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1. In a speech during the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol pitched South Korea’s appeal as an investment and business partner for the Middle East. 2. South Korea’s health authorities and agriculture ministry said Wednesday that it has planned to vaccinate all of the nation’s cattle by early next month to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease. Conf...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman adopted a joint statement on Monday to boost bilateral cooperation. The two leaders agreed to enhance strategic partnership in a wide range of areas to boost economic ties. 2. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday that a group of four unidentified individuals from North Korea expressed their will to defect...

1. South Korea’s Presidential Office said Sunday that President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to deepen and develop the strategic partnership between the two countries as they held a summit in Riyadh. 2. The ruling People Power Party on Monday approved Yohan Ihn, South Korea’s first special naturalized citizen and doctor, as the chairman of the party’s in...

1. South Korea's new Defense Minister Shin Won-sik held phone talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for the first time Friday. Seoul's defense ministry said the two discussed the allies' efforts to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, as they are set to meet in Seoul next month for the annual Security Consultative Meeting. 2. The ruling People Power Party sa...

1. The Bank of Korea held its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5% for the sixth straight time Thursday, amid a slowdown in growth and heightened uncertainties, such as the conflict in the middle-east and rising household debts. 2. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, held a press conference Thursday after talks with North Korean foreign minister Choe Son-hui, and said that Russia supports the...

1. The United States’ chief nuclear envoy said Tuesday the country is “deeply concerned” about what North Korea will get in return for its suspected delivery of military equipment to Russia. 2. Palestinian officials say at least 500 people have been killed by a blast at a Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday. Gaza health officials attributed the blast to an Israeli air raid, but the Israel Defense Forces “...

1. The Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2023 opened at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam on Tuesday, and will run until Sunday,... featuring aerial displays of the homegrown KF-21 fighter jet and U.S. strategic bomber B-52. 2. The revised enforcement decree of the Assembly and Demonstration Act went into effect Tuesday, allowing the police to prohibit rallies near the presidential o...

1. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said that the top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are set to meet in Indonesia on Monday to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile developments. 2. South Korea’s Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Monday the tax cut on fuel consumption will be extended through December amid concerns about inflationary pressure caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict. T...

1. South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday the country’s economic slowdown has been gradually easing as production and exports of semiconductors show improvement, ... but warned of uncertainties caused by international conflict and higher oil prices. 2. The Israeli Air Force said Thursday that it has dropped around 6,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip since last Saturday. As of Frid...

1. Prosecutors on Thursday indicted opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung without physical detention over corruption charges, two weeks after a court rejected an arrest warrant sought for him. 2. South Korea’s unification ministry said Thursday it is working to verify speculation that China forcibly repatriated around 600 North Korean defectors on Monday night. The ministry added that N...

1. The National Intelligence Service said Tuesday that South Korea's election systems may be vulnerable to foreign hacking threats and are in need of fortification ahead of next year’s general election. 2. South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday the country has signed a joint statement on the conclusion of negotiations for the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agre...

1. The death toll of the Israel-Hamas armed conflict rose to nearly 1,600 on both sides as of Monday. Israel previously reported 900 deaths while Palestinian authorities reported 700 deaths in Gaza and the West Bank. A senior Hamas official said the group is holding more than 100 people captive. 2. South Korea’s Presidential Office said Monday that the U.S. has decided to allow exports of its semi...

1. As the war between Israel and Palestine enters its third day, the death toll has reportedly surpassed 1,100 on both sides, and continues to rise. Lebanon’s State-run National News Agency said Sunday, Hezbollah fighters fired dozens of rockets at three Israeli positions. 2. The Taliban administration said on Sunday that more than 2,400 people were killed in Afghanistan after an earthquake of 6.3...

1. The National Assembly, which has a controlling majority by the main opposition Democratic Party, rejected Supreme Court Justice nominee Lee Gyun-ryong on Friday, marking the first such rejection in 35 years. 2. CBS news reported on Thursday that North Korea has begun transferring artillery to Russia, citing a U.S. official. CBS news said it was not immediately clear whether the transfer is part...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday met with global Korean community leaders in a ceremony marking the 17th World Korean Day. President Yoon vowed to widen the “playing field” for overseas Koreans. 2. Japan on Thursday morning began the second phase of discharging wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. Japanese media reported the second phase to l...

1. According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, South Korea’s industrial output advanced 2-point-2 percent in August from a month earlier on the back of a robust recovery in the chip sector. 2. Japan’s local news reported on Wednesday that Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun preparation to release the second batch of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, starting on Thu...

1. Key government figures, including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, gathered at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday morning to attend a ceremony marking the 4,355th National Foundation Day. 2. According to the International Monetary Fund’s Global Debt Database, South Korea’s household debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 108-point-1 percent last year from 92 percent in 2017. South Korea exper...

1. South Korea's Disease Control and Prevention Agency said ahead of the Chuseok holiday that confirmed patients of COVID-19 "should refrain from gatherings with relatives.” This year is the first Chuseok that confirmed patients are not obligated to isolate since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Senior U.S. administration officials said Wednesday that Private Travis King, the Ame...

1. The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday rejected an arrest warrant sought for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, over corruption charges. 2. At the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song accused South Korea and the U.S. for the Korean Peninsula’s "current dangerous situation." The deputy U.N. ambassador of South Ko...

1. South Korea’s military showcased “high-power” missiles and other key weapons systems on Tuesday… as the country held a large-scale military parade on the streets of Seoul for the first time in ten years to mark the 75th founding anniversary of its armed forces. 2. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung attended a court hearing Tuesday on an arrest warrant request against him over corruption charges. T...

1. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Saturday. During the meeting, Xi said he would consider visiting South Korea to strengthen the relations between the two countries. 2. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced mandatory installation of surveillance cameras in operating rooms will take effec...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday called for establishing a universal digital order during a speech at New York University while visiting the city to attend the UN General Assembly.  President Yoon said the spread of disinformation through malicious misuse of digital technologies could threaten liberal democracy. 2. Judicial officials said Friday that an arrest warrant hearing fo...

1. During a keynote address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a warning against military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, saying any arms deal between the two would be considered a “direct provocation” against South Korea. 2. The National Assembly on Thursday voted on two separate motions seeking the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and the...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. President Yoon expressed his wish to work with the UN to deter North Korea’s provocations and improve its human rights conditions. 2. The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday maintained its growth outlook for South Korea’s economy at 1.3%, and suggested the...

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol held summits with the leaders of more than 9 nations after arriving in New York on Monday. President Yoon is scheduled to address the UN general Assembly on Wednesday and hold at least 30 bilateral summits on the sidelines. 2. A U.S. district court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by American nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric Corp. to stop Korea Hydro &...