The National Assembly is scheduled to hold a plenary meeting on Nov. 15, 2018 to handle economic bills, but it is uncertain whether it can convene due to deepening partisan wrangling. Rival parties earlier agreed to hold the meeting at 2 p.m., but conservative parties are threatening to boycott parl

South Korea's ambassador to the United States said on Nov. 14, 2018 that he expects the U.S. and North Korea to soon reschedule last week's canceled high-level talks. The planned New York meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-chol, was

South Korea's chief economic policymaker on Tuesday urged parliament to approve a record budget proposal for 2019, stressing that the budget approval is necessary to help resolve chronic problems such as low birth rate and dismal job conditions. Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon paid a visit to flo

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon voiced his concern over Canada's provisional safeguard measures against the country's steel products in a meeting with the Canadian Senate Speaker on Nov. 13, 2018. Lee met George Furey at his office in Seoul and told the senator that concerns are grow

U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed a news report on North Korea's hidden missile bases as "inaccurate," amid growing skepticism over Pyongyang's willingness to follow through on its denuclearization commitment. Citing a report issued by Beyond Parallel, a group at the Center for Str

The commander of United States Forces Korea (USFK) said on Nov. 11, 2018 he supports an inter-Korean military agreement on reducing tension. Gen. Robert B. Abrams, who took command as head of U.S. troops here last week, made the remarks as he visited the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilit

Cheong Wa Dae sent a gift of 200 tons of tangerines to North Korea, in return for the North's mushrooms in September following the summit between the two leaders in the North's capital city of Pyongyang, the presidential office said Sunday.According to the text message sent by presidential s

President Moon Jae-in sacked the finance minister and his chief policy adviser Friday after the two top economic policymakers openly displayed a serious rift over how to handle the slumping economy. Moon named Hong Nam-ki, an economic technocrat who is currently serving as chief of the Offic

Young Kim appeared certain to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 7, 2018, becoming the first Korean-American woman to serve in Congress. The 56-year-old Republican garnered 51.3 percent of the vote against 48.7 percent by Democrat Gil Cisneros in California's 39th district,

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Nov. 7, 2018 that he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "sometime early next year." Trump's remarks came hours after the U.S. announced the postponement of Thursday's scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean

A South Korean man who had just returned from a four-month business trip to Iraq died after showing symptoms resembling those of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Incheon City authorities said on Nov. 6, 2018. The 60-year-old man died at a hospital in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, aft

The United States on Nov. 5, 2018 granted a waiver to South Korea and seven other nations after renewing its ban on imports of Iranian oil.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the temporary exemptions were being given based on "specific circumstances" and to ensure a well-supplied oi

South Korea plans to increase state health insurance premiums by 3.49 percent next year to meet growing insurance demands, the health and welfare ministry said on Nov. 6, 2018.It will mark the highest on-year increase in eight years since 2011, when the growth rate came to 5.9 percent. The p

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie on Nov. 4, 2018 called on the South Korean government to provide support for hundreds of Yemenis until they safely return home, the UN Refugee Agency said.Jolie is visiting South Korea. Her visit to Seoul follows that

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Nov. 4, 2018 he will meet with his North Korean counterpart in New York "at the end of this week" to continue discussions on the denuclearization of the regime.Pompeo said in two separate interviews that his counterpart will be Kim Yong-chol, a top aide

South Korea's spy agency is analyzing a soil sample collected from around North Korea's nuclear test site, which Pyongyang demolished in May, lawmakers said on Nov. 2, 2018.In a briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee this week, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said

The United States said on Nov. 1, 2018 that sanctions on North Korea will remain in place until it gives up its nuclear weapons program, remarks following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sharp rebuke of "vicious sanctions."The two sides have been working to implement a deal reached by U.S. P

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Wednesday that Seoul and Washington will make a decision on plans for next year's major exercises before Dec. 1 after a working-level review.Jeong made the remarks after the 50th annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with his U.S. counterp

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States on Oct. 31, 2018 signed a strategic guideline on how their combined defense mechanism will operate after the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).The guideline, called "Alliance Guiding Principles," contains a set of commit

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will likely meet with his North Korean counterpart in New York next week to continue discussions on a potential second summit between their leaders, sources said on Oct. 30, 2018.The high-level talks are being planned for around Nov. 9 after the U.S. midterm elect