President Lee Jae Myung renewed his call Saturday for a review of multicultural family support programs, saying any preferential policy that can create reverse discrimination cannot be justified. Lee posted the comments on social media amid criticism after he suggested the need to revise the support programs for multicultural families in South Korea, such as priority access to low-cost public postpartum care centers. In an earlier posting on his X account, Lee questioned whether mothers from multicultural families and mothers recognized as persons of national merit deserve to be placed in the same category for reservations at government-funded postpartum care centers. The issue, which the liberal president brought forward after citing a post from a conservative online community site, has drawn backlash from the liberal bloc voicing concern that such a move amounts to inciting hatred in society. "While it is true that support for multicultural families is necessary, that cannot justify specific policies that are unreasonable or may result in reverse discrimination," Lee wrote on X. "Just b

North Korea blasted Saturday a joint statement recently issued by the United States, South Korea and other partner nations calling for continued enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang's nuclear and weapons programs, branding the move as a "strategic failure." A spokesperson from the North's foreign ministry issued the criticism in a statement, after 11 countries and the European Union (EU) released the joint statement earlier this week reaffirming their commitment to monitoring the North's activities in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions. The joint statement also highlighted the findings of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) on the North's illicit activities and welcomed fresh independent sanctions imposed by the U.S., Australia and the EU over the North's cyberactivities and dispatch of its workers overseas to finance its nuclear weapons and missile programs. "This is another case that reminds us that the hostile forces' bad habit of denying the constitutional status of our state," the spokesperson said in the statement carried by the Nor

INCHEON — A fishing boat caught fire off the West Sea island of Yeongheung on Saturday and all 22 people aboard were rescued, with two of them taken to a hospital for inhaling smoke, officials said. The fire broke out on the 9.77-ton charter fishing boat in waters 0.9 nautical mile south of the island at 6:51 a.m. After receiving a distress call from the boat, the Coast Guard sent patrol and rescue boats to the scene, put out the fire and rescued all aboard. Two of them, including the boat's skipper, were taken to a hospital for inhaling smoke. Two Coast Guard officers also inhaled smoke and planned to receive medical treatment. The Coast Guard plans to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of damage based on witness statements that sparks and smoke came from the boat's passenger cabin.

Police said Saturday they have found no drug-related violations during a joint crackdown the previous night on nightlife districts in Seoul on the eve of Halloween. Police carried out inspections at eight clubs in nightlife districts in Gangnam, Seocho and Yongsan on Friday night as part of a special drug crackdown that has been under way since August in cooperation with fire and municipality authorities. "Ahead of Halloween, we conducted crackdowns focusing on clubs, entertainment venues, and areas with high concentrations of foreigners, where large crowds are expected," a police official said. "We will continue to strengthen inspections and crackdown activities in vulnerable areas." Police urged the public to actively report drug-related crimes, saying they will guarantee the anonymity of informants and rewards will be provided.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met one-on-one with her Swiss counterpart visiting Pyongyang earlier this week and discussed promoting dialogue and cooperation, the North's state media reported Saturday. Choe held the talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who was on a two-day trip since Friday following Switzerland's recent opening of its first diplomatic office in Pyongyang. The two sides discussed "the issue of promoting dialogue and cooperation between the diplomatic fields of the two countries and exchanged the appraisal and views of the international situation of common concern," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "The talks proceeded in a friendly atmosphere," the news outlet said, without elaborating. Also attending the talks from the North's side were Jong Tong-hak, the North's vice foreign minister, and Jo Chol-su, North Korea's top envoy to Switzerland, among other officials. In a separate dispatch, the KCNA reported that Cassis paid a courtesy call on Jo Yong-won, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, on the same

Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Saturday he has been issued a U.S. visa for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command, days after he said his application was rejected. Jin, who serves as chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, said in a Facebook post that he received the visa from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and that it was fortunate the U.S. State Department has issued the official A-2 visa, albeit belatedly. The lawmaker said he will depart Sunday afternoon and hold discussions with the U.S Pacific commander and other U.S. military leaders about strengthening bilateral security cooperation and developing a future-oriented alliance. On Wednesday, Jin had said his U.S. visa application was rejected and shared on Facebook what appeared to be a document that showed his application was refused. Jin expressed strong regret, saying the rejection was difficult to understand, given that he had visited the U.S. command in 2014 as a member of the parliamentary committee. The exact reason for the denial was unclear, but some observers note that Jin's past conviction

The two right-handed pitchers that went toe-to-toe earlier in the ongoing South Korean baseball postseason will meet again Sunday with much more at stake — a ticket to the championship series. The Samsung Lions will host the Kia Tigers for the deciding Game 5 of their best-of-five second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason at 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The winner of this game will advance to the Korean Series, which begins Tuesday with the regular-season champions KT Wiz waiting. The Lions will have their Panamanian ace Ariel Jurado on the hill Sunday, while the Tigers will counter with their American starter Adam Oller. These two pitchers also started Game 2 back on Tuesday in Daegu, where the Lions prevailed 8-3. Jurado collected his first career postseason win by holding the Tigers to two runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Jurado had faced the Tigers only once in the regular season. On May 15, Jurado gave up three runs on 10 hits in seven innings and struck out a season-high seven batters, but the

