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North Korea fired another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) early on March 16, 2023, as North Korean state media shared pictures of leader Kim Jong-un watching the missile test with his daughter Kim Ju-ae and his sister Kim Sol-song. The Hwasong-17 missile was fired amid “provocative and aggressive” joint mi…
Japan and South Korea pledged to resume reciprocal leaders’ visits that have been suspended for 12 years, as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Tokyo on March 16, 2023. The two Asian neighbours are seeking to overcome wartime disputes and reboot defence and economic ties amid growing military threats by No…
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North Koreans planted trees to commemorate the annual Tree Planting Day in Pyongyang on March 15, 2023, according to North Korean state media. About 4,000 trees of nine species were planted this year around the Mangyongdae Revolutionary Site, the birthplace of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung.
South Korean and US troops staged joint military drills and practised building pontoon bridges to ferry armoured vehicles on March 15, 2023. The joint exercise involved 400 soldiers with 50 pieces of military equipment and two Apache helicopters. North Korea condemned the joint drills as a rehearsal for invasion and…
The first virtual K-pop group MAVE: made its debut with the album Pandora’s Box on January 25, 2023. Created by Metaverse Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment, the 4-member group has attracted a lot of attention and its performances have received over 3 million views on YouTube.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in a recent interview said South Korea should develop its own nuclear arsenal to defend against the threats from the North. South Korea has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), but opinion polls suggest most of the country’s citizens are in favour of ignoring its commitment not to…
North Korea will adopt “important practical” war deterrence measures, state media reported on March 12, 2023, a day before the US and South Korea start their largest joint military drills in five years. State media released footage of leader Kim Jong-un presiding over a meeting of the ruling party’s military commiss…
More South Koreans are obsessed with reality dating shows, even though fewer of them are attracted to traditional notions of marriage and family. In a recent romance reality show, a young couple in a relationship for 10 years, without getting married, showcased their cohabitation lifestyle. It’s just one of more tha…
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The South Korean government announced plans on March 6, 2023 to pay compensation to the families of the victims of forced labour by Japanese colonial forces, an issue that has long clouded relations between Seoul and Tokyo. Critics have condemned the decision as “shameful”. It involves paying victims’ families with …
Born into an elite North Korean family, Oh Hye-son opened up about her decision to defect in a February 14, 2023 interview. She and her husband, Thae Yong-ho, a former top Pyongyang diplomat, defected from the authoritarian hermit state in 2016. Oh says that she convinced her husband to defect after her family strug…
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said that cooperation with the United States and Japan has become even more vital to counter rising threats from the North. Speaking at a celebration ceremony marking its historic March 1 Independence Movement against Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, Yoon said the security …
The new Netflix hit show Physical: 100 featuring 100 South Korean men and women in top physical shape competing for a crown has caught the eyes of a global audience. But the latest feather in the cap of South Korea’s already successful entertainment industry has not arrived without controversy, including the alleged…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un kicked off a meeting with officials of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on February 26, 2023, to discuss improving the country’s economy and agricultural sectors, according to state-run media KCNA. The meeting came amid foreign suspicions of a worsening food shortage and humanitaria…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter were seen attending a February 17, 2023, football match at an event organised to mark the birth anniversary of his late father. North Korean state media has lauded Kim Ju-ae as Kim’s “most beloved” child. Experts believe she is being groomed for a senior leadership po…
This cafe at a construction site stands out among the thousands of coffee shops in South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, for its exposed-pipe and concrete-wall decor. The three-storey building that houses the AREA092 cafe was originally planned as a showroom, but the renovation was disrupted due to cold weather. Instea…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un officiated a groundbreaking ceremony for a large greenhouse project and the development of 10,000 flats in the country’s capital Pyongyang, on February 15, 2023, according to local state-run television station KRT. But the start of the large projects came amid foreign suspicions of a …
Amid a rapidly ageing population and soaring operating costs, subway systems in South Korea's metropolises are increasingly grappling with snowballing losses from free rides for the elderly. Seoul's local government says the influx of free riders is creating a massive financial burden. Park Gyung-sun is among a grow…
Two Russians fleeing their country’s military draft to fight in Ukraine were granted the right to apply for refugee status in South Korea on February 14, 2023. The pair were among five trapped at Incheon Airport since October 2022, after the country’s justice ministry rejected their refugee applications, prompting t…
North Korea has held a cooking competition in honour of the country’s late leader Kim Jong-il, whose birthday falls on February 16. The father of the current leader, Kim Jong-un, had a serious taste for sushi, even hiring his own personal sushi chef for decades. The cooking competition showed off some sashimi prepar…
A massive military parade was held in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on February 8, 2023, showcasing a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles in a potential challenge to defence systems in the US. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had pledged to expand the country’s military drills and st…
South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach the nation’s interior and safety minister on February 8, 2023. A court will now have six months to decide whether to endorse holding Lee Sang-min responsible for a botched police response during the Halloween crowd crush in which 159 people died and 196 were injured in Seoul’s…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the military to expand its combat exercises and strengthen war preparedness on February 6, 2023, state media reported. It came after the US and South Korea agreed to step up security cooperation in January and subsequently carried out several rounds of joint air drills.
