South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea began a much-anticipated military parade in its capital on Monday to mark the 90th anniversary of its army’s founding, with outside experts saying it was likely to display powerful missiles and other weapons capable of targeting the United States and its allies.

South Korea’s military said the march began late Monday evening in Pyongyang after a pre-parade ceremony. It didn’t immediately provide other details, such as whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was present.

SEOUL, Apr 22 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea recorded 81,058 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 16,755,055, the health authorities said today.

The daily caseload was down from 90,867 recorded in the previous day, and far lower than 125,827 confirmed a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The health authorities believed the daily caseload is on the decline. Among the new cases, 15 were imported, lifting the total to 31,681.

SEOUL, April 22 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has thanked South Korea's outgoing president for trying to improve relations, a rare gesture of goodwill but one that analysts said may not be enough to head off growing tension between the two Koreas.

The warm words from North Korea to President Moon Jae-in came in an exchange of letters less than three weeks before Moon leaves office to be replaced by a conservative leader who has already signalled a tougher line on North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fire erupted at a now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea on Thursday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if any South Korean property was damaged, officials said.

The fire was detected from a front-line South Korean observatory post at about 2 p.m. and appeared to have been extinguished about an hour later, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. special envoy for North Korea said Monday that Washington and Seoul agreed on the need for a strong response to North Korea’s recent spate of missile tests, though they remain open to dialogue with the country.

Sung Kim flew to South Korea on Monday for talks two days after North Korea conducted a new type of missile test in its 13th round of weapons firing this year. Experts say North Korea wants to advance its weapons arsenal and wrest concessions such as sanctions relief from its rivals.

SEOUL, April 17 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at boosting the country's nuclear capabilities, the North's KCNA state news agency reported on Sunday.

The report comes amid signs North Korea could soon resume nuclear testing according to South Korean and U.S. officials and after Kim broke a self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing with a launch last month.

SEOUL, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched two projectiles into eastern waters on Saturday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday.

The JCS said in a statement that it detected two projectiles that were fired from the Hamheung area towards eastern waters at about 6:00 p.m. local time Saturday (0900 GMT).

The projectiles flew about 110 km at a maximum altitude of some 25 km and a top speed of Mach 4.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a massive civilian parade in the capital, Pyongyang, celebrating a milestone birth anniversary of his state-founding grandfather in which thousands marched in a choreographed display of loyalty to the Kim family, state media said Saturday.

The reports didn’t mention any speech or comments made by Kim during Friday’s event and it appeared the country passed its biggest holiday without showcasing its military hardware, amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program.

SEOUL, April 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. envoy for North Korea will visit Seoul next week for meetings with South Korean counterparts to discuss the international response to the North's recent intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) launches, the State Department said.

U.S. Special Representative Sung Kim has said he is open to talks with North Korea at any time and without preconditions, but Pyongyang has so far rebuffed those overtures, accusing Washington of maintaining hostile policies such as sanctions and military drills.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will remove most pandemic restrictions, including indoor gathering limits, as it slowly wiggles out of an omicron outbreak officials say is stabilizing.

People will still be required to wear masks indoors, but authorities could remove an outdoor mask mandate if the coronavirus further slows over the next two weeks, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said in a government briefing Friday.