South and North Korea held working-level talks on Dec. 13, 2018 to set up a groundbreaking ceremony for their project to modernize North Korean railways and roads and connect them to the South.President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at their third summit in Pyongyang in Sept

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called on the Japanese government Wednesday to be prudent in responding to recent court rulings in Seoul against its wartime slave labor program.Kang delivered the message to her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, in phone talks, according to her ministry.

U.S. magazine Time has shortlisted South Korean President Moon Jae-in as 2018 Person of the Year in recognition of his diplomacy with North Korea.Time has identified the Person of the Year since 1927 to recognize people or groups who have "most influenced the news and the world -- for better or for

South Korea will lead the healthcare industry by making full use of cutting-edge technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI), that are shaping the fourth industrial revolution, the health ministry said on Dec. 10, 2018.The Ministry of Health and Welfare mapped out a blueprint wit

A KTX bullet train service linking Seoul and the eastern city of Gangneung resumed operations on Dec. 10, 2018, two days after a derailment accident, its operator said.The Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said that the first train, carrying around 100 passengers, departed Gangneung, about 240 kilometer

SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- Woo Byung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs to ousted President Park Geun-hye, was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Friday for illegally surveilling public officials and private citizens through the state spy agency.The verdict by the Seoul Centra

SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Friday announced a set of measures to remove the fundamental causes cited for drop in country's birthrate, including the high cost of child-rearing and increasing number of people opting not to have children.The roadmap was finalized as Kim Sang-hee, vice

A parliamentary committee on Dec. 5, 2018 failed to adopt a report on the finance minister nominee, a move that could cast a pall over the nomination process.The main opposition Liberal Korea Party boycotted the parliamentary finance committee as the rival parties were at odds over how to handle nex

A Seoul court was set to hold hearings on Dec. 6, 2018 to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for two former Supreme Court justices on abuse of power and other charges in a scandal involving the previous top court leadership.The hearings of retired Justices Ko Young-han and Park Byong-dae will t

The government and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) agreed Wednesday to lift the designation of some restricted zones that host military facilities to help ease residents' inconvenience.After a consultative meeting, they decided to lift the classification of zones in 21 places with a total area

President Moon Jae-in has ordered a senior aide to draw up measures to strengthen presidential officials' discipline following allegations of irregularities against some officials, his spokesman said on Dec. 5, 2018.Moon on Dec. 4, 2018 instructed Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for civil

South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed to New Zealand on Saturday, ending his three-day trip to Argentina for the annual Group of 20 summit, which also provided the venue for a possibly crucial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.At the annual meeting of the leaders of the world's 20 lar

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while apparently offering his blessing to Kim's scheduled trip to Seoul.In a bilateral summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the U.S. president noted Kim's Seoul

Former Chief Secretary Moon Jae-in for the late President Roh Moo-hyun (2003-8), now President of the Republic of Korea, campaigned in 2017 for President following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, vowing not to build any new nuclear power generation reactors.At the time, five react

South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised on Nov. 26, 2018 to further increase his country's cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and called for joint efforts to promote people-oriented, inclusive growth.While meeting with OECD Secretary-General Ang

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon called for measures to better protect key infrastructure on Nov. 27, 2018 in the wake of last week's two accidents that caused major disruptions to telecom networks and railway services.At a Cabinet meeting, Lee addressed a fire at a KT Corp. building and a power failu

South Korea's spy agency said on Nov. 22, 2018 an inter-Korean summit will be held "in the near future," adding Seoul is pushing to organize the meeting south of the border.The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the comment during a general meeting of the National Assembly's Intellig

President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating rose slightly this week, ending a five-week streak of drops, a poll showed on Nov. 23, 2018.The rating came to 53 percent in a weekly survey conducted by Gallup Korea, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier. It was conducted on Nov. 20, 2018 through

The government on Nov. 20, 2018 announced a blueprint that centers on providing better treatment and caregiving to seniors in their homes amid a rapidly aging population.Under the "Community Care" policy spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the government will establish a working sys

The United States wants to ensure that progress in denuclearizing North Korea is not outpaced by efforts to improve inter-Korean ties, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Nov. 20, 2018.Pompeo's remark underscores U.S. concerns that a recent flurry of inter-Korean activity could undermine