President Moon Jae-in continued to surprise many Friday, at least to the liking of many liberals, ordering the official playing and singing of a controversial protest song shunned over the past decade at an annual ceremony marking a democratic uprising.The president signed an executive order, allowi

U.S. President Donald Trump has called the free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea a "horrible deal" in a recent interview, saying that Washington has already informed the Seoul government of its intention to renegotiate it.In the interview with the British weekly Economist published on Thursd

A request for a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Prime Minister-designate Lee Nak-yon will be submitted to the National Assembly as early as Friday, multiple government sources said.Once the written request is submitted under the name of new President Moon Jae-in, the legislature is to complete

The Central Intelligence Agency has created a special team dealing exclusively with North Korea in an unusual move underscoring the seriousness the United States attaches to the nuclear and missile threats from the communist nation.The Korea Mission Center was established to "harness the full resou

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed Thursday to further improve their countries' bilateral relations, while jointly calling for efforts by all concerned parties to help denuclearize North Korea, Seoul's presidential office said.Xi called the new S

A resumption of the now-shuttered South Korean industrial park in North Korea should be closely reviewed due to its possible conflict with U.N. sanctions resolutions, a government official said Thursday.As liberal President Moon Jae-in took office Wednesday, attention is being drawn to whether Seoul

President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, a holdover from the former government, on Thursday as he strives to round out his own administration.Hwang, who took office in June 2015, offered to resign Wednesday after Moon's victory in Tuesday's election. He

Prime Minister-designate Lee Nak-yon hinted on Thursday that he would play a pivotal role in strengthening the new government's communication with citizens.With his folksy demeanor and wide personal connections, the South Jeolla Province governor said he hopes to become a "premier who is loved

North Korea urged South Korea's new government Thursday to end what it called confrontational policies, including joint military drills with the United States.Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper at the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, made the call after liberal politician Moon Jae-in was sworn

President Moon Jae-in named two outspoken professors as his top secretaries for civil and personnel affairs Thursday.Cho Kuk, a 52-year-old law professor from Seoul National University, has been appointed the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, a position often held by senior prosecutio

South Jeolla Province Gov. Lee Nak-yon, who was nominated Wednesday as President Moon Jae-in's first prime minister, is expected to contribute to the new leader's goal of national unity with his extensive network in political circles and regional base in the southwest region.The 64-year-old

President Moon Jae-in's pick for chief of staff is a former student activist reputed to have wide personal connections and good coordination skills.Im Jong-seok, 51, was at the forefront of the student-led pro-democracy movement in the 1980s and headed the country's university student organi

Moon Jae-in's term as South Korea's new head of state was officially launched early Wednesday, only one day after the nation held an unprecedented presidential by-election.Moon's presidency began even before an inauguration ceremony as his election was a result of the rare by-election th

Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party was elected South Korea's new president early Wednesday, with his five-year term set to begin shortly after confirmation of his victory by the election watchdog. The 64-year-old won some 11.7 million, or 40.3 percent, of all votes counted as of

President-elect Moon Jae-in is an activist-turned-politician who is widely expected to stress integration between different political parties, as well as the two Koreas throughout his five-year term that will begin later Wednesday.The 64-year-old candidate of the liberal Democratic Party is sure to

More than 60 percent of South Korea's voters have cast their ballots with five hours remaining in the presidential election on Tuesday, the National Election Commission (NEC) said, indicating high public interest in a poll following the first impeachment of a president.Turnout reached 63.7 perce

North Korean officials began informal talks Monday with a group of American experts in Oslo, Norway, amid speculation that Washington may seek dialogue with Pyongyang, diplomatic sources said.It's their first Track II meeting in half a year. The previous session was held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Tens of millions of South Koreans began casting their votes Tuesday to elect a candidate to lead the country for the next five years.Voting in the country's presidential election began at 6 a.m. at 13,964 polling stations throughout the country, the National Election Commission (NEC) said. As of

A total of 851 people have so far been investigated for suspected election law violations related to this week's presidential polls, police said Monday.South Korean voters will go to the polls Tuesday to pick a successor for ousted President Park Geun-hye.Among the suspected violators booked in

The deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea could raise cost-sharing questions in the United States despite Washington's agreement to pay for it, a congressional report has said.The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, dated April 4, came a few weeks before U.S. Pre