No Text Four U.S. bases returned to S. Korea on condition that talks on decontamination costs continue 2019-12-11 14:49:29 KST No Text No Text
News Keywords Nat'l/Politics North Korea Economy IT/Science Foreign Policy World Life/Culture Sports Weather Four U.S. bases returned to S. Korea on condition consultations continue fo... 2019-12-12 Seoul city to lower speed limits to 50 km/h on 14 roads with central bus lanes 2019-12-11 Emergency fine dust reduction measures issued for 2nd day...ultra fine dust i... 2019-12-11 N. Korea elevates status of Samjiyon County to Samjiyon City 2019-12-11 Trump urges Russia to help ensure North Korea's denuclearization: Whit 2019-12-11 Biegun to attend UNSC on N. Korea's provocations 2019-12-11 S. Korean gov't to grant smaller firms 1-year grace period for 2019-12-12 U.S., Canada and Mexico sign trade agreement to replace NAFTA 2019-12-11 Jobless rate falls to 3.1% in November, 331,000 jobs created 2019-12-11 S. Korean researchers develop method of powering trains wirelessly 2019-12-09 Foreigners select installation of public WiFi throughout Seoul as city 2019-12-06 World's first geostationary air pollution monitoring satellite unveile 2019-12-06 President Moon to hold bilateral talks with Swedish PM Stefan Lofven i 2019-12-11 U.S. defense chief Mark Esper says U.S. mulls forces overseas military 2019-12-10 S. Korean government to provide humanitarian aid to Pacific island of 2019-12-06 Greenland losing ice faster over past 10 years: Experts 2019-12-11 U.S., Canada and Mexico ink new USMCA trade deal 2019-12-11 Protestors take to streets in France against pension reform; France's 2019-12-11 K-Pop Beyond BTS: Scholars from around the world share their studies 2019-12-12 'YouTuber' ranks 3rd on top 10 dream jobs for elementary school studen 2019-12-11 Seoul designates eight new 'excellent' hanok houses in capital city 2019-12-10 Ryu Hyun-jin named in inaugural 'All-MLB Second Team' 2019-12-11 Park Hang-seo leads Vietnam to first Southeast Asian Games gold in 60 2019-12-11 S. Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin named in inaugural 'All-MLB Second Team 2019-12-11 Cold wave alerts to be issued in central and Jeolla-buk-do Province to 2019-12-11 Air quality to improve tonight, colder air moves in 2019-12-11 Dusty conditions to improve tonight, chilly air sweeps in 2019-12-11
Issue Now S. Korea-Japan Trade Row Japan's travel account surplus drops in October 2019-12-09 S. Korea, Japan held 'geniune' talks on trade dispute: Trade official 2019-12-06 Prospects of S. Korea-Japan relations 2019-12-05 S. Korea and Japan to hold talks over export controls in Tokyo 2019-12-05 '1+1 plan' to compensate victims of wartime forced labor unacceptable for Japan: Official 2019-12-04 New Japanese ambassador to S. Korea vows to play bridge role to mend bilateral ties 2019-12-04 N. Korea & U.S. N. Korea claims 'important' test conducted at Sohae satellite site 2019-12-09 UNSC 'very concerned' over N. Korea's missile launches: U.S. envoy 2019-12-07 U.S. calling for N. Korea to restart dialogue while warning of possible use of military force 2019-12-07 Seoul's nuclear envoy speaks with U.S., Japanese counterparts after N. Korea's projectile ... 2019-11-29 Movement detected at N. Korea's Dongchang-ri missile launch site: Sources 2019-11-29 U.S. media, gov't react to Kim Jong-un's 'Thanksgiving missile test' 2019-11-29
Most Popular Emergency fine dust reduction measures issued for the 1st time this season in capital areas and Chungcheongbuk-do Province The sky is thick with hazy air and people are covering their mouths and noses with masks. Both fine dust and ultrafine dust levels have risen today, especially in the capital and surrounding areas. According to the Korea Environment Corporation, as of 5 PM on Tuesday, fine dust levels went over 149 micrograms per cubic meter in Seoul, peaking at 153 micrograms per cubic meter in Incheon. Ultrafine particles, which are smaller than 2.5 micrometers, were also reaching severe levels nationwide with levels in the capital region being around 100 micrograms per cubic meter. "I saw that the fine dust level is high today through an application this morning so I decided to wear a mask." "The Environment Ministry has issued fine dust advisories from 6 AM to 9 PM today in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi-do Province and Chungcheongbuk-do Province, and emergency fine dust reduction measures have also been put in place." The measures have extended to tomorrow and will apply not only to the capital area, but also to Busan, Daegu, Chungcheong-do provinces, Sejong city and parts of Gangwon-do Province. Grade five emissions vehicles will be banned from operating in Seoul and the surrounding area until 9 PM and if operated, the drivers will be fined around 83 U.S. dollars. The measures also require public sector vehicles and public sector workers' vehicles that have plates ending with odd numbers not to be used. Foreigners will now be able to get translated text messages warning them of various advisories. The Korea Tourism Organization said on Monday that it will cooperate with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to provide a service that sends emergency text messages to tourists in foreign languages. The service translates the disaster advisory text messages into eight foreign languages including English and Chinese. and sends them to tourists and foreigners residing in Korea. The service is available on an app called 'Emergency Ready' or will be provided through the '1330 Korea Travel Hotline' app. KIM Bo-kyoung, Arirang news. 2019-12-11 South Korea's diplomatic battle South Korea faces a critical crossroads this month with three major diplomatic and security issues involving North Korea, the U.S. and Japan waiting to be resolved. It's an uphill battle for Seoul in all fronts, with progress on North Korea's denuclearization virtually stalled, defense cost-sharing negotiations with Washington shaking the core of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and a trade spat with Tokyo that has soured bilateral ties not only diplomatically but also economically. For an in-depth discussion on those issues, Dr. Woo Jung-yeop of the Sejong Institute joins me tonight. 