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The Seoul Central District Court on February 3, 2023, sentenced South Korea’s former justice minister, Cho Kuk, to two years in prison for forging documents to help his children gain university admission and interfering in a corruption investigation involving an associate of ex-president Moon Jae-in. The former star…
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin met his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on January 31, 2023, pledging to strengthen military drills and security cooperation amid North Korea’s increasing weapons developments. Austin also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who stressed the need for more dialogue to…
In a major loosening of Covid rules, South Korea has eased its mask mandate for indoor premises for the first time in three years, as the country saw a downward trend in Covid infections. Residents can opt out of wearing masks in some indoor facilities including bars, gyms and restaurants, while masks on public tran…
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in South Korea on January 29, 2023, the first stop on a trip aimed at strengthening the alliance’s security ties with Seoul and Tokyo. Referring to Pyongyang providing weapons to a Russian private military group, Stoltenberg said events in Europe and North America were…
Asia is bearing the brunt of a particularly strong cold front, which has reportedly turned deadly in some countries. Afghanistan reported at least 124 people deaths amid its coldest winter in 15 years, further deepening the nation’s humanitarian and economic crisis. Japan reported several deaths that are being inves…
The North Korean capital Pyongyang has been ordered to undergo a five-day lockdown due to an unspecified respiratory illness, according to a report by Seoul-based NK News. There was no mention of the Covid-19 virus, but according to a government notice, residents must stay home and register their temperatures throug…
South Korean and Japanese coastguards rescued at least 14 of the 22 crew members from a cargo ship that capsized on January 25, 2023, off southwestern Japan. The crew on board the Hong Kong-flagged Jin Tian comprised 14 Chinese nationals and eight people from Myanmar. The cargo ship was travelling from Malaysia’s Po…
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated after a fire broke out in a slum in Seoul early January 20, 2023. Up to 60 homes were believed to have been gutted in Guryong Village, which is described as one of the last remaining slums in the South Korean capital. Authorities said more than 800 rescuers were mobilised after…
Vladimir Maraktayev has been stuck at an airport departure lounge in Incheon, South Korea for more than two months after he fled Russia to avoid the nation’s military draft to bolster troop numbers for the war in Ukraine. The 23-year-old student and four other Russian men, who were still living in the departure loun…
Vietnam is getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Cat that begins on January 22, 2023, while many other Asian countries like China and South Korea are welcoming the Year of the Rabbit. Streets are decked up with statues of felines and people are buying cat-themed decorations for celebrations.
The South Korean government is set to announce a labour reform bill next month which it hopes will give some flexibility to its workforce and help people. The bill replaces an existing 52-hour cap on the work week with a potential to work up to 69 hours a week, with the option to trade the overtime accrued for time …
Icy road conditions are being blamed on a multi-car crash in South Korea that killed one person and left dozens injured on January 15, 2023. Nearly 50 vehicles were involved in the crash, said to be the most serious among the multiple traffic accidents that happened over the weekend caused by poor weather. Three mot…
South Korean police are seeking charges against 23 municipal and police officials over a crowd crush that killed 159 revellers in Seoul on October 29, 2022. Investigators said they found that the officials failed to implement safety measures in the capital's Itaewon party district, and that some of them should face …
Seoul unveiled a plan on January 12, 2023, to compensate victims of Japan’s wartime forced labour through a South Korean public foundation. Most had expected reparation funds from Japanese companies. The plan sparked a backlash from victims and their families, who criticised the proposal for releasing Japanese firms…
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A Chinese national quarantining at a hotel in South Korea has lodged a public complaint about Seoul’s new Covid-19 restrictions for travellers from China. The woman was ordered to undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine on January 6, 2023, after testing positive for the coronavirus on arrival at Incheon Internation…
After China eased its zero-Covid policy and reopened its borders on January 8, 2023, tourism-dependent businesses in South Korea have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of mainland Chinese tourists. China’s nationwide surge in Covid cases has led South Korea, among other nations, to impose restrictions on travellers …
Thousands of North Koreans have joined a mass rally described as showing for the new year policy goals outlined by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, including increasing nuclear capabilities and improving national infrastructure. Workers, students and party members were gathered at the May Day Stadium in the capit…
A secret rocket launch in South Korea on December 30, 2022, has set social media abuzz. Many citizens reported seeing a suspicious flying object and mysterious lights across the country. But the country’s defence ministry later confirmed the soaring object was a solid-fuelled rocket it had test-fired. The launch was…
South Korea said on December 30, 2022, that it will require travellers from China to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing on arrival, joining the United States, Japan and other countries in adopting new border control measures amid a surge in cases in the country. According to officials, starting January 2, people arr…
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South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol called for a review of the military’s response to objects violating its airspace on December 29, 2022, as the country announced plans to spend nearly $441 million over the next five years to upgrade its defences against drones. The move came just days after 5 North Korean drones …
A large fire on a major South Korean expressway spread quickly on December 29, 2022, killing at least five people and injuring more than three dozen before it was doused, emergency officials and media said. A fire official at the scene said the cause of the blaze was still being investigated, although the fire had b…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unveiled new goals for the country's military for 2023 at an ongoing meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on December 28, 2022. Kim hinted at another year of intensive weapons tests and tension. While reviewing the broader political landscape, he set the directio…
South Korea’s military has apologised for failing to shoot down any of the five North Korean drones that crossed into the country on December 26, 2022. President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would advance the creation of a military unit specialising in drones, as Seoul residents expressed concern over their military’s resp…
