North Korea has planted an estimated 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024, according to multiple lawmakers Friday, a move seen as part of its border fortification work after Pyongyang declared a "two hostile states" policy toward Seoul. The South Korean military has reported the estimate to the National Assembly, lawmakers affiliated with the parliamentary intelligence and defense committees told Yonhap News Agency. North Korea has stepped up border reinforcements since April 2024, after its leader Kim Jong-un declared relations with Seoul as "two states hostile to each other" in late 2023. The South's military has since detected increasing movements of North Korean troops installing barbed-wire fences, laying mines and erecting anti-tank barriers along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the inter-Korean border line that sits inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). North Korean troops have moved close to or even crossed the MDL on numerous occasions, prompting the South's military to blare warning broadcasts or fire warning shots in line with operational standards. T

An appeals court was set to rule Friday on Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's trial in a high-stakes political funds case stemming from opinion polls he allegedly received ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election. If the Seoul High Court upholds his conviction by a lower court and the ruling is finalized through appeal, Oh will lose his mayorship after being elected into office for a fifth term in June. Under the Political Funds Act, elected officials are stripped of their seats if they receive a finalized fine of 1 million won ($754) or heavier punishment for improper acceptance of political funds. Oh's sentencing hearing was scheduled to be broadcast live at 2 p.m. Oh is accused of having a political supporter make payments totaling 33 million won for opinion polls he received on 10 occasions from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 election. The lower court sentenced Oh to a fine of 10 million won in July after partially recognizing the charges. It ruled that Oh had asked Myung for opinion polls on five occasions and his supporter paid the power broker 21 million won. The d

Korean shares opened sharply lower Friday, weighed down by overnight losses in U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks, while rising oil prices added to market jitters. After opening 2.36 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 156.6 points, or 2.83 percent, to 5,377.17 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed, with losses in major technology shares weighing on the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 2.6 percent. Micron Technology plunged 6.26 percent, while Nvidia and Intel tumbled 4.4 percent and 8.04 percent, respectively. Renewed jitters over the AI industry dragged global markets lower, while oil prices climbed amid concerns over potential supply disruptions after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they had again attacked key facilities in Saudi Arabia. In Seoul, large-cap shares opened lower. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics went down 3.26 percent while its chipmaking rival SK hynix declined 2.21 percen

The delinquency ratio on loans extended by banks rose for the second consecutive month in August, data showed Friday. The delinquency numbers on banks' won-denominated loans stood at 0.69 percent as of end-August, up 0.06 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The amount of newly overdue loans came to 3 trillion won ($2.26 billion) in August, down 0.2 trillion won from the previous month. The amount of write-offs of such loans, on the other hand, came in at 1.5 trillion won, up 0.1 trillion won over the cited period, according to the FSS. The delinquency ratio for corporate loans stood at 0.86 percent as of end-August, up 0.08 percentage point from a month earlier, and the ratio for household loans rose 0.03 percentage point to 0.45 percent over the same period.

Two clubs with a long history of heated rivalry will battle for a spot in the Korean baseball championship series starting this weekend. The Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers will square off in the best-of-five second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. The opening game is 2 p.m. Sunday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the southeastern city of Daegu. The second game will also be in Daegu at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The series will then shift to the Tigers' home in the southwestern city of Gwangju, with Game 3 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. If necessary, Game 4 is 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Gwangju. Should the teams need a Game 5 to decide the winner, the final game will be in Daegu at 2 p.m. Oct. 31. The winner of this showdown will advance to the Korean Series, where the KT Wiz, the regular-season champions, are waiting. The Lions, by finishing in second place in the regular season, earned a bye to this series. The Tigers, who finished third, swept the 2025 Korean Series champions LG Twins in the previous round to get to this stage. The Lions and the Tigers

WASHINGTON — South Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) over last month's land mine explosion incident near the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers, calling for North Korea to apologize and take responsibility for the incident, according to officials Thursday. South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Cha Ji-hoon sent the roughly two-page letter to his Greek counterpart, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, outlining the findings of an investigation into the Sept. 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to the South Korean mission to the U.N. The letter is said to emphasize that the explosion was caused by a land mine planted by North Korean troops and constituted a violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. It also called on Pyongyang to take responsible measures and engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust. A South Korean government official said the letter was expected to be circulated among Security Council members following approval by the council pre

WASHINGTON — The prospects of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the near future remain slim, U.S. experts said, citing Pyongyang's demands for a shift in Washington's policy toward the North, including its approach to denuclearization. Jenny Town, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, and Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, offered their assessments during a podcast discussion hosted by Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published Thursday. Town said the North has made clear that they reject the notion of any kind of denuclearization agenda. "The question isn't, 'Will North Korea come to the table?' The question is, 'Is the U.S. willing to do those things (change its North Korean policy)?'" she said, referring to North Korea's demands for changes in what it considers Washington's hostile policy. "I think the prospects of meeting, you know, I think are fairly low," she added, putting the likelihood of a meeting at less than 50 percent. Panda o

