Tag: Seoul

South Korea confirms first swine fever outbreak

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday reported its first cases of African swine fever, becoming the latest country hit by the disease that has killed pigs from China to North Korea, pushing up pork prices worldwide. Five pigs found dead at a farm in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, an official with Seoul’s agriculture ministry told AFP. “At this point, it’s […]

Seven killed in Seoul studio complex fire

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seven tenants were killed and 11 others injured early Friday when a blaze ripped through a three-storey studio complex in Seoul, fire authorities said. While South Korea is technologically advanced and has risen to become the world’s 11th-largest economy, many people who have missed out on its progress struggle to get by. Low-income tenants often live in buildings with tiny single-bed studios once favoured by applicants preparing for various state […]

Three museums to visit in Seoul

  By Emily Manuel Contributor Eagle News and Features    Seoul is known as the land of K-Drama and K-Pop. It’s also a favorite destination for shopping and food. For those who like immersing themselves in culture, there are several palaces where one can rent a hanbok, or a traditional Korean attire, to enter for free. With so many attractions to see, it’s not surprising that a visit to a museum is not always on […]

N. Korea open to US talks ‘any time’ despite Trump axing summit

  by Park Chan-kyong with Jerome Cartillier in Washington Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said Friday it is willing to talk to the United States “at any time” after President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a summit, a decision that once more casts a pall of uncertainty over the the turbulent Korean peninsula. Trump blamed “open hostility” from the North Korean regime for his decision to call off the planned talks […]

Watch: N. Korea’s Kim Jong-Un meets with Seoul envoys for possible inter-Korean summit

https://youtu.be/FmVfNmJKEMA SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed a possible summit with envoys from the South’s President Moon Jae-in, both sides said Tuesday, in the latest step of an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula. The delegation from Seoul is the most senior to travel North for more than a decade, and comes as Moon tries to broker talks between nuclear-armed Pyongyang and Washington after months of high tensions. The […]

NY museum commemorates Olympics with Korean exhibition

by Jennie MATTHEW Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The Winter Olympics are being watched for many things: sporting excellence, of course, but also for headway on the US-North Korea nuclear stand-off and even tentative rapprochements between Seoul and Pyongyang. In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is commemorating the Games with an exhibition of Korean art, much of it displayed for the first time in the United States, and which introduces […]

South Korea’s long toll of disasters

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – South Korea’s rapid transformation from a war-torn, impoverished backwater to Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a flourishing democracy is a source of great national pride. But a series of preventable disasters — the latest being the hospital fire that killed at least 37 people on Friday — has shaken public confidence in the foundations of the country’s development. Many South Koreans have questioned whether safety standards were sidelined and regulations ignored in […]

IOC, two Koreas meet to finalise historic Olympic deal

by Ben Simon Agence France-Presse LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP) – After the two Koreas struck a deal for the North to attend the Winter Games in the South, Olympic bosses will try Saturday to resolve the devils in the details of the landmark pact. With less than three weeks to go before the Games in Pyeongchang begin, the most momentous decisions have already been made. North and South Korea will march together at the opening ceremony under a […]

S. Korea PM apologizes for gaffe on unified team

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – South Korea’s prime minister apologized Friday for suggesting the country’s women’s ice hockey team had no chance of a medal at the Winter Olympics in an unsuccessful attempt to dampen criticism over a unified team with the North. The two Koreas agreed this week to field a unified women’s ice hockey side at the Games, which begin in Pyeongchang next month. It came after Pyongyang agreed to attend what organizers and Seoul […]

S. Korea ex-president Lee denounces graft probe as ‘revenge’

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – Former South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak on Wednesday denounced as “political revenge” a corruption probe into allegations his office accepted bribes from the country’s spy agency. The rare statement from conservative Lee, who stepped down in 2013, came after two of his closest aides were arrested and as his impeached ally and successor Park Geun-Hye stands trial for corruption. South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison — or […]

Olympic flame stops in Seoul on journey to Pyeongchang

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Cheering crowds welcomed the Olympic flame to a freezing Seoul on Saturday, where the torch will be paraded for four days before making its way to Pyeongchang for the start of the Winter Games. The outlook for next month’s sporting extravaganza has brightened since North Korea confirmed its participation, lifting security concerns over the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour. The North has agreed to send an unknown number of athletes to the […]