1. Let's start with North Korea. Following its latest activity at its main missile launch site, which the North called a 'test of great significance', the U.S. has convened the UN Security Council this week to discuss Pyeongyang's latest provocations. What does this entail? Is North Korea getting closer to trespassing Washington's red-line? 2. North Korea has been showing an "action-for-action" response to the U.S. in recent weeks. How are you expecting Pyeongyang to react to Washington convening a UN Security Council meeting? 3. Pyeongyang is set to hold a Workers' Party Central Committee meeting later this month. What kind of announcement do you expect from the North, should Washington's stance remain unchanged till then? 4. What if nothing happens until North Korea's self-imposed deadline which is now just three weeks away? Will nuclear talks between Pyeongyang and Washington go back to square one rendering all the historic summits pointless? 5. Moon-Trump held phone talks over the weekend upon Trump's request. What do you think the two leaders discussed? 6. What are the prospects of inter-Korean talks that are faltering at the moment? 7. Now to South Korea-Japan trade talks after weeks of dispute, the two sides have finally agreed to meet next Monday following Seoul's decision to conditionally delay the termination of GSOMIA. Do you expect some meaningful progress to be made? 8. Defense cost-sharing talks between Seoul and Washington are also set to be held later this month. The U.S. is reportedly asking South Korea to pay a lot more than it does now. Do you expect the two sides to strike a deal before the year-end? 9. South Korea-China relations have somewhat warmed up following Chinese FM Wang Yi' visit to Seoul last week. Wang send a strong message to the U.S. What are the prospects of South Korea-China relations amid current U.S.-China tensions? 10. The Blue House announced that President Moon will head to China for the annual South Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit set for December 24th. What are the key points to keep in mind during Moon's visit to China? 2019-12-10 Trump urges Russia to help ensure North Korea's denuclearization: White House U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Russia to support Washington's efforts to ensure North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons. That's according to a White House readout after the U.S. leader met on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office. Earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a press conference with his Russian counterpartand expressed how unfazed Washington is about the stalled talks despite the North's recent missile tests. "As for our expectations with respect to North Korea's behavior, I think President Trump's been unambiguous about our expectation that Chairman Kim personally made the commitment to denuclearize, so there wouldn't be long range missile tests, nuclear tests. All of those are commitments that we are very hopeful that the North Koreans will continue to abide by." Pompeo said Washington continues to look for ways to communicate with the North to negotiate a path toward denuclearization. The top U.S. diplomat addedboth the U.S. and Russia are determined to help the North Koreans get there so they can have "the brighter future" that President Trump has spoken about so often. But Lavrov called for reciprocal steps by Washington and Pyeongyang to make progresssaying denuclearization negotiations cannot be lopsided. "I have said that before, and I will say it again, it is not realistic to expect North Korea to do everything that the U.S. wants them to do." The U.S. and Russia are both veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Councilmeaning they can prevent the adoption of any "substantive" resolution against North Korea. Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News. 2019-12-11 Moon to leave for China for annual trilateral summit with regional players South Korea's top office has confirmed that President Moon Jae-in is slated to embark for China this month for both three-way and possible bilateral summit meetings with regional players. The South Korean leader will be heading to China's Chengdu of Sichuan Province for an annual trilateral summit meeting on Christmas Eve. "Against the backdrop of the South Korea-China-Japan summit meeting next week, President Moon, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will discuss substantive tripartite cooperation as well as global affairs in Northeast Asia." The agenda will most likely include regional security issues, the Korean Peace Process, and the recent provocations by North Korea. An official at the presidential office also said consultations are under way regarding possible separate bilateral summits on the sidelines with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. If the summits take place, the one-on-one between Seoul and Japan would come amid tensions that started escalating last year when South Korea's top court ordered Japanese firms to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor. Tokyo retaliated the court's decision by triggering a trade spat with Seoul which eventually led to the virtual termination of a security pact, now temporarily extended, between the two neighboring countries. Moon and Abe met briefly on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok last month, with the two leaders exchanging hopes for agreeing on practical measures to improve bilateral relations. And the meeting with Chinese President Xi would offer the chance for President Moon to discuss ways to regain denuclearization momentum for the Korean Peninsula amid the colossal clash between Washington and Beijing over trade issues. Marking the 20th anniversary of cooperation between the three regional players the presidential office hoped the three-way summit churns results that would benefit all parties. Shin Se-min Arirang News. 2019-12-11
