South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a special envoy to North Korea next week to arrange his scheduled summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and also discuss ways to move forward the stalled denuclearization of the communist state, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Fri

Defense Minister nominee Jeong Kyeong-doo, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), is seen as an expert in joint military operations and fit to lead defense reform long marred by inter-service rivalries.Following a parliamentary hearing process, the 58-year-old Air Force general wil

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday urged local governments to step up their own efforts to create more jobs while promising increased support from the central government."The people's concerns are growing due to a drop in recent job indicators. Many regions are also facing difficulties from the

South Korea scrambled Air Force jets Wednesday to counter a Chinese military plane flying in the country's air defense domain without notice, defense authorities in Seoul said.It entered the Korea air defense identification zone (KADIZ) at around 7:37 a.m. and moved over southern and eastern wat

South Korea is seeking to increase its defense budget 8.2 percent on-year in 2019, the largest expansion since 2008, as the country strives to build a slimmer yet smarter military and cope with the uncertain security environment.The defense ministry said Tuesday it has proposed a budget of 46.7 tril

The suspected massive opinion rigging led by a political blogger was ultimately aimed at influencing public sentiment in favor of the now-ruling Democratic Party in the run-up to last year's presidential election, special prosecutors said Monday.Special counsel Huh Ik-bum announced the result of

President Moon Jae-in on Monday stressed the need to expand national pension payments, a move that would inevitably lead to a rise in premiums, but said any change must be based on a national consensus."The national pension, fundamentally, is an official welfare system operated by the government in

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Sunday the number of conglomerate subsidiaries subject to inter-affiliate trading regulations is expected to triple under a new tighter asset standard.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it will revise the antitrust law to ban inter-affiliate trading within

Lee Hae-chan, a staunch liberal and former prime minister, was elected the new chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Saturday on pledges of unwavering efforts toward national reforms and inter-Korean peace.The 66-year-old seven-term lawmaker won 42.88 percent of the vote, beating two rivals,

Tears streamed down the wrinkled face of Cho Jeong-gi as the 67-year-old South Korean met the North Korean father he has never seen."I am your first son, first son," Cho said in a trembling voice. "I had no idea I would be able to meet you."Cho was among hundreds of people from the two Koreas wh

A Seoul appellate court on Friday increased the sentence for former President Park Geun-hye by one year in a massive corruption case that led to her removal from office.The Seoul High Court sentenced Park, 66, to 25 years in prison and ordered her to pay a 20 billion won (US$17.8 million) fine.She w

South Korea will propose to North Korea the withdrawal of guard posts in certain designated areas of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), rather than committing to reducing by an equal number of border facilities, its defense chief said Friday.Song Young-moo made the remarks amid concerns that, should the

A second meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could give a boost to negotiations to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program, a former U.S. intelligence official said Wednesday.Trump has dangled the possibility of a second summit following his land

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he wants to lift sanctions on North Korea, but only after the regime gets rid of its nuclear weapons.Trump was speaking to his supporters at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia, late Tuesday, hours after the Treasury announced new sanctions targeting North

South Korea and the United States will open another round of negotiations on Wednesday, seeking to narrow differences over covering the cost of American troops stationed on the peninsula, officials said.Senior diplomats of the allies plan to hold the two-day session at the Korea Institute for Defens

South Korea is considering deleting its reference to North Korea's military as "our enemy" in its defense white paper to be published later this year, multiple government sources in Seoul said Wednesday.The move is in line with the April inter-Korean summit agreement to halt "all hostile acts

Thousands of people gathered in central Seoul on Saturday to protest a lower court ruling that found former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung not guilty of sexually abusing his former secretary.On Tuesday, the Seoul Western District Court cleared the 54-year-old politician on charges of fo

South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo is set to be arraigned by a court Friday over his arrest warrant in a probe into a suspected massive opinion rigging by a political blogger.The Seoul Central District Court will review the special prosecution's request for his writ in a hearing slate

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Thursday that the government will sharply raise next year's budget spending to strengthen its fiscal role in supporting growth and tackling a spate of chronic problems, such as widening income inequality.At a public finance forum, Finance Ministe

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned Chinese and Russian firms for their alleged role in helping illicit trade with North Korea in violation of international sanctions.The Department of the Treasury announced the designations of a Chinese business, its Singapore-based affiliate, a Russian firm