WASHINGTON — U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel on Thursday highlighted the potential for greater shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul and Washington following a visit to a shipyard operated by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. "By combining American and Korean expertise, we can strengthen our shipbuilding industries, drive innovation and create new opportunities for workers in both countries," she wrote in a post on social media platform X after visiting the Geoje shipyard, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul. She thanked Samsung Heavy Industries, the world's fifth-largest shipbuilder in terms of its existing orders, for welcoming her and for sharing the company's vision for shipbuilding cooperation. The remarks come amid South Korea's broader efforts to revive the U.S. shipbuilding industry under the MASGA, or "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again," initiative. Earlier this year, Samsung Heavy Industries established a research center in San Diego to support the South Korea-U.S. initiative. The SHI-SDSU Advanced Maritime Center, jointly launched with San Diego State Universit

A Seoul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a man in his 70s suspected of setting fires at two buildings in southern Seoul earlier this week, leaving 19 people injured. The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant on charges of arson resulting in injuries, saying the man is a flight risk. The suspect was taken into custody hours after setting fires at two patent firms in separate buildings in Seoul's Gangnam district Tuesday. The fires left 19 people injured, including one who was rushed to a hospital in cardiac arrest. Police suspect the man held a grudge against the firms as he claimed they had defrauded him by issuing fake patent registration certificates. The suspect told investigators that he had bought two jerrycans, a lighter and flammable materials near his home in western Seoul on Friday, according to the police. Police are examining the suspect's psychiatric records and considering additional charges of attempted murder based on testimony that he had been looking for a specific person before setting the fires. The suspect was previously sentenced to two and a ha

South Korea and the United States on Thursday held joint river-crossing drills aimed at enhancing interoperability as part of the annual Hoguk military exercise, the South Korean Army said. Some 540 troops from the allies took part in the drills along the Namhan River in Yeoju, about 65 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The drills mobilized some 130 pieces of equipment, including 10 KM3 amphibious bridging vehicles, ribbon bridge systems and about 50 combat vehicles, such as K2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles. During the drills, the allied forces jointly installed and crossed a bridge spanning a 280-meter section of the river. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha and U.S. Brig. Gen. Robert Brown, commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division/South Korea-U.S. Combined Division, observed the drills.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday encouraged young Catholics to join a "pilgrimage of faith, friendship and hope," saying he looks forward to meeting them in Seoul for World Youth Day 2027. The pope's remarks came as the organizing committee opened registration for World Youth Day, an international gathering of Catholic youth, set to take place in Seoul in August next year. "This is not merely an invitation to see a new city — it is a call to set out on a pilgrimage of faith, friendship and hope," he said in a video message shared by the Vatican to mark the registration opening. "A pilgrimage gives you the chance not only to discover Christian sites in another location, but also to find the time and space to encounter God more deeply, both personally and within the dynamic life of the Church." In addition to deepening faith, the pontiff said participants will be able to meet young people who speak different languages and come from different cultures to forge lifetime friendships. The pope specifically mentioned the theme of World Youth Day, "Take courage! I have overcome the world," calling on p

Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in two men's football friendly matches next month in Doha, the sport's national federation announced Thursday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the Taegeuk Warriors will first take on 55th-ranked Saudi Arabia on Nov. 13 and then play 60th-ranked Qatar on Nov. 17. The first match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. (local time) and the latter match will begin at 5 p.m. (local time). These matches will fall inside the last FIFA international match window of 2026. The KFA said the two matches will help prepare Korea, world No. 32, for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, scheduled to start in January in Saudi Arabia. In 19 meetings against Saudi Arabia, Korea have five wins, nine draws and five losses. Against Qatar, Korea have recorded six wins, two draws and three losses. The KFA said it had earlier sought to schedule the Saudi Arabia match in Saudi Arabia but decided to relocate it to Qatar, with Saudi Arabia having been under attack from Yemen's Houthi rebels. These will also be the final two matches for Korea's interim head coach, Robert Mor

A court on Thursday found 34 student activists guilty of trespassing on the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024. The Seoul Western District Court sentenced a senior leader of the Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) to a suspended four-month prison term and ordered 32 other members to pay fines ranging from 1 million won ($756) to 6 million won. One other member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine. Two others were indicted but acquitted. The students faced multiple charges, including trespassing on a U.S. military installation in Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between Korea and the United States. In January and October 2024, they attempted to illegally enter what was then the presidential compound in Seoul's Yongsan Ward to demand the resignation of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee. The court ruled that the defendants did not act on impulse but conspired in advance, such as by sharing picket signs wit

