tuesday, in a trip that observers say could create momentum for a thaw in the countries' ties frayed over Tokyo's export restrictions and wartime forced labor.   "It