Latest South Korea government News

Russian defense minister visits North Korea for talks with military and political leaders

Nov. 29, 2024 04:16 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their cooperation over Russia’s war in Ukraine. In announcing the visit, Russia’s Defense...

Customers at this Starbucks can sip coffee and observe a quiet North Korean village

Nov. 29, 2024 02:42 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Coffee drinkers can sip their beverages and view a quiet North Korean mountain village from a new Starbucks at a South Korean border observatory. Customers have to pass a military checkpoint before entering the observatory at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, which...

South Korean politician calls for investigation of biomass energy material imported from Indonesia

Nov. 28, 2024 21:08 PM EST

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A South Korean National Assembly member has called for a moratorium on wood pellet imports from Indonesia and an investigation into their environmental impacts after government data and satellite analysis linked the country's biomass imports to deforestation in...

South Korean leader meets Ukraine delegation and calls for response to North Korean troops in Russia

Nov. 27, 2024 08:00 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president on Wednesday met a visiting Ukraine delegation and called for the two countries to formulate countermeasures in response to the threat posed by North Korea’s recent dispatch of more than 10,000 soldiers to support Russia’s war against...

Biggest November snowstorm in half century hits Seoul and grounds flights

Nov. 27, 2024 05:38 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The biggest November snowstorm to hit South Korea’s capital in more than a half century blanketed the capital on Wednesday, grounding hundreds of flights, disrupting commuter traffic and leaving at least two dead. South Korea’s weather agency said 20...

South Korean man convicted for deliberately gaining weight to evade military service

Nov. 26, 2024 00:50 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean man has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for deliberately gaining more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) to evade a tougher role in the country’s military conscription system, a Seoul court said Tuesday. In South Korea, all...

South Korea holds memorial for forced laborers in Japan after boycotting Japanese event

Nov. 26, 2024 00:00 AM EST

SADO, Japan (AP) — South Korea commemorated wartime Korean forced laborers at Japan’s Sado gold mines in a ceremony Monday, a day after boycotting a similar event organized by Japan, as tensions over historical atrocities continue to strain relations between the two sides. ...

Japan holds first memorial for 'all workers' at Sado gold mines but blurs WWII atrocity. Why?

Nov. 25, 2024 21:01 PM EST

SADO, Japan (AP) — Japanese officials have held a memorial ceremony near the Sado Island Gold Mines, listed in July as a UNESCO World Heritage site after Japan moved past years of historical disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history. However, it has not...

Seoul court acquits South Korean opposition leader on charges of instigating perjury

Nov. 25, 2024 03:27 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was acquitted on Monday on charges that he persuaded a witness to lie in court to understate Lee’s past criminal conviction, in a rare moment of relief from broad legal troubles that threaten to derail his political career....

Japan holds Sado mines memorial despite South Korean boycott amid lingering historical tensions

Nov. 24, 2024 08:26 AM EST

SADO, Japan (AP) — Japanese officials on Sunday paid tribute to workers at the country's Sado Island Gold Mines but offered no apology over Japan’s brutal wartime use of Korean forced laborers, highlighting lingering tensions between the neighbors over the issue. South Korea a...