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the recent rebound in the country's potential growth rates signals a recovery in the national economy's fundamentals and that the trend should help promote balanced growth of both large and small firms. The president made the remarks at a meeting with his senior aides, citing a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report projecting the country's potential growth rate at 2.14 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2027. The figures mark the first consecutive annual increases in about 40 years. "The rebound in potential growth rates, which can be viewed as basic physical strength for an economy, is welcome news that indicates the foundation for the growth of our economy is getting stronger," Lee said. The president stressed that this trend should serve as a steppingstone to promote sustainable, balanced growth by further solidifying the competitiveness of artificial intelligence and other advanced industries while focusing financial and policy resources on sectors that are slower to recover. "In order for the rare rebound in potential growth rat

World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran put herself in early contention at the LPGA Tour event in her native South Korea on Thursday. Ryu shot a bogey-free round of five-under 67 to begin the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. She is tied for third place with three other players and sits one stroke behind the two co-leaders, Karis Davidson of Australia and Yuri Yoshida of Japan. Ryu collected three birdies on the front nine and two more on the back nine at the par-72 course that played 6,549 yards in the first round. Ryu, who won two majors earlier this season, is the highest-ranked player in the field this week. "I missed a few birdie putts midway through the round, but I don't think my putting was a problem," she said. "And when I birdied the 15th and 16th, I was so excited. I felt those two would be key holes in this tournament, and the two birdies felt like big presents." Ryu is also in contention for the Vare Trophy, awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average each season. She came into this week ranked second in scoring with 69.5

Korean shares plunged more than 3 percent Thursday as investors took profits on major chip shares following a rebound in the previous session, amid concerns over investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain. The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 201.8 points, or 3.52 percent, to 5,533.77. The index opened down 1.14 percent before briefly turning positive to reach an intraday high of 5,740.28. It soon resumed its decline, with losses deepening sharply. The KOSPI had rebounded more than 3 percent in the previous session, recovering from steep losses as semiconductor shares rallied. Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed as AI-related shares rebounded following SpaceX's quarterly results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.58 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.05 percent. After delivering sound earnings, Meta Platforms boosted its bet on the AI sector. "Although Meta and Tesla reported earnings that exceeded market expectations, their results f

A parliamentary committee adopted a confirmation hearing report for a special inspector nominee Thursday, clearing the way for the appointment of the first presidential watchdog in over a decade. The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee approved the report for Choi Kil-su with bipartisan support following his confirmation hearing last month. The special inspector is tasked with investigating corruption allegations involving the family and relatives of the president and senior aides to the president. In the report, the committee said Choi was fit for the job, given his commitment to maintaining political neutrality and independence and his expertise in investigating corruption cases. The report also outlined concerns over whether Choi could carry out investigations impartially, noting that he was recommended by the ruling Democratic Party. Choi, a former senior prosecutor, was nominated by President Lee Jae Myung from among three candidates recommended by the ruling and opposition parties and the bar association in August. If appointed, Choi would become the first special inspe

The deputy commander of the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) has stressed the need for a "careful and transparent" planning and communications in addressing incidents along the inter-Korean border, following last month's land mine blast that injured South Korean soldiers. Lt. Gen. Scott Winter made the remarks on a podcast Wednesday (London time), as tensions have heightened since the Sept. 21 mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas injured three South Korean troops, with two of them severely. Seoul and Pyongyang have since been locked in a fiery tit-for-tat exchange of barbs, with the South blaming the North for the incident in violation of the Armistice Agreement governing the fortified border, while the North has accused Seoul of fabricating its investigation to pin the blame on the regime. "My response from a United Nations Command perspective is to double down on the importance of us being careful and transparent and robust in our planning and transparent in our communications to avoid any incident occurring in the first place," Winter said on

The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled constitutional a provision of the Criminal Act that imposes harsher penalties for those who murder their own family members than those convicted of ordinary murder. The court voted 8-1 on a petition filed by an individual who argued that Article 250, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act, which defines the crime of murdering a lineal ascendant, violates the constitutional rights to equality and the pursuit of happiness. The provision stipulates that those who kill their own or their spouse's immediate family members shall be punished by a minimum prison sentence of seven years, compared with the minimum prison sentence of five years for those convicted of murdering others. The plaintiff had been indicted on charges of killing their own father by neglecting him while serving as his caregiver, and received a final sentence of four years in prison in March 2022. The Constitutional Court said murdering a lineal ascendant fundamentally undermines the special bond and trust between parent and child and destroys the very foundation of the family unit, adding

The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar Thursday, after the Bank of Korea (BOK) left its key rate unchanged, but hinted at further tightening. The won was quoted at 1,324.2 won per dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 1 won from the close of the previous stock trading session. For a fifth consecutive session, the won marked the highest level since Oct. 2, 2024. In a widely expected decision, the BOK held the key rate steady at 3 percent in its rate-setting meeting earlier in the day. BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song told reporters that the won "is still undervalued in terms of effective exchange rate." The won has appreciated to around 1,320 won per U.S. dollar from around 1,560 won in June.