South Korea

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The combined forces of South Korea and the United States on Tuesday began their joint annual military exercises amid rising concerns about the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 infections, according to Yonhap news agency.

The computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training (CCPT), which kicked off Tuesday morning, is scheduled to last until Aug. 28. The first part, which focuses on defense, will continue until Saturday, while the second part for counterattack, will run until Aug. 28.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea will open a high-profile political conference on Wednesday to discuss unspecified “crucial” issues as it struggles to keep afloat a sanctions-ravaged economy hit further by its anti-virus efforts and devastating flooding.

Seoul, Aug 16 (AP/PTI) The United States and South Korea will begin their annual joint military exercises this week, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday. But a spreading coronavirus outbreak has apparently forced the allies to scale back an already low-key training program mainly involving computer-simulated war scenarios.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea will begin their annual joint military exercises this week, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday. But a spreading coronavirus outbreak has apparently forced the allies to scale back an already low-key training program mainly involving computer-simulated war scenarios.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Saturday, the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two, that his government was always ready to talk with Tokyo about disputes over history that continue to divide the two neighbours.

Moon was speaking at an anniversary celebration marking the Korean peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonisation.

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged never to repeat the tragedy of war.

Seoul, Aug 14 (AP/PTI) South Korea reported 103 new virus cases on Friday, one of its biggest daily jumps in months, as officials express concerned that infections are getting out of control in cities as people increasingly venture out in public.

Eighty-three of the new cases were from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where health authorities have struggled to stem transmissions from various sources and groups, including churches, nursing homes, schools and workers. Infections were also reported in other major cities such as Busan, Gwangju and Ulsan.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lifted a lockdown in a major city near the border with South Korea where thousands had been quarantined for weeks over coronavirus worries, state media said Friday.

But Kim, during a key ruling party meeting on Thursday, also insisted the North will keep its borders shut and rejected any outside help as the country carries out an aggressive anti-virus campaign and rebuilds thousands of houses, roads and bridges damaged by heavy rain and floods in recent weeks.

SEOUL, Aug 13 (NNN-YONHAP) — President Moon Jae-in designated 11 southern areas, devastated by monsoon-season heavy rains, as special disaster zones Thursday for speedy state assistance for recovery work and the provision of relief funds, Cheong Wa Dae said.

The regions include Namwon in North Jeolla Province; Naju, Gurye, Gokseong, Damyang, Hwasun, Hampyeong, Younggwang and Jangseong in South Jeolla Province; Hadong and Hapcheon in South Gyeongsang Province.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shin Yun-sun describes her life as a maze of dead ends.

The South Korean has spent many of her 75 years pestering government officials, digging into records and searching burial grounds on a desolate Russian island, desperately searching for traces of a father she never met.

Shin wants to bring back the remains of her presumed-dead father for her ailing 92-year-old mother, Baek Bong-rye. Japan’s colonial government conscripted Shin’s father for forced labor from their farming village in September 1943, when Baek was pregnant with Shin.

SEOUL (Reuters) - At least 21 people have died after 46 days of heavy rains in South Korea, with the country’s longest monsoon in seven years causing more flooding, landslides and evacuations on Saturday.

More than 3,000 people had been evacuated as of 6 a.m. local time on Saturday (2100 GMT Friday), according to Ministry of the Interior and Safety data, as rains battered the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Eleven people are missing.