South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Health officials and experts in Asia have welcomed U.S. plans to share 500 million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine with the developing world, but some say it would take more than donations alone to address huge vaccination gaps that threaten to prolong the pandemic.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A five-story building being demolished in southern South Korea collapsed on Wednesday, sending debris falling on a bus and killing nine people on board, officials said.

Concrete from the collapsed building in the southern city of Gwangju fell on the bus carrying 17 people which had stopped on a nearby street, the National Fire Agency said.

Emergency officers dispatched to the site rescued eight people from the bus, all seriously injured, before discovering the nine bodies, the agency said in a statement.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presented economic plans to senior ruling party officials before an upcoming meeting to review efforts to overcome hardships brought about by the pandemic, state media said Tuesday.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kim held his consultations Monday in preparation for a meeting of the Workers’ Party’s powerful Central Committee at which they will discuss state affairs for the first half of 2021. The meeting was set for early June and could take place as early as this week.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that Kim expressed appreciation that a lot of works were being sped up thanks to the “ideological enthusiasm and fighting spirit of self-reliance” demonstrated by the party and his people.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Monday the U.S. allowing South Korea to build more powerful missiles was an example of the U.S.’s hostile policy against the North, warning that it could lead to an “acute and instable situation” on the Korean Peninsula.

It’s North Korea’s first response to the May 21 summit between the leaders of the United States and South Korea, during which the U.S. ended decades-long restrictions that capped South Korea’s missile development and allowed its ally to develop weapons with unlimited ranges.

(Reuters) --- South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered praise for U.S. President Joe Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery on Friday before the two leaders meet during his visit to Washington.

"My congratulations on how the Biden-Harris administration is building back better with the world's most successful vaccine deployment and fastest economic recovery and blazing a trail for inclusiveness and unity by restoring the soul of America,” Moon said during an appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris.

(AP) --- South Korean President Moon Jae-in is hoping Friday’s White House meeting with President Joe Biden will lead to renewed diplomatic urgency by the U.S. on curbing North Korea’s nuclear program. The White House, however, is signaling that it is taking a longer view on one of the most difficult foreign policy challenges Biden faces.

(Reuters) --- South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been hoping to use his first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden this week to press a legacy policy of engaging North Korea, but Washington has played down the prospect of any quick impetus on the issue.

In their meeting on Friday, Biden is set to prioritize boosting cooperation with Seoul on regional security more broadly - notably in response to the challenge posed by China - in high-tech industries such as microchips, the coronavirus pandemic and advancing policy on climate change.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Pressure is mounting on South Korean President Moon Jae-in to pardon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, who is back in prison after his conviction in a massive corruption scandal, even though business has rarely looked better at South Korea’s largest company.

Lee is just the latest South Korean corporate boss to run his business from behind bars, communicating decisions through visiting company executives. But his imprisonment is causing national handwringing over the future of the technology giant in the country sometimes called the “Samsung Republic.”

SEOUL, May 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea is considering ways to have consultations with Japan over its plan to dump radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, local media reported Friday citing the foreign ministry.