South Korea

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The recent resurgence was driven by cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which became a dominant strain.

Of the new cases, 6,873 were Seoul residents. The number of the newly infected people living in Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon was 9,780 and 2,366 respectively.

The virus spread also raged in the non-metropolitan region. The number of new infections in the non-capital areas was 16,112, or 45.9 percent of the total local transmission.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — During the last Winter Games, North Korea basked in the global limelight in South Korea, with hundreds of athletes, cheerleaders and officials pushing hard to woo their South Korean and U.S. rivals in a bid for diplomacy that has since stalled.

SEOUL, Feb 2 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s daily number of COVID-19 cases hit a new record high, amid the spread of the Omicron variant, the health authorities said today.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country reported 20,270 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 884,310.

The daily caseload was up from 18,342 the previous day, surpassing 20,000 for the first time.

SEOUL, Jan 31 (Reuters) - North Korea confirmed on Monday it had launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, the same weapon it had once threatened to target the U.S. territory of Guam with, sparking fears the nuclear-armed state could resume long-range testing.

The launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was first reported by South Korean and Japanese authorities on Sunday. It was the seventh test conducted by North Korea this month and the first time a nuclear-capable missile of that size has been launched since 2017.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea confirmed Monday it test-launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam, the North’s most significant weapon launch in years, as Washington plans to show its commitment to its Asian allies with an unspecified move.

Sunday’s launch could be a prelude to bigger provocations by North Korea such as nuclear and long-range missile tests that pose a direct threat to the U.S. mainland, as the North is ramping up pressure on the Biden administration amid stalled nuclear diplomacy.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Sunday fired what appeared to be the most powerful missile it has tested since President Joe Biden took office, as it revives its old playbook in brinkmanship to wrest concessions from Washington and neighbors amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.

The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile was launched on a high trajectory, apparently to avoid the territorial spaces of neighbors, and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and traveled 800 kilometers (497 miles) before landing in the sea.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — After spending two years in a strict lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea may finally be opening up — slowly. The reason could reflect a growing sense of recognition by the leadership that the nation badly needs to win outside economic relief.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea in its sixth round of weapons launches this month, South Korea’s military said.

Experts say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in testing activity underscores an intent to pressure the Biden administration over long-stalled negotiations aimed at exchanging a release of crippling U.S.-led sanctions against the North and the North’s denuclearization steps.

SEOUL, Jan 25 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s daily number of COVID-19 cases hit a new record high, owing to the spread of the Omicron variant, the health authorities said today.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country reported 8,571 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 749,979.

The daily caseload was up from 7,512 the previous day, topping 8,000 for the first time here, since the country’s first case was found in Jan, 2020.

SEOUL, Jan 26 (Reuters) - North Korea's internet appears to have been hit by a second wave of outages in as many weeks, possibly caused by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, researchers said on Wednesday.

The latest incident took place for about six hours on Wednesday morning local time, and came a day after North Korea conducted its fifth missile test this month.