South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, the first such launch in about two months and a signal that Pyongyang isn’t interested in rejoining denuclearization talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal.

The latest launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further bolster his military capability — without disclosing any new policies toward the United States or South Korea— at a high-profile ruling party conference last week.

SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A former North Korean defector who made a risky and rare cross-border return home last week had struggled in South Korea, officials and media reports said on Tuesday, sparking fresh debate over how such defectors are treated in their new lives.

South Korea's military identified the man who crossed the heavily armed Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Saturday as a North Korean who defected to the South in a similar area just over a year ago.

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - A South Korean has crossed the heavily fortified border in a rare defection to North Korea, South Korea's military said on Sunday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it carried out a search operation after detecting the person around 9:20 p.m. (1220 GMT) on Saturday on the eastern side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

"We've confirmed that the person crossed the Military Demarcation Line border about 10:40 p.m. (1340 GMT) and defected to the North," the JCS said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further bolster his military capability, maintain draconian anti-virus measures and push hard to improve the economy during a speech at a key political conference this week, state media reported Saturday.

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was set free Friday under a special pardon granted by the incumbent President Moon Jae-in, according to Yonhap news agency.

Park, who had been imprisoned for 57 months over corruption charges, reportedly received the certificate of pardon at a hospital in Seoul, where she has been treated for over one month due to her chronic shoulder and waist pain.

The 69-year-old, after receiving shoulder surgery in 2019, allegedly planned to get treatment at the hospital until Feb. 2 next year.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday he will pardon his chief conservative rival and predecessor, Park Geun-hye, who is serving a lengthy prison term for bribery and other crimes.

Moon’s liberal government said the pardon is meant to overcome past divisions and promote national unity in the face of difficulties brought by the pandemic. Some observers say Moon may want to ease a burden stemming from Park’s health problems, or even use her to split the opposition ahead of March presidential elections.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Friday commemorated the 10th anniversary of former leader Kim Jong Il’s death with calls for greater public loyalty toward his son and current leader Kim Jong Un, who is struggling to navigate the country out of deepening pandemic-related hardships.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Tuesday marked its deadliest day of the pandemic as an unrelenting, delta-driven spread stretched thin hospitals and left people dying while waiting for beds.

Health experts warn that the country’s medical system is quickly approaching its limits and that fatalities could worsen if the government continues to be slow and hesitant in tightening social distancing.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said 94 virus patients died in the past 24 hours while a record 906 were in serious or critical condition.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Too young. Too weak. Too inexperienced.

Since taking power following his father’s sudden death 10 years ago, Kim Jong Un has erased the widespread doubts that greeted his early attempts to extend his family’s brutal dynastic grip over North Korea.

SEOUL, Dec 11 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 6,977 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight, compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 510,583.

The daily caseload was slightly down from 7,022 the previous day, but it stayed around 7,000 after topping 7,000 for the past three days.

The recent resurgence was attributable to small cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area.