South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea announced plans Saturday to strap tracking wristbands on people who defy quarantine orders and Christians were urged to stay home on Easter weekend as the global coronavirus death toll passed 100,000.

South Korean officials said stricter controls are required because some of the 57,000 people who are under orders to stay home have slipped out by leaving behind smartphones with tracking apps. Plans for broader use of wristbands were scaled back after objections by human rights and legal activists.

10 April 2020; AFP: South Korea is regularly ranked lowest in the developed world for gender equality, but for the first time a feminist party is seeking parliamentary seats at Wednesday's election, accusing the political establishment of having failed women.

The party was founded last month on International Women's Day on the back of a surge of anger over the country's spycam porn epidemic and other crimes, and against a backdrop of an enduring pay gap and employment and childcare issues.

But it has a mountain to climb.

SEOUL, Apr 6 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported fewer than 50 new COVID-19 cases, for the first time since its peak at the end of Feb, as daily infections in Asia’s largest outbreak outside China continued to trend downward.

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said today, there were 47 new infections as of midnight on Sunday, compared with 81 recorded a day earlier, taking the national cumulative tally to 10,284.

The death toll rose by three to 186, while another 135 people have recovered from the virus, for a total of 6,598.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is struggling to retain its lead in global next-generation 5G telecom services, as the coronavirus pandemic further cools sentiment of consumers whose interest in the technology has waned due to cost and quality concerns.

The Asian nation’s telecom operators, led by SK Telecom and KT Corp, launched the world’s first 5G services exactly a year ago. And Samsung Electronics, its dominant mobile phone manufacturer, stole a march on equipment makers globally by launching the first 5G phone around the same time.

SEOUL (Reuters) - The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea on Wednesday called for negotiators to quickly resolve a cost-sharing dispute that has put more than 4,000 local workers on unpaid leave, with South Korean officials suggesting an agreement could come soon.

About half of the nearly 9,000 South Koreans employed by the U.S. military command were placed on unpaid leave starting on Wednesday, after the two countries failed to agree on a new pact months after the last agreement expired at the end of 2019.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Oil recovered ground on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to talks to stabilize energy markets, with benchmarks climbing off 18-year lows hit as the coronavirus outbreak cut fuel demand worldwide.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up by 43 cents, or 1.9%, at $23.19 a barrel by 0406 GMT, after closing on Monday at $22.76, its lowest finish since November 2002.

U.S. crude Clc1 was up by $1.16, or 5.8%, at $21.26 a barrel, after settling in the earlier session at $20.09, lowest since February 2002.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo undermined its willingness to restart stalled denuclearisation talks, criticising his recent remarks on sanctions on Pyongyang.

Pompeo had said after a teleconference with G7 foreign ministers last week that all nations must remain united in calling for North Korea to return to negotiations and applying diplomatic and economic pressure over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Sunday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea and Japan said, continuing a streak of weapons launches that suggests leader Kim Jong Un is trying to strengthen domestic support amid worries about a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump sent a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seeking to maintain good relations and offering cooperation in fighting the viral pandemic, Kim’s sister said Sunday.

The latest correspondence came as Kim observed the firing of tactical guided weapons over the weekend, drawing criticism from South Korea, as the nuclear talks remain deadlocked.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired two presumed short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea’s military said, as it continues to expand military capabilities amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration and a crippling global health crisis.