WASHINGTON — Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha has pledged to strengthen cooperation with U.S. authorities to support bilateral investment, describing Hyundai Motor Group's latest investment in Alabama as an example of the expanding economic partnership between the two countries. Kang made the remarks Wednesday while attending a ceremony announcing Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama's plan to invest about $450 million in its Montgomery plant, according to the Korean Embassy in Washington. The ambassador highlighted Hyundai's presence in the U.S. as an "outstanding example" of how the Korea-U.S. alliance has evolved over more than seven decades, expanding beyond its security foundations into cooperation in economic security and advanced technology. Kang also said the investment would combine Korea's advanced manufacturing capabilities with America's innovation and market competitiveness, allowing the two countries to "shape the future of the automotive industry together," according to the embassy. She added that the Korean government would work closely with U.S. fed

WASHINGTON — The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea during trilateral talks, the U.S. State Department said. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta, according to a State Department readout. "The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization" of North Korea and the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the department said. The three ministers also underscored the need to enforce U.N. sanctions prohibiting activities that generate revenue for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, while commending the work of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team in exposing North Korea's sanctions violations and evasion. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Rubio also raised concerns about China's

WASHINGTON — Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA), a subsidiary of South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace Co., has secured a $269 million contract to build a medium landing ship (LSM) for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, marking its first U.S. Navy shipbuilding contract, according to the company. The company said Thursday it was selected by U.S. maritime services firm Tote Services to build one LSM at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, with options to construct three additional vessels. The selection was made through a competitive bidding process under Tote Services' vessel construction management program, which oversees shipbuilding contracts for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. "Since acquiring Philly Shipyard in 2024, Hanwha has made significant investments in its workforce and technology to pave the way to build ships for the U.S. Navy and other federal customers," HDUSA President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Coulter said. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. Tote Services' $2.2 billion vessel construction manager contract supports the Navy and Marine Corp

GWANGJU — The Kia Tigers rallied past the Samsung Lions 4-2 to stave off elimination in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Friday, taking advantage of subpar defense by their opponents to force a deciding game on the weekend. The Tigers turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 4 before a sellout crowd of 18,900 at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southwestern city of Gwangju. They scored all three runs in the inning after a fielding error by third baseman Kim Young-woong, with Han Jun-su delivering the tie-breaking hit as part of his two-RBI night. Closer Jeon Sang-hyun got the final six outs for the save. This best-of-five series is now tied at 2-2, and the final game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The winner of that do-or-die game will advance to the Korean Series against the KT Wiz, starting Tuesday. The two starting pitchers, James Naile for the Tigers and Chris Paddack for the Lions, were going on three days' rest after they had both pitched in Monday's Game 1. After getti

INCHEON — South Korea and the United States have complementary strengths and are capable of driving "great" progress in the nuclear sector amid a heated global race to develop next-generation reactors, a U.S. State Department official said. Christopher Klein, the deputy assistant secretary for nuclear nonproliferation and commercial competitiveness at the U.S. Department of State, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, saying the global landscape has transitioned into a "nuclear renaissance." "We are countries that both have a lot of experience and expertise, and when we work together ... we can achieve great things," Klein said during the interview on the margins of the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power held in Incheon, west of Seoul. The three-day event, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was held in South Korea for the first time this year. Klein's comment comes amid growing attention to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) — a new class of nuclear power plants -- as countries seek reliable, carbon-fre

A special counsel team on Friday asked the National Election Commission (NEC) to keep intact the 420 ballot boxes that drew no objections during its inspection at a Seoul handball arena, saying it may need to examine them again. The boxes had sat in the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southeastern Seoul since the June 3 local elections. Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team carried them out Thursday after reviewing all 2.47 million ballots cast in the southeastern Songpa Ward. The team has been investigating unprecedented ballot shortages on Election Day that turned some voters away before they could cast their votes. The ballots were placed in 433 boxes, 420 of which were taken to an NEC storage facility in the capital area, according to the commission. Under the election law, they will be stored for the duration of the elected officials' terms. The team took the remaining 13 boxes and will inspect their content further based on objections raised by on-site observers. Some of them will be sent to the National Forensic Service for closer examination. The gymnasium served as a vote countin

A check-in system malfunction that occurred at Incheon International Airport was fully resolved by Friday afternoon, the airport operator said, after causing major delays in passenger processing. The malfunction began at 4:30 a.m. in an airline network connecting ticketing systems at the country's main gateway, leading to intermittent connectivity issues for eight airlines at Terminal 1 and five airlines at Terminal 2, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. By the afternoon, ticketing was effectively halted at three airlines -- China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China. The airport later said all three had resumed ticketing operations. Long lines of passengers formed at check-in counters, with some protesting that their airlines were not informing them of expected recovery times despite their approaching departures. As of 5 p.m., 38 flights had been delayed, leaving some 1,200 travelers stranded. The airport operator said the disruption appeared to have been caused by a glitch in the global network of American aviation service provider ARINC.

INCHEON — South Korea and the United States have complementary strengths and are capable of driving "great" progress in the nuclear sector amid a heated global race to develop next-generation reactors, a U.S. State Department official said. Christopher Klein, the deputy assistant secretary for nuclear nonproliferation and commercial competitiveness at the U.S. Department of State, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, saying the global landscape has transitioned into a "nuclear renaissance." "We are countries that both have a lot of experience and expertise, and when we work together ... we can achieve great things," Klein said during the interview on the margins of the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power held in Incheon, west of Seoul. The three-day event, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was held in South Korea for the first time this year. Klein's comment comes amid growing attention to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) — a new class of nuclear power plants — as countries seek reliable, carbon-fr

GWANGJU — On the brink of elimination from the South Korean baseball postseason, the Kia Tigers put together a much different lineup Friday than the ones from their earlier games. The Tigers are trailing the Samsung Lions 2-1 in the best-of-five series in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), having dropped two straight games after winning the first game Monday. The winner of this series will advance to the Korean Series starting next week. Manager Lee Bum-ho moved up his top three sluggers a spot each — with Kim Do-yeong batting second, Harold Castro batting third and Na Sung-bum in the cleanup spot against starter Chris Paddack. The Tigers have received almost nothing from the No. 2 spot, which has been occupied by different players in all three games so far. They have batted a combined 1-for-12. Kim is leading the Tigers in this series with five hits, including a home run. With Paddack pitching on three days' rest after losing Game 1, Lee said he wanted to lean on players who already saw the American pitcher in that opening game. Paddack was charged with the loss after allowing fiv

The makers behind the Call of Duty video game apologized Friday for using real footage of the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush in its latest installment of the game and agreed to remove the footage. A short clip showing a paramedic performing CPR on a crowd crush victim lying on the street appeared in the opening moments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The footage was used to depict a scenario of civilian casualties during a fictional war with North Korea. "We deeply apologize to the victims and their bereaved families who must have suffered, as well as to everyone who we have caused concern," Activision Publishing Inc. said in a notice to local reporters. "The footage will be removed in our update set to be rolled out on Nov. 12." The publisher added it had no plans to evoke -tragic events, including the Itaewon crowd crush, when using news footage in its games, nor had it intended to ignore the pain caused by the accident. A total of 159 people were killed in a narrow alleyway in Seoul's night life district of Itaewon during Halloween festivities on Oct. 29, 2022. Bereaved families of

Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong's short film "Heartbeat" will be released on Netflix next week, days ahead of Lee's Venice-winning film "Possible Love," the streaming platform said Friday. The 2022 film centers around a young boy whose mother lives with depression and a father who stages labor strikes atop a tower crane. It is Lee's first short film. The 28-minute film, which premiered at the 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival without theatrical release, stars actors Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu, the leads for Lee's critically acclaimed feature "Possible Love." Lee helmed the film as part of a project by the World Health Organization and the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation, which asked directors around the world to work on films themed on depression. "Heartbeat" will be available on Netflix from Monday, while "Possible Love" is set for release on Friday.

Prosecutors on Friday indicted Rep. Jang Kyung-tae without physical detention over allegations that he sexually harassed a female aide of another lawmaker. Jang, an independent who left the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in March over the scandal, is accused of sexually harassing the aide at a restaurant in western Seoul in October 2024, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office. The lawmaker also faces charges of partially exposing the aide's identity in violation of the sexual violence punishment law. The indictment comes after the aide filed a complaint with the police last year. A police committee, convened at the lawmaker's request, recommended in March that he be referred to prosecutors over the allegations. The prosecution said it decided to indict Jang, who has denied the sexual harassment allegations, after questioning those involved in the case and reviewing evidence, including video footage of the incident.

North Korea on Friday denounced the ongoing combined air drills between South Korea and the United States, vowing to "thoroughly" deter the allies' exercise with force, Pyongyang's state media reported. A spokesperson at North Korea's defense ministry issued the statement as Seoul and Washington launched the biannual Freedom Flag exercise on Monday for a two-week run. "The U.S. and the ROK military warmongers launched the provocative large-scale joint air drill Freedom Flag against our state on Oct. 26 by mobilizing huge air forces," read the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. North Korea said the drills involved the Army, Navy and Marines from allied forces and mobilized air refueling tanker and attack drones, citing them as evidence for their "military purpose" contrary to the defensive character as proclaimed by the allies. "Our armed forces will thoroughly deter threats with force and only act in such manner that the enemy states can understand," it said. North